Jesuits in China: 1579-1724

A new book review in The Tablet:

Book Review, 03 May 2007
Reviewed by Simon Scott Plummer

China’s diplomatic evangelists

Journey to the East: the Jesuit mission to China, 1579-1724
Liam Matthew Brockey
The Belknap Press of Harvard, £22.95

Looks interesting! Here's a snippet of the review:

The Jesuits' reluctance to ordain Chinese priests stemmed, Brockey believes, from a wish to maintain their group identity and a fear that indigenous clergy might infringe the discipline of the order. This made them rely on groups of lay men and women to form the building-blocks of the mission Church. The Society brought its organisational methods from Europe and grafted them on to a culture where hui, or associations, both religious and secular, were already common. Thus Marian sodalities, charitable confraternities and penitential brotherhoods were formed. In their evangelising efforts, the Jesuits found that children, with their quick memorising of prayers and ritual gestures, played an important role in bringing others in their families to Christ.