le mercredi 12 octobre 2011 de 14:00 a 16:00 au GSRL, salle 255

Paul R. KATZ Academia Sinica, Institute of Modern History

“Wang Yiting and the Enchantment of Chinese Modernity” Despite the fact that numerous scholars have considered the broader trends of the history of Chinese religions during the Republican era, relatively little research has been done on individual religious believers and how their lives intersected with such trends. This paper will attempt to fill such a gap by examining the religious life of Wang Yiting 王一亭 (Wang Zhen 王震; 1867-1938), a renowned member of the Shanghai elite during the late Qing and Republican eras. The paper’s main goals are to consider the ways in which religion shaped Wang’s vocation as a member of the Shanghai elite, while also examining his Wang’s beliefs and practices in the context of the broader issue of religion and “modernity” in urban China.