The Influence of Chinese Catholic Historical Memories on Early Joseon Catholicism

Abstract Neither the theological perspective of church history nor the “impact–response” framework can sufficiently explain why Catholicism was able to take root in Joseon. Early Joseon converts from Confucianism received a contextualized understanding of Catholicism transformed by Chinese thought. One can describe this as Confucianized or Sinicized Catholicism. The first missionary sent to the Joseon Peninsula was Zhou Wenmo, a Chinese Catholic priest whose interpretation of the development and historical memories of Chinese Catholicism significantly shaped the ways of Joseon’s early converts from Confucianism. China’s historical narrative was so profound that the converted Confucians and other early converts embraced Catholicism, and the vision was constructed from the historical memories of the late Ming and early Qing. Nevertheless, this vision of nationalizing Catholicism was shattered by consecutive persecutions after 1801.