中文

在明末文化交流史中，利玛窦（Matteo Ricci, 1552–1610）的传教活动占有重要地位，而《天主实义》作为其代表性中文著作，长期以来被视为中西宗教思想碰撞的关键文本。其中，1599年利玛窦与临济宗僧人雪浪洪恩在南京的论辩（史称“耶佛之辩”），常被学界认为对《天主实义》的成书与修订产生了直接影响。梅谦立、史景迁等学者皆曾从不同角度论证二者的关联，部分研究甚至试图将书中具体章节与洪恩之言一一对应。然而，这种做法往往忽视了文本自身的演变过程与文体特征，从而导致“事件即文本”的简化推论。通过文献学与思想史交叉视野下的考证，能够重新理解利玛窦与洪恩辩论及其与《天主实义》的关系。

English

In the history of cultural exchange during the late Ming dynasty, the missionary activities of Matteo Ricci (1552–1610) occupy a pivotal position. His Chinese work The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven (Tianzhu Shiyi) has long been regarded as a key text in the encounter and confrontation between Chinese and Western religious thought. Among the notable events, the 1599 debate in Nanjing between Ricci and the Linji sect monk Xuelang Hong’en—known in historiography as the “Debate Between Christianity and Buddhism” (Yefo zhi bian)—is often considered by scholars to have directly influenced the composition and subsequent revision of The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven.

Scholars such as Thierry Meynard (梅谦立) and Jonathan Spence (史景迁) have argued for the connection between the two from different perspectives, and some studies have even attempted to match specific chapters of the book with Hong’en’s recorded statements. However, this approach frequently overlooks the text’s own process of development and its literary characteristics, resulting in an oversimplified assumption that the “event equals the text.”

By re-examining this issue through the combined lenses of textual scholarship and intellectual history, we can gain a renewed understanding of the debate between Ricci and Hong’en, as well as its relationship to The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven.