Jesuits and matriarchs : domestic worship in early modern China

In early modern China, Jesuit missionaries associated with the male elite of Confucian literati in order to proselytize more freely, but they had limited contact with women, whose ritual spaces were less accessible. Historians of Catholic evangelism have similarly directed their attention to the devotional practices of men, neglecting the interior spaces in Chinese households where women worshipped and undertook the transmission of Catholicism to family members and friends. Nadine Amsler's investigation brings the domestic and devotional practices of women into sharp focus, uncovering a rich body of evidence that demonstrates how Chinese households functioned as sites of evangelization, religious conflict, and indigenization of Christianity.The resulting exploration of gendered realms in seventeenth-century China reveals networks of religious sociability and ritual communities among women as well as women's remarkable acts of private piety. Amsler's exhaustive archival research and attention to material culture reveals new insights about women's agency and domestic activities, illuminating areas of Chinese and Catholic history that have remained obscure, if not entirely invisible, for far too long Acknowledgments ix Maps xi introduction 3 1. Clothes Make the Man: The Jesuits’ Adoption of Literati Masculinity 13 2. A Kingdom of Virtuous Women: Jesuit Descriptions of China’s Moral Topography 32 3. A Source of Creative Tension: Literati Jesuits and Priestly Duties 47 4. Strengthening the Marital Bond: The Christianization of Chinese Marriage 67 5. Praying for Progeny: Women and Catholic Spiritual Remedies 87 6. Domestic Communities: Women’s Congregations and Communal Piety 99 7. Sharing Genteel Spirituality: The Female Networks of the Xus of Shanghai 113 8. A Widow and Her Virgins: The Domestic Convents of Hangzhou and Nanjing 128 9. Fabrics of Devotion: Catholic Women’s Pious Patronage 138 conclusion: Women and Gender in Global Catholicism 152 Glossary 157 Notes 165 Bibliography 217 Index 249