RCCHC "China and the World: Historical Interactions" Talk Series 16 - Looking at Chinese Sectarian Religions in Ming-Qing China from Western Missionary Sources

Prof. Ronnie Po-Chia Hsia's research has focused on the history of the Protestant Reformation, Catholic Renewal, anti-Semitism, and the encounter between Europe and Asia. His current book project, tentatively titled Translating Christianity: China and the Catholic Missions 1584-1780, is a study of the history of cultural encounter between Counter-Reformation Europe and the Ming and Qing empires.    He teaches courses in early modern Europe and is interested in developing world history and comparative history courses for the early modern period. He is especially interested in the history of religion and the history of empires. After working on the history of Central Europe for more than twenty years, during which time he has published extensively on the Reformation, Counter-Reformation, and the history of anti-semitism, he has widened the horizon of his research to a global perspective. Thus, the history of explorations, the rise of western Europe, the comparative history of early modern empires, and the history of Christian missions (particularly in China) constitute his current teaching and research agenda. With a background in Chinese history and culture, being born and educated in Hong Kong, he studied primarily in the UK and the USA, and has extensive research experiences in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Portugal, Austria, and Italy.