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Preface This book centres around a m司or theme: the first ‘confrontation' between the Supreme Ultimate (T'ai-chi) of the Confucian cosmological order and the Christain anthropomorphic God as conveyed to the Chinese by the Jesuit missionaries. This encounter, which is of a historical as well as metaphysical nature, also involves a conflict between two diametrically opposed value systems of human socio-ethical obligations. The focus is a limited one, and the objective is to show how late Ming and early Ch'ing China reacted to the Christian message. The history of Christianity in China is full of controversy, and it is only recently that historians have begun to examine the Christian missionary movement in China from the point of view of Chinese history. But whether by design or default, the overwhelming majority of the work done thus far is on the Christian impact in nineteenthcentury China. The Jesuit effort is a topic largely ignored by scholars of Chinese studies. With very few exceptions,the Jesuits in late imperial China are discussed in terms of their role as court astronomers. Furthermore, most of these studies are written as history of philosophy, religion, or the history of the Rites Controversy. By filling this gap in the literature, the intention here is not only to discuss how certain ideas of Western origin were transmitted from Europe and how the Chinese reacted to them, but to provide a fuller and more balanced perspective on China's intellectual exchange and discourse with the West. With the recent revival of the Christian movement in China (now Communist rather than Confucian), it is most interesting to note that many of the issues the Jesuit missionaries faced a舟， with minor variations, still present. The larger questions of political authority, doctrinal differences, and Chinese anti-foreignism still haunt the Chinese Christians as well as those Christian bodies preparing for another effort to proselytize Christianity in China. Once again, Christian organizations must deal with the same questions which the Jesuits asked three centuries ago: ‘How far should Christian teachings be compromised in the Chinese context? Is a synthesis of Christian and Chinese ideas possible?' And of course, the most important question,‘How can Christianity take root in China?' On the other hand, the present Chinese responses to Western ideas are just as varied and complex as those the Jesuit fathers Preface and necessary. Instead of evaluating the Jesuit impact from the perspective of its failure or success in Christianizing China, a more urgent goal is to study its meaning in the context of East-West history. Much has been said about the gap that separated the expanding Western civilization and the resilient Chinese civilization, but the shape and form of this gap can be totally identified only when all the contributory influences are taken into consideration. Thus, despite the revolutionary transformation of China in its recent history, an understanding of the dialogue between the Christian missionaries and the Confucian literati is vital; the Jesuit experience in traditional China continues to be relevant. This book is an attempt to explain and clarify the West's first intellectual cha卜 lenge to the Chinese world order, hence the title. It is true that Nestorian Christianity was introduced into China as early as AD 635, but as far as we know the educated elite had no contact with Nestorianism which generally disappeared after the T'ang period. Interestingly enough, it was the Jesuits, the first group from the West to undermine the Chinese orthodoxy, who discovered the Nestorian activity in medieval China. This study is a revised version of a dissertation presented to the University of California, Davis, in 1976. The topic, or something similar, was first suggested by Professor Kwang-ching Liu. Throughout the various stages of writing, I am immeasurably indebted to his advice and assistance. Other members of my thesis committee, Professors Manfred Fleischer, Don Price, and Richard Schwab, read either the whole or parts of the manuscript. They, and members of the Wednesday Evening History Seminar at Davis, provided stimulating suggestions and intellectual challenge. To all of them I am extremely grateful. At different periods of revision, I have had the good fortune of receiving substantial comments and warm encouragement from various sources. I would like to express my thanks to Professors Gung-wu Wang (Australian National University), Wei-ming Tu (University of California, Berkeley), Hao Chang (Ohio State University ), and Mi Chu Wiens of the Library of Congress. Professor Daniel Tretiak and the late Father Hao Fang...

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