# Hội đồng tứ giáo

Hội đồng tứ giáo (chữ Hán: 會同四教; literally 'assembly of the Four Teachings') is a significant Vietnamese Catholic text recording a meeting between two imprisoned Catholics—one foreign and one Vietnamese—who engage in a theological debate with adherents of the three teachings (三教 tam giáo), which respectively refer to Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. The book was written in Vietnamese using the chữ Nôm script as was common with most Vietnamese Catholic texts. The book was later translated into Literary Chinese.

## Background

The book is set in 18th-century Tonkin (Đàng Ngoài; 塘外) during the reign of Cảnh Hưng (1740–1786), who was the ruling emperor, while real power was held by Trịnh Sâm (chữ Hán: 鄭森; 1739–1782). Below are the opening sentences from the text.
   課代德𤤰黎𱺵𤤰景興。主鄭𱺵靖都王固扒特𠄩柴奇。沒柴方西沒柴本國㩜於几𢄂在庫彭。
   Thuở đời Đức Vua Lê là vua Cảnh Hưng. Chúa Trịnh là Tĩnh Đô Vương có bắt được hai thầy cả. Một thầy phương Tây, một thầy bản quốc, giam ở Kẻ Chợ tại Khố Bành.
   During the reign of the righteous Emperor Lê (黎), known as Emperor Cảnh Hưng (景興), Lord Trịnh (主鄭), titled Tĩnh Đô Vương (靖都王), captured two great teachers: one from the West and one from the homeland. They were imprisoned in Kẻ Chợ (几𢄂) at Khố Bành (庫彭).
The two teachers that were captured have been theorised to be the Dominican missionary, Jacinto Castañeda (1743–1773) and a Vietnamese priest, Vicente Phạm Hiếu Liêm (1732–1773). However, there is ongoing controversy surrounding the true identities of the two teachers and the origins of the text, with various theories debating the historical accuracy and authenticity of its accounts.
The conference was hosted by a sixth-rank official referred to in the text as 茹官𦒹 (nhà quan sáu) who was an uncle of Trịnh Sâm. His mother was referred to as 德上㻸 (Đức Thượng Trâm) who was a devote Catholic. The official who wanted to be filial to his mother, the official organized the conference to explore whether the Catholic faith could be considered a heterodox religion. The conference featured four participants: the Western scholar (西士 Tây sĩ), the Confucian (儒士 Nho sĩ), the Buddhist monk (柴和尚 thầy Hoà thượng), and the Taoist master (柴法師 thầy Pháp sư).
Throughout the discussions, the text references various works such as the Great Learning (大學), Xìnglǐ Dàquán (性理大全), Tao Te Ching (道德經), Amitābha Sūtra (南無阿彌陀佛經), etc. The Western scholar (西士 Tây sĩ), one of the Catholic priests who had been captured, draws upon quotes from Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist texts to bolster his arguments.
   箕經易浪。惟皇上帝降。衷于下民。吏周書浪。克相上帝。𫳭綏四方。吏如經詩大雅浪。上帝臨汝。詩执競浪。上帝是皇。吏詩蕩浪。蕩蕩上帝。下民之辟。詩臣工浪。明昭上帝。迄用康年。…意儒家之所謂上帝者。卽聖經之所謂天主也。
   Kìa Kinh Dịch rằng: "Duy Hoàng Thượng Đế giáng, trung vu hạ dân." Lại Chu Thư rằng: "Khắc tương Thượng Đế, sủng tuy tứ phương." Lại như Kinh Thi, thi Đại Nhã rằng: "Thượng Đế lâm nhữ"; Thi Chấp Cạnh rằng: "Thượng Đế Thị Hoàng"; Lại thi Đãng rằng: "Đãng đãng Thượng Đế, hạ dân chi bích"; thi Thần Công rằng: "Minh chiêu Thượng Đế, ngật dụng khanh niên"... Ấy Nho gia chi sở vị Thượng Đế giả, tức Thánh Kinh chi sở vị Thiên Chúa dã.
   Here the Book of Changes said: "Only 上帝 descends and communicates with the lower people"; Moreover, the Book of Zhou said: "To conquer and serve 上帝 and maintain peace in all four directions"; Also, as the Book of Songs, Dàyǎ states: "上帝 visits you."; The poem of Zhíjìng states: "上帝 is throned"; Again, the poem of Dàng says: "Oh how Majestic, 上帝 is, the ruler of the people below"; the poem of Chén Gōng says: "Bright and magnificent, 上帝, will give us a year of good to enjoy"... That which Confucianism calls 上帝 is the same as 'Heavenly Lord' in the Bible.
The Western scholar's strategy was consistent with Matteo Ricci's approach to proselytizing. As the scholar uses Chinese classics which are well known to explain and justify Catholic ideas.
The book refers to Catholicism as đạo Hoa Lang (道花郞), Hoa Lang (花郞) was an old Vietnamese exonym for Portugal. This exonym was also used in the Complete Annals of Đại Việt (Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư; 大越史記全書):
   冬十月，禁天下學花郎道。
   Đông thập nguyệt, cấm thiên hạ học Hoa Lang đạo.
   Mùa đông, tháng 10, cấm người trong nước học đạo Hoa Lang.
   In the winter, during the 10th month, a ban was issued prohibiting people in the country from studying the Hoa Lang religion.

## Contents

The book consists of three chapters, each addressing a distinct topic of discussion that took place during the three-day conference.
* Chapter one (What is the origin of humans? Where do they come from, and for what purpose do they exist?) - [Ngày thứ nhất], vậy điều Nhất viết, nhân chi bản nguyên, sinh tự hà lai là làm sao? (丕調一曰：人之本原。生自何來𱺵𫜵牢？)
* Chapter two (What about the present state of humans? How should one live in the world?) - Ngày thứ hai, giải điều Nhị viết, nhân chi hiện tại, tại thế hà như? (𣈜次𠄩。解調二曰：人之現在。在世何如？)
* Chapter three (What is the ultimate fate of humans? Where do they go after death?) - Ngày thứ ba, giải câu Tam viết, nhân chi cứu cánh, tử vãng hà sở? (𣈜次𠀧。解勾三曰：人之究竟。死往何所？)

## Editions

* Hội đồng tứ giáo 會同四教 (1864 天主降生壹千捌百陸拾肆載) - Vietnamese edition
* Hội đồng tứ giáo 會同四教 (1924 天主降生一千九百二十四載歳次甲子 and 1911 歳次辛亥伸春月上浣穀日) - Vietnamese and Literary Chinese edition
* Hội đồng tứ giáo 會同四教 (1867 歳次丁卯孟秋月下浣穀日) - Literary Chinese edition