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- Katherine Alexander, University of Colorado in Boulder
亞天恩, 美國科羅拉多大學博爾德分校
TBATBA
- Marcus Bingenheimer, University of Temple
馬德偉, 美國天普大學
TBATBA
- Cao Xinyu
曹馨宇
TBATBA
- Philip Clart, Leipzig University
柯若樸, 德國萊比錫大學
TBATBA
- Yingjin Chen, Beijing Language and Culture University
陳映錦, 北京語言大學
羯磨文本在中國早期的翻譯與製作TBA
- Deng Shengtao, Tsinghua University
鄧盛濤, 清華大學
夢授經與中古中國宗教經典的形成——以觀世音經、咒的產生與傳播為中心
Dream-Delivered Scriptures and the Formation of Religious Texts in Medieval China: The Origins and Transmission of the Guanyin Sutra and Its Mantras
本文主要關注中古中國宗教傳統中一種經典文本的產生方式，即通過夢中授予某種文本而成為宗教經典。本文主要考察源自於中國唐以前觀音夢授經典——《十句觀世音經》、《高王觀世音經》、《白衣觀音大士靈感神咒》。作為非譯自印度，而是漢地自生的文本，本文力求探討其經典性與神聖性的來源。通過對此系列經進行分析，本文希望探尋其文本的形成過程中與天臺法華、淨土、密宗思想的關聯。同時，通過還原此系列文本產生的具體的生活場景、歷史背景，揭示出觀世音經、咒成為經典過程中的信仰、政治與社會等因素的互動。隨後，本文也關注此系列經在北朝、隋唐、宋、元、明、清與日本的書寫、印刷及傳播過程。通過對其不同版本的梳理與分析，釐清此系列經的傳播與時間、地域之間的關係。本文也試圖探尋改系列經在明清時代，如何從佛教中觀音系統的經典而逐漸走向民間社會，成為中國乃至東亞民間普遍信仰的宗教經典。最後，結合該系列經在中國近代以及現當代傳播過程中的所遭受的懷疑、挑戰及所獲得的機遇，反思生產與傳播神聖性經典文本對於當今地球文明的存續的特殊意義。
- Ryan Dunch, University of Alberta
加拿大阿爾伯塔大學
The Production, Circulation, and Impact of Protestant Print Culture in Qing China: Questions and some answersMuch of the scholarship in China and abroad related to Christian publishing in Chinese has come under the rubric of its place in Chinese/western cultural contact and global history of ideas – 西學東漸 as a dominant framework (including work on science and medicine, and on key moments such as the 1898 reform movement). Mission publishing as a vector of technological innovation in movable type printing has been another focus. These approaches are valid and important. The Chinese/western cultural contact paradigm is particularly significant within China, where is provides a relatively “acceptable” framing for scholarly work on Chinese Christianity during a challenging period for the academic study of religion. However, the religious content and imagery of Christian publications also demands attention, and this conference will provide a great opportunity to think together across disciplinary/religious boundaries. In particular, I would like to pose questions and learn from colleagues about illustrations in printed religious works, pricing and funding, language choice in relation to particular religious communities and subsets of readers (e.g. “dialect” works, publications in romanized or other scripts, works for female readers, etc.), orality in print materials (liturgical books, hymn books), and the role of print culture in stimulating and spreading readership as a shared social experience.
- Noga Ganany, University of Cambridge
高諾佳, 英國劍橋大學
Buddhist Hagiographies in Ming Print CultureTBA
- Vincent Goossaert, École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE)
高萬桑, 法國高等研究實踐學院
TBATBA
- Hu Jiechen, Fudan University
胡劼辰, 復旦大學
TBATBA
- Lan Yangyang
TBATBA
- Can Li, Beijing Foreign Studies University
李燦, 北京外國語大學
《無熱惱龍王所問經》失傳漢譯本殘片及其歸於鳩摩羅什的可能性TBA
- Wei Li, Suzhou University
李薇, 蘇州大學
敦煌文獻中的律抄與律學的發展TBA
- Yang Luo, Arizona State University
羅洋, 美國阿利桑那州立大學
Printing for Remembrance, Self-Preservation, and Authoritativeness: The Collaborative Printing of Daoist Texts by Prince Hongzhou and Lou JinyuanThis study examines the intersection of imperial patronage, religious practice, and print culture in 18th-century China through a focused study of the Daoist priest Lou Jinyuan (1689-1776) and his relationship with the Yongzheng (1678-1735) and Qianlong (1711-1799) emperors, as well as Prince Hongzhou (1712-1770). Lou Jinyuan rose to prominence as a favored ritual specialist of the Yongzheng Emperor. He gained renown for effectively performing rituals dedicated to the Mother of the Big Dipper, earning him imperial favor and various titles. Under the subsequent Qianlong reign, Lou continued to enjoy imperial support, culminating in his appointment as director of the Central Daoist Registry.
This paper analyzes Lou Jinyuan’s efforts to standardize Daoist ritual texts, particularly through his publication of the Rituals of the Yellow Register, Oblatory Refinement Rituals of Grand Culmination and Numinous Gem, and The Esoteric Rituals of Reporting to the Great Brahma of Primordial Heaven during the Qianlong period. It argues that Lou’s use of innovative color-coded printing techniques in these publications, especially the four-color printing of The Esoteric Rituals of Reporting to the Great Brahma of Primordial Heaven, reflects a deliberate attempt to establish authoritative versions of these critical ritual texts.
Furthermore, this study explores the crucial role of Prince Hongzhou, the fifth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, in supporting Lou Jinyuan’s publishing endeavors. By examining Hongzhou’s personal writings and his known interest in Daoism, mirroring his father’s, the paper posits that his patronage of Lou’s printing projects served as a means to commemorate his deceased father and express his filial piety. Additionally, the political context of the early Qianlong reign, marked by concerns about potential usurpation from within the imperial clan, suggests that Hongzhou’s engagement in cultural activities like publishing Daoist texts may have been a strategic move to demonstrate his lack of political ambition and ensure his own safety. Thus, this paper illuminates the complex interplay between religious practice, imperial politics, and print culture in the Qing dynasty, demonstrating how the authoritativeness of Daoist rituals became entangled with expressions of filial devotion and political self-preservation.
- Ching Hsuan Mei, Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts
梅靜軒, 法鼓文理學院
The Transmission of Lamps: A Preliminary Study on the Publications of Chan Literature in Nineteenth-Century VietnamThis study investigates the dissemination and circulation of Chan texts in Vietnam from the 18th to the early 20th century, drawing on insights from the prefaces and publication contexts of these works. It aims to elucidate the distinctive characteristics of Vietnamese Buddhist culture while shedding light on broader patterns of cultural and religious exchange between China and Vietnam. Two particularly significant collections are Khóa hư lục and Đại Nam thiền uyển truyền đăng tập lục. The former, specifically the Khóa hư lục edition published by Hoa An Temple, is commonly attributed to Huệ Hiền in the mid-18th century, while the latter was edited and published by Venerable Phúc Điền in 1850s.
These Chan texts, refined and transmitted through generations of monastic scholars, represent collective intellectual and spiritual endeavors. In his Essays on the History of Vietnamese Buddhism, Nguyễn Lang offered a preliminary analysis of these texts, identifying certain inaccuracies. However, it remains an open question whether these errors are merely instances of misattribution or indicative of more complex underlying considerations. Under the significant influence of Chinese Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist traditions, how did Vietnamese monks construct their historical narratives of Buddhism? In what ways did they articulate the unique features of Vietnamese Buddhist thought and practice? Which distinctive elements of Buddhist praxis were emphasized, and how were these connected to the broader political and social milieu of the time?
This paper draws upon Chan texts written in classical Chinese, housed in repositories such as the National Library of Vietnam and the Vietnam Han-Nôm Han-Nom Manuscripts Database. By analyzing these materials, this study seeks to provide a more nuanced understanding of the development and historical discourse of Vietnamese Buddhism during this period, laying a foundation for further specialized research in this field.
- Mori Yuria, Waseda University
森 由利亜, 日本早稲田大学
TBATBA
- Gregory Scott, University of Manchester
史瑞戈, 英國曼徹斯特大學
TBATBA
- Shiga Ichiko, Ibaraki Christian University
志賀市子, 日本茨城キリスト教大学
TBATBA
- Chuah Meng (Esmond) Soh, University of Cambridge
苏泉铭, 英国剑桥大学
So Important, It’s Peripheral: The Paradox of a Canon in the Religion of Compassion in Southeast AsiaThe Religion of Compassion (Cijiao, 慈教), also known as the Ritual Teachings of Huanglao Xianshi 黄老仙师法门, is a Chinese sectarian movement established among the overseas Chinese in Malaysia and Singapore during the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960). Unlike many Chinese sectarian religions reliant on a corpus of accepted texts, the Cijiao remains rooted in spirit-medium practices and ritual performance. Following elaborate initiation ceremonies, disciples of Huanglao Xianshi were empowered to author talismans, perform martial arts, and conduct exorcisms for the benefit of their communities. A select few became spirit-mediums for the movement’s three main deities—Huanglao Xianshi, Taishang Laojun 太上老君, and Dasheng Fozu 大圣佛祖 (alias Sun Wukong)—who collectively symbolised the Three Teachings 三教 of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism.
This study examines the Cijiao’s canonical text, the Huanglao Xianshi’s Book of Ethical Values 黄老仙师道理书, exploring its origins, social history, contents, circulation, and role within the movement. A paradox emerges: while the text provides a foundation for ethical reform that initiates are expected to master, its influence on ritual practices and spiritual efficacy is negligible. Instead, the movement’s vitality lies in spirit-medium practices and ritual performance, largely independent of the book’s teachings. This tension is illustrated by a controversy in which Huanglao Xianshi—through the movement’s founder—“sealed” a powerful path of ritual initiation, citing its misuse by morally questionable practitioners.
Despite its limited role in the movement’s practical operations and appeal, the reprinting and circulation of The Book of Ethical Values in Cijiao temples serve several critical functions. First, even amid the fissiparous nature of the Cijiao’s temples—driven in part by the diverse oral revelations of its spirit-mediums—the consistent production and dissemination of the text underscore its dual role as a unifying and legitimising feature. Second, its physical presence in Cijiao temples distinguishes the movement from other spirit-medium cults that rely solely on orality for religious instruction, while signalling a commitment to ethical transformation. Although its doctrinal contents are often detached from its adherents’ lived experiences, the text’s very physical presence remains critical to anchoring the movement’s identity, fostering cohesion across its temples, and adapting to evolving contexts.
- Jie Wang, University of Cambridge
英國劍橋大學
Texts by Road and Rail: Arabic-Language Schools and Post-1978 Faith Cultivation of Hui CommunitiesResponding to the two-decades-long break from Islamic learning and transmission – from the 1950s to mid-1970s – as well as to the external environment of economic reform and cultural decentralisation unleashed across mainland China from 1978, Arabic-language schools (or, Islamic faith schools) founded and operated by Hui Muslims assumed responsibility to produce and disseminate Islamic knowledge within Hui communities, locally, from afar, and beyond the mainland. This was achieved through their own Islamic periodicals operated under the aegis of Muslim charity. No longer constrained behind the physical walls of a school, religious texts aimed to reach a wider Hui readership.
This presentation values Arabic-language schools as an institutional archetype as the producer and disseminator of Islamic knowledge, and a type of a discrete sociocultural unit that constitutes one of the most foundational components of, and features in, the landscape of Sino-Islamic faith education since 1978. Specifically, discussion here presents a story of how the Hui Muslims attached to these schools employed printing press technology and the postal service infrastructure, on their own terms, to cultivate the Hui population’s faith. Their activities of various kinds constituted an experience and process of Hui self-education and the self-making of Muslims, as well as of their remote socialization and networking with Hui readers.
- Junqi Wang, Renmin University of China
王俊琪, 中國人民大學
《大悲咒》神像的傳統與遞變TBA
- Lina Wang, National Library of China
王麗娜, 國家圖書館
平館學人與近代中國佛道教文獻出版研究TBA
- Peng Wang, École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE)
法國高等研究實踐學院
The Textual Pantheon in Daozang Jiyao: With a Focus on Immortal Tan and His Book of TransformationsAs Stephen Bokenkamp observed in Early Chinese Religion, the concept of the pantheon was once central to the study of religion but has received less attention in recent years. Lennert Gesterkamp’s analysis of Daoist deities from an iconographic perspective could also be interpreted as an exploration of the Daoist pantheon. However, significant gaps remain in this area. My research addresses an overlooked aspect: the textual pantheon of Daoism, constructed and presented through texts rather than visual or architectural forms. This study focuses on the Daozang Jiyao (Essentials of the Daoist Canon), the last authoritative Daoist collection of late imperial China, based on the printed edition preserved at the IHEC of Collège de France.
Authoritative religious collections are vital not only for preserving texts that might otherwise have been lost but also for reflecting the compilers’ and publishers’ religious intentions and inclinations. These collections provide invaluable insights into the broader religious context and the practices of their creators. Following the Ming dynasty’s Daoist Canon and its Supplement, no further state-sanctioned Daoist collections were produced. The Daozang Jiyao, which has recently garnered scholarly attention, was compiled and printed by the Jueyuan Altar, a prominent Daoist spirit- writing group. This group, centering its faith on Lü Dongbin as patriarch, prioritized internal alchemy as its core practice. After publishing a comprehensive collection of texts related to Lü Dongbin, the group compiled the Daozang Jiyao.
While scholars such as Monica Esposito and Lai Chi Tim have emphasized the centrality of Lü Dongbin and related texts within this collection, the structure and implications of the parts of the collection remain underexplored. Divided into 28 sections corresponding to the traditional Chinese system of the 28 lunar mansions, each section contains multiple texts. Lai Chi Tim and others have identified Lü Dongbin- related texts as occupying the central 13th and 14th sections. However, the significance of the surrounding texts has yet to be thoroughly analyzed.
My research argues that the arrangement of texts surrounding the 13th and 14th sections was deliberate, reflecting the historical development and transmission of internal alchemy. This structure underscores the roles of specific deities, immortals, and patriarchs, along with their representative texts, in the history of internal alchemy. Additionally, the arrangement aligns with the symbolic meaning of the 28 lunar mansions. Using the Book of Transformations (Huashu), a key text from the 12th section, as a case study, I will demonstrate how specific figures and their texts constitute this unique textual pantheon. Unlike Gesterkamp’s focus on iconopraxis, my study highlights the role of textual practice in shaping religious belief and constructing a pantheon through textual means.
- Valentina (Lingyan) Yang, Catholic University of Leuven
楊靈艷, 比利時 魯汶天主教大學
Intercultural Morality Books: Exploring Chinese-Christian Interactions in the Religious Publishing World of 17th Century China跨文化善書：探究17世紀中國宗教出版中的中西互動
This research examines the production and uses of religious texts, specifically morality books shanshu 善書, in the context of Chinese-Christian cultural interaction in 17th-century China. Morality books have greatly attracted scholarly attention for their value in studying various aspects of Chinese society and history, offering insights into the deep entanglements of the diverse religious institutions and traditions within the vibrant religious and moral publishing landscape of early modern China. However, it is much less common to discuss morality books in relation to Christianity and Chinese Christian communities that emerged in this period. Did Chinese Christian literati participate in this cultural practice, widely embraced by the contemporary literate population? Indeed, they did. Unlike the moral publications by later missionary presses, these early Chinese Christian morality books were actively written and circulated by Christian converts as part of their own self-cultivation and religious pursuits.
This research will explore how morality books were produced and used within such exchanges. First, by intermingling textual material and concepts of morality and religiosity from both Christian and Chinese traditions, these morality books represent a truly “intercultural” form of textual production. Examining this genre through the lens of cultural interaction will show its pivotal role as a meeting ground where external and Buddhist and other local religious traditions, engaged in dialogue through book production. It also highlights the genre’s versatility in addressing the diverse moral, religious, publishing, and social needs of the newly formed Christian groups. Second, the resulting molarity books became part of an intercultural book circuit spanning Europe and China, in which they acquired new modalities of use and practice derived from different cultural spaces. Within these texts, European Christian writings and theological concepts came to operate within broader early modern Chinese religious frameworks, such as the quest for sagehood, karmic retribution, or merit accumulation. Additionally, the existing repertory of Chinese morality books and the practice of ledgers of merit and demerit gongguoge 功過格 were integrated in these texts as means for cultivating Christian piety. The result was the emergence of a new, in-between form of morality books, neither entirely local nor entirely Christian, that reshaped how Chinese Christian produced and engaged with this genre itself.
這項研究以17世紀中國基督教與文化互動為背景，探討了善書的生產與使用。善書因其在研究中國社會與歷史中的獨特價值而備受學術界關注，尤其是它們為理解明代中國宗教實踐與出版領域提供了重要視角。然而，關於善書與基督教及這一時期興起的中國基督教社群之間的聯繫，卻鮮有深入探討。本研究將深入分析善書在跨文化交流中的創作與使用方式。這些善書融合了基督教與中國傳統中的文本材料與道德宗教觀念，形成了一種真正的“跨文化”文本創作形式。通過文化互動的視角審視這一體裁，我們可以發現它不僅是基督教與本土宗教（如佛教）對話的重要交匯點，同時也展現了其在滿足新興基督教群體多樣化道德、宗教、出版和社會需求方面的獨特靈活性。此外，這些跨文化善書還成為連接歐洲與中國書籍流通的重要紐帶，並在不同文化空間中衍生出新的使用方式與實踐。例如，歐洲基督教的著作與神學概念被融入明末中國的道德宗教實踐框架，用於因果報應、功德積累等。最終，這些善書形成了一種“之間”的新形式，既不完全本土化，也不完全基督教化，而是開創了一種獨特的文本體裁，重塑了中國基督教群體創作與參與這一文化實踐的方式。
- Qijun Zheng, École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE)
鄭麒駿, 法國高等研究實踐學院
Towels, Texts, and Temples: Three Friends Industrial Company (三友實業社) in the Nexus of Commerce and Religious Publishing in 1930s ShanghaiThis paper examines the often-overlooked yet important role of non-traditional presses in shaping modern religious print culture in Republican China. Focusing on Three Friends Industrial Company (三友實業社, hereafter SYS)—a Shanghai-based towel manufacturer—this study demonstrates how a seemingly secular factory produced and circulated a variety of religious and morality texts during the 1930s. Whereas existing scholarship on Chinese religious publishing has largely centered on presses affiliated with religious institutions or missionary bodies, SYS, a secular industrial enterprise, broadens the scope of inquiry by illustrating how merchants and industrialists also participated in and influenced Republican-era religious discourse. Its founder, Chen Wanyun 陳萬運 (1885–1950), mobilized both industrial and personal networks to support philanthropic ventures and print religious materials.
This analysis draws on three main categories of sources. First, SYS’s 1930s publications, ranging from illustrated morality tracts of filial piety, vernacular commentaries of Confucian classics, chronicles of the reconstruction of a Daoist temple, to translated Western medical treatises (with appended “divine prescriptions”), reveal the breadth of the company’s publishing endeavors. Second, this study situates Chen’s merchant ethics within a longstanding tradition of merchant ethics2 by engaging the extensive corpus of morality books (shanshu 善書), which served as central vehicles of moral discourse in both premodern and modern China. These texts’ detailed explorations of traditional merchant values illustrate how moral ideals transcended narrowly defined Confucian elites since Imperial China and continued to shape Republican-era merchant values. Third, archival materials, such as advertisements, posters, marketing brochures, internal correspondence, corporate ledgers, and court records preserved in the Shanghai Municipal Archive—provide insights into how Chen’s philanthropic ambitions intersected with the logistics and economics of industrial publishing.
This research advances the study of Chinese religious print culture in Republican China in three ways. First, it expands the scope of religious publishing to encompass industrial presses unaffiliated with religious institutions. Second, it illustrates how patriotic and philanthropic imperatives enabled religious texts to reach broader, non-sectarian audiences in urban centers such as Shanghai. Finally, by positioning figures like Chen Wanyun within broader debates on modern Chinese religiosity, the paper advocates for a more inclusive conception of religious publishing that integrates commerce with ethical imperatives. By highlighting the fluid, interconnected nature of commerce, religiosity, and print culture, this work contributes to ongoing discussions of religious publishing in modern China and how merchant classes sustained, reshaped, and embodied religious and ethical visions in 1930s Shanghai.
- Peter Zieme, Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities
茨默, 德國柏林-勃蘭登堡自然和人文科學院
Uyghur Blockprinted BooksIn the Yuan time, official and private prints were produced in great numbers in a variety of languages. Beside Chinese, in several printing houses blockprinted books were edited in Sanskrit, Tibetan, Tangut, Mongol and Uyghur. In the presentation some questions of the production of Uyghur illustrated prints will be discussed. The well-known Tārā-Ekaviṃśatistotra prints of Yuan and Ming periods deserve special attention, but also several Uyghur fragments of printed Jātaka collections with illustrations.
- TBA
TBA
