An Examination of the Differences and Similarities in Interpreting Jesus through Confucianism in Modern East Asia

Abstract

China, Japan, and Korea are all influenced by Confucianism, but the three cultures are markedly different, with their respective interpretations of Christianity through Confucian lenses varying. We aim to explore the indigenous interpretations of the Bible in modern East Asia. We specifically consider how different Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Confucian concepts were used to introduce and promote the understanding and acceptance of Christianity among the intellectual class. Firstly, this article reviews the situation of interpreting Jesus through Confucianism 以儒釋耶 in China during the introduction of Catholicism into the late Ming Dynasty and Protestantism into the late Qing Dynasty. Secondly, we compare it with the situation in Japan, which used Confucianism to criticize Zhuism in the Edo period, and the situation of interpreting Jesus through Yangmingism in the Meiji period. Thirdly, we analyze the situation in Korea, where Catholicism was criticized by Zhuism in the middle of the Joseon Dynasty and Protestantism was understood through Zhuism at the end of the Joseon Dynasty. Then, we analyze the differences in interpreting Jesus through Confucianism in the three countries from the perspective of the schools of Confucianism they utilized, the views on whether the specific schools of Confucianism were a religion, and the initiators of interpreting Jesus through Confucianism. Finally, we examine the reasons for these differences in the three countries.