Erik Zürcher (13 September 1928, in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

– 7 February 2008, in

Warmond Warmond () is a village and former municipality in the Western Netherlands, north of Leiden in the province of South Holland. The municipality covered an area of 14.42 km² (5.57 mile², 30.7%) of which 4.42 km² (1.71 mile²) is water; ...

) was a Dutch

Sinologist Sinology, or Chinese studies, is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of China primarily through Chinese philosophy, language, literature, culture and history and often refers to Western scholarship. Its origin "may be traced to the ex ...

. From 1962 to 1993, Zürcher was a professor of

history of East Asia The History of East Asia generally encompasses the histories of China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, and Taiwan from prehistoric times to the present. East Asia is not a uniform term and each of its countries has a different national history, but ...

at the

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city o ...

. He was also Director of the Sinological Institute, between 1975 and 1990. His Chinese name was ''Xǔ Lǐhe'' (许理和).

Biography

He studied

Sinology Sinology, or Chinese studies, is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of China primarily through Chinese philosophy, language, literature, culture and history and often refers to Western scholarship. Its origin "may be traced to the e ...

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, specializing in Chinese religions. In 1959, his PhD was over ''The Buddhist Conquest of China''. In 1962 he became professor of history of East Asia, particularly the Chinese

, Chinese reactions to the

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

and early relations between China and the outside world. He was a member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...

since 1975 and Associate of the Academie des Belles Lettres et des Incriptions of the

Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institut ...

. He was also awarded the Medal of Honor for Art and Science in the Order of the House of Orange and made a Knight of the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands ( nl, De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw, french: L'Ordre du Lion Néerlandais) is a Dutch order of chivalry founded by King William I of the Netherlands on ...

. His son

Erik-Jan Zürcher Erik-Jan Zürcher (born 1953) is a Dutch Turkologist. He is a professor of Turkish studies at Leiden University since 1997. From 2008 to 2012 he served as director of the International Institute of Social History. His book ''Turkey: a Modern Histo ...

(born 1953) is a professor of Turkish languages and cultures at the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

and former director of the

International Institute of Social History The International Institute of Social History (IISH/IISG) is one of the largest archives of labor and social history in the world. Located in Amsterdam, its one million volumes and 2,300 archival collections include the papers of major figu ...

Bibliography

* (2007), ''Kouduo richao. Li Jiubiao's Diary of oral admonitions. A Late Ming Christian journal'', translated, with introduction and notes by Erik Zürcher, Sankt Augustin (Institut Monumenta Serica Brescia), 2 volumes, (Monumenta Serica monograph series, 56/1- 2). * (2007), ''The Buddhist Conquest of China. The Spread and Adaptation of Buddhism in Early Medieval China'', Leiden (Brill), (Leidensia Sinica, vol. 11). : Adapted from his thesis. Original edition 1959. : Includes bibliography of E. Zürcher. * (2002), , ''Traditionele bouwkunst in Taiwan'' (''Traditional Architecture in Taiwan''), (Dutch adaptation from the Chinese), Antwerp-Apeldoorn (Garant), . * (1996), Herrmann, Joachim and Erik Zürcher (eds.), ''History of Humanity. Scientific and Cultural Development'', Vol. III: From the ''Seventh Century BC to the Seventh Century AD'', London (Routledge), (Routledge reference). UNESCO. * (1995), Chun-Chieh Huang and Erik Zürcher (eds.), ''Time and Space in Chinese culture'', Leiden (Brill) , (Leidensia Sinica, vol. 33). * (1993), ''Confucianism for development?'', Leiden (Leiden University Rĳks). : Valedictory Lecture Leiden. * (1993) Chun-Chieh Huang and Erik Zürcher (eds.), ''Norms and the State in China'', Leiden (Brill) , (Leidensia Sinica, vol. 28). (Papers presented at a conference held July 8–12, 1991 at the Sinological Institute of Leiden University). * (1991) Zürcher, Erik, Nicolas Standaert and Adrian Dudink (eds.), ''Bibliography of the Jesuit Mission in China (ca. 1580-ca. 1680)'', Leiden (Centre of Non-Western Studies), , (CNWS publications, No. 5). * (1990), Zürcher, E. and T. Langendorff (eds.), ''The Humanities in the Nineties. A View from the Netherlands'', Amsterdam (Swets & Zeitlinger), . * (1990), , ''Bouddhisme, Christianisme et société chinoise'', Paris (Julliard), . * (1978), , ''Het leven van de Boeddha'', (''The Life of the Buddha''), (translated from the earliest Chinese tradition and introduced by E. Zurcher), Amsterdam (Meulenhoff), , (The Oriental Library, 10) :Translation of ''Xiuxing benqi jing'' and ''Zhong benqi jing''. * (1964), , Vos, F. and E. Zürcher, ''Spel zonder snaren. Enige beschouwingen over Zen'', (''Play without Strings. Some Reflections on Zen''), Deventer (Kluwer). * (1962), , ''Dialoog der misverstanden'', (''Dialogue of Misunderstandings''), Leiden (Brill) : Address delivered in acceptance of the post of professor in the History of the Far East at the University of Leiden on March 2, 1962. * (1959), ''The Buddhist Conquest of China. The Spread and Adaptation of Buddhism in Early Medieval China'', Leiden (Brill), 2 volumes, vol. 1: Text, vol. 2: Notes, bibliography, indexes (Leidensia Sinica, vol. 11).Promise Leiden. ---- * (1976), , ''Syllabus "Boeddhisme"'', (''Syllabus "Buddhism"''), Leiden (Sinological Institute). * (1974), , ''Aardrĳkskundig overzicht van China'', (''Geographical overview of China''), Leiden (Sinological Institute). * (1971), , ''Chronologie van de Culturele Revolutie'', (''Chronology of the Cultural Revolution''), Leiden (Documentation for the current China, Sinological Institute). * (1970), , ''Inleiding traditionele Chinese staat en maatschappĳ'', (''Introduction Traditional Chinese State and Society''), Leiden (Documentation for the current China, Sinological Institute). * (1970), , ''Geschiedenis van het Chinese communisme. Overzicht en chronologie'', (''History of Chinese Communism. Overview and chronology''), Leiden (Documentation for the current China, Sinological Institute). * (1970), , ''Geschiedenis-overzicht van China'', (''History Overview of China''), Leiden (Documentation for the current China, Sinological Institute). * (1970), , ''De Chinese Volksrepubliek (1949- ). Kort chronologisch overzicht'', (''The Chinese People's Republic (1949 -). Short Chronological overview''), Leiden (Documentation for the current China, Sinological Institute). ---- * Blussé, Leonard and Harriet T. Zurndorfer, ''Conflict and Accommodation in Early Modern East Asia. Essays in Honour of Erik Zürcher'', Leiden (Brill) 1993, , (Leidensia Sinica, vol. 29). * Liang, J.C.P. and R.P.E. Sybesma (eds.), ''From classical fú to "three inches high"''. Studies on Chinese in honor of Erik Zürcher'', Leuven-Apeldoorn (Garant) 1993, . * Lloyd Haft, ''Words from the West. Western Texts in Chinese Literary Context. Essays to Honor Erik Zürcher on His Sixty-Fifth Birthday'', Leiden (Centre of Non-Western Studies) 1993, , (CNWS publications, vol. 16).

Biography

Bibliography

References

Further reading