Bibliotheca Sinica Christiana

The present work is a comprehensive catalog of publications that were produced and printed by the Divine Word Missionaries (Societas Verbi Divini, S.V.D.) in Shandong province, China, in the late 19th and first half of the 20th century. It was compiled by the late Roman Malek, S.V.D. (1951–2019), an internationally renowned expert for the history of Christianity in China and former director and editor-in-chief of the Monumenta Serica Institute in Sankt Augustin, Germany.

The S.V.D. publications cover a broad range of fields, including apologetic and catechetical material, such as reprints of works of the old China mission, books for teaching the faith and prayer books; biblical material, i.e., translations from and works on the Bible; educational material, such as textbooks for the schools run by the S.V.D. in Shandong; dictionaries and grammars for Chinese, German and Latin; Catholic periodicals; books on Chinese culture; hymn books; and finally, materials for evangelization (posters, pictures, etc.).

The present catalog comprises more than 450 entries, arranged in alphabetical order according to the original titles, in Chinese, German or Latin, and occasionally in English. Each entry provides detailed bibliographical information, excerpts from the book information included in the contemporary editions of the Catalogus Librorum of the S.V.D. Mission Press, a short explanation in English on the respective title and a Table of Contents. Reprints of six articles by Divine Word missionaries from 1909 till 1940 provide a historical perspective on their congregation’s publishing enterprise in China.

The Bibliotheca Sinica Christiana makes an important contribution to documenting the printing and publishing activities of a specific Catholic missionary society, the S.V.D., in late imperial and Republican China. It aims at stimulating further research into the S.V.D. China mission and into the history of religious printing in the modern era in China at large.

Editors’ Preface

Introduction: "The Printed Word in the Service of Evangelization: The Publication Activity of the Divine Word Missionaries in Shandong (1882–1950)" by Roman Malek

Annotated Catalog of S.V.D. Publications in Shandong (1882–1950), A–Z

Addenda: Contemporary Articles by S.V.D. Missionaries (in German with English abstracts)

Editors’ Epilogue

Bibliography

Title List of S.V.D. China Publications in the Monumenta Serica Library

Selected Biographical Notes

Index of Authors, Translators, and Collaborators