Volume 62, Issue 3, September 2022
Thierry Meynard
Pages 319-334
https://doi.org/10.5840/ipq2023824199
A Thomistic Defense of Creationism in Late Ming China
The Explanation of the Great Being (Huanyou quan)
Creationism is an important feature of Christianity but seems very foreign to Chinese philosophy. This paper examines an early attempt at introducing a metaphysical account of creationism in Huanyou quan (1628) by the Portuguese Jesuit, Francisco Furtado, and the Chinese scholar, Li Zhizao. It investigates the sources drawn from the works of Thomas Aquinas and reconstructs the choices made by the two authors in their translation. Finally, it suggests that Thomistic creationism bears similarities with Chinese philosophy.