Aquinas and the Early Chinese Masters: Chinese Philosophy and Catholic Theology (Thomistic Ressourcement Series), Joshua R.Brown, Washington DC, The Catholic University of America Press, 2024 (ISBN 9780813238944), ix + 324 pp, Hb $75

Brown is an associate professor in the Department of Theology at Mount St. Mary's University in Maryland, USA. He has written widely on intercultural and comparative theology, particularly on the interplay between Chinese philosophical texts and Catholic theology. This book represents a commendable addition to his existing work. In the spirit of his earlier book, Balthasar in Light of Early Confucianism (2020), in Aquinas and the Early Chinese Masters, Brown shows how Catholic theology can be properly viewed through the lens of Confucian philosophy to develop a robust Chinese Catholic theology (p. 4). It is the only volume dealing with this subject in the multi-volume Thomistic Ressourcement Series. In Aquinas and the Early Chinese Masters, Brown seeks ‘rapprochement between Catholic theological science and Chinese philosophy’ (p. 1) by addressing apparent procedural and practical flaws in extant Western theological scholarship which employ Chinese philosophical concepts superficially and instrumentally, with little regard to their inherent attributes. This approach undermines both Catholic theology and Chinese philosophical texts. Brown's description of Catholic theology as a ‘science’ further reveals his admiration of it as ‘a body of knowledge in its own right with its own first principles … and discursive norms’ (p. 2) whose development must be both methodical and systematic. His book exemplifies this analytical approach to developing Chinese Catholic theology by considering the gifts of Chinese philosophical texts with ‘charitable scrutiny’ and to ‘test their capacity’ for promoting the Christian message (p. 4). Simply put, the book is a moderated-conversation between Catholic theology and the work of select pre-Christian Chinese Confucian philosophers. Catholic theology is represented by the magnum opus of St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae (ST). Chinese philosophy is represented by two schools, Confucianism (specifically, the work of Mengzi and Xunzi) and Mohism (or the work of Mozi). Brown is the moderator, and the reader is the audience. The book is executed in the ‘new comparative theology’ mode of Francis X. Clooney, SJ, as it focuses on ‘rereading and engaging concrete contextual traditions … to discern the theological value of non-Christian texts’ (pp. 6–8). As a roadmap, the book comprises six chapters, a brief conclusion and a useful appendix. The book is ‘top-heavy’, with the first two Chapters (128 pages) being dense, yet laying essential groundwork for what follows. They engage ST's prima pars with Mengzi's work on Tian and Mozi's work on divine will and love. Brown describes the latter as ‘full of tantalizing possibilities for developing a genuinely Chinese Catholic theology of God’ (p. 89). These Chapters investigate how natural law concepts bleed into divine providence and divine governance in China versus the West. For instance, the Chinese word Tian, if read as a shortened form of Tianzhu, might be interpreted as the ‘Lord of Heaven’. However, if read on its own, it merely refers to ‘the Heavens’. This distinction carries different implications and consequences. Building such interpretative bridges reveals the relationships, or dissonance, between Chinese philosophy and Catholic theology and facilitates rapprochement. The next two chapters (eighty-two pages) are comparatively lighter reading. They deal with ethical concerns related to ST's secunda pars, Mengzi-Xunzi Confucian debates around renxing and its correlation to human nature and morality and the Mohist precept of ‘universal love’ or jian ai and Aquinas' concept of charity. The last two chapters (seventy-four pages) are influenced by ST's tertia pars, with the penultimate chapter discussing the usefulness of Xunzi's Confucian concept of ‘sage’ or shengren. This discussion includes recognising different markers of priesthood, the functions of rituals and liturgy and the risks associated with ‘taking the easy way’ of creating a ‘cultural Christ’ or ‘a relativised form of Christ’ (p. 212). This argument ties into the final chapter, which explores Confucian filiality and Aquinas' reading of Matthew 8:21–22. However, since filiality is a lynchpin topic in China, and given Brown's meticulous research, insights and analysis, these last two Chapters would have been better placed as Chapters 3 and 4 of the book, before discussing renxing and jian ai. This revision would allow the reader to move logically from exploring Chinese-Catholic dialogue around the divine, to considering Jesus as sage, to Confucian-Catholic debates around filiality, and closing with Chinese-Catholic themes around human nature and charity. In closing, Brown's book provides useful insights, and an informative treasury of sources, around the themes he addresses. Scholars and graduate researchers will find his copious footnotes and further research suggestions invaluable. In reading the book, two things come to mind. First, Brown offers ‘a better way of developing a robust, responsible, and vibrant Chinese Catholic theology’ (p. 284). Given the Vatican's role as the ‘the Church Universal’ (p. 212), how and where such Chinese Catholic theology could be practised (and sustained) in increasingly diverse multinational and multicultural congregations is left open. Second, Brown has diligently explored what is perhaps only the tip of the Chinese philosophical iceberg. He also relies on ST as being representative of Catholic theology. Could what ‘lies beneath’ vis-à-vis Daoism, Mingjia or Fajia or the other known ‘One Hundred Schools’ (p. 290) of Chinese philosophy or critics of ST offer a different, perhaps more nuanced, view on Catholic precepts and the shape of Chinese Catholic theology? If so, how might this affect Brown's work and the direction of the Catholic church? In Marcel Proust's terms, this area remains an exciting ongoing voyage of discovery around existing traditions and beliefs, for which Brown has provided a robust navigational tool.