Rolf Gerhard Tiedemann (8 February 1941 – 1 August 2019), better known as R. G. Tiedemann or Gary Tiedemann (Chinese: 狄德滿; pinyin: Dí Démǎn), was a German historian of Christianity in China.[1]
R. G. Tiedemann | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 8 February 1941 |
| Died | 1 August 2019 (aged 78) |
| Nationality | German |
| Occupation | Historian |
| Known for | Christianity in China |
| Spouse | Liliana |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | |
| Institutions | |
Biography
editBorn in Hartenholm, Schleswig-Holstein in wartime Germany, Tiedemann left school as a teenager. At 21 he settled with family in Wisconsin, and was later drafted to train in the US army's Medical Training Unit in Texas during the Vietnam War. He completed a BA at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, followed by an MA and a PhD at SOAS University of London. 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. After his retirement, he maintained a post as Professorial Research Associate at SOAS and as Professor of Chinese History, Shandong University, Jinan.[2][3]
His research mainly concerned the history of Christianity in China, with a particular focus on Shandong and the Boxer Rebellion. He also edited the second volume of the Handbook of Christianity in China,[4] which totalled over a thousand pages; about half of the entries he wrote himself.[5] Tiedemann was also a review editor of Journal of Peasant Studies.[6]
A festschrift was published in honor of Tiedemann, edited by two of his former students, entitled The Church as Safe Haven (2018).[7]
Tiedemann died on 1 August 2019, after suffering from illness for many years.[3] [8]
Works
edit- Tiedemann, R. G. (2009). Reference Guide to Christian Missionary Societies in China: From the 16th to the 20th Century. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 9781315497310.
- Bickers, Robert; Tiedemann, R. G., eds. (2007). The Boxers, China and the World. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780742553958.
- Tiedemann, R. G., ed. (2010). Handbook of Christianity in China, Vol. Two: 1800-Present. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-9004114302.
References
edit- ^ Laarmann, Lars Peter. (20 August 2013). "In Memoriam: Prof. Rolf Gerhard Tiedemann 1941—2019". SOAS University of London. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ Tiedemann, R. G. (15 April 2017). "Back to origins". R. G. Tiedemann 1941-2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ a b Tiedemann, Martin (5 August 2019). "Professor R.G. Tiedemann, 1941 – 2019". R. G. Tiedemann 1941-2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ Tiedemann, R. G., ed. (2010). Handbook of Christianity in China, Vol. Two: 1800-Present. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-9004114302.
- ^ Tiedemann, R. G. (18 August 2013). "Bibliography". R. G. Tiedemann 1941-2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ Peter Laamann, Lars (2021). "Prof. Rolf Gerhard Tiedemann (狄德滿), 1941—2019". Studies in World Christianity. 27 (3): 319–321. doi:10.3366/swc.2021.0355. ISSN 1354-9901.
- ^ Laamann, Lars Peter; Lee, Joseph Tse-Hei, eds. (2018). The Church as Safe Haven: Christian Governance in China. Leiden: Brill.
- ^ Tiedemann, Martin (16 August 2019). "Gary Tiedemann obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 August 2019.