Religious Studies in Contemporary China Collection – serie

This volume contains the English translation of articles selected from Religious Studies in Contemporary China Collection: Buddhism (Dangdai Zhongguo zongjiao yanjiu jingxuan: Fojiao juan) edited by Lou Yulie. All the articles in this volume were originally published in Chinese during the last two decades and thus represent trends of recent scholarship on Buddhist studies in China. Although these articles represent a small portion of the scholarly output, we will notice some common interests shared by the Chinese scholars of Buddhist studies and their counterparts in the west. Buddhist scholars on both sides of the Pacific are paying attention to the relationship between Buddhism and Daoism, the question of indigenous scriptures, the social and ritualistic dimension of Buddhism revealed in artistic creations and the interaction and mutual influences between Chinese and the larger Buddhist world.

Chinese Christianity is fascinating and perplexing. Yet, although its existence can be dated back to the Tang Dynasty, when Christianity, in the form of Nestorianism, first arrived in China, it has not been extensively researched by Chinese academics. This volume is devoted to this topic and consists of twelve chapters, written mostly by leading mainland Chinese scholars. These writings shed light on five themes: epistemological reflection on Chinese Christian theology; interactions between Christianity and Chinese culture; the empirical and historical examination of Christian ethics and social development in China; the Chinese understanding of the Bible as literature; and the remarkable contribution that Christianity has made to Chinese higher education and cultural exchange with the external world.

Religious Studies in Contemporary China Collection, Taoism gathers together English translations of seventeen articles originally published in the People’s Republic of China between 1947 and 2006, and republished together in 2008 as part of an edited volume of representative works in PRC Taoist studies. While only part of the volume edited by Professor Mou was selected for translation in the present project, the aim remains the same: showcasing representative works of Taoist studies in mainland China, including early articles that were widely influential although they may now be superseded in some aspects by more recent research. Most of the major scholars of Taoist studies in the PRC are represented in this anthology, and many of them have never had any of their work translated into any Western language before; it is hoped that the present volume will draw readers to their scholarship and inspire them to read their books and articles in Chinese.

This important collection of articles by leading Chinese scholars of Islamic studies reflects current thinking about the past and present condition of Islam in China. It has a strong focus on China’s north-west, the most important region for the study of Islam in China. Most contributions relate to the Hui (Chinese-speaking) Muslims of Gansu and Qinghai provinces and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region but there are also chapters on the Uyghurs of Xinjiang. An important feature of this book is the attention paid to the Sufi orders: the role of these networks, which embody an inner-directed and mystical aspect of Islam, is crucial to the understanding of Muslim communities in both historical and contemporary China.

Popular Religion and Shamanism addresses two areas of religion within Chinese society; the lay teachings that Chinese scholars term folk or “popular” religion, and shamanism. Each area represents a distinct tradition of scholarship, and the book is therefore split into two parts. Part I: Popular Religion discusses the evolution of organized lay movements over an arc of ten centuries. Its eight chapters focus on three key points: the arrival and integration of new ideas before the Song dynasty, the coalescence of an intellectual and scriptural tradition during the Ming, and the efflorescence of new organizations during the late Qing.Part II: Shamanism reflects the revived interest of scholars in traditional beliefs and culture that reemerged with the “open” policy in China that occurred in the 1970s. Two of the essays included in this section address shamanism in northeast China where the traditions played an important role in the cultures of the Manchu, Mongol, Sibe, Daur, Oroqen, Evenki, and Hezhen. The other essay discusses divination rites in a local culture of southwest China. Both sections of Popular Religion and Shamanism will introduce Western readers to the ideas of Chinese scholars, not just their data.