Prof. Tao Feiya 陶飞亚教授   
Graduated in 2001

Tao Feiya, who holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, has served as a professor in the History Department at Shandong University and Shanghai University. He is currently the Dean of Qingyun College at Shanghai University. 

Studying at CUHK offered many enjoyable experiences. First and foremost, the university’s library resources are particularly noteworthy. It boasts an extensive collection of books and materials from both the Chinese-speaking world and overseas, and its digital library is comprehensive and advanced compared to other universities of similar standing. This provides highly convenient conditions for learning and research. Second, the academic environment emphasizes a global perspective. Not only do numerous renowned scholars frequently give lectures here, but doctoral students are also offered many opportunities to participate in exchange programs at world-class universities. This combination of “bringing in” and “going out” greatly broadens students’ horizons. Best of all, the faculty members are highly accomplished yet very approachable. The mentor-student relationship often felt like a friendship, making the years of study a truly memorable and pleasant experience. 

My time at CUHK yielded fruitful results. My doctoral dissertation was honored with the “CUHK Young Scholar Thesis Award” and was published by the University Press. The academic training and life experiences I gained in the Department of Religion have been immensely beneficial to my subsequent teaching, research, and administrative work. Since then, I have published over 80 papers in both Chinese and English in journals such as *Social Sciences in China*, *Historical Research*, *Studies in World Religions*, and several overseas publications. I have also authored or edited more than 20 books. I have served as Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Shanghai University, Director of the University Museum, and Dean of Qingyun College. In addition, I have held positions including Vice President of the Shanghai Society for Religious Studies and Vice President and Secretary-General of the Shanghai Historical Society.

Prof. Xiao Qinghe 肖清和教授  
Graduated in 2009

Currently, I hold the position of Tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Peking University. Prior to this, I served as Professor in the Department of History and Director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Chinese Society at Shanghai University. I participated in the joint doctoral program between Peking University and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, studying in the Department of Cultural and Religious Studies at CUHK from 2006 to 2008. Those two years were both fulfilling and enjoyable. Even now, the memories remain vivid, filling me with gratitude and joy.

During my time at CUHK, I benefited from many exceptional conditions. First, the campus environment was exceptionally pleasant, and the library was first-rate in both the scale of its collection and the quality of its services. Second, the faculty members in the Department of Cultural and Religious Studies and the Divinity School were all very approachable, consistently patient in their teaching and caring toward students. Third, the department and university frequently hosted academic events, fostering a vibrant scholarly atmosphere that allowed me to connect with numerous senior scholars and peers. Fourth, CUHK and the Department of Cultural Studies provided a tranquil yet flexible academic environment, while seminar courses encouraged the pursuit of academic integrity and vigorous, constructive debate. Within this atmosphere, my research capabilities advanced rapidly.

During my doctoral studies, my primary gains included: (1) Methodological awareness. Early in my enrollment, Professor Lai Chi Tim, the Dean, encouraged me to cultivate theoretical and methodological consciousness in religious studies. (2) Interdisciplinary perspective. The diverse research interests of the department faculty, combined with CUHK's rich academic resources, continually pushed me to transcend disciplinary boundaries and broaden my research horizons. (3) Emphasis on utilizing new materials. My supervisor, Professor LO Lung Kwong, and other faculty repeatedly stressed the importance of tracking and employing new literature, particularly focusing on primary sources previously unexplored by predecessors. (4) International academic exchange. During my studies, I attended an academic workshop in Belgium and established long-term connections with international scholars such as Professor Nicolas Standaert. (5) Cultivating a sense of national and social responsibility. CUHK's profound humanistic tradition and its deep commitment to the nation, society, and its people profoundly inspire and shape every student who studies here.

Prof. Hu Jiechen 胡劼辰教授
Graduated in 2017

大家好，我叫胡劼辰，如今在复旦大学哲学学院宗教学系任副教授。我是2010年从复旦大学国际金融系毕业，因为兴趣和缘分使然，於2012年来到香港中文大学，报读了MARS的课程，之后在同系攻读PhD学位。2017年毕业后便回到大陆高校从教至今。

於我而言，MA、MPhil到PhD每个项目都给予了不同阶段的我很独特的学习体验和学术训练，也让我有充分的时间积累知识、自我认识、犹豫彷徨以及最终下定决心。我至今仍然记得港中大图书馆丰富的藏书所带给我的震撼，以及不同学者不同思想碰撞后留给我的灵感与启迪。而这段求学经历中最最重要的，应该就是它给了我自由探索、自我表达、理解他者和接纳分歧的力量与勇气吧！

Prof. Li Yiqing 李以清教授  
Graduated in 2021

The programme in Religious Studies at CUHK did far more than enlarge my scholarly competence; it refined my intellectual sensibility. By inviting me to regard “religion” through the layered lenses of history, culture and society, it freed me from the sole concern of personal belief and trained me to interrogate the very fabric of civilisation. Here, religion is neither a single creed nor a discrete ritual, but a generative question that may be pursued from the whispered prayer of one devotee to the sweeping currents of global thought. Such inquiry effortlessly traverses philology, anthropology, art, politics and social theory, dissolving disciplinary borders while acquiring both amplitude and depth.

Equally formative was the meticulous apprenticeship in research craft. Seminars instructed us in the selection of compelling questions, the patient gathering of evidence, the courteous yet rigorous dialogue with predecessors, and the lucid architecture of argument. We were guided, clause by clause, in the ethics of annotation; we advanced, paragraph by paragraph, from literature review to research proposal, conference paper and final manuscript. Generous conference grants further dispatched us to leading universities abroad, where spirited conversation with international scholars tempered every subsequent sentence we wrote.

These cultivated habits of precision and cross-cultural curiosity have since accompanied me at every turn. After graduation I completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Peking University, and I now serve as Associate Research Fellow in the Institute of Daoism and Religious Culture at Sichuan University. Publications in foremost journals and awards from the National Social Science Fund of China have followed naturally, yet the quiet pulse beneath each achievement remains the gracious, exacting training first bestowed upon me at CUHK.

Dr. Davide Marino   
Graduated in 2023

I am currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in Religious Studies at the University of Göttingen and a Research Fellow at the University of Vienna, where I continue my research on the intersections of religion, politics, and intellectual history. Looking back, my years at CUHK were intellectually formative and deeply rewarding. The Department of Cultural and Religious Studies provided not only rigorous academic training but also an inspiring environment of dialogue across traditions, disciplines, and perspectives. I particularly valued the close mentorship from my supervisor, Professor James D. Frankel, as well as the opportunity to encounter China and Chinese culture in a way that deeply shaped both my scholarship and outlook.

My doctoral training at CUHK equipped me with a strong theoretical foundation and methodological versatility. The emphasis on critical analysis, intercultural understanding, and engagement with Chinese contexts has been essential in my current work, where I contribute to global debates in the study of religion while remaining attentive to cultural and historical particularities. Beyond research skills, my studies also prepared me for the collaborative and international nature of academia, giving me the confidence to participate fully in conferences, publications, and teaching. I remain grateful for the rigorous and supportive training I received at CUHK, which has left a lasting imprint on both my academic path and professional growth.

Dr. Kwong Chi Leung 邝智良博士   
Graduated in 2017

我於2017年修毕宗教研究哲学博士课程，师从黎子鹏教授，研究清末时新小说的宗教内涵。最宝贵经验，莫过於遇上一众学识渊博、治学严谨、勤奋不懈的老师和同学。见贤思齐，与他们切磋的过程中，我深深感受到自己的不足，产生的求进动力，在别处很难得着。学系师资卓越，当年我最热衷的「课余活动」，便是跑到不同课堂旁听，受到的启发毕生受用。研究过程中，恩师循循善诱，除知识传授，亦慰勉有加，亦师亦友之情，至今仍然难忘。

毕业后，我投身基督教文字工作，现为宗教教育中心编辑主任，主力编写中、小学宗教及成长科课本。进修博士课程，为我奠下稳固知识基础，亦累积了丰富的阅读及写作经验，这对於我现时的工作，可谓至关重要。

Dr. Lee Chi Shing 李志诚博士   
Graduated in 2019

From 2016 to 2019, I pursued my Ph.D. in Religious Studies at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, where my research focused on Buddhist and Daoist premortem death rituals during the Song-Yuan period in China. Conducting research on Chinese religions at CUHK was a profoundly rewarding experience. This was not only due to the open academic environment of the Division of Religious Studies, which encouraged diverse research methodologies and topics, but more importantly, because of its integrative academic traditions that bridge Chinese and international scholarship, along with extensive scholarly networks and abundant resources. These advantages enabled me to continuously engage with cutting-edge research in the global academic community during my doctoral studies, thereby broadening my scholarly vision and intellectual horizons.

I am currently serving as a Lecturer in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at The Education University of Hong Kong, where I primarily teach courses related to cultural heritage education and management. The training I received in religious studies at CUHK has equipped me with the insight to recognize the profound connections between diverse traditional cultures and contemporary society, allowing me to incorporate flexible perspectives and rich case studies into my teaching.

Ms. Zheng Yutong 郑雨彤女士

Admitted in 2022

Zheng Yutong is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Cultural and Religious Studies at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, under the supervision of Professor Lai Tsz Pang John. She graduated from East China Normal University and holds a M.A. degree in Religious Studies (with Distinction) from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. She was a visiting scholar in the Department of Religious Studies at McGill University, Canada (2023), and participated in an exchange program at Université Paris Diderot - Paris VII, France (2019-2020).

Zheng has received many awards and scholarships, including the Mitacs Globalink Research Award (2022-2023), the Ho Chor Memorial Scholarship (2021-2022), the Shun Shin Kindness Foundation Scholarship (2021-2022), the First Prize Scholarship for Humanistic Buddhism Research (2022-2023), and recognition on the Dean’s List (2022). Her research has been published in both Chinese and English academic journals, including Religions, AI & Society, Cogent Arts & Humanities, and Review of Culture. She has presented papers at international conferences and workshops, such as the Hawaii International Conference on Chinese Studies (HICCS, 2025, USA) and the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion (AAR, 2023, USA). Additionally, she serves as a reviewer for several English academic journals.

Her research interests encompass Chinese religions and artificial intelligence, cross-media studies of Chinese religions (including literature, film, and games), and American acceptance of Chinese Religions in 1960s. She is motivated by a desire to explore how Chinese religions manifest across different media forms and how these intersect with cutting-edge technologies in the digital age. During her Ph.D. studies, she has engaged in foundational courses in religious theory and interdisciplinary subjects, including third-language courses, and has had the privilege of meeting inspiring mentors and peers. Notably, the university supports Ph.D. students in conducting exchange visits to institutions in Europe and North America, participating in international conferences, and providing financial assistance, all of which have been instrumental in developing her global academic perspective.

Mr. Wang Zichao 王子超先生   
Admitted in 2023

我此前在中大获得了宗教研究的哲学硕士学位，论文是关涉Boethius的Consolatio Philosophiae与牟宗三《圆善论》的耶儒对话。现在我继续在中大攻读宗教研究的哲学博士学位，研究集中於情感伦理与中世纪的女性神秘主义神学。

以我的笔力，实无法将在此多年的美好见证尽显於数百字间。至於中大优美的环境、优秀的教师、丰富的学术资源、多有助力的行政人员，凡此种种只不过是中大最流於表面，而不足为道的优点罢了——如同空气，久居其间便习惯了它们的存在；但若离开，便会窒息。所以请容许我在此分享一些个人的，但也深刻的美好体验：联结，我在这里所经历的一种联结的感觉——好似婚姻，“from I and me, to we and us”。在来中大以前，学术研究於我而言是一种孤寂的生活，尽管我痴迷於这种状态——青灯黄卷，皓首穷经，对於一位古典神学的学者而言，还有比这更美妙的生活方式吗？有的。这是我在中大多年后会给出的答案。在这里，我见证了爱如何被白白地赐予；重担如何被他人共担；美德如何“道成肉身”。当我在这种真实而美好的人际交互之中再去阅读那些古老的文本，我方才对它们有了更深刻的领悟。先贤的情感与意志，跨越了数个世纪降临到我的身上，却没有丝毫的磨损变异——“圣婚”，这是一个在神秘主义神学中常见的意象，但在中大的这些年，“圣婚”，是我真实的生命体验——这种体验并不全仰仗於灵感於某个瞬间的垂青，而是一直有日常生活中的点滴为之铺路。比如我的博士选题，那是一个很“任性”且冒险的题目，尽管我可以为之罗列出诸多“堂而皇之”的学术理由，但真实原因只是个人的，抱以宗教的虔诚。但当我以此冒险的提案去找导师时，大家都对它的风险心知肚明，但他却未曾要求我放弃，去选择一个保险但“无趣”的课题。他所做的，只是以他深厚的学识和敏锐的洞见帮助我完善这个提案，使它合理，使它专业，使我个人的热情能以合适的方式展现，成为公共的关切。到现在我刚刚通过开题答辩，一路过来有诸多老师为此颇多助力。我无需费尽口舌地向他们证明我的意志，面对我的冒险，他们只是默契地给予指点，默契地包容、接纳、理解，这是我们的意志。於是，“圣婚”不仅仅是某种难言的神秘经验，不仅仅是藉著青灯黄卷而与先贤的“圣徒相通”，还有在这里与每一个人日常而琐碎的交互，“from I and me, to we and us”。至此，请容我修正开篇的妄语：“中大优美的环境、优秀的教师、丰富的学术资源、多有助力的行政人员，凡此种种”并不是“中大最流於表面，而不足为道的优点”，它们是“新妇华美的嫁衣”，当内在的美德充溢外显，自有华袍与皇冠为之加冕。

Ms. Zhu Chenxi 朱晨溪女士
Admitted in 2024

於中大中文系本科毕业后，我即入读了「相邻」的宗教研究系，在佛学研究文学硕士课程学习。学海无涯，我继续修读本系哲学硕士学位，并在入学一年后转读了博士课程。坐拥宝山，中大的学术资源已灌溉我六年之久。

我关注宗教与文学的互动现象，主要研究明清时期戏曲及讲唱文学中的弥勒形象。导师黎子鹏教授等多位恩师的全心教导、同侪学友之间的交流切磋，是文本之外的源头活水。师友们在我关切的领域为我提出宝贵意见，还带来跨宗教、跨学科的灵感与视角。

宗教研究系营造多元、包容、开放的学术氛围，具有深刻的人文关怀。在这个共融的大家庭中，不同的宗教信仰、文化背景都得到彼此的尊重，真正实践著「结合传统与现代，融会中国与西方」的使命。

Ms. Cui Yuan Lily 崔媛女士   

Admitted in 2025

I chose the PhD Programme in Religious Studies at CUHK for its international vision and strong academic community. Based in Hong Kong, the department connects Asia with the wider world and offers access to global faculty, cutting-edge research, and lectures from leading scholars. This combination creates an inspiring environment for doctoral training.

My most rewarding experience has been the daily exchange with supervisors and classmates from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds. These conversations, whether in seminars or informal settings, continually challenge me to refine my ideas and broaden my perspective.

My current research investigates the role of divination in late imperial Chinese Buddhism, analysing its practices and their dialogue with indigenous systems of divination. Before coming to CUHK, I studied at Imperial College Business School and worked as a financial analyst at HSBC UK. CUHK’s Religious Studies Programme brings together rigorous scholarship and international dialogue, making it an ideal place to study religion in a global context.

Mr. Hussein A. H. Hassan   
Admitted in 2024

What brought an academic from Cairo to Hong Kong? After years as an Assistant Lecturer at Cairo University, I wanted a wider horizon that deepens method and broadens perspective. I found it in CUHK’s PhD in Religious Studies, a global classroom that welcomed my background. In my field, Theology, Divinity and Religious Studies is ranked #32 worldwide (QS 2025), the top in Hong Kong. More important than numbers is the daily culture of close mentorship and serious work across disciplines.

My project examines the Golden Rule, the ethic of treating others as you would like to be treated. I ask a simple question: can this ethic serve as a practical basis for Jewish and Muslim dialogue, and under what conditions? I map its ethical limits in representative sources from both traditions, and I test conditions from social and moral psychology that may restrict or enable its use. The aim is practical: identify when reciprocity crosses boundaries and show how the findings can inform real dialogue and peacebuilding.

For me, the best learning experiences came in seminars and workshops with peers from Hong Kong and mainland China, South and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. Teaching assistant roles in World Religions and the History of the Arab World turn theory into a dynamic dialogue, and Hong Kong’s religious diversity offers first-hand encounters no textbook can match.

I have gained a sharper research architecture, a habit of measured inference, and a network that spans traditions. CUHK provides serious scholarship, reliable infrastructure, humane supervision, and a respectful academic community. It is an inspiring place to grow as a scholar, and I highly recommend it to anyone who seeks to make a meaningful contribution.