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Religion and Conversion in Late Imperial China

Project description

A journey through China’s conversion narratives

In late imperial China, understanding religion and conversion poses significant challenges. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme, the REACCH project tackles this by delving into historical narratives from the 14th to 19th centuries. The interdisciplinary effort aims to develop a theory of conversion transcending Western concepts. Focused on Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, it scrutinises Ming and Qing dynasty sources, including official documents, gazetteers, and religious texts. Drawing from sociology and psychology of religion, the project seeks to construct a framework for comparative religious studies across religious cultures. REACCH illuminates the rich tapestry of religious discourse in China’s past, offering insights for contemporary global dialogue.

Objective

This research project focuses on REligion And Conversion in China (REACCH). It constitutes an interdisciplinary endeavour aiming at surveying and analysing how people who lived in late imperial China (roughly between the 14th to the 19th century) discussed, conceptualised and described phenomena that can be heuristically categorised as conversion. The ultimate goal is to develop a comprehensive theory of conversion that transcends the Western origins of the concept and can account for the unique features of the Chinese context:to achieve this purpose, the research will primarily focus on case studies related with Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism. The research will investigate the narratives of conversion that characterised the religious landscape of late imperial China and ascertain if and how the concept of conversion was addressed in the sources of the Ming and Qing dynasties. These sources will include official documents (edicts, memorials, codes of law, legal records), gazetteers (dedicated to towns, prefectures, provinces, mountains, temples and monasteries in particular, biographical sections of Confucians, Daoists and Buddhists), Daoist and Buddhist texts, works by Confucian literati, epigraphy and precious scrolls .
The theoretical framework of this research project will be drawn from existing scholarship on late imperial China and Chinese religions, as well as from the fields of Sociology of Religion, Psychology of Religion and Religious Studies.
The long-term objective is to develop a theoretical framework that will enable comparative studies of religion and conversion across different historical periods and civilisations.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01

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Coordinator

UNIVERSITA CA' FOSCARI VENEZIA
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 292 043,52
Address
DORSODURO 3246
30123 VENEZIA
Italy

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Region
Nord-Est Veneto Venezia
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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Partners (2)

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