Timothy Richard's Buddhist-Christian Studies
Timothy Richard (1845-1919), one of the most well-known nineteenth-century British missionaries who worked in China,1 is still remembered today for his efforts to disseminate "Western learning" and to promote social welfare and political reform in China.2 Interestingly, although Richard's missionary, educational, and political activities undoubtedly dominated his life in China, he also found the time to translate a number of Buddhist texts from Chinese into English.3 Unlike many of his fellow Christian missionaries, who either despised or ignored Chinese Buddhism, Richard endeavored to promote a dialogue between Christianity and other religions, especially Chinese Buddhism. In fact, his translations inspired several other European missionaries and Sinologists to take a greater interest in Chinese Buddhism, particularly Richard's biographer William E. Soothill (1861-1935) and Karl Ludvig Reichelt (18771952),4 the founder of Tao Fong Shan, which continues to promote Buddhist-Christian dialogue several decades after its foundation.5 However, Richard's translations of Chinese Buddhist texts, particular his translation of The Awakening of Faith, have been largely neglected by both Buddhists and Sinologists. As a result, the significance of Richard's dialogue with Chinese Buddhism has not yet been properly evaluated. Two recent studies of Richard have focused on his translation of the Buddhist texts
Narratives of Religious Landscape: Reading Gender and Chinese Buddhism in the Travel Writing of Christian Women
This article explores the narrative descriptions of the Chinese religious landscape embedded within nineteenth century Christian missionary writings. I demonstrate the potential use of Protestant missionary writings as sources in the academic study of religion in China for both the physical descriptions of religious places that they contain and the narratives they express regarding the religious activities and identities of Chinese women. Of particular interest to this study are the religious encounters experienced between Christian and Buddhist women. My analysis of the travel writings of three Protestant women, Eliza Bridgeman (1805–1871), Helen Nevius (1833–1910), and Isabelle Williamson (d. 1886), illustrates that Chinese women were highly active within sacred spaces across China. This article contributes to discourses on the history of women and Chinese Buddhism, offers historiographical insights into the origins of Western academic studies of Buddhism in China, and provides alternate source material for information about religious continuity and change in early modern China.
In 1926: Living at the Edge of Time
User's manual: airplanes Americans in Paris asssembly lines automobiles bars boxing bullfighting cremation dancing elevators employees endurance engineers gomina gramophones hunger artists jazz league of nations mountaineering movie palaces mummies murder ocean liners polarities railroads reporters revues roof gardens six-day races stars strikes telephones timepieces wireless communication. Codes: action versus impotence authenticity versus artificiality centre versus periphery immanence versus transcendence individuality versus collectivity male versus female present versus past silence versus noise sobriety versus exuberance uncertainty versus reality action = impotence (tragedy) authenticity = artificiality (life) centre = periphery (infinitude) immanence = transendence (death) indiciduality = collectivity (leader) male = female (gender trouble) present = past (eternity). frames: after learning from history being-in the-worlds of 1926 - Martin Heidegger, Hans Friedrich Blunck, Carl Van Vechten.