Open AccessBeyond East and West: What ‘Ladder’ Did John Wu Use Towards This Goal? (Part Two)
Author(s) -
Zbigniew Wesołowski
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
roczniki humanistyczne
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2544-5200
pISSN - 0035-7707
DOI - 10.18290/rh21699-2
Subject(s) - humanity , buddhism , biography , faith , friendship , china , philosophy , ideal (ethics) , religious studies , chinese culture , christianity , tian , natural (archaeology) , theology , history , sociology , law , art history , epistemology , ancient history , political science , social science , archaeology
John Wu Jingxiong (1899-1986) was a diplomat, scholar, and authority on international law. He was also a prominent Chinese Catholic convert. His spiritual autobiography Beyond East and West (1951) reminds us of the Confessiones of St. Augustine for its moving description of John Wu’s conversion to Catholicism in 1937 and his early years as a Catholic. The very title of Wu’s autobiography points to his spiritual ideal which let humanity go beyond cultural particularities (be they Western, Chinese, or other). John Wu found wisdom in China’s great traditions, i.e., Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism, pointing to their universal truths that come ultimately from, and are fulfilled in, Christ. The author of this contribution has searched for John Wu’s universal traits which go beyond any culture and calls them, metaphorically, a “ladder”. He has found a threefold ladder, i.e. that of the Christian faith, of human friendship and human and divine love, and that of natural law.