| Tianzhu | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chinese | 天主 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Heaven Master | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Tianzhu (Chinese :天主; Wade–Giles :Tʻien-chu),meaning 'Heavenly Master' or 'Lord of Heaven',is the Chinese word used for God in Catholicism,designated by the Jesuit China missions. [1]
| Tianzhu | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chinese | 天主 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Heaven Master | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Tianzhu (Chinese :天主; Wade–Giles :Tʻien-chu),meaning 'Heavenly Master' or 'Lord of Heaven',is the Chinese word used for God in Catholicism,designated by the Jesuit China missions. [1]
The word first appeared in Michele Ruggieri's Chinese translation of the Decalogo ,or Ten Commandments. [1] In 1584,Ruggieri and Matteo Ricci published their first catechism,Tiānzhǔshílù (天主實錄,The Veritable Record of the Lord of Heaven). [2] Matteo Ricci later wrote a catechism entitled TiānzhŭShíyì (天主實義,The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven). [1] [2]
Following the Chinese rites controversy,the term Tiānzhŭ was officially adopted by the Pope in 1715,who rejected alternative terms such as Tiān (天,"Heaven") and Shàngdì (上帝,"Supreme Emperor"). [3] "Catholicism" is most commonly rendered as Tiānzhǔjiào (天主教,"Religion of the Lord of Heaven"). An individual Catholic is Tiānzhŭjiào tú ; [4] tú includes the meanings "disciple" and "believer." [5] The same hanja characters are used in the Korean words for Catholicism and Catholic believer.