Longobardo and the essence of the Dao : a study of the Linghun daoti shuo ( c. 1636)

Abstract The Sicilian Jesuit Niccolò Longobardo (1565–1655), who succeeded Matteo Ricci (1552–1610) as superior of the Jesuit China mission, is famed for opposing his predecessor’s engagement with Confucianism. While his Western-language writings have been well studied, his Chinese-language treatise on the soul, Linghun daoti shuo 靈魂道體說 (Explanation of the Rational Soul and the Essence of the Way, c. 1636), has attracted little attention. This text rehearses similar points about the metaphysical chasm between Chinese and Western conceptions of the first principle found in his earlier writings, but remarkably shifts the focus of his discussion from li 理 (principle) to daoti 道體 (essence of the Dao ). This article proposes a new theory for this conceptual shift and explores the value of Longobardo’s quirky and polemical synthesis of Chinese thought for giving voice to less mainstream topics that were neglected by other Jesuits.