With speaker SHEN Jia (沈迦)

Date: Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Time: 12:00-1:30 p.m.
Venue: Asian Centre Auditorium, 1871 West Mall
Language: Mandarin

以商品经济闻名遐迩的浙江温州，其老城区里有一座百年历史的基督教堂，但教堂创建者的名字及其作为这座城市现代化奠基人的事迹却被有意无意淹埋在波云诡谲的历史里。童年时曾随祖母去这座教堂礼拜的沈迦，大学读了新闻系，毕业后做过记者、编辑、商人，然后在十余年前移民来到了温哥华。在安静的温哥华，他依托近代史料宏富的UBC亚洲图书馆，从童年的家乡记忆出发，通过爬梳档案、田野调查、口述访谈，历时六年，跨越亚欧美三大洲，以知识考古学的方式还原了这位名叫苏慧廉的英国传教士波澜壮阔的一生，及其与中国近代史一咏三叹的关联。

成书于温哥华的《寻找·苏慧廉》2013年在台湾、大陆相继出版后一纸风行，当年即获评中国“年度十大好书”，凤凰卫视还据此拍摄了同名记录片。

In the old quarter of Wenzhou, a well-known city for its commodity economy in Zhejiang Province, stands a Christian church built about one century ago. However, the name of the builder and his contribution to the city’s modernity were intentionally or unintentionally buried in sudden and perplexing changes of history. Mr. Shen Jia went to this church with his grandmother in his childhood. He majored in Journalism when he was a college student. After graduating, he worked as a journalist, editor, and entrepreneur. He immigrated to Canada and settled down in Vancouver more than ten years ago. Using the abundant collection on modern Chinese history in UBC Asian Library, Shen started writing on his childhood memories in his hometown. His work is based on archival research, fieldwork, interviews, and six years’ of endeavors in Asia, Europe and America. Drawing from the methodology of knowledge archaeology, he brought to life the magnificent story of this British missionary, William Edward Soothill, and his relationship with modern Chinese history.

Written in Vancouver, Seeking Soothill 《寻找·苏慧廉》was published in Taiwan, and then in mainland China in 2013, and became popular immediately. It was praised as one of “the Best Ten Books of the Year” in China and was adapted as a documentary under the same title by Phoenix Satellite Television.