The Asian Division and ADFS invite you to a

Symposium and special book exhibit

"A Bridge between Cultures: Commemorating the Two-Hundredth Anniversary of Robert Morrison's Arrival in China"

Location: Members Room, LJ-162, Jefferson Building

Co-sponsored by the Asian Division of the Library of Congress, the Centre for the Study of Christianity in China (Oxford, England), the University of Maryland and Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md), this conference will be held Thursday-Friday, March 15-16, 2007, at the Library of Congress and the University of Maryland, College Park.

Born in Northumberland, England, in 1782, Robert Morrison was apprenticed as a boot-tree maker. He joined the Presbyterian Church at sixteen. In 1805, he joined the London Missionary Society, where he studied Chinese, medicine and astronomy. He sailed to Guangzhou (Canton) in 1807, where he began to work as translator for the (British) East India Company. Morrison produced a Chinese version of the New Testament in 1813, organized Lord Amherst’s embassy to Beijing in 1816, and acted as an eminent diplomatic channel between China and the West. Morrison also translated (English to Chinese) a dictionary, grammar book and complete Bible. He died in 1834 in Guangzhou, but was survived by his son John Robert Morrison, who assumed senior positions within the East India Company and the Hong Kong government.

The Library of Congress portion of the conference will be held 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Thursday, March 15, in the Members Room (LJ-162), located on the first floor of the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C. The day’s events include a keynote speech titled ”Contextualizing Christianities in China: Placing Morrison in a Wider Historical Perspective” by Robert Frykenberg, professor emeritus of history and South Asian studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and a panel discussion on “China and the Greater World: Cultural Parameters.” Attendees will also view a PowerPoint presentation on the Library’s collection of Morrison books.

A special display of Morrison material will be on view from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, March 15-17, in the Asian Reading Room (LJ-150) of the Jefferson Building. The display will include many rare books by Morrison found in the Library’s William Gamble, Arthur Probsthain and Caleb Cushing collections, as well as works by Morrison’s contemporaries. Made possible through the generous support of Thomson Gale educational publishers, an annotated catalog will accompany the display.

Contact: Dr. Mi Chu at 202-707-3626 or mwie@loc.gov

For a schedule of this conference and registration information, visit the Centre for the Study of Christianity in China at http://cscic.com/Academic-Activities or send an email inquiry to morrison@gmail.com.

NOTE Photos of the event at LC can be seen here [1]