Singing of the source

Wu Li (1632-1718) was one of the orthodox masters of early Ching dynasty painting, but his reputation as a painter, even in his own life-time, obscured his achievement as a poet. His real originality, however, lies in the unprecedented boldness of his experimental creation: a Chinese Christian poetry, utterly traditional in its use of shih and chu forms and such devices as parallelism and allusion, while equally unconventional in being based on orthodox Christian theology.

The conversion experience that led Wu Li to become a member of the Jesuit society, and eventually to be ordained as one of the first Chinese Catholic priests, is explored in Singing of the Source in the context of widespread intellectual and spiritual ferment in the early Ching. Jonathan Chaves elucidates events that would lead a Chinese scholar deeply immersed in Neo-Confucianism and Buddhism to take the enormous leap to Christianity and then be inspired to compose Christian poetry in classical Chinese forms. This work will be of interest to scholars of Chinese literature and art history as well as readers in Chinese intellectual and religious history.