Doctrina Christiana

The Doctrina Christiana ('Christian Doctrine') were two important early books about the teachings of the Catholic Church. Both books were printed in 1593 in Manila, in the Philippines. They are two of the earliest printed books in the Philippines.

One book, called the Doctrina Christiana en letra y lengua China, was written by Fray Juan Cobo and Fray Miguel de Benavides. It was printed by a Chinese printer named Keng Yong. The other book, called the Doctrina Christiana en lengua española y tagala, was written by Fray Juan de Plasencia.

In 2024, the Doctrina Christiana en Lengua Española y Tagala was chosen for the UNESCO Memory of the World Register – Asia and the Pacific. This shows how important these old books are for understanding history and culture.

Title

The Doctrina Christiana en lengua española y tagala was written in Early Modern Spanish and Classical Tagalog using both Latin and Baybayin script.

The Doctrina Christiana en letra y lengua china was written in Early Manila Hokkien Chinese using Chinese characters with some Early Modern Spanish in Latin script.

History

The Doctrina Christiana were two important books about Catholic teachings, printed in Manila, Philippines, in 1593. They are some of the earliest books printed in the Philippines. One version was written in the Chinese language and was created by Fray Juan Cobo and Fray Miguel de Benavides with help from a Chinese printer named Keng Yong.

An early leader of the Philippines, Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas, wrote to King Philip II of Spain in 1593 about these books. He said they were important for teaching people in the Philippines about Catholic beliefs. These books were similar to others printed in places like Mexico and Goa. Today, very few copies of these old books still exist. The only known copy of the Tagalog version is in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, while the only known copy of the Chinese version is in the Vatican Library.

Contents

The Doctrina Christiana means "The Teachings of Christianity." Its main goal was to share Christian teachings throughout the Philippines. The book has 38 leaves and 74 pages of text in Spanish, Tagalog written with our usual letters, and Tagalog in its original script. It features a picture of Saint Dominic.

After a list of sounds, the book includes important prayers such as the Lord's Prayer, Hail Mary, Credo, and Salve Regina. It also covers key beliefs, the Ten Commandments, the Sacraments, and other important Christian ideas.

Characteristics

The book was printed on paper made from mulberry. It measures about 9 and a quarter inches by 7 inches, though the size can vary a little because some pages have come apart. The book was printed using a special method where each page was created from a single carved wooden block. You can see the wood grain in the printed pages, showing how it was made.