Between Different Cultures: Essays in Conversation with Yang Huilin

The significance of the work of Yang Huilin (Professor of Comparative Literature and Religious Studies, Renmin University of China, Beijing) is widely recognized in numerous scholarly fields. Professor Yang’s career is further distinguished by his service as vice president of Renmin University and as president of the Chinese Comparative Literature Association. The author of numerous books in the fields of cultural studies, comparative literature, and religion, in 2015 Professor Yang was awarded a Christianity Today Book Award for his book China, Christianity, and the Question of Culture (Baylor UP).

In celebration of Professor Yang’s scholarly contributions, Between Different Cultures presents a representative collection of the editorials Professor Yang has written for the journal he founded in 1999, the Journal for the Study of Christian Culture, of which he is the current editor. Each editorial, originally written in Chinese, is paired with an essay from a leading European or North American scholar whose work has connected with Yang Huilin. These essays illustrate the remarkable range of Professor Yang’s scholarship and his involvement with many of the most important issues in global cultural and theological debates over the past three decades.

A tireless traveler, Professor Yang has made numerous friendships with scholars across the world, and those relationships have in turn contributed to the cultural exchanges between the West and China. In just such a spirit of camaraderie and collaboration, these essays are offered as a token of admiration and regard.

David Jasper is Professor Emeritus of Literature and Theology at the University of Glasgow and former Chang Jiang Visiting Professor at Renmin University.

Zhang Jing (Cathy) is Associate Researcher at the Institute for the Promotion of Chinese Language and Culture at Renmin University.