The Influence of Tianxue (Heavenly Learning) on Chinese Thought in the Seventeenth Century

In the history of ideas in 17th-century China, the “heavenly learning” (tianxue) introduced by Western missionaries, in particularly the Jesuits, was a factor to be reckoned with. Without doubt it provided a fresh input to the development of post-Wang Yangming philosophy and the incubation of new insights in late Ming Neo-Confucianism, and this influence continued until the early Qing dynasty. However, while natural sciences and practical technologies (such as artillery and water conservancy) were well-received as part of the “heavenly learning,” other parts such as the “learning on the principle,” i.e., tenets of the Christian faith, conflicted with Confucianism. Due to the repercussions of the Chinese Rites Controversy in the late years of the Kangxi reign (r. 1661–1722), the public activities of missionaries in China were restricted. And when the Qing imperial court was in the process of compiling the Siku quanshu (Complete Library in Four Branches of Literature), those parts of “heavenly learning” dealing with the Christian faith were screened. To a certain degree this prevented later generations from gaining a proper overview of “heavenly learning.” Another factor that negatively impacted the study of the relationship between “heavenly learning” and Chinese traditional thought in the 17th century was that Christianity in modern China was closely associated with the invasion of imperialism in modern times. But how did the Confucianism from the late Ming to the early Qing period treat “heavenly learning”? This article summarizes the various attitudes of some Confucian scholars towards “heavenly learning” in hope of inciting further academic discussions.