Literature and Religion: A Dialogue Between China and the West

How does oneculture 'read' another? In Literature and Religion, two scholars, onefrom China and one from the West, each read texts from the other's culture as ameans of dialogue. A key issue in such an enterprise is the nature of religionand what we understand by that term in a world in which ancient religiouscustoms seem to be dying or under threat. Does a comparative study of religiousliterature offer a way towards mutual understanding - or merely illustrate ourdifferences? Underpinned by their own friendship, these two partners inconversation show what is possible.