A window on China. An introduction

Abstract

In May-June 2015, I was invited by the Confucius Institute and the BeijingNormal University to conduct research on the spread of Nestorian Christianityin China, and I was asked by the Beijing Normal University to give a lectureon the subject. That invitation was the earliest stage of links woven betweenthe Faculty of History at Beijing Normal University (now one of the top fiveuniversities in China) and the History department of the Faculty of Arts andSocial Sciences at the University of Balamand. Close cooperation betweenthe two universities is underway with the enthusiastic support of the Dean,Prof. Georges Dorlian, having in view, among other things, to encouragethe exchange of students and teaching staff between our two respectiveuniversities. A delegation from a Chinese university was sent to UOB for thefirst time in April 2016. The delegation was composed of five professors fromBeijing Normal University: two of its faculty members agreed to give twolectures on topics chosen jointly by the responsible of the two universities andwhich were of great significance for both. One was on the history of the SilkRoad and the other on the origins of Christianity in China. We are pleased topresent these two texts.