Panel Discussion: James Legge and Scottish Missions to China

The seminar will feature a panel discussion around the recently published volume, Scottish Missions to China: Commemorating the Legacy of James Legge (1815–1897) (Brill 2022), which focuses on the important missionary-scholar and Protestant sinologist par excellence. The volume will be introduced by the book’s editor, Alexander Chow, discussing how the volume came about, and its aims to challenge the simplistic caricature of Protestant missionaries as Orientalizing imperialists. Rather, it shows how the Chinese context and Chinese persons “converted” Scottish missionaries in their understandings of China and the broader world. After a brief introduction, one of the contributor’s, Lauren Pfister, will speak about his chapter, which evaluates James Legge’s relationships with four notable Chinese persons, and how these cross-cultural relationships led to a transformation of the venerable Scotsman. This will be followed by a response by Lars Laaman, and a general discussion about the volume.

• Alexander Chow is Senior Lecturer in Theology and World Christianity in the School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh, and is co-director of the Centre for the Study of World Christianity
• Lauren F. Pfister is Professor Emeritus of the Religion and Philosophy Department of Hong Kong Baptist University. He is now Rector of Hephzibah Mountain Aster Academy, Colorado.
• Lars Laamann is Senior Lecturer in Chinese History and the head of the Centre of World Christianity at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.