MRI Public Forum | Judging a Book by its Cover: Shen Fuzong, Thomas Hyde and the Chinese Collection of the Bodleian Library (1687)
MRI Public Forum | Judging a Book by its Cover: Shen Fuzong, Thomas Hyde and the Chinese Collection of the Bodleian Library (1687)
01
Jun
The Macau Ricci Institute is hosting the MRI Public Forum: “Judging a Book by its Cover: Shen Fuzong, Thomas Hyde and the Chinese Collection of the Bodleian Library (1687)” on 1 June, from 18:30 – 20:00, at the Conference Room of USJ Ilha Verde Campus.
INTRODUCTION:
Judging a Book by its Cover: Shen Fuzong, Thomas Hyde and the Chinese Collection of the Bodleian Library (1687)
The Bodleian Library has housed Chinese books since its foundation, and by the seventeenth century, its sinica collection had grown into one of the largest in Europe. Yet, lacking knowledge of the Chinese language, its librarians were unable to decipher, organize, or catalogue these works. When news arrived of a Chinese visitor in England, they seized the opportunity to enlist his help. The visitor was Michael Alphonsius Shen Fuzong (沈福宗, c.1657/58–1691), a Christian convert from Nanjing who had served as assistant to Father François de Rougemont (1624–1676). Between 1683 and 1691, Shen travelled across Europe with Father Philippe Couplet (1624–1692), visiting Oxford in the summer of 1687. During his stay, he collaborated with Thomas Hyde (1636–1703), Bodleian librarian, to examine the Chinese books systematically for the first time. Hyde later incorporated Shen’s information into the Catalogi librorum manuscriptorum Angliæ et Hiberniæ in unum collecti (1697/1698), a catalogue of libraries in England and Ireland. This made the Bodleian’s Chinese collection one of the first in Europe to be thoroughly examined, organized, and catalogued.
In his doctoral dissertation (2025), Dr. Måns Ahlstedt Åberg undertook a pioneering study of the Shen–Hyde collaboration, reconstructing its inner workings and outcomes. His research draws on source material, including documents never before used in academic publications, thereby offering fresh insight into this landmark moment in Sino-European intellectual exchange.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Måns Ahlstedt Åberg
Måns Ahlstedt Åberg was educated at Lund University (Sweden) and received his PhD at the University of Hong Kong in July 2025. His main research interests are the histories of European sinology and Sino-Western interaction. His doctor’s dissertation focuses on some of the first Chinese visitors in Europe and how they contributed to early sinology. Among his works are: Silent travellers? Native Chinese in Europe as agents of Sino-European interaction, 1650–1830 (PhD diss., University of Hong Kong). Open access: https://hub.hku.hk/handle/10722/358276; “The first Chinese music heard in Europe: instruments and musicians in the study of Chinese music in Europe during the long 18th century”, Early Music (2025-09-29). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/em/caaf037
DETAILS:
Date: Monday, 1 June 2026
Time: 6.30 PM – 8.00 PM (GMT+8, Macau time)
Location: Conference Room, 2/F Residential Hall, USJ Ilha Verde Campus
Language: English
Chair: Dr. Felipe Bacalso, Macau Ricci Institute
Organised by: Macau Ricci Institute
Co-organised by: University of Saint Joseph
Supported by: Macau Foundation
ONLINE REGISTRATION >
Deadline of registration: 31 May 2026
For online participants, we will send you a confirmation email and ZOOM ACCESS LINK after your registration.
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