Ironic that Chinese authorities should start demanding we switch out "dragon" for "loong" in the 21st century, well after we westerners had grown comfortable with the concept of dragons being good.
The practice of translating Christian texts and transferring ideas across language and culture has been done for 2,000 years. There nothing unique about doing so within Chinese culture. It’s a particular situation, but follows a well-established pattern. Jews translated ideas rooted in the Hebrew language into Greek during about the third century BC. Christians, the first of whom were Jewish, interpreted the Old Testament in the light of Christ, and the Greeks who became Christians began discerning their own polytheistic pagan culture according to the Christian Way. St Justin, a pagan philosopher who became a Christian, and St Basil the Great wrote about carefully understanding their own the long history of Hellenistic culture as Christians. As Christianity spread beyond the Greek world, everybody did this. Some words and concepts were transferable, some required correction, and others disregarded. Chinese Christians do the same with regard to the long, rich history of Chinese civilization.
Concerning symbols and words, these can comfortably have more than one meaning. A dragon or serpent can symbolize the evil one and death, but also symbolize angelic beings, healing from sickness and death, and life. There is no contradiction between images of a serpent as the devil or a dragon slain by St George and dragons on the holy doors in our temples or sacred vessels fashioned with dragon motifs. Our bishops - the highest rank of the priesthood - carry golden staffs with serpents depicted in them. Likewise there is no contradiction being a Christian with Chinese dragon images in my home.
I watch a lot of Chinese tv series. It’s obvious that a black-clad member of a “demon clan” or an immortal in a Chinese series is not what we in the Church know as demons or immortals in a theological sense. We can use the same word in both contexts and they make sense in their own contexts. Even within theology and scripture study, the same word in different contexts means different things. Context is the key.
Certainly, sometimes words are best left untranslated. We leave Greek words like “nous” untranslated at times, but sometimes we do translate it into English as heart, heart-mind, spiritual intellect (as distinct from rationality), eye of the souls, etc. If it is translated, a footnote with the original word helps. Likewise, we typically leave “Theotokos” untranslated, but not always.
As I point out often, the historical challenge of Christianity interpreted within Chinese culture is shaded by the fact that these historical interactions happened with post-eleventh century Roman Catholics (after the Great Schism separated the West from the East and the rise of scholasticism in the West) and various Protestant sects from the West. On a side note, I’ll say as a former Protestant that certain Protestant sects tend to limit words and symbols to singular wooden meanings rather than being comfortable with a wide range of interpretations. My perspective above is as a priest of the Greek Orthodox Church, rooted in the East. Indeed, it is my immersion in Eastern Christianity - and a Chinese wife - that has enhanced my appreciation for Chinese culture.
Yes exactly. Modern readers are increasingly unfamiliar with biblical scripture and are more likely to associate “dragon,” “demon,” etc with with their depictions in fantasy works like Tolkien, Dungeons and Dragons, etc.
I guess not all of Western culture has a negative view of the dragon. There is a very famous children’s book in Germany called „Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver“. In this story the two heroes travel to a sinister place, the „Dragon City“, where the daughter of the Chinese Emperor is held captive by an evil dragon, Mrs. Grindtooth. The two heroes eventually overwhelm the dragon, free the princess and deliver both of them to the Emperor. It turns out that the sinister dragons were under an evil spell all along. Having been defeated gives them the chance to undergo a miraculous transformation. So eventually, Mrs. Grindtooth turns into the Golden Dragon of Wisdom and a protector of China. Every German child knows this story and I believe they, like myself, have a fairly positive notion of dragons.
Ironic that Chinese authorities should start demanding we switch out "dragon" for "loong" in the 21st century, well after we westerners had grown comfortable with the concept of dragons being good.
The practice of translating Christian texts and transferring ideas across language and culture has been done for 2,000 years. There nothing unique about doing so within Chinese culture. It’s a particular situation, but follows a well-established pattern. Jews translated ideas rooted in the Hebrew language into Greek during about the third century BC. Christians, the first of whom were Jewish, interpreted the Old Testament in the light of Christ, and the Greeks who became Christians began discerning their own polytheistic pagan culture according to the Christian Way. St Justin, a pagan philosopher who became a Christian, and St Basil the Great wrote about carefully understanding their own the long history of Hellenistic culture as Christians. As Christianity spread beyond the Greek world, everybody did this. Some words and concepts were transferable, some required correction, and others disregarded. Chinese Christians do the same with regard to the long, rich history of Chinese civilization.
Concerning symbols and words, these can comfortably have more than one meaning. A dragon or serpent can symbolize the evil one and death, but also symbolize angelic beings, healing from sickness and death, and life. There is no contradiction between images of a serpent as the devil or a dragon slain by St George and dragons on the holy doors in our temples or sacred vessels fashioned with dragon motifs. Our bishops - the highest rank of the priesthood - carry golden staffs with serpents depicted in them. Likewise there is no contradiction being a Christian with Chinese dragon images in my home.
I watch a lot of Chinese tv series. It’s obvious that a black-clad member of a “demon clan” or an immortal in a Chinese series is not what we in the Church know as demons or immortals in a theological sense. We can use the same word in both contexts and they make sense in their own contexts. Even within theology and scripture study, the same word in different contexts means different things. Context is the key.
Certainly, sometimes words are best left untranslated. We leave Greek words like “nous” untranslated at times, but sometimes we do translate it into English as heart, heart-mind, spiritual intellect (as distinct from rationality), eye of the souls, etc. If it is translated, a footnote with the original word helps. Likewise, we typically leave “Theotokos” untranslated, but not always.
As I point out often, the historical challenge of Christianity interpreted within Chinese culture is shaded by the fact that these historical interactions happened with post-eleventh century Roman Catholics (after the Great Schism separated the West from the East and the rise of scholasticism in the West) and various Protestant sects from the West. On a side note, I’ll say as a former Protestant that certain Protestant sects tend to limit words and symbols to singular wooden meanings rather than being comfortable with a wide range of interpretations. My perspective above is as a priest of the Greek Orthodox Church, rooted in the East. Indeed, it is my immersion in Eastern Christianity - and a Chinese wife - that has enhanced my appreciation for Chinese culture.
Damn! And I thought “nouse” meant intelligence!
Yes exactly. Modern readers are increasingly unfamiliar with biblical scripture and are more likely to associate “dragon,” “demon,” etc with with their depictions in fantasy works like Tolkien, Dungeons and Dragons, etc.
I guess not all of Western culture has a negative view of the dragon. There is a very famous children’s book in Germany called „Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver“. In this story the two heroes travel to a sinister place, the „Dragon City“, where the daughter of the Chinese Emperor is held captive by an evil dragon, Mrs. Grindtooth. The two heroes eventually overwhelm the dragon, free the princess and deliver both of them to the Emperor. It turns out that the sinister dragons were under an evil spell all along. Having been defeated gives them the chance to undergo a miraculous transformation. So eventually, Mrs. Grindtooth turns into the Golden Dragon of Wisdom and a protector of China. Every German child knows this story and I believe they, like myself, have a fairly positive notion of dragons.