In ancient China the heart was seen as the seat of deliberation, since it was conceived as the “ruler of the body”
An artistic red-orange heart on a yellow checkered background, featuring the Chinese character "心" in black, symbolizing heart or mind.(Photo supplied)
Published: September 24, 2025 05:09 AM GMT
Updated: September 24, 2025 09:10 AM GMT
Pope Francis’ encyclical Dilexit Nos (DN) presents devotion to the heart of Jesus, placing it in a beautiful preliminary meditation on the richness of the term “heart” in different languages and cultures. References to “heart” in Greek and the Bible naturally predominate.
Francis insists that the word designates the center, the depth of being, and also the place where thoughts and feelings come together so that the whole person – soul and body – becomes unified (cf. DN 3).
Today, talking about the heart, using the word “heart” without reluctance, means drawing the attention of all of us to a hidden depth, to our innermost being, beyond those supposedly “clear and distinct ideas” which are, for example, associated with will, freedom and reason (cf. DN 9-10).
Here we propose to explore the fundamental premises on which Francis’ encyclical is structured, in the light of another tradition in which scholars have reflected deeply on the heart and written extensively about it, namely Chinese writings prior to the end of the Western Han dynasty, which coincides more or less with the beginning of the Christian era.
From the 5th to the 1st century BC, the theme of the heart permeated all areas of Chinese thought: the conception of the human person and the relationship, among other areas, with Heaven, ethics, politics and medicine. Not surprisingly different authors emphasize different aspects: the theme of the heart is so rich that it takes on very different meanings depending on the systems of thought or activity in which it is inserted.
Read the complete article here.
This article is brought to you by UCA News in association with "La Civiltà Cattolica."