December 12-13, 2025
University of tübingen
villa Köstlin, seminar room
Historiographies of Christianity in China – A Symposium of Current Voices
in the Field
This workshop seeks to bring together and discuss diverse current and emerging approaches in the study
of Chinese Christianities employed by scholars based in different parts of the world and working in various disciplines, whether in historical, theological, literary, sociological, or religious studies.
Friday, December 12
SESSION 1
16:00–19:00 (please note that all times are listed in CET/UTC+1)
16:00–16:15 | Welcome Focus Group Members, Invited Speakers, Distinguished Guests
Introductory remarks by Naomi THURSTON,“Historiographies of Christianity in China:
Intercultural and Interdisciplinary Approaches”
16:15–16:45 | Keynote by Alexander Chow,“Worlding Chinese Christianities”
16:45–17:00 | Discussion by XIE Dingjian,“Chinese Christianity‘s “shi 世 ” (times) and “jie 界 ”
(spaces)”
17:00–17:30 | Tea and Coffee Break
17:30–18:00 | Keynote by Chloë STARR,“Chinese Theology as Literature and in Literature”
18:00–18:15 | Discussion by Jordan Zhixi WANG,“Literature as the Vessel of the Dao 文以载道”
18:15–18:45 | Open Discussion, Q&A
18:45–19:00 | Closing Comments by LIU Guopeng
Light Dinner
Saturday, December 13
The following workshop sessions – 2 and 3 – feature contemporary research on Christianity in China in
various disciplines and fields, including Silk Road Studies, Medieval Christianity, Republican-era History,
Chinese Theology etc. and Chinese Christianities – in theology, religious studies, or World Christianity.
Speakers will introduce their latest research or publication, approaches to the field, and research rationale.
SESSION 2
Session 2 focuses on historiographies in the field, Christianity in the Tang dynasty, and contemporary
theology in China.
10:00–12:30 (CET/UTC+1)
10:00–10:10 | Welcome and Introduction
10:10–10:20 | Isabel Friemann, Introduction of the China Information Desk (Hamburg)
10:20-10:30 | ZHENG Xiaoping, Introduction of new journals in the field: Journal of Research
for Christianity in China, Journal of the Study on Religion and History
10:30–11:00 | Panel 1 | HISTORICAL APPROACHES & TANG-ERA CHINESE CHRISTIANITY
Alexis BALMONT, Syriac Christians in Tang China: Chinese Texts and Theologies Valentina BOTTANELLI, Matter, Trinity, Substance: The Transmission and Adaptation of the Christian Creed in Tang China
Jeffrey Zhong, “State of the Field: Historical Studies of Christianity in China”
11:00–11:30 Open discussion
11:30–12:00 | Panel 2 | APPROACHES IN CONTEMPORARY THEOLOGY & RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Antoine REN, “Toward an Ecclesiology for Today’s China”Katja WENGENMAYR, He Guanghu as Committed Scholar of Religion
QU Xutong, “Peripheries and Centers”
12:00–12:30 | Open discussion
12:30–12:40 | Closing Comments by Christian Meyer
Light Lunch at Villa Köstlin
SESSION 3
Session 3 adds contemporary theological lenses, and studies of Modern Chinese Christianity.
14:00–17:00 (CET/UTC+1)
14:00–14:30 Panel 1 | THEOLOGICAL LENSES
Stephanie WONG, “Chinese Religiosity: A Theo-Functionalist Critique of the Early 20th-century
Catholic Indigenization Movement”Easten LAW, “Making Chinese Theology Global”
GE Yonghua, Anti-Intellectualism in the Chinese Church
14:30–15:00 Open discussion
15:00–15:15 Tea and Coffee Break
Saturday, December 13
15:15-15:55 | Panel 2 | MODERN CHINESE CHRISTIANITY
Jesse SUN, “Chinese Protestant Intellectuals and National Salvation”
ZHAO Pan, “Biblical Hermeneutics of Protestant Christians in Republican China”
Christian MEYER, “Changing Terminology of Religion in Modern China”
Jordan Zhixi WANG, “Reception History of the Bible and Chinese Christianity”
16:05-16:15 Response by CHENG Mao
16:15 -16:45 Open discussion
16:45-17:00 Closing Comments by Anthony Clark
PARTICIPANTS
BALMONT, Alexis, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
BOTTANELLI, Valentina, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
CHENG Mao, Durham University
CHOW, Alexander, The University of Edinburgh
CLARK, Anthony, Whitworth University
FRIEMANN, Isabel, China Infostelle
GE Yonghua, Trinity Western University
LAW, Easten, OMSC at Princeton Theological Seminary
LIU Guopeng, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
MEYER, Christian, Freie Universität Berlin
Qu Xutong, Tsinghua University
REN, Antoine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
STARR, Chloë, Yale Divinity School
SUN, Jesse, Belmont University
THURSTON, Naomi, CUHK | New Horizons Fellow
WANG Zhixi Jordan, Trinity Western University
WENGENMAYR, Katja, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
WONG, Stephanie, Villanova University
XIE Dingjian, Fudan University
ZHAO Pan, Wuhan University
ZHENG Xiaoping, Tel Aviv University
ZHONG, Jeffrey, Renmin University of China
To JOIN VIA ZOOM, please register at info@cof.uni-tuebingen.de.
