A Study Of Ernst Faber's Missionary Work And Thought In The Late Qing Dynasty

Ernst Faber (1839-1899) is a German missionary and qualified scholar, who came to China on 1864 and passed away in Qingdao on 1899. His main scholarly activity was on the study of Chinese culture, traditional Chinese literature, and customs. He left more than ten volumes of important works in Chinese, and he is indispensable figure in the area of Sino-Western cultural communication. Until now we have only some introductory study on him. There is no academic monograph on his thought.This thesis tries to analyze the missional thought of Ernst Faber and his explanation of various problems of China of his day on the basis of thorough understanding of his major works. I will accomplish this goal with the following four chapters.The first chapter is about the life and scholarly work of Ernst Faber. We can divide his life into three periods. The first period can be called Dongguan period, when Faber studied Chinese language in Humen area, and taught at a seminary at the same time. During this period he studied Chinese literature and the Bible, and also had contact with local period by means of medical service. In order to find a way of modernization fro China, he proposed the view of development through education, and wrote"Western(especially German) schools","The Principles of Education", and"Civilization,East and West". The second period can be called Shanghai period. In 1890 the conference of missionaries in China entrusted him with the task of writing books on Chinese classic literature. He planed a five-volume series: the first two volumes are on the evaluation of the ethics of Chinese classics, the third volume is on the evaluation of Chinese literature, the fourth volume is on the comparison between Chinese history and the Western history, the final volume is on the task of contemporary China. He was not able to finish the series until his death. The series is called"经学不厌精". Faber finished his first two volumes titled"十三经考证", which are for the beginners, especially as text books for foreigners who study Chinese classics. The third period is Qingdao period. He began the study of classic Chinese literature in Shanghai, and left unfinished manuscript in Qingdao, which was published later with the title"经学不厌精遗编".The second Chapter is about the world view of Ernst Faber. His world view is different from his view on religion. This chapter will study three aspects of his world view, namely his view on heaven, his view on earth, and his view on human beings. In his book"天伦"Faber talked about God, and in his book"地伦"he talked about earthly treasure in connection with human beings, and in his book"人伦" he talked about how human beings rule the whole world. Faber's world view is practical world view, and many of his views are working for his own purpose. In order to preach the gospel more effectively and to avoid unnecessary conflict, he proposed a strategy of"Confucius plus Jesus". Faber's deep understanding of Chinese studies helped him to keep balanced view on mission and many problems of that time, which is still useful today.The third chapter is about Faber's understanding of traditional Chinese scholarship as well as Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Fengshui. His study covers a broad area of Chinese thought, including Chinese philosophy, Chinese music theories, and Chinese botany. This chapter will focus on his book"十三经考证", and tries to evaluate Faber as Chinese scholar through thorough analysis.The fourth chapter is about Faber's thought concerning politics, economy, and education. Here I will introduce his views on the problems of China at that time. His proposal can be labeled as restorationism, and he adhered to the development of economy through education.Epilogue:"Confucius plus Jesus"by Faber is the earliest attempt to globalize Confucianism as well as the early attempt to globalize Christianity. He left his footprint in Western understanding of China and Chinese study of the West. Faber is an important scholar in the area of Sino-Western cultural communication.