On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the episcopal ordination of Mons. Li Shan exhibits a sample of 41 panels in the archiepiscopal palace of the capital that reinterprets the history of Christianity in China according to the directives of Xi Jinping. Giving more importance to patriotism than to Matteo Ricci.
Milan () – The keyword that the Beijing authorities insist on every time they talk about the role of religions in the country has long been “sinicization”. President Xi Jinping, in his flowing speech celebrating his third term at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, vowed to continue his commitment “to the sinicization of religion and guide the adaptation of religion to the Chinese context already socialist society.” But what exactly does sinicization mean?
An emblematic example of the way in which official bodies want this directive to be interpreted can be seen in an exhibition that was inaugurated a few days ago in the episcopal palace in Beijing on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the episcopal ordination of Mons. Joseph Li Shan, the archbishop of the capital appointed in 2007 with the consent of the Holy See, even before the signing of the 2018 provisional agreement. For a few months Li Shan has also been president of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, the body ” official” through which the government controls the activity of the Church in China. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why they wanted to commemorate the anniversary with a sign that explicitly recalls the directive that Xi Jinping insists on.
The exhibition is titled “Honor the sky and love the homeland. The history of the Sinicization of Catholicism in Beijing”, consists of 41 panels with more than 600 images, and – explains an official note from the diocese – “required almost 16 months of work and was the subject of five cycles of discussions among experts, with many drafts and successive redactions, to systematically order and exhaustively summarize the historical process of the sinicization of Catholicism in Beijing”.
The introductory panel explains that the purpose of the initiative is to “continue to promote the Sinicization of Catholicism, better understand General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important statement on religion, promote excellent Chinese culture, strengthen cultural confidence, and explore the rich Catholic cultural resources.” of Beijing”.
Patriotism is clearly the central theme, which can already be seen in the pictures of the exhibition posted by the Beijing diocese’s WeChat account. In the section on the historical origins of sinicization appears the image of the great Jesuit Matteo Ricci and some examples of the first significant attempts at inculturation. Overall, however, much more prominence is given to the history of patriotic organizations, with the central image of Archbishop Fu Tieshan (1931-2007), a key figure in Beijing for the affirmation of the idea of an “autonomous” Church with respect to scent.
