Considerazioni preliminari sul Xiangshu lun di Sabatino de Ursis

The essay offers a brief description of a Chinese work called Xiangshu lun (Speech on form and number) attributed to Fr. Sabatino de Ursis S.I. (1575-1620), preserved in a unique handwritten copy, incomplete and undated, in the Archives of the Order. This is a rather interesting text which deserves an in-depth study since it deals with some ideas of traditional Chinese thought in an attempt to find connections with concepts of the Christian religion and to facilitate missionary work, which the Jesuits attempted to carry forward in Ming-era China. It also presents quotes and reflections, in view of the Jesuit accommodation of missionary work, which concern some classical important Chinese works. However, Xiangshu lun is a very little or no dealt with in the West, with the exception of the short description made by Albert Chan in his catalog and some sporadic citations in later works concerning de Ursis. In China, two studies have been published in recent years which deal, at least partially, with its content. In this short essay, the authors, after a brief historical biographical note, aimed at describing the possible context of the composition of the text, provide a concise description of the manuscript and his content, placing this work in the context of the production of texts in Chinese language by the Jesuit missionaries of the Ming era, with particular attention to the link between the Xiangshu lun and the Yijing (Classic of Changes), to which the text is inspired, in order to address some philosophical themes.

本短论对一部题为《形数论》（Xiangshu lun）的中文著作进行了简要介绍，该作品传为耶稣会神父萨巴蒂诺·德·乌尔西（1575-1620）所作，现存于修会档案馆，为唯一一份手写抄本，且内容不全、未标注年代。该文本颇具研究价值，因其通过阐释中国传统思想中的若干观念，试图探寻其与基督教教义的关联，以助力耶稣会士在明代中国推进的传教事业。同时，鉴于耶稣会的传教适应策略，本短论还收录了与若干中国重要经典相关的引述与思考。然而，《形数论》在西方学界几乎未受重视，仅陈荣捷（Albert Chan）在其目录编纂中对其做过简短介绍，后世涉及德·乌尔西的研究中亦有零星引用。近年来，中国学界已发表两篇至少部分涉及该文本内容的研究成果。在这篇短论中，作者首先简要介绍了传主的生平史实，旨在阐明该文本的可能创作背景；随后对手抄本及其内容进行了简洁梳理，并将其置于明代耶稣会士中文著述的整体语境中加以考察，重点探讨了《形数论》与其所受启发的《易经》（Yijing，Classic of Changes）之间的关联，以此展开若干哲学主题的探讨。