This section presents two indirectly connected contributions of this kind. As often is the case, both are focused on the role that Christianity has historically played in this encounter. In a detailed, precise but at times critical review of the recent publication by Liam Matthew Brockey, Journey to the East, The Jesuit Mission to China, 1579-1724, Thierry Meynard, from SunYat-Sen University, Guangzhou, might help the reader to get a closer look at what had possibly been achieved by the first generations of Jesuits when they had been authorised, but just for a while over two centuries, to share Christianity with their friends, in some cities, in the countryside and at the imperial court of the capital. The second contribution by Li Tiangang, from Fudan University, Shanghai, offers another evaluation of the efforts made in the past by foreign and Chinese Christians in order to bridge the gap that could possibly remain between the Christian faith and Chinese traditions. These efforts, as the author shows, have recently been reassumed by contemporary Chinese scholars; hence the title given to his study: “Returning to the Classics, sticking to History”.


The Editor