Zhu Hong

Male, Person

70

Who is Zhu Hong?

Zhu Hong Chinese Buddhist leader and anti-Jesuit. He was known as the “Master of Yunqi”, after a monastery restored in his honor. He was born in Hangzhou into a family with the surname Shen. Zhu was an excellent student, although he never succeeded along the path of officialdom. His first connection to Buddhism was that of the Pure Land variety. After failure in the official examinations he became a monk at thirty-one despite the existence of his second wife, who later became a nun. Zhu Hong died at the age of eighty-one. Zhu Hong is best remembered for his persistent hostility to Roman Catholicism. Zhu’s writings are a direct rebuttal to the Jesuit Matteo Ricci.

Traditional Buddhist monasticism had declined by Zhu Hong’s age. The English translation of heshang as “monk” by the late Ming is perhaps inappropriate. A better rendition might be “priest” as it is often used in Japan to describe those specialist practitioners of funeral rites and memorial services. Zhu Hong himself complained that “Monks are also geomancers, diviners, physiognomists, physicians, gynecologists, potion makers, spirit healers and alchemists. All of the above entail the extreme demise of Buddhism.” The Jesuit entry into sixteenth century China placed them in the middle of such conditions. For Zhu Hong and other Buddhists the Jesuits were an additional headache to a long list of serious problems. Zhu Hong’s rebuttal of Catholicism was the first of a longer and ever-growing response.

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Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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