ASIAR

“道教的經典與儀式”雲端系列學術講座開幕式暨第一講“《太上靈寶五符序》所見黃初平傳考釋”
2024-03-01 19:40 - 22:00 (Asia/Hong_Kong) | Via Zoom (Registration required)
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“道教的經典與儀式”雲端系列學術講座開幕式暨第一講”《太上靈寶五符序》所見黃初平傳考釋
Date/Time: March 1, 2024, 19:40-22:00 (HK time)Language: Putonghua
Venue: via Zoom (Registration is required.)
Registration link: https://hku.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMtde2hqT8iE9L-ltL723nvFJ354d8fkNDH
ABSTRACT魏晉道教神仙黃初平即今東南沿海廣為流傳的黃大仙，其仙傳故事源出葛洪《神仙傳》幾為學界共識，而美國學者康儒博（Robert F. Campany）首次注意到黃初平傳也見於早期道經《太上靈寶五符序》。本次講座擬在康儒博研究的基礎上，進一步考證現存最早收錄黃初平傳的文獻是《太上靈寶五符序》。又以《太上靈寶五符序》為中心，考釋黃初平成仙的關鍵在於服食松脂、茯苓。首先論證松脂、茯苓方是《太上靈寶五符序》記載的一系列服御方之一，源出靈寶五符天文，又將此經所載松脂、茯苓方與其他道書、本草文獻的相關記載進行比較，最後考述黃初平“叱石成羊”與服食松脂、茯苓的關係及其背後的信仰。期望通過這些論述，深入挖掘黃大仙信仰的道教文化內涵。
ABOUT THE SPEAKER楊金麗，西南交通大學人文學院博士研究生。
ORGANIZERSASIAR Research Cluster, HKIHSS, HKU; Centre on Chinese Religions, Southwest Jiaotong University

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Where Christians and Other Believers Meet: A Re-examination of Christianity in Chinese Societies
2024-11-08 15:00 - 16:30 | Hybrid – Room 201, May Hall, HKU and via Zoom (registration required)
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Where Christians and Other Believers Meet:
A Re-examination of Christianity in Chinese Societies

Date/Time: November 8, 2024, 15:00 – 16:30 (HK time)
Language: English
Venue: Rm 201, May Hall, HKU & Via ZOOM (Registration is required.)
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ABSTRACTIt has been reported that Chinese societies (including mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore) have high levels of religious diversity. It is imperative to locate Christianity in this diverse religious context in order to reexamine the role of Christianity in Chinese societies. With reference to the ideas of common grace in Christian theologians Abraham Kuyper (Netherlands, 1837—1920) and of religious humility/relativity in Reinhold Niebuhr (USA, 1892—1971), this paper offers a theological and ethical analysis of Christians’ encounter with other believers in social and cultural life in Chinese societies. Many Chinese Christians are wrestled with the issues of “toward the public” and “toward non-Christians.” Bearding this in mind, this paper proposes that Christians be realistic without imposition of “confessional bonds” for state and society, on the one hand, and Christians appreciate and be open to other believers’ virtues and efforts and thus work together towards progress and flourishing in various spheres of life, on the other.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERZhibin Xie received his Ph. D. from The University of Hong Kong. He is adjunct professor at the Institute of Sino-Christian Studies, Hong Kong. He is a member of the Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton. He serves on the advisory board for International Journal of Public Theology and on the editorial board for Logos & Pneuma: Chinese Journal of Theology. He also served on the Executive Committee (Asia Representative) at the Global Network of Public Theology (2017-2020).
Zhibin Xie’ s research areas include Christian philosophy & ethics, public theology, and Christianity in China. He has published monographs Religious Diversity and Public Religion in China (in English, Ashgate, 2006 & Routledge, 2021), Moral Triumph: The Public Face of Christianity in China (in English, Fortress Press, 2023), Public Theology and Globalization: A Study in Christian Ethics of Max L. Stackhouse (in Chinese, Religious Culture Press, 2008 & 2022), A Pluralistic and Just Society: An Interpretation of Sino-Christian Ethics (in Chinese, Logos & Pneuma Press, 2023). He is editor of Protestantism and Modernity: Kuyper, Weber, and Troeltsch (in Chinese, Logos & Pneuma Press, 2022). He also published articles in English in journals including Journal of Church and State, Theology Today, International Journal of Public Theology, Political Theology, and Studies in Interreligious Dialogue and contributed chapter to the volume of The Routledge Companion to Christian Ethics.

ORGANIZERSASIAR Research Cluster, HKIHSS, HKU;
CO-ORGANIZERSFaith and Global Engagement, HKIHSS, HKU;
Institute of Sino-Christian Studies, HK.

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Daoism, Ecology and Sustainable Investing 道教、生態、可持續投資
2024-12-02 12:00 - 13:30 | G/F Lecture Hall, May Hall, HKU & Via ZOOM
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Daoism, Ecology and Sustainable Investing
道教、生態、可持續投資

Date: Dec 2, 2024 (Mon)
Time: 12:00 – 13:30 (HKT)
Language: English & Mandarin (with translation)
Venue: Lecture Hall, G/F, May Hall, The University of Hong Kong & Via ZOOM (Registration is required.)
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Keynote Speaker:
Prof James Miller (Author of China’s Green Religion: Daoism and the Quest for a Sustainable Future) (Duke Kunshan University)
主題發言人：苗建時教授 (Prof James Miller)（杜克崑山大學）
About the Keynote Speaker:
His research focuses on the intersection of religion and ecology in China. He has published six books including “China’s Green Religion: Daoism and the Quest for a Sustainable Future” (Columbia, 2017). He is noted worldwide as an expert in Daoism, China’s indigenous religion. His teaching interests at Duke Kunshan include ethics and leadership, global China studies, environmental science, U.S. studies, religious studies and philosophy.
Miller has a B.A. (honors) in Chinese studies from Durham University, a B.A. (honors) and M.A. in theological and religious studies from Cambridge University, and a Ph.D. in religious and theological studies from Boston University. Before joining Duke Kunshan, he was director of the School of Religion at Queen’s University, Canada.

Opening Remark:
Venerable Daoist Master ZHANG Mingxin (Vice President of Chinese Daoist Association; President of Mount Qingcheng Daoist Association)
開幕致詞： 張明心 道長（中國道教協會副會長，青城山道教協會會長）

Discussants:
Martin PALMER (Founding Director of the Green Climate Fund Faith Art Media Alliance)
FAN Ziwei ( Senior Research Assistant of HKIHSS; advisor to the secretariat of the World Federation of Daoism)
Anthony CHEUNG (Vice Chairman and Convenor of Green Finance, Friends of the Earth (HK))
LI Haibo (Chairman of Chengdu Daoist Entrepreneurship and Technology Research Institute)
評述人
彭馬田 (Martin PALMER) (聯合國全球氣候變化框架綠色氣候基金信仰藝術傳播聯盟創始總監)
范紫微 （香港大學香港人文社會研究所高級研究助理、世界道教聯合會顧問）
張震宇 （香港地球之友副主席）
李海波（成都市道商科技研究院院長）

Host: Prof. David A. Palmer (Professor, Sociology & HKIHSS, HKU)
主持人：宗樹人教授（香港大學社會學及香港人文社會研究所）

ORGANIZERSASIAR Research Cluster, HKIHSS, HKU;

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Faith and True Wealth 信仰與真財富 | World Religion Day 2025
2025-02-16 14:00 - 17:00 | EY wavespace, Citic Tower, 22nd Floor, Admiralty
World Religion Day 2025
Faith and True Wealth
信仰與真財富

What is true wealth? Is it money, or more than money? What is spiritual wealth? What is the relationship between spiritual and material wealth? Does religion want us to be rich or poor? Can we be spiritual in a financial capital like Hong Kong? The Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼis of Hong Kong invites you to join World Religion Day and consider these questions through interfaith dialogue, devotions and music with members of different religious and non-religious communities in HK.
什麼是真正的財富？是金錢？還是不止於金錢？什麼是精神財富？精神財富和物質財富之間的關係是什麼？宗教希望我們富有還是貧窮？在香港這樣的金融之都，我們能否保持靈性？香港巴哈伊總會邀請您參與世界宗教日，透過跨宗教對話、靈修和音樂，與香港不同宗教和非宗教社群的成員一起思考這些問題。

Date: Feb 16 (Sun), 2025
Time: 2 – 5 pm (HKT)
Language: English & Chinese
Format: Prayers, singing & chanting performances + Interfaith dialogue + Panel sharings
Venue: EY Wavespace, 22/F Citic Tower, 20 Tim Mei Avenue, Central, Hong Kong.
Directions:
You can reach Citic Tower from Admiralty MTR station.
Get out at Admiralty Exit D ( United Centre) and walk towards Legco Building / Central Government Offices using the overhead walkway.
On the right hand side you will see entrance to Citic Tower 2/F.
The lifts to 22/ F Wavespace are on 1/F of the building.Note that, when you reach the entrance to the Citic tower from the overhead walkway, you will be on the 2/F of the building. But you need to go down to the 1st floor to find the lift to the 22/F.

Host: The Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼis of Hong Kong
Co-organizers:
Asian Religious Connections Research Center, HKIHSS, HKU
Great Future Social Innovate Center（Beijing）
Hong Kong Network on Religion and Peace

Register TODAY:
Google Form https://forms.gle/BAuhAXKTUbf6to1r9 or
Email <secretariat@bahai.hk> or
call +852 2367 6407 for registration
(Limited quotas are available, first come first serve)*Further details will be sent to you upon successful registration

Human Nature and Religious Diversity: Does Religious Diversity Have a Common Anthropological Basis?
2025-03-18 14:30 - 15:45 | Hybrid – Room 201, May Hall, HKU and via Zoom (registration required)
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Human Nature and Religious Diversity:
Does Religious Diversity Have a Common Anthropological Basis?

Date/Time: March 18 (TUE), 2025, 14:30 – 15:45 (HK time)
Language: English
Venue: Hybrid @ ZOOM & Rm 201, May Hall, HKU (Registration is required.)
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ABSTRACTIn a world that is growing ever closer together, the question also arises as to whether the many different religions in the common world have a common anthropological basis. What connects the religions of the world with each other in the midst of all their diversity? Is there an anthropological theory of the pluralism of religions? And what would such a theory have to look like in which the different religions are conceptually linked?
The lecture explores this question by first (1) concentrating on the diversity of religions, which are an important part of cultures. After this praise of religious plurality, the lecture then shows (2) what a theory of religious pluralism cannot look like. Again using the example of religion, it is then explained (3) how religion and religious diversity are to be understood when they are considered from a human and thus anthropological point of view. A conception is then presented (4) by the German philosopher and theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher, showing how religious diversity, the plurality of religions, can be understood conceptually on the basis of common anthropological insights.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERProf. Hans-Peter Grosshans is a distinguished German theologian and philosopher of religion, renowned for his expertise in hermeneutics, methodology and philosophy of science. Currently, he is professor (chair) for Systematic Theology at University of Münster, Germany. He also serves as Guest Professor (2024-2025) at the Institute of Sino-Christian Studies, Hong Kong.
After studying theology and philosophy at universities of Tübingen and Oxford, he did his doctorate under the supervision of Eberhard Jüngel at the Faculty of Protestant Theology at the University of Tübingen.
From 1990 to 2002 he taught at the Faculty of Protestant Theology at the University of Tübingen. He then held teaching positions at the theological faculties of the universities of Hamburg, Munich and Zürich before in 2008 he took over his present position as professor (chair) for Systematic Theology and director of the Institute for Ecumenical Theology at the Faculty of Protestant Theology of University of Münster. From 2016–2020 he was dean of his faculty. He is the present president of the German Society for Philosophy of Religion.

ORGANIZERSASIAR Research Cluster, HKIHSS, HKU;
CO-ORGANIZERSFaith and Global Engagement, HKIHSS, HKU;
Institute of Sino-Christian Studies, HK.

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Joker: The Flip Side of Ancient Chinese Cosmology and Science in Hecun
2025-04-28 12:30 - 13:45 | Hybrid – Room 201, May Hall, HKU and via Zoom (registration required)
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Joker: The Flip Side of Ancient Chinese Cosmology and Science in Hecun

Date: April 28 (Mon), 2025
Time: 12:30 – 13:45 (HK Time)
Language: English
Venue: Hybrid @ ZOOM & Rm 201, May Hall, HKU (Registration is required.)
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ABSTRACTDrawing on 16 months of fieldwork and historical material on Fu (符) rituals, this talk explores the distinctions between Fu activities and other local sacrificial practices that involve approaching spiritual powers with offerings, beseeching or begging for assistance. I pseudonymize my field village located in south-central China as Hecun. Through Fu rituals, Hecun villagers attempt to directly manipulate or even command the spiritual forces. Drawing on historical evidence, I propose that this fluctuating human-spiritual power dynamic can be traced to the transformation of ancient Chinese cosmology. I argue that in the pre-imperial courts there was a gradual technical transition from magical rituals to religious sacrifices. But in the local cosmology of present-day Hecun, both magic and sacrifice are evident. This combinatory cosmology has moved like a “capsule” through time, composing the deep-rooted characteristics of Chinese cosmology that have “sedimented”. I further suggest that the human-spiritual power dynamic reflects a well-established local understanding of how people experience the capricious environmental forces to which they are immediately exposed. This local understanding contrasts with the scientific outlook towards “nature” that underpins these state-led weather-water projects in Hecun. By interweaving relevant anthropological discussion around “nature” with analyses of local rituals, this talk provides a nuanced understanding of local cosmology and offers insight into the entanglement of magic, religion and science.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERNie Youping is a PhD candidate in Anthropology at CUHK. My research interests include landscape, cosmology, state governance, and rural China. My dissertation, A Geography of Uncertainty: Weather, Technology, and Cosmology in South-central China, explores the entanglement of state technocratic projects and local cosmology, i.e., local spiritual beliefs, in understanding and acting upon the concept of “uncertainty” associated with weather patterns in a Chinese village. This village is situated in the Dongting Lake basin, a region prone to extreme climate fluctuations between drought and flooding.

ORGANIZERASIAR Research Cluster, HKIHSS, HKU

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The Revelatory Imagination: Thought Experiments and the Pluralist Turn
2025-05-15 15:00 - 16:30 | Hybrid – Room 201, May Hall, HKU and via Zoom (registration required)
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The Revelatory Imagination:Thought Experiments and the Pluralist Turn

Date/Time: Thursday, May 15, 2025, 15:00 – 16:30 (HK time)
Language: English
Venue: Rm 201, May Hall, HKU & Via ZOOM (Registration is required.)

ABSTRACTThis talk explores the imagination as a mode of divine revelation and argues that thought experiments – commonly associated with the natural sciences – possess deep theological significance. Prof. Fehige proposes that revelation does not merely accommodate the imagination but advances through it. This claim forms part of a broader response to the pluralist turn in the history and philosophy of science, which calls on theology to reconsider its own epistemic frameworks. By re-framing thought experiments in pluralist terms, a constructive theology of revelation is offered that embraces epistemic diversity and affirms the cognitive significance of the imagination. This approach not only bridges disciplinary boundaries but also invites a renewed understanding of how theology might respond more faithfully to the complexities of a pluralist world.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERProfessor Yiftach Fehige holds Ph.D. degrees in both philosophy (2004) and theology (2011), and holds a B.Sc. In physics (1998). He has been a core faculty member at the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IHPST) at the University of Toronto since 2007. His work primarily explores the evolving landscape of science and religion, particularly at the intersection of Eastern and Western perspectives, a featured in his edited volume Science and Religion: East and West (2016) and his latest monograph Thought Experiments, Science, and Theology (2023).

ORGANIZER
Faith and Global Engagement, HKIHSS, HKU;
CO-ORGANIZER
ASIAR Research Cluster, HKIHSS, HKU

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How Daoism Became American: A Tale of Translation, Conservation, Immigration, Appropriation and Impersonation
2025-11-17 15:00 - 17:00 | Hybrid – Room 201, May Hall, HKU and via Zoom (registration required)
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How Daoism Became American: A Tale of Translation, Conservation, Immigration, Appropriation and Impersonation

Date/Time: November 17, 2025, 15:00 – 17:00 (HK time)
Language: English
Venue: Rm 201, May Hall, HKU & Via ZOOM (Registration is required.)
Register for In-person and online participation: https://hku.zoom.us/meeting/register/MQ_Y4LmhRX6DcgkxNGRCNg

ABSTRACTDaoism is the indigenous organized religion of China, with a two-thousand-year history, an enormous canon of sacred texts, and a complicated liturgy. However, until fairly recently, Daoism was best known in the West, if at all, as a quaint and exotic philosophy of quietism and mysticism. This was how Daoism was depicted in most readily available sources of information, including anthologies of Chinese philosophy and world religion textbooks. According to modernist Chinese intellectuals of the 20th century, Daoism may have inspired a lot of Chinese art and poetry, but it was not a spiritual option for modern Chinese, and certainly not for North Americans. However, in the 1960s and 1970s, Daoism became a plausible spiritual path for Euro-Americans, not by becoming more like Chinese Daoism in either of its two current denominations in China (Quanzhen or Zhengyi), but rather by being completely taken out of its religious setting, and reconstituted as a series of modular, individual practices.
This interactive lecture will explore the various origins of Daoism in America, based on original research. It will argue that American Daoism is a definable and distinct religious tradition of North America. American Daoism was neither exported whole cloth from China nor simply invented by Euro-Americans. Rather it arose from collaboration between progressive elements in American society and elite, lettered Chinese immigrants, nostalgic for their own displaced childhoods. This lecture will ask the question “how much can a religious tradition change before it is no longer a tradition at all?” It will be of interest to anyone interested in how Asian culture is translated into Western context, and issues of appropriation and authenticity.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERElijah Siegler is a professor of Religious Studies at College of Charleston, a public university in South Carolina. He is the leading expert in the field of American Daoism, and has lectured and published widely on that field, including the award-winning book Dream Trippers: Global Daoism and Predicament of Modern Spirituality (University of Chicago Press, 2017, co-authored with David A. Palmer).

ORGANIZERASIAR Research Cluster, HKIHSS, HKU

Buddhist Manuscript Studies in Southeast Asia: The case of Luang Prabang, Laos
2026-01-16 15:00 - 16:30 | Rm 201, May Hall, The University of Hong Kong (Map), or Via Zoom
Professor Volker Grabowsky
Professor of Thai Studies and Head of the Southeast Asia Department at the Asia‑Africa‑Institute, University of Hamburg

ABSTRACT
This lecture explores Buddhist manuscript cultures in mainland Southeast Asia through the case of the old royal Lao capital of Luang Prabang, drawing on more than fifteen years of research conducted in collaboration with the Buddhist Archives of Luang Prabang. While over ninety percent of surviving Lao manuscripts are written on palm leaves using the religious Dhamma script, their material forms, uses, and social functions reveal a remarkably rich and diverse manuscript culture.​ The lecture introduces the broader Tai manuscript tradition, including its characteristic biscriptality, and situates Lao materials within regional scholarship. It then presents the results of extensive digitisation and cataloguing projects supported by international institutions, which together document more than 3,500 manuscripts from major monasteries in Luang Prabang.​ Particular attention is given to the structure and function of colophons as sources for understanding manuscript production, monastic education, and merit‑making practices. Colophons reveal the roles of scribes, sponsors, and donors, and illustrate how manuscripts sustained Buddhist learning and merit across generations.​ The lecture also examines modern transformations influenced by new writing tools, printing technologies, and changing material preferences. Despite these shifts, Lao Buddhist manuscript culture remains vibrant, reflecting both continuity and change within the Lao cultural landscape.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Volker Grabowsky is Professor of Thai Language and Culture (Thai Studies) and Head of the Southeast Asia Department at the Asia‑Africa‑Institute, University of Hamburg. A specialist in the history and culture of the Tai ethnic groups of mainland Southeast Asia and Southwest China, he previously held a professorship in Southeast Asian History at the University of Münster (1999–2009) and served as a DAAD visiting lecturer at the National University of Laos (1996–1999).​ He has published widely on Tai manuscript cultures, Buddhist literary traditions, and regional historiography. His works include major studies and translations of Tai Lü chronicles, such as the Chronicles of Chiang Khaeng (2008) and the Chronicles of Sipsòng Panna (2012).​ Since 2011, he has led several research projects on Tai manuscript cultures; his most recent edited volume is Manuscript Cultures and Epigraphy in the Tai World (2022).​
