Guest lecture “Gāndhārī Manuscripts and Inscriptions: Maintaining and Analyzing a Comprehensive Corpus” by Stefan Baums, June 18, 2025 (6/9/2025) - We are thrilled to share that the third lecture in our ongoing “Gandhāra Corpora Project Lecture Series” will be delivered by Dr. Stefan Baums from the University of Munich! The lecture series is organized by Prof. Charles DiSimone, leader of… Read more
Lecture Recap: “Visualising Rituals in Gandhara” by Dr. Ashwini Lakshminarayanan” (6/6/2025) - Thursday, June 5, 2025, saw the presentation of an insightful talk, “Visualising Rituals in Gandhara” by Dr. Ashwini Lakshminarayanan, which inaugurated The Gandhāra Corpora Project Lecture Series organized by GCBS's Prof. Charles DiSimone. In her lecture, Dr. Lakshminarayanan presented her… Read more
Newsletter of the Database of Medieval Chinese texts – May 2025 (6/2/2025) - We are very happy to announce the publication of a new issue of the “Newsletter of the Database of Medieval Chinese texts (DMCT)” (ISSN: 2952-8534), a collaborative project of the Department of Languages and Cultures / GCBS, Ghent University, and… Read more
FWO Postdoctoral Fellowships Awarded to Buddhist Studies Projects at Ghent in 2025 (5/25/2025) - We are delighted to share that two researchers will be joining the Ghent Centre for Buddhist Studies in the fall having both been awarded prestigious FWO Junior Postdoctoral Fellowships in the 2025 competition under the supervision of Professor Charles DiSimone.… Read more
New member: Lin Wushi (5/19/2025) - We warmly welcome Lin Wushi, an exchange PhD student from the Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts! His research interests include the history of Buddhist thought, with particular emphasis on Chinese Buddhism and Chan Buddhism. His doctoral thesis, titled “Comprehending… Read more
King of Belgium Receives Royal Gift of the Pali Canon from Thai Monarch, May 15, 2025 (5/16/2025) - On May 15, 2025, the King of the Belgians received a special royal gift from the King of Thailand: a beautifully bound edition of the Pali Tipitaka, the foundational scripture of the Theravāda Buddhist tradition. The gift symbolizes the long-standing… Read more
Long-term research stay of GCBS researcher Laurent Van Cutsem in China, August 2024 – February 2025 (5/15/2025) - In February 2025, our postdoctoral researcher Dr. Laurent Van Cutsem returned from an enriching six-month stay as a Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Research on Ancient Books 古籍研究所 at Zhejiang University 浙江大學 in Hangzhou 杭州. His host was Prof.… Read more
Fieldwork of GCBS researcher Mariia Lepneva in China, March 15 – April 6, 2025 (5/12/2025) - Dr. Mariia Lepneva conducted fieldwork in China from March 16 to April 5, 2025, as part of her FWO-funded postdoctoral project, "Vinaya Revival on Baohua Mountain in Ming–Qing China." The primary objectives of this research trip were threefold: to strengthen… Read more
Guest lecture “A Corpus of Ritual Literature from Dunhuang and its Links Further West” by Lewis Doney, June 10, 2025 (5/9/2025) - We are excited to announce the second lecture in our ongoing "Gandhāra Corpora Project Lecture Series", featuring Prof. Lewis Doney from the University of Bonn! The lecture series is organized by Prof. Charles DiSimone, leader of the ERC-funded project “Corpora… Read more
Guest lecture “Visualising Rituals in Gandhara” by Ashwini Lakshminarayanan, June 05, 2025 (5/8/2025) - We are delighted to announce the launch of our new lecture series, "The Gandhāra Corpora Project Lecture Series", and share the details for the inaugural hybrid lecture below, marking the beginning of what promises to be an engaging and dynamic… Read more
Lecture “Everything You Didn’t Know You Ever Wanted to Know about Buddhist Manuscript Cultures in Greater Gandhāra” by Charles DiSimone (5/7/2025) - On Tuesday, May 6, 2025, a captivating lecture titled “Everything You Didn’t Know You Ever Wanted to Know about Buddhist Manuscript Cultures in Greater Gandhāra” was delivered by GCBS's Prof. Charles DiSimone as part of our Permanent Training in Buddhist… Read more
Fieldwork of GCBS researcher Massimiliano Portoghese in India, April 1-18, 2025 (5/6/2025) - From April 1st to 18th, 2025, our PhD student Massimiliano Portoghese undertook a rich and immersive fieldwork journey across India, engaging directly with key sites of Buddhist heritage and scholarship. His itinerary began in New Delhi, where he visited the… Read more
Lecture “Buddhist Material Culture in East Asian Tea Tradition: The Way of Tea, the Art of Tea, and Tea Ceremony” by Jin Kyoung Choi (4/30/2025) - As part of the Permanent Training in Buddhist Studies lecture series, Prof. Jin Kyoung Choi (Ghent Centre for Buddhist Studies) delivered a talk titled “Buddhist Material Culture in East Asian Tea Tradition: The Way of Tea, the Art of Tea, and Tea… Read more
Reading group meeting, presentation by Siqi Tang, April 25, 2025 (4/28/2025) - After the Easter break, we resumed our Reading Group activities. For the remainder of the term, we will focus on Ming and Qing dynasties local gazetteers (方志) of the Chongqing area and the historical information they provide on the Buddhist… Read more
Publication highlights (Q2 20254): Literary transcreation as a Jain practice (4/23/2025) - New open-access book Literary transcreation as a Jain practice, edited by Eva De Clercq (Ghent Centre for Buddhist Studies), Heleen De Jonckheere, and Simon Winant, has been published as Volume 13 in the series Beiträge zur kulturwissenschaftlichen Süd- und Ostasienforschung.… Read more
Lecture “Greek gods in Gandhāran Buddhist art: How are images copied and reinterpreted” by Osmund Bopeararchchi (4/23/2025) - As part of the Permanent Training in Buddhist Studies lecture series, Prof. Osmund Bopeararchchi (University of Lens) delivered a talk titled "Greek gods in Gandhāran Buddhist art: How are images copied and reinterpreted" on Tuesday, 22 April 2025, at the… Read more
Guest lecture “How to Traumatize Your Opponent: Mockery in Chinese Buddhist Scholastic Debate” by Xiaoming Hou, April 30, 2025 (4/15/2025) - Dr. Xiaoming Hou of UC Berkeley will deliver the following lecture on Wednesday, April 30 at 16:00 in the Faculteitszaal (1st floor of the Blandijn) : Title: How to Traumatize Your Opponent: Mockery in Chinese Buddhist Scholastic Debate Abstract:… Read more
New member: Siqi Tang (4/2/2025) - Siqi Tang is a visting PhD student sponsored by the China Scholarship Council (CSC) within the Department of Languages and Cultures at Ghent University. She holds a Master's degree in Landscape Architecture from Chongqing University and is currently pursuing a… Read more
New member: Jing Liu (3/30/2025) - Jing Liu is a visting PhD student within the Department of Languages and Cultures at Ghent University. She holds a Master’s degree from Shanghai University and is currently pursuing a PhD there. Her current research project “Bide 比德: A Study on… Read more
Lecture “Exhibiting Buddhist Artworks in the Museum: reassessing the collection of the Royal Museum of Mariemont through provenance research” by Lyce Jankowski and Lara Bauden (3/12/2025) - As part of the Permanent Training in Buddhist Studies lecture series, on March 11th, Lyce Jankowski and Lara Bauden from the Royal Museum of Mariemont took us through their fascinating research on the museum's Buddhist art collection. This collection, founded… Read more
Doctoral school “Buddhist Material Culture”, June 26 – July 1, 2025 (3/8/2025) - Abstract: This five-day, on-campus course explores how Buddhism has influenced the creation of new objects, ideas about objects, and behaviors related to objects. Focusing on China, the course requires no prior knowledge of Chinese, as all readings and instruction will be… Read more
2025 PTBS Lecture Series (2/24/2025) - Buddhism is a driving force in many regions of the world. Yet many aspects of it remain unknown. This is especially true when it comes to everyday praxis, to people now and in the past who incorporate Buddhism into their… Read more
Workshop “Studying Food and Japan: A Roundtable on New Research and Approaches”, March 7, 2025 (2/24/2025) - Organized by the Japanese studies sector of the Department of Languages and Cultures and BOCULT - Centre for Research on Body Cultures in Motion, the workshop “Studying Food and Japan: A Roundtable on New Research and Approaches” at Ghent University… Read more
New member: Mengqiu Tian (2/8/2025) - Mengqiu Tian is PhD candidate in Buddhist Studies within the Department of Languages and Cultures at Ghent University. Her research project "Vignettes of the Life of the Buddha at Dunhuang during the Tang and Five Dynasties", supervised by Prof. Dr.… Read more
Guest lecture “Japanese diplomacy in the fifteenth century: Buddhist exchange and Chinese tributary ritual” by Polina Barducci, April 29, 2025 (2/1/2025) - On April 29, 2025, Dr. Polina Barducci (Rikkyo University) will deliver a guest lecture titled “Japanese diplomacy in the fifteenth century: Buddhist exchange and Chinese tributary ritual” within the framework of the master-level course "Culture in Perspective: South and East… Read more
PhD defense “The Poet–Monk Taixu and His Imagery World” by Xiaoxiao Xu, January 27, 2025 (1/28/2025) - On January 27, 2025, GCBS researcher Xiaoxiao Xu defended his PhD dissertation titled "The Poet–Monk Taixu and His Imagery World," written within the framework of the joint PhD program between Ghent University (supervisor Prof. Dr. Ann Heirman) and the University… Read more
Publication highlights (Q1 20254): Two papers by GCBS members in the Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies (1/7/2025) - Articles from two GCBS researchers have just been published in the Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Volume 46 (2023). One is by Prof. Dr. Charles DiSimone, and the other by FWO postdoctoral fellow Dr. Anna Sokolova. "Manuscript Discoveries… Read more
Two GCBS researchers have been granted prestigious FWO Senior Research projects (12/18/2024) - Two GCBS researchers have been granted two prestigious 4-year FWO Senior Research projects! (1) "Visual and Textual Narratives of Buddhist Initiation Rituals in Medieval China" Applicants: Prof. Ann Heirman & Christoph Anderl / Researcher: Dr. Anna Sokolova (2) "Tracing Macro-cyclical… Read more
Publication highlights (Q4 2024): “Buddhakṣetrapariśodhana”, edited by Charles DiSimone and Nicholas Witkowski. (11/26/2024) - New Book Announcement: Buddhakṣetrapariśodhana: A Festschrift for Paul Harrison, edited by GCBS professor Charles DiSimone and Nicholas Witkowski. From the publisher: Buddhakṣetrapariśodhana is a volume in honor of the Buddhologist and Philologist, Paul M. Harrison, George Edwin Burnell Professor of… Read more
Fieldwork of GCBS researcher Ven. Hui Wen (11/17/2024) - Venerable Hui Wen, a Phd student at GCBS, has just completed a field trip to the Mogao 莫高 caves in Dunhuang 敦煌, Gansu Province, in the framework of her research on the iconography and symbolic representations found at the center… Read more