Shaanxi Bible College invited a scholar to give a lecture on "German Protestant Missionary Richard Wilhelm and the East to the West".
Dr. Ding Ruizhong, a researcher from the Shaanxi Academy of Social Sciences, last Wednesday introduced the life of Richard Wilhelm and his main work in China. Established by the missionary in Qingdao, the Deutsch Wilhelm Schule was known as one of the earliest middle schools in the history of Chinese education, training teachers for the Tengchow Boy's Boarding School in Qingdao. Through the establishment of the China Institute, various public reports and exhibitions related to Chinese culture were held in the form of lectures and various newspapers, covering many fields such as literature, art, painting, music, drama, and architecture, to help Westerners understand the connotation and meaning of Chinese culture. During this period, he met with a group of Chinese celebrities and intellectuals, according to Shaanxi Bible College.
In addition, the missionary wrote many books in his life, like compiling textbooks related to German and Chinese and a large number of books on Chinese cultural thoughts, with more than 200 articles published. His translations of ancient Chinese books, classical literature, poems, prose by philosophers and historical biography has enabled German readers to have a more comprehensive, profound and three-dimensional understanding of the images of China in many aspects and classic ideological works, contributing to the exchange of ideas, culture, painting, and art between China and the West. As this contribution has a lasting impact, no one has surpassed it in the German-speaking world.
At the end of the seminar, Ding played a Chinese traditional instrument, guqin solo, for the participants. After summarizing the lecture, Pastor Chen Dingliang, the school's deputy president, presented a book to Ding as a souvenir.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
