Abridged Record of the Holy Scriptures of the Lord of Heaven

Title

(Latin) Compendius Legis Dominus

(Chinese translitteration) Tianzhu shengjiao yueyan

(CN) 天主聖教約言

Alternative title at the end of the book: Tianzhu shengjiao huowen 天主聖教或問 (Questions and Answers on the Holy Teaching of the Lord of Heaven)

Creator

João Soeiro (1566–1607)
The author is identified as Soeiro, rendered in Chinese as Su Ruhan 蘇如漢 (rather than the more commonly attested Su Ruwang 蘇如望).

Subject

Catolich religion

Abstract

The work presents the fundamental tenets of Christian doctrine, including the existence and nature of God, the creation of the world, Adam and Eve, the immortality of the soul, the afterlife, heaven and hell, and divine reward. It also outlines the process of conversion to the faith, structured in three essential steps, as expressed by Soeiro: first, to observe the commandments of the Lord of Heaven; second, to understand and believe in matters concerning the Lord of Heaven; and third, to receive the holy water (baptism). This is followed by a detailed exposition and commentary on the Ten Commandments. The argumentative structure and level of explanation suggest that the work was intended for a readership trained in the Confucian tradition, yet interested in engaging with theological questions external to it. As such, the text reflects the intercultural dynamics of late Ming China, emerging from collaboration between Jesuit missionaries and Chinese converts, and forming part of a broader editorial strategy aimed at rendering Christianity intelligible and open to discussion within the framework of local intellectual culture.

Publisher

Woodblock edition produced by Dewang (Stephan) Weng Yuanyue 德望翁元爚, identified as part of the Christian community.

list of contributors

Checked by members of the Society of Jesus (耶穌會中人仝校), indicating internal Jesuit oversight.

Date

s.d.

Type

Book

Download the full book

Format

Printed text, in total 116 pages

Identifier

RARI.I.VII.16 (C)

Source

Biblioteca Universitaria di Genova

Language

Chinese

Relation

Three books bound together, two of which are duplicate copies of the same text (Tianzhu shengjiao yueyan).

Magnani, A. (2026). Due testi cinesi del Seicento a Genova: casi studio dal progetto “Manuscript and books from Asia reaching Europe”. Genova: Arti Grafiche Francescane, 2026. ISBN 9791280779175 (paper edition); Studia Ligustica, n. 18, ISBN 978-88-98246-17-5. Open access (digital edition). https://www.fondazionefranzoni.it/studia-ligustica-18-2026/
Gail King , " For the Instruction of Those Aspiring to be Christians : João Soeiro's Tianzhu shengjiao yueyan ", in : Sino- Western Cultural Relations Journal XXVI ( 2004 ), pp. 59-67 .

Rights

Public Domain

Provenance

Stamp of the Royal University of Genoa (small format, 4 cm x h. 1.5 cm).

Description

(Physical description) Red leather cover with gold floral decoration on the spine and board edges, marbled paper pastedown on the front and rear boards, followed by laid endpapers featuring a watermark of an eagle with outstretched wings; 18th-century binding.

(Size) 25,8x16,5; 1,8 (cm, height x width, thickness)

Has Version

See Chinese Christian Texts Database (CCT-Database)

ARSI (Archivum Romanum Societas Iesu, Rome)
- shelf: Jap.Sin. I, 110 (s.l., s.d., 梓傳 by Stephen Weng)
- shelf: Jap.Sin. I, 174.2 (s.l.; s.d.)
- shelf: Jap.Sin. I, 129 (Manchu translation: Abkai ejen-i enduringge tacihiyan-i oyonggo gisun)
BAV (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Rome)
- shelf: Borgia Cinese, 334.2 (15 fols., old print, layout 8/16 (ff. 1a3-7a; 7a2-15b8: Ten Commandments))
- shelf: Borgia Cinese, 334.3 (12 fols., Chao xing tang 超性堂 reprint (Hangzhou); layout 9/19 (ff. 1a4-5b3, 5b4-12a8: Ten Commandments). A piece of paper pasted on the cover reads: “Sub hac editione Provinciae Ce Kiang ...” (that is, consulted by Francesco Jovino da Ottaviano OFM in Lanzhou in 1728 and referring to the use of the name Shangdi on “pag. 8, fac. 1, col. 6”, i.e., fol. 8a6).)
- shelf: Borgia Cinese, 350.12 (old print: 14 ff. layout 9/18 (1a7-6a7; 6a8-14a1: Ten Commandments; 14a9: [title] 終); 1a2: Yesu hui houxue Su Ruhan shu 耶穌會後學蘇如漢述 ; 1a3-5 (at the end of 1a5, below 丘良 two small characters horizontally, first 'bing' (at the right) [ 秉 not: 稟 ! ], then 'hou': 厚秉): ding 訂 : the Jesuits (tong hui 同會): Li Ningshi 黎寧石 (Pedro Ribeiro, China 1604, d. 1640); Luo Ruwang 羅如望 (João da Rocha, China 1598, d. 1623); Qiu Liangbing 丘良秉 (‘Domingos Mendes’, Chinese Jesuit brother since 1605 [professed 1611], d. 1652); Qiu Lianghou 丘良厚 (‘Pascoal Mendes’, Chinese Jesuit brother since 1608 [professed 1624], d. 1640); 1a6 blank.)
- shelf: Borgia Cinese, 518.8 (13 ff., layout 8/20 (ff. 1a3-6a1; 6a2-13b1: Ten Commandments), reprint Chuzhong (= Wuchang 武昌 ?) Qinyi tang 楚中欽一堂重梓刊. Same layout as Jap.Sin. I, 110, but in the latter copy the text of the fourth commandment is one column longer (so the text of the booklet ends at fol. 13b2 instead of 13b1). A piece of paper pasted on the cover reads: “Sub hac editione Provinciae Hu Kuang ...” (that is, consulted by Francesco Jovino da Ottaviano OFM in Lanzhou in 1728 and referring to the use of the name Shangdi on “pag. 8, fac. 2, col. 8”, i.e., fol. 8b8).)
- shelf: Raccolta Generale Oriente, III, 221.1 (Chao xing tang reprint)
- shelf: Raccolta Generale Oriente, III, 248.1 (old print, three copies)
- shelf: Raccolta Generale Oriente, III, 286.8 (Guangzhou reprint (16 f.), probably the church of the Franciscans in the old city)
- shelf: Raccolta Generale Oriente, III, 290.9 (duplicate)
- shelf: Borgia Cinese, 439.G (Manchu translation: Abkai ejen-i enduringge tacihiyan-i oyonggo gisun)
- shelf: Raccolta Generale Oriente, III, 222.13 (Manchu translation: Abkai ejen-i enduringge tacihiyan-i oyonggo gisun)
BnF (Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris)
- shelf: Chinois, 6834-6837, 6838, 6839, 6840-6842, 6843, 6844
- shelf: Chinois, 9201-VI
Biblioteca Corsiniana e dell'Accademia dei Lincei (Rome)
- 44-A-1, no. 5 (15 fols., 8/16)
ZKW (Zikawei 徐家匯, Shanghai)
- shelf: ZKW, 220.4
Biblioteca Universitaria di Genova (BUGe)
- shelf: RARI.I.VII.16(B/C/D, the last one donated in 1675)(2 copies)

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