Beyond East and West

by John C.H. Wu

When John C. H. Wu’s spiritual autobiography Beyond East and West was published in 1951, it became an instant Catholic best seller and was compared to Thomas Merton’s The Seven Storey Mountain , which had appeared four years earlier. It was also hailed as the new Confession of St. Augustine for its moving description of Wu’s conversion in 1937 and early years as a Catholic. This new edition, including a foreward written by Wu’s son John Wu, Jr., makes this profoundly beautiful book by one of the most influential Chinese lay Catholic intellectuals of the twentieth century available for a new generation of readers hungry for spiritual sustenance. Beyond East and West recounts the story of Wu’s early life in Ningpo, China, his family and friendships, education and law career, drafting of the constitution of the Republic of China, translation of the Bible into classical Chinese in collaboration with Chinese president Chiang Kai-Shek, and his role as China’s delegate to the Holy See. In passages of arresting beauty, the book reveals the development of his thought and the progress of his growth toward love of God, arriving through experience at the conclusion that the wisdom in all of China’s traditions, especially Confucian thought, Taoism, and Buddhism, point to universal truths that come from, and are fulfilled in, Christ. In Beyond East and West , Wu develops a synthesis between Catholicism and the ancient culture of the Orient. A sublime expression of faith, here is a book for anyone who seeks the peace of the spirit, a memorable book whose ideas will linger long after its pages are closed.

Genres: Biography, Catholic, China

412 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

John went by the name of Wu Ching-hsiung until his conversion, when he was baptized John.

Graduating with honors from the Suzhou Comparative Law School of China in Shanghai, in 1920, Mr. Wu went to the University of Michigan Law School, where he received the degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1921. Later he did graduate work at the Sorbonne, the University of Berlin and Harvard University Law School. He maintained a correspondence with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., from his time as a student, and later produced scholarly work examining Holmes' legal thought.

He has honorary degrees from Boston College, St. John's University and the University of Portland.

Previously a Methodist, he was a convert to Roman Catholicism after reading Thérèse of Lisieux's biography.

Wu served as an adviser in the Chinese delegation to the 1945 United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco and served as the Chinese ambassador to the Vatican in 1947-49. In 1957, Wu was appointed a judge of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague. After the Chinese Communist Revolution, Wu worked as a professor at the Seton Hall University School of Law in New Jersey until retiring to Taiwan in 1967.

Reviews

[Margaret Anscombe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was fascinating to read about life in China during the first half of the twentieth century. Wu's upbringing was so different from anything I'd ever read about. He was raised my his father's first wife because his father's second wife, Wu's biological mother, died when he was four, and Wu's father also died when he was young. Already that seemed different from most people's upbringings, but I was very surprised that his stepmother showered love on him and he adored her back. It was refreshing to read about, since it's so different from what you might have expected, especially since the stepmother was jealous of Wu's biological mother.

He was also betrothed to be married at the age of six and didn't meet his wife until the day of their wedding. I loved how when someone asked him how he could love his wife if he didn't choose her he said something along the lines of, "Well, you didn't choose your parents or your siblings, but you love them, don't you?" Not the exact quote, but the sentiment was an interesting one.

Wu's perspective on Christianity was interesting because he grew up memorizing and reading Confucius and Lao Tzu, besides being pretty heavily immersed in Buddhism. His view of Christianity was quite new to me as an American, and quite fascinating because I was raised Christian and often don't think about how different Christianity would seem if you came to it later in life from an outside perspective.

It was astonishing to me how quickly he went from being a guy who visited prostitutes (his poor wife) to a guy who was a faithful and sincerely pious Catholic after his conversion. His complete change of heart really shows the power of God because I don't think anyone could make such a complete turnaround so quickly all on their own. His conversion gave me hope that our society can transform for the better much quicker than I otherwise would hope. With God, nothing is impossible.

The book was full of clever quotes. I can see why he was sometimes referred to as the Chinese Chesterton by his contemporaries, but I liked him a bit better than Chesterton. He seemed more relatable to me.

[Mary]

Another book that I feel it would be presumptious of me to rate. I am very glad I read it. I was introduced to John Wu through a ThinkND series on Christianity in China. This edition of Wu's memoir is published by Notre Dame Press and one of the presenters, Robert Gimello, was a student of Wu's at Seton Hall. Wu's perspective is that the traditional religions of China were part of his "dowry" that he brought to his conversion to Catholic Christianity. He stressed his love for the mother that he found in his faith.

Wu was an amazing man who contributed to translations of the Psalms and New Testament into classical Chinese, who was an envoy to the Vatican, who wrote part of the constitution of Nationalist China, and who had a family of 13 children.

I did get a little impatient with his habit of quoting at some length passages from letters (Oliver Wendell Holmes) or poetry or speeches that he gave (his own and the Pope's in response). But they were all important aspects of his story--even if they broke up the flow of his own recollections.

[Marcel De La Croix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beyond East and West by John Wu (28 March 1899 - 6 February 1986). The conversion story of John Wu, previously a Methodist and converted to Catholicism at the age of 39, is an excellent story. He owed his conversion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to St Therese of Lisieux and to many other great saints! He was a brilliant Chinese jurist and was the Vice Chairman of China's Legislative Council. He was the principal author of the Constitution of the Republic of China. He became the Ambassador to the Vatican in 1946 after being a Catholic for just 8 years. He came from the elite of China but, at the same time, he was a humble person. He could be considered as the St. Augustine of the East. His conversion brought forth many conversions within his family, relatives, friends and colleagues. The Vatican should look into the process of his canonization.

[Lillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Wu's perspective is truly Chinese and truly Catholic. The depth of understanding of Chinese culture and thought integrated into Catholic expression and prayer touched my soul. And also some sections were just hard to follow.

[Jean Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book I've read in a long time.