Erik Zürcher
Illustration — Zürcher (1991) Erik Zürcher (13 September 1928, in Utrecht – 7 February 2008, in Warmond) was a Dutch Sinologist. From 1962 to 1993, Zürcher was a professor of history of East Asia at Leiden University. He was also Director of the Sinological Institute, between 1975 and 1990.
Also recorded as E. Zürcher
Erik Zürcher

Jan Holvast · Erfgoed Leiden, PV_PV63428.2 · CC0
- Born
- 1928 · Utrecht.
- Died
- 2008 · Warmond.
- Nationality
- Kingdom of the Netherlands
- Occupation
- linguist · university teacher · writer · historian · sinologist
- Education
- Leiden University
- Honours
- Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion · Eremedaille voor Kunst en Wetenschap in Goud
- Languages
- Dutch
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Illustration — Zürcher (1991) Erik Zürcher (13 September 1928, in Utrecht – 7 February 2008, in Warmond) was a Dutch Sinologist. From 1962 to 1993, Zürcher was a professor of history of East Asia at Leiden University. He was also Director of the Sinological Institute, between 1975 and 1990.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Erik Zürcher. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q645696 · wikipedia · Erik Zürcher
In this article
Biography
Biography
His Chinese name was Xǔ Lǐhe (许理和).
He studied Sinology, Buddhism, specializing in Chinese religions. In 1959, his PhD was over The Buddhist Conquest of China. In 1962 he became professor of history of East Asia, with particular focus on Chinese Buddhism, Chinese reactions to Christianity and early relations between China and the outside world. He was a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences since 1975 and an Associate of the Academie des Belles Lettres et des Incriptions of the Institut de France. He was also awarded the Medal of Honor for Art and Science in the Order of the House of Orange and made a Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion. His son Erik-Jan Zürcher (born 1953) is a professor of Turkish languages and cultures at the University of Leiden and former director of the International Institute of Social History.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1928
Erik Zürcher born at Utrecht.
2008
Erik Zürcher died at Warmond.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Utrecht.
Birth place
Warmond.
Death place
Primary material
Context
The circumstances in which Erik Zürcher stands. The Buddhist conquest of China: the spread and adaptation of Buddhism in early medieval China / by E. Erik Zürcher is recorded as having received Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion and Eremedaille voor Kunst en Wetenschap in Goud.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Barend ter Haar: In Memoriam Erik Zürcher. (Website Leiden University)
- 2.Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Erik Zürcher (1928 - 2008).
- 3.Homepage
- 4.KNAW. Erik-Jan Zürcher Resigns as IISH Director. October 23, 2012.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 26
- (2007), Kouduo richao. Li Jiubiao's Diary of oral admonitions. A Late Ming Christian journal, translated, with introduction and notes by Erik Zürcher, Sankt Augustin (Institut Monumenta Serica Brescia), 2 volumes, (Monumenta Serica monograph series, 56/1- 2).
- (2007), The Buddhist Conquest of China. The Spread and Adaptation of Buddhism in Early Medieval China, Leiden (Brill), (Leidensia Sinica, vol. 11).
- (2002), , Traditionele bouwkunst in Taiwan (Traditional Architecture in Taiwan), (Dutch adaptation from the Chinese), Antwerp-Apeldoorn (Garant), .
- (1996), Herrmann, Joachim and Erik Zürcher (eds.), History of Humanity. Scientific and Cultural Development, Vol. III: From the Seventh Century BC to the Seventh Century AD, London (Routledge), (Routledge reference). UNESCO.
- (1995), Chun-Chieh Huang and Erik Zürcher (eds.), Time and Space in Chinese culture, Leiden (Brill) , (Leidensia Sinica, vol. 33).
- (1993), Confucianism for development?, Leiden (Leiden University Rijks).
- (1993) Chun-Chieh Huang and Erik Zürcher (eds.), Norms and the State in China, Leiden (Brill) , (Leidensia Sinica, vol. 28). (Papers presented at a conference held 8–12 July 1991 at the Sinological Institute of Leiden University).
- (1991) Zürcher, Erik, Nicolas Standaert and Adrian Dudink (eds.), Bibliography of the Jesuit Mission in China (ca. 1580-ca. 1680), Leiden (Centre of Non-Western Studies), , (CNWS publications, No. 5).
- (1990), Zürcher, E. and T. Langendorff (eds.), The Humanities in the Nineties. A View from the Netherlands, Amsterdam (Swets & Zeitlinger), .
- (1990), , Bouddhisme, Christianisme et société chinoise, Paris (Julliard), .
- (1978), , Het leven van de Boeddha, (The Life of the Buddha), (translated from the earliest Chinese tradition and introduced by E. Zurcher), Amsterdam (Meulenhoff), , (The Oriental Library, 10)
- (1964), , Vos, F. and E. Zürcher, Spel zonder snaren. Enige beschouwingen over Zen, (Play without Strings. Some Reflections on Zen), Deventer (Kluwer).
- (1962), , Dialoog der misverstanden, (Dialogue of Misunderstandings), Leiden (Brill)
- (1959), The Buddhist Conquest of China. The Spread and Adaptation of Buddhism in Early Medieval China, Leiden (Brill), 2 volumes, vol. 1: Text, vol. 2: Notes, bibliography, indexes (Leidensia Sinica, vol. 11).Promise Leiden.
- (1976), , Syllabus "Boeddhisme", (Syllabus "Buddhism"), Leiden (Sinological Institute).
- (1974), , Aardrijkskundig overzicht van China, (Geographical overview of China), Leiden (Sinological Institute).
- (1971), , Chronologie van de Culturele Revolutie, (Chronology of the Cultural Revolution), Leiden (Documentation for the current China, Sinological Institute).
- (1970), , Inleiding traditionele Chinese staat en maatschappij, (Introduction Traditional Chinese State and Society), Leiden (Documentation for the current China, Sinological Institute).
- (1970), , Geschiedenis van het Chinese communisme. Overzicht en chronologie, (History of Chinese Communism. Overview and chronology), Leiden (Documentation for the current China, Sinological Institute).
- (1970), , Geschiedenis-overzicht van China, (History Overview of China), Leiden (Documentation for the current China, Sinological Institute).
- (1970), , De Chinese Volksrepubliek (1949- ). Kort chronologisch overzicht, (The Chinese People's Republic (1949 -). Short Chronological overview), Leiden (Documentation for the current China, Sinological Institute).
- Blussé, Leonard and Harriet T. Zurndorfer, Conflict and Accommodation in Early Modern East Asia. Essays in Honour of Erik Zürcher, Leiden (Brill) 1993, , (Leidensia Sinica, vol. 29).
- Liang, J.C.P. and R.P.E. Sybesma (eds.), From classical fú to "three inches high". Studies on Chinese in honor of Erik Zürcher, Leuven-Apeldoorn (Garant) 1993, .
- Lloyd Haft, Words from the West. Western Texts in Chinese Literary Context. Essays to Honor Erik Zürcher on His Sixty-Fifth Birthday, Leiden (Centre of Non-Western Studies) 1993, , (CNWS publications, vol. 16).
- Silk, Jonathan (2010). "In memoriam, Erik Zürcher (13 Sept. 1928 – 7 Feb. 2008)," Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 30 (1–2), 3-22.
- Barrett, T. H. (2008). Erik Zürcher, 1928-2008: Buddhism and the European Understanding of China, The China Quarterly 196, 919-923
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
38,988 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Erik MöllerAuthor
- Érik OrsennaAuthor
- Erik SjöbergAuthor
- Erik von Kuehnelt-LeddihnAuthor
- Erika AlexanderAuthor
- Erika BergerAuthor
- Erika BurkartAuthor
- Erika FatlandAuthor
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Erik Zürcher?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.