A Venue for Discussions on Chinese Culture

Visit of Participants of the 11th European Catholic China Colloquium to the Monumenta Serica Institute, 22 August 2024

The Monumenta Serica Institute was happy to introduce its work and library to thirty participants of the 11th European Catholic China Colloquium (ECCC) during their visit to the S.V.D. campus at Sankt Augustin. Following a welcome address by the Institute’s director and editor-in-chief, Prof. Dr. Zbigniew Wesołowski S.V.D., the members of the editorial office, Dr. Barbara Hoster and Dr. Dirk Kuhlmann, offered an overview on the history of the S.V.D. in China with an emphasis on their activities in the fields of education and publication as well as the history of the Monumenta Serica Institute and the thematic range of its publications. 

Special emphasis was given to the soon to be published Bibliotheca Sinica Christiana, an annotated catalog of S.V.D. publications in Shandong printed from 1882–1950, and those S.V.D. publications listed there which are held at the Institute. This work was conceived of and compiled by the late Prof. Dr. Roman Malek (1951–2019), over the course of five years it was revised and completed by the Institute’s editorial office. The presentation piqued the participants’ interest and sparked lively conversation on the topic of research and its relevance for understanding the present. Visits like these are a welcome opportunity for the Monumenta Serica Institute to enter into a dialog with people interested in Chinese culture from a variety of perspectives.

The ECCC was held at the Catholic Social Institute in Siegburg, Germany, from 22–25 August 2024. Devoted to the topic of the situation of the younger generations in China the event convened a diverse group of more than 100 participants from 13 countries and regions, priests and members of religious congregations as well as Christian laypeople from different denominations, many of whom live in Europe as students, researchers, or chaplains.