Gods, Heroes, and Ancestors An Interreligious Encounter in Eighteenth-Century Vietnam

Though a minority religion in Vietnam, Christianity has been a significant presence in the country since its arrival in the sixteenth-century. Anh Q. Tran offers the first English translation of the recently discovered 1752 manuscript Tam Giáo Chu Vong (The Errors of the Three Religions).

Structured as a dialogue between a Christian priest and a Confucian scholar, this anonymously authored manuscript paints a rich picture of the three traditional Vietnamese religions: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. The work explains and evaluates several religious beliefs, customs, and rituals of eighteenth-century Vietnam, many of which are still in practice today. In addition, it contains a trove of information on the challenges and struggles that Vietnamese Christian converts had to face in following the new faith.

Besides its great historical value for studies in Vietnamese religion, language, and culture, Gods, Heroes, and Ancestors raises complex issues concerning the encounter between Christianity and other religions: Christian missions, religious pluralism, and interreligious dialogue.

Anh Q. Tran is Assistant Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley.

Introduction

PART I: The Errors of Three Religions in Context
Chapter 1: When the Cross Met the Lotus: Catholic Mission in Tonkin During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
Chapter 2: Text and Context: The Errors of The Three Religions
Chapter 3: Of Gods and Heroes: Worship in Traditional Vietnam
Chapter 4: In the Realm of the Dead: Filial Piety and Ancestral Worship
Chapter 5: Refutation and Dialogue: Christianity vis-à-vis the Three Religions
Conclusion

PART II: An Annotated Translation of Tam Giao Chu Vong

Appendix A: A Comparison between the Errors and the Opusculum
Appendix B: Glossary of Sino-Vietnamese Terms in the Text
Appendix C: Chinese Names and Their Sino-Vietnamese Equivalents
Bibliography
Index