Kristofer Marinus Schipper (23 October 1934 – 18 February 2021), also known as Rik Schipper and by his Chinese name Shi Zhouren (), 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 ...

. He was a professor of

Oriental studies Oriental studies is the academic field that studies Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology. In recent years, the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Middle Eastern stu ...

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 ...

, appointed there in 1993. Schipper worked as researcher for

École française d'Extrême-Orient The French School of the Far East (french: École française d'Extrême-Orient, ), abbreviated EFEO, is an associated college of PSL University dedicated to the study of Asian societies. It was founded in 1900 with headquarters in Hanoi in w ...

and later taught as directeur de recherche in History of Daoism studies at the

École pratique des hautes études The École pratique des hautes études (), abbreviated EPHE, is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is highly selective, and counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions. It is a constituent college o ...

in Paris. He was head of the Institut des Hautes Études Chinoises from the Collège de France. He also taught at

Fuzhou University Fuzhou University (FZU ) is a university located in Fuzhou, Fujian, China. Split into two campuses by the Min River, Fuzhou University's Old Campus is located on the north bank of the river in the western part of Fuzhou City, while the New Campu ...

and

Zhangzhou Zhangzhou (), alternately romanized as Changchow, is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and surrounding the prefect ...

College. After his retirement he and his wife Yuan Bingling moved to

Fuzhou Fuzhou (; , Fuzhounese: Hokchew, ''Hók-ciŭ''), alternately romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute ...

(

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its ...

) in China.

Early life and education

Schipper was born in Järnskog,

Eda Municipality Eda Municipality (''Eda kommun'') is a municipality in Värmland County in west central Sweden, on the Norwegian border. Its seat is located in the town of Charlottenberg. The municipal reform of 1971 saw the forming of the present municipality ...

on 23 October 1934. Schipper grew up near

Edam, Netherlands Edam () is a town in the northwest Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Combined with Volendam, Edam forms the municipality of Edam-Volendam. Approximately 7,380 people live in Edam. The entire municipality of Edam-Volendam has 28,492 i ...

. His father, Klaas Abe Schipper, was a Mennonite pastor, and his mother Johanna Schipper was a devout believer. The couple was declared “Righteous Among the Nations” by Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust remembrance center, for their efforts in hiding Jewish people during the German occupation of Holland in World War II.

Research

Schipper studied in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

. He was very interested in the ceremonies and rituals that are part of

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...

. Knowledge of the rituals may only be passed on within a family. He was adopted by a befriended family, so he could be trained in Taoism. In 1968 he was

initiated Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformation ...

as a priest in the Zhengyi School of Taoism. He organized and edited the first complete scientific study of the 1500 works contained in the

Taoist Canon Daozang (), meaning 'Taoist Canon', consists of around 1,400 texts that were collected (after the '' Daodejing'' and '' Zhuangzi'' and Liezi which are the core Taoist texts). They were collected by Taoist monks of the period in an attempt to b ...

of the

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

. Schipper became 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 ...

in 1995.

Library of the Western Belvedere

In 2001 Kristofer Schipper and his wife Dr. Yuan Bingling founded the first library in China specialised in western art, literature, and culture, in Fuzhou. It is called the "Library of the Western Belvedere" or "''Xiguan cangshulou'' 西观藏书楼" (Fuzhou University Global Civilization Research Center and Library of the Western Belvedere.) With his library they intend to make western literature more accessible to Chinese scientists. The collection consists, in 2007, of about 25000 titles on literature, art history, and philosophy in many languages, such as English, French, German, Dutch, and other western languages.

Bibliography

* ''The Taoist Canon'', ed. Kristofer Schipper and Franciscus Verellen, The University of Chicago Press 2005, . * ''The Taoist Body''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993. :Schipper, Kristofer, ''Tao. De levende religie van China'', Amsterdam (Meulenhoff) 1988, (5e druk 2006). :Translation by Schipper of his ''Le corps taoïste. Corps physique, corps social'', Parijs (Fayard) 1982. * Zhuangzi, ''De innerlijke geschriften'', transl. from the Chinese by Kristofer Schipper, Amsterdam (Meulenhoff) 1997, * Zhuang Zi, ''De volledige geschriften. Het grote klassieke boek van het taoïsme'', transl. from the Chinese and annotated by Kristofer Schipper, Amsterdam (Uitgeverij Augustus) 2007, , 439 pg.

References

External links

* .
Founding information
on library.
Schipper in the Library
of the Western Belvedere.
Reference
to three interviews (in Dutch). * Schippe

in China in 2005.
K. Schipper audio archives of Ritual Music in Taiwan
* Retrieved April 5, 2021. {{DEFAULTSORT:Schipper, Kristofer 1934 births 2021 deaths Dutch sinologists Dutch Taoists Fuzhou University faculty Leiden University faculty University of Paris alumni Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur People from Eda Municipality People from Edam-Volendam Dutch expatriates in China