Reading Canonical and Non-canonical Religious Works in China and England during the Ming Period (1368-1644)

Presentation Reading Canonical and Non-canonical Religious Works in China and England during the Ming Period (1368-1644) July 6, 2026 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm Online More Details More Details Presented by UCLA Library, The Claremont Colleges Library and Columbia University Libraries with funding support from the James P. Geiss and Margaret Y. Hsu Foundation. Speaker: Lucille Chia | 贾晋珠, Professor Emerita, Department of History, UC Riverside Lucille Chia compares religious (primarily Buddhist) texts and images produced in China and in England during much the same time, within the Ming period (1368-1644) . Is such a comparison viable? Is it useful? In the mid to late Ming (ca. mid-16th to mid-17th c.) , there was an unprecedented increase in the production of printed works in China. This period also saw a “revitalization” of Buddhism, as well as the growth of “folk” or “sectarian” religious groups, with both these developments documented by a plethora of imprints. In western Europe, including England, the same era covered the first century and a half of printing. In England, the Protestant Reformation encompassed many changes in religious beliefs and practices and a huge growth of religious literature. While the comparisons may be awkward and the contrasts stark, they can still inspire us ask questions that help us better understand both regions’ religious developments. This program will be delivered in English. Click the More Details button to RSVP or register now (opens in a new tab) . Lucille Chia (賈晉珠) is Professor emerita of the Department of History at the University of California at Riverside. Her research includes studies on Chinese publishing and book culture from the Song through the early Qing (commercial printing; religious printing, including the production of editions of the Daoist canon and Buddhist canon; etc.) . Her most recent study in this area deals with the life and after-lives of the Qisha Buddhist canon, the printing of which took over a hundred years to complete and which remained in distribution for another three hundred years. She has also done research on the influence on Fujian of the early Chinese migration to the Spanish Philippines during the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries. Another of her current projects is a historical (rather than art historical) examination of the rise and decline of ceramics producing centers in south and southeast China, especially in southern Fujian and the Chaozhou area in Guangdong. Related Series EVENT SERIES Training the Trainers: Materiality of Ming Books and Manuscripts May 4, 2026 - July 27, 2026 An introduction to the history and material culture of Ming books and manuscripts