| Hội đồng tứ giáo (會同四教) | |
| Language: | Vietnamese (Written in chữ Nôm) and Literary Chinese |
| First Printed Edition: | 18th century |
| Also Known As: | Hội đồng tứ giáo danh sư (會同四教名師) |
| Period Covered: | Cảnh Hưng (景興) |
Hội đồng tứ giáo (chữ Hán: 會同四教; literally 'assembly of the Four Teachings') is a significant Vietnamese Catholic text recording a meeting between two imprisoned Catholics—one foreign and one Vietnamese—who engage in a theological debate with adherents of the three teachings (三教 tam giáo), which respectively refer to Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism.[1] The book was written in Vietnamese using the chữ Nôm script as was common with most Vietnamese Catholic texts.[2] The book was later translated into Literary Chinese.[3]
The book is set in 18th-century Tonkin (Đàng Ngoài; 塘外) during the reign of Cảnh Hưng (1740–1786), who was the ruling emperor, while real power was held by Trịnh Sâm (chữ Hán: 鄭森; 1739–1782). Below are the opening sentences from the text.The two teachers that were captured have been theorised to be the Dominican missionary, Jacinto Castañeda (1743–1773) and a Vietnamese priest, Vicente Phạm Hiếu Liêm (1732–1773). However, there is ongoing controversy surrounding the true identities of the two teachers and the origins of the text, with various theories debating the historical accuracy and authenticity of its accounts.
The conference was hosted by a sixth-rank official referred to in the text as 茹官 (nhà quan sáu) who was an uncle of Trịnh Sâm.[4] His mother was referred to as 德上㻸 (Đức Thượng Trâm) who was a devote Catholic. The official who wanted to be filial to his mother, the official organized the conference to explore whether the Catholic faith could be considered a heterodox religion. The conference featured four participants: the Western scholar (西士 Tây sĩ), the Confucian (儒士 Nho sĩ), the Buddhist monk (柴和尚 thầy Hoà thượng), and the Taoist master (柴法師 thầy Pháp sư).
Throughout the discussions, the text references various works such as the Great Learning (大學), Xìnglǐ Dàquán (性理大全), Tao Te Ching (道德經), Amitābha Sūtra (南無阿彌陀佛經), etc.[5] The Western scholar (西士 Tây sĩ), one of the Catholic priests who had been captured, draws upon quotes from Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist texts to bolster his arguments.
The Western scholar's strategy was consistent with Matteo Ricci's approach to proselytizing. As the scholar uses Chinese classics which are well-known to explain and justify Catholic ideas.
The book refers to Catholicism as đạo Hoa Lang (道花郞), Hoa Lang (花郞) was an old Vietnamese exonym for Portugal.[6] This exonym was also used in the Complete Annals of Đại Việt (Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư; 大越史記全書):
The book consists of three chapters, each addressing a distinct topic of discussion that took place during the three-day conference.
