Acknowledgements
As the editor of this volume, I am extremely pleased with its publication and would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to the following people and institutions:
The Shanghai Municipal Commission of Education, for funding the “Plateau Discipline of Chinese History of Shanghai University” project; Dean Zhang Yong’an and Vice Dean Ning Zhenjiang of the Liberal Arts College of Shanghai University, for their timely assistance in raising funding for publication; Song Yuehua, the Humanities Division Director of the Social Science Academic Press, Li Yanling, International Division Director, Liang Fan, International Division Chief Editor, and Managing Editors Lü Qiusha and Sun Meizi, for their support of the plan to publish an English edition of the Journal on the Study of Religion and History. As in the past, Xu Siyan, Senior Editor Emeritus, has always provided much encouragement. Thanks to the important contributions of Guo Hong, Xiao Qinghe, and Yang Yuanmeng this book was guaranteed smooth completion. Thanks also goes to all the authors of the essays presented in this volume, especially for their vigorous revision of their chapters; as well as to our translator, Max L. Bohnenkamp, who made meticulous efforts to ensure a high-quality translation of this collection containing various topics and covering a wide time span. Finally, my very special thanks goes to Brill Academic Publishers, as well as to Professor C. X. George Wei and Dr. Qin Higley, for it was due to their initiation and support that English-language readers can now have the chance to acquaint themselves with this scholarship produced by Chinese scholars of the field.