The Many Faces of Our Lady: Early Chinese Texts and Images of the Virgin Mary

Abstract

This article explores the emergence and early development of Marian devotions in China from the 7th century to the 17th century. By using a group of key texts and images, it uncovers how Catholic missionaries (especially the Jesuits) made strategic efforts to promote Mary as an unparalleled model character of all virtues in line with the established Confucian norms, and how Chinese people in their first encounters with this prominent Christian icon developed different understandings and representations. As it turned out, the entanglement of religiosity, morality, and ideology underpinned the formation of a composite image of Mary, whose many faces constituted a marginal but persistent Marian culture in late imperial Chinese society.