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Franciscan spiritual literature in Early Qing China: Pedro de la Piñuela's Moxiang shengong (1694) and its Western sources

2020; St. Bonaventure University; Volume: 78; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/frc.2020.0009

1945-9718

Thierry Meynard,

Chinese history and philosophy

Franciscan spiritual literature in Early Qing China:Pedro de la Piñuela's Moxiang shengong (1694) and its Western sources Thierry Meynard (bio) Introduction Soon after arriving in Asia, Jesuit missionaries published apologetic and catechetical works for the immediate needs of conversion. Later on, they also introduced writings on spirituality to nourish the spiritual life of the Catholic communities. In Japan and China, the classic text Imitatio Christi by Thomas à Kempis and the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola appeared in different versions. When the Franciscans arrived in China in the 1630s, they relied on the Jesuits' Chinese writings. At the end of the seventeenth century, they even reprinted some Jesuit works in Canton. To foster their own mission, the Franciscans wrote also their own catechisms and spiritual works. This article presents Pedro de la Piñuela, OFM (1650–1704), a missionary who left Mexico and worked in China at the end of the seventeenth century. His Moxiang shengong 默想神功 (Spiritual practice of meditation) was published at Canton in 1694. In a report written in 1700, Pedro de la Piñuela refered to his work as Exercitium orationis ex Sancto Petro de Alcantara, cum additionibus.1 Since Pedro de Alcántara wrote one single book, Antonio Sisto Rosso deducted correctly that the Moxiang shengong was based on the Tratado de la oración y meditación.2 However, there has not been so far any further research, to my knowledge, on the Moxiang shengong and its dependency on the treatise of Pedro de Alcántara, nor has there been research to identify the additiones mentioned by Pedro de la Piñuela. With this background, this article endeavors to conduct textual analysis on the Chinese text and its Spanish sources.3 [End Page 251] Pedro de Alcántara and his treatise The Franciscan mystic Pedro de Alcántara was born in 1499 in Alcántara, in Extremadura Alta (Spain), as Juan de Garavito y Vilela de Sanabria. From 1511 to 1515, he studied philosophy and law at the famous University of Salamanca, but then left to join the Observant branch of the Franciscans (province of San Gabriel), taking the name of Fray Pedro de Alcántara.4 He was known for his mystical experiences and his ascetic life with mortifications of the flesh, sleeping only an hour and a half each day, and eating once every three days. He was also a great preacher, engaging constantly in apostolate in Spain and Portugal. In the Franciscan province of San Gabriel, he held positions of guardian and novice master, being involved with the spiritual training of young friars. Elected in 1538 as Minister Provincial, he promoted very strict rules in his province. In 1554, he went to live as a hermit, attracting many disciples around him. In the period of 1555-1559, he founded in Spain and Portugal a significant number of convents, always promoting the reformed Franciscan life. In 1559, he was named General Commissary of the Reformed branch of Spain, later known as franciscanos alcantarinos, and imposed strict rules, like long hours of meditation, sleeping on the floor, and a vegetarian diet. He died in 1562 at Avila, at the age of 63 years old. He was beatified in 1622, and canonized in 1669, with his feast day being set on 19 October. He exerted a strong influence beyond the Franciscan communities, being the friend of the Jesuit San Francisco de Borja (1510-1572) and the Carmelitan Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582). He met also with the Spanish king Carlos V (r. 1516-1558) and the kings of Portugal.5 Pedro de Alcántara left rules for the Franciscan convents, some letters, a commentary on psalm 51 (Miserere) and a Camino de la Perfecciòn, but his most important work was the Tratado de la oración y meditación, published in Lisbon in 1556. Modern research shows that Pedro de Alcántara had compiled and arranged the first part (the contents of the meditations) from a treatise with the same name and published in 1554 by the Dominican Luis de Granada (1504-1588), but Pedro de Alcántara added new materials to the first part, and the second part (the...