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Taixu (1890–1947) was one of the most influential Chinese Buddhist monks of the 20th century, best known for his efforts to modernise Buddhism and make it relevant to a rapidly changing world.
Commemorating the centenary of Taixu’s first visit to Singapore in 1926, the exhibition Taixu in Singapore: A 100-Year Commemoration brings renewed attention to his enduring influence on the development of Buddhism in Singapore and the wider region.
This event features a lecture that explores the development of humanistic Buddhism in Singapore over the past century, tracing its roots from Taixu’s reformist vision to its institutionalisation and social engagement in contemporary society. It highlights key figures, organisations, and transregional networks across the South China Sea that have shaped the localisation and practice of Buddhism in Singapore.
Together, the exhibition and lecture highlight Singapore’s role as a dynamic site of Buddhist exchange and institutional formation in the twentieth century, offering fresh perspectives on modern Chinese Buddhism and its transregional networks across Asia.
The event also includes a curated tour of the exhibition, along with opportunities to engage with materials on Taixu and connect with fellow participants over refreshments.
Programme
1 pm
Registration
2 pm
Welcome Remarks
Asst Prof Jesse Lefebvre
Asst Prof Jesse Lefebvre
2.05 pm
Opening Remarks & Lecture
Across the South China Sea: The Making of Humanistic Buddhism in Singapore
Speaker: A/Prof Jack Meng-Tat Chia
Across the South China Sea: The Making of Humanistic Buddhism in Singapore
Speaker: A/Prof Jack Meng-Tat Chia
3.05 pm
Q&A
Moderator: Asst Prof Jesse Lefebvre
Moderator: Asst Prof Jesse Lefebvre
3.40 pm
Tour of the physical exhibition
4.00 pm
Refreshments & networking
Speaker
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Associate Professor Jack Meng-Tat Chia
Department of History, NUS
Jack Meng-Tat Chia is the Foo Hai Associate Professor in Buddhist Studies at the National University of Singapore, where he also serves as Assistant Dean of Research at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. He is a historian of religion specialising in Buddhism and Chinese religions in Southeast Asia. He is the author of Monks in Motion: Buddhism and Modernity Across the South China Sea (Oxford, 2020), which received the 2021 EuroSEAS Humanities Book Prize, and Dongnanya fayin: Xinjiapo fojiao yanjiu lunji 東南亞法音：新加坡佛教研究論集 [Southeast Asia’s Dharma: Essays on Buddhism in Singapore] (Boyang, 2025). He is the editor of Figures of Buddhist Diplomacy in Modern Asia (Bloomsbury, 2026) and the author of the children’s book The Journey of Ashin Jinarakkhita (Karaniya, 2026). Chia is the founding chair of the Buddhist Studies Group and the co-chair of the GL Louis Religious Pluralism Research Cluster at FASS.
Moderator
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Assistant Professor Jesse Lefebvre
Department of Japanese Studies, NUS
Jesse LeFebvre is an assistant professor in the Department of Japanese Studies and a graduate of Harvard University's Department of East Asian Languages and Civilisations at Harvard University. He is a specialist in both the premodern and modern religious traditions, literatures, and cultures of Japan. His main research interests currently include the relationship between disaster and the formation of religious cultures, visual culture and legally sanctioned violence, cultures of nonreligiousness, and Korean religion and film. Jesse is currently completing a book manuscript that reconstructs the religious, literary and historical context of Hasedera, one of Japan's most influential Buddhist temples, and the dramatic flourishing of a religious site in the face of repeated disasters over the course of eight centuries. His work illuminates the role of karma and pilgrimage in the development of Hasedera's culture of “antifragility”—that is, its ability to thrive and grow when exposed to volatility, randomness, disorder, and stressors—and how Buddhism served to transform the very meaning of disaster itself.
Event Partner
All NUS staff, students, alumni and members of the public are welcome.
Booking availability on a first-come, first-served basis.
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NUS Libraries prohibits the use of presentation slides without permission.
NUS Libraries prohibits the use of presentation slides without permission.
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By registering for this event, you hereby consent to National University of Singapore (NUS) collecting, using, retaining and/or disclosing your personal data to certain approved third parties for the purpose of processing, handling and managing your
participation in the event.
