Benoît Vermander (born 1960), also known as Wei Mingde and Bendu, is a French Jesuit, sinologist, political scientist, and painter. He is currently professor of religious sciences at Fudan University, Shanghai, as well as academic director of the Xu-Ricci Dialogue Center within the University. He has been director of the Taipei Ricci Institute from 1996 to 2009 and the editor-in-chief of its electronic magazine erenlai. He is also consultor to the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue. He holds a M.Phil in political science from Yale University, a doctorate in the same discipline from Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, a Master of Sacred Theology from Fu Jen Catholic University (Taiwan) and a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Jesuit Faculties of Philosophy and Theology of Paris (Centre Sevres). His research and publications focus on China's model of development and its role in the globalization process, on Chinese religions and spiritual traditions, as well as on the role and status of traditional wisdom, rituals, and civil religion in contemporary societies.

China's model of development and role in globalization

He has highlighted and analyzed the systemic relationship between globalization and the rise of China (La Chine ou le temps retrouvé, les figures de la mondialisation et l’ascension chinoise, Academia-Bruyant, 2008 ). He has enlarged this research to the external and internal factors explaining the rise of Corporate Social Responsibility in China (Corporate Social responsibility in China, World Scientific, 2014). His research on the effect of globalization on the Chinese local fabric has also given rise to a case-study on Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan (L’Enclos à moutons, Les Indes savantes, 2007). This case-study was linked to a local developmental project led together with Professor Stevan Harrell, University of Washington, and a group of Yi scholars.

Chinese religions and spiritualities

Under his Chinese name Wei Mingde, he has published several books in China and Taiwan, some of which are translated from French or English. Several of his publications deal with the transformations of the Chinese religious landscape and the way Christianity contributes to them while being affected by the trends that redefine China's self-understanding of its cultural tradition (Shanghai Sacred, 2018; Le Christ Chinois, DDB, 1998; Les mandariniers de la rivière Huai, DDB, 2002; L’Empire sans milieu, DDB, 2010). In the latter book and several articles he analyzes how China's religious revival goes along the redefinition of the traditional Chinese religious psyche and societal forms. He also writes on the spiritual dimension of Chinese ancient philosophy and the way its re-interpretation may enrich today's spiritual quest in interreligious perspective. In Shanghai Sacred, published in collaboration with Liz Hingley and Liang Zhang, he combines the study of Chinese religions in urban settings with the one of the current expressions of Chinese 'civil religions.' This research on the genealogy and expression of civil religions is continued, in different context, in Versailles, la République et la Nation, centered on evolving expressions of social sacrality in comparative perspective. In the same line, he has written several contribution on the current trend of “religious sinicization” as well as on China-Vatican relationships. His book Comment lire les classiques chinois ? (How to read the Chinese classics?) shows the organic unity of the corpus constituted by ancient Chinese classics, built around a reflexive apprehension of our bodily experiences, and traces the way to a shared reading of the classics around which humankind gathers.

Wisdoms, classics and rituals

In several contributions he crossed the study of classical texts with that of rituals and modes of governance of local societies, notably in several Asian contexts, bringing to light the "wisdoms" that the practices of these societies still harbour. This study of the intersections of classics, wisdoms and rituals focuses in particular on the study of civilizational complexes formed around cereal cultures.

Art

Under the art name Bendu, he also creates works of Chinese painting and calligraphy. He studied under the Sichuanese painter Li Jinyuan. In concert with Li Jinyuan, he held expositions at the Réfectoire des Jacobins (Toulouse, 1996), the European Parliament (Strasbourg, 1996), the National Gallery (Beijing, 1997) and Gallery of Sichuan (Chengdu, 1997). He has held solo exhibitions at Fu Jen University (Taipei, 1993), University of San Francisco (1999), The French Institute in Taipei (2002), Chengdu's Academy of Painting and Calligraphy (2002), Beida Centre (Tainan, 2004), Kwanghua Centre (Hong Kong, 2005), the Tibeto-Mongolian Foundation (Taipei, 2008), Sunbow Gallery (Shanghai, 2008), Xuhui Art Museum (Shanghai, 2014), Open Space Gallery in Shanghai (2017), Ancienne Banque de France in Lens, North of France (2019) and ICICLE Space in Shanghai (2022) and in Paris (2024) amongst various other places. In January 2023, his paintings are featured in the opening of the bookshop-gallery "Book Maoxiang" in Suzhou. His works were also the focus of a series of artistic events organized in Parc Hangzhou during autumn 2023. He has published several collections of poems and paintings, in both Taiwan and China. His art is characterized by the use of audacious calligraphic strokes, the influence of the landscapes and patterns of Tibeto-Burman ethnic groups in south western China and the blending of traditions and techniques. Some of his works can be seen at this virtual gallery.

Artworks and exhibitions

Distinctions

Selected publications

The complete list can be found here.