Op-Ed Contributors

Ricci, relevance of tolerance

By Chen Longxiang (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-05-06 08:02

Zhang uses the relationship between the homes of a woman's parents and her husband's family to describe the contact between two cultures. "Take Buddhism's introduction into China for example. When a foreign culture from India (home of Buddhism's parents) was married into China (husband's home), it had to adapt to the new environment and life. And without interference from its parents' family, Buddhism in China gradually experienced a process of accommodation, conflict and adaptation, and finally became accepted in China," Zhang says.

Despite this precedence, no one, from the founders of the Society of Jesuits in China to its followers, could say to what extent should a missionary compromise in order to integrate into a particular society. "In order to make the Gospel more accessible to Chinese, Ricci made an unprecedented compromise," Zhang says.

"In considering his intense academic and spiritual activity, we cannot but remain favorably impressed by the innovative and unusual skill with which he, with full respect, approached Chinese cultural and spiritual traditions. It was, in fact, this approach that characterized his mission, which aimed to seek possible harmony between the noble and millennial Chinese civilization and the novelty of Christianity," the Pope said.

Today, globalization is making every corner of the world even more closely connected in terms of transportation, sharing of information and economic development, with the global economic integration and cultural diversity proceeding side by side. "Thanks to globalization, different cultures and civilizations are being exposed to each other more frequently. So it has become incumbent to learn and reflect on the 'cultural accommodation' and 'religious tolerance' policy of striving for harmony but not sameness. Civilizations should coexist with each other peacefully without any one being imposed on another," Zhang says.

For example and inspiration, we can turn to Matteo Ricci.

(China Daily 05/06/2010 page9)