Metaphors of eucharistic presence. Language, cognition, and the body and blood of Christ. By Stephen R. Shaver. Pp. xiv + 290 incl. 54 figs. Oxford–New York: Oxford University Press, 2022. £64. 978 0 19 758080 6

Abstract

chapter titled ‘Performer of worship’ when she focuses on missionaries’ work to place themselves and the pope as the religious figures in the faith. On page  Yang notes that some Chinese rejected the pope’s status due to it resembling the emperor, but Giuliu Aleni moved to place priests as ‘the intermediary’ and Lodovico Buglio emphasised the power of the priest to celebrate mass (p. ). The author is keen to point out that the relationship priests had with their converts was quite different from in Chinese religions. In particular, they involved themselves in the private lives of their converts more than the other Chinese religions. While some of their activities coincided with other Chinese religious leaders, the Jesuit priests sought to show a different role for Church leaders. The developments and actions by the missionaries sometimes led to opposition and violence against the Catholics, leading to an urgency to develop an indigenous clergy. The author goes on to note that priests maintained that they were the only ones who could celebrate mass, but they also ‘deputised’ Chinese catechists with the ability to perform baptisms, lead prayer when a priest could not celebrate mass and other duties (p. ). In this transition, the Holy Office declared that the Chinese clergy were allowed to produce a Bible in literary Chinese and that they could hold mass in Chinese rather than Latin. The issue of Latin was a key stumbling block to developing a Chinese clergy but this permitted its formation without the requirement that they be able to say mass and perform other duties in Latin (pp. –). Yang shows that Sinicisation even extended down to the ‘sacrificial hat’ that Chinese priests wore during mass. The hat clearly displays Chinese traditions in the form of flowers mixed with Christian images of the cross (p. ). Through her detailed analysis of all aspects of the mass Yang is able to include some enlightening examples of Sinicisation/inculturation. The book is clearly well researched with a plethora of related secondary sources and new primary sources, particularly Chinese language sources. Overall, Hongfan Yang has produced an excellent book that gives the reader a clear view of the development of the Catholic Church in China and the engagement with Chinese society of Catholic rituals in the early period of Jesuit missionary activity.