Rolf Gerhard Tiedemann (8 February 1941 – 1 August 2019), better known as R. G. Tiedemann or Gary Tiedemann ( zh, p=Dí Démǎn, t=狄德滿), was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

historian of

Christianity in China Christianity in China has been present since at least the 3rd century, and it has gained a significant amount of influence during the last 200 years. While Christianity may have existed in China before the 3rd century, evidence of its exist ...

Biography

Born in

Hartenholm Hartenholm is a municipality in the district of Segeberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after R ...

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

in wartime Germany, Tiedemann left school as a teenager. At 21 he settled with family in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, and was later drafted to train in the US army's Medical Training Unit in Texas during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. He completed a BA at

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...

, followed by an MA and a PhD at

SOAS University of London SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

. After taking several part-time posts, Tiedemann spent twenty years teaching Modern History of China in SOAS's Department of History, including a sabbatical at the Ricci Institute,

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

. After his retirement, he maintained a post as Professorial Research Associate at SOAS and as Professor of Chinese History,

Shandong University Shandong University (, abbreviated as Shanda, , English abbreviation SDU) is a public research comprehensive university in Jinan, Shandong with one campus in Weihai, Shandong and one campus in Qingdao, Shandong and is supported directly by the ...

Jinan Jinan (), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Tsinan, is the Capital (political), capital of Shandong province in East China, Eastern China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is the second-largest city i ...

. His research mainly concerned the history of Christianity in China, with a particular focus on

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

and the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

. He also edited the second volume of the ''Handbook of Christianity in China'', which totalled over a thousand pages; about half of the entries he wrote himself. Tiedemann was also a review editor of '' Journal of Peasant Studies''. A

festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

was published in honor of Tiedemann, edited by two of his former students, entitled ''The Church as Safe Haven'' (2018). Tiedemann died on 1 August 2019, after suffering from illness for many years.

Works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiedemann, R. G. 1941 births 2019 deaths Religion academics 20th-century German historians Christian missions in China World Christianity scholars History of Christianity in China University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni Alumni of SOAS University of London Academics of SOAS University of London 21st-century German historians