[May 15-16] Revisiting Imperial Margins: Religious and Political Challenges in Modern Asia

Date: May 15-16, 2025

Time: 10:00 AM - 5:30 PM

Venue: CRT-4.36, 4/F., Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU

Registration is required to attend this event - Registration Link.

For enquiries, please contact us at liji66@hku.hk

Abstract:

Over the past two centuries, Asia has been at the center of imperial expansion, resulting in the formation of diverse religious and cultural identities. The legacy of imperial rule and transnational encounters continues to impact indigenous communities, often giving rise to religious and political challenges. This conference brings together leading scholars from France and Hong Kong to explore the role of religion in shaping marginalized communities and frontier politics in modern Asian countries. Scholars examine the multifaceted dimensions of challenges in modern Asia, including the religious and political encounters in the borderlands of China, Mongolia, Manchuria, Korea, Laos, Malaysia and Vietnam. Challenges to the indigenous communities within imperial margins are examined through an analysis of religious conflicts, cultural assimilation, and the negotiation of rituals and practices. Specifically, the projects presented at this conference delve into the experiences of Tibeto-Mongol monasteries, Christian conflicts between missions and colonization, the Franco-Vietnamese dispute from political theology, Lanten Yao Daoist priests in Laos, missionary translation of Daoist classics, Manchu text and local dialects, transmission of Buddhism from China to Vietnam, and transformed Marian imagery across Asian countries, and transgressive mobilities in Chosŏn Korea. Collectively, these projects examine the ways in which local communities navigate the complexities of their identities within the broader imperial context. They address issues such as religious conflicts and negotiation, social clashes and integration, and political representation. These projects contribute to a deeper understanding of the complexities of Asian society, emphasizing how the historical and imperial legacy continues to shape religious and political issues today. The conference seeks to foster dialogue and promote a more nuanced comprehension of the complex dynamics that shape the religious and political landscapes of contemporary Asia.

Participants List (alphabetical order)          

Bourdeaux, Pascal (EPHE, École Pratique des Hautes Études, France)

Bramao-Ramos, Sarah Jessi (The University of Hong Kong) 

Calanca, Paola (École Française d’Extrême-Orient Institute of Chinese Studies, Hong Kong)

Charleux, Isabelle (CNRS-GSRL, National Centre for Scientific Research, France)

Chen, Sixing (Fujian Normal University, China)

Anne Maréchal Dalles (L’université Jean-Monnet-Saint-Étienne and CNRS-GSRL, France)

Estévez, Joseba (The University of Hong Kong)

Hang, Xing (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

Hung Tak Wai (Waseda University, Japan)

Kim, Loretta (The University of Hong Kong)

Li, Ji (The University of Hong Kong)

Mak, George Kam Wah (Hong Kong Baptist University)

Palmer, David (The University of Hong Kong)

Roux, Pierre-Emmanuel (Université Paris Cité, France)

Song, Gang (The University of Hong Kong)

Wei, Sophie Ling-chia (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

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Revisiting Imperial Margins: Religious and Political Challenges in Modern Asia

Conference Program

Dates: May 14-16, 2025

Venue: CPD 4.36, Run Run Shaw Tower, The University of Hong Kong

Day 1 (May 14, 2025) Wednesday

(Field Trip)

1.      Nazareth Printing House (Douglas Castle under the French Mission 1894–1954, now University Hall of HKU)

2.      Béthanie (former sanatorium of the French Missions Étrangères de Paris)

3.      HKUST Map Library

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Day 2 (May 15, 2025) Thursday

9:30-10:00      Registration

10:00–10:20   Welcoming Remarks, Introduction, and Group Photo

David Pomfret (Dean, Faculty of Arts, HKU)

Loretta Kim (Head, School of Modern Languages and Cultures, HKU)

Ji Li (Conference convenor, SMLC, HKU)

10:30–12:00   Panel I: Religious Encounter at Imperial Borderlands   

Chair: David Palmer (HKU)

Isabelle Charleux (CNRS-GSRL): “The Transformations of Tibeto-Mongol Monasteries in Present-day Inner Mongolia”

Anne Maréchal Dalles (L’université Jean-Monnet-Saint-Étienne and CNRS-GSRL): “Imperial Crossroads: Foreign Missionary Encounters in Northeastern China in the Second Half of the 19th Century”

Ji Li (HKU): “Immortalizing God’s Empire: Catholic Steles and Transnational Religious Negotiations in the Borderlands”

Q & A and Discussion

12:00–14:00 Lunch Break (Lunch at Bijas)

14:00–15:30 Panel II: Negotiating Religiosity at Political Margins

Chair: Paola Calanca (École française d’Extrême-Orient)

Pascal Bourdeaux (EPHE): “Rethinking French-Vietnamese Contacts from Different Conceptions of Imperial Sacredness and Authority (1820-1860)”

Joseba Estévez (HKU): “Emperors of the Margins: The Social and Ritual Roles of the Lanten Yao Daoist Priests in Laos”

Hung Tak Wai (Waseda): “Weeds among Blossoms and Fruits: The Marginalisation of Chinese Muslims in Nusantara's Historical Narratives” (Zoom presentation)

Q & A and Discussion

15:30–16:00 Coffee Beak

16:00-17:30 Panel III: Translation and Cross-Cultural Negotiation

Chair: George Kam Wah Mak (HK Baptist)

Sophie Ling-chia Wei (CUHK): “Mystical Margins and Imperial Centers: Guillaume Pauthier’s Daodejing and the Paradox of Orientalist Translation”

Sixing Chen (Fujian Normal): “Incomplete Localization: Three Translations of Aesop’s Fables in the Min Dialects”

Sarah Jessi Bramao-Ramos (HKU): ubaliyambuha, ubaliyambukū: Considering translation in The Manchu Anatomy

Q & A and Discussion

18:30               Dinner for Invited Guests

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Day 3 (May 16, 2025) Friday

9:15-9:30        Registration

9:30–11:00      Panel IV: Crossing Borders of Faith

Chair: Loretta Kim (HKU)

Xing Hang (PolyU): “The Ming-Qing Transmission of Buddhism from China to Vietnam”

Gang Song (HKU): “Our Lady in Disguise: Mary-Guanyin/Kannon Images in Mid-Qing China and Tokugawa Japan” 

Pierre- Emmanuel Roux (Paris Cité): “Religious Smuggling and Transgressive Mobilities between Qing China and Chosŏn Korea: The Case of 19th-century Clandestine Catholics”

Q & A and Discussion

11:00–11:15    Coffee Break

11:15–12:00     Roundtable Discussion: Religion and State, Publication and Future Collaboration

Chair: Ji Li (HKU) and Gang Song (HKU)

Participants:

Pascal Bourdeaux (EPHE)

Sarah Jessi Bramao-Ramos (HKU) 

Paola Calanca (École française)

Isabelle Charleux (CNRS-GSRL)

Sixing Chen (Fujian Normal)

George Kam Wah Mak (HK Baptist)

Loretta Kim (HKU)

Anne Maréchal Dalles (L’université Jean-Monnet-Saint-Étienne and CNRS-GSRL)

Joseba Estévez (HKU)

Pierre-Emmanuel Roux (Université Paris Cité)

Xing Hang (PolyU)

Sophie Ling-chia Wei (CUHK)

12:30               Lunch for Invited Guests