"Han-Mongol Encounters and Missionary Endeavors traces the history of the Belgian Scheut mission within the ecological, geopolitical, socioeconomic and ethnocultural context of the Mongol-Han borderlands during the height of European colonialism and the collapse of the Qing dynasty.The main subjects of this study are over 100 Roman Catholic Missionaries form the Low Countries (Holland and Belgium) who worked in the Southwest Mongolia apostolic vacariate. The vicariate constitutes the geographical boundaries of the study. The timeframe extends from the origins of the mission in 1874 until the end of the Qing dynasty in 1912."
"The study describes the origins of the Southwest Mongolia vicariate byeond the Great Wall and along the Yellow River Bend during the transition period from Lazarist missionary activities in the 1840s up to the endeavors of the Scheutists in the early 1870s.The author outlines the historical development of the Ordos Mongols and Chrisitan missions within their respective Qing imperial and European national contexts. The text also analyses not only the European background, the double ecclesiastical and religious organization of the mission,,but also the realtions between domestic and overseas mission fields, and the missionary motives within the late Qing socioeconomic context, and the life of localized Catholic communities. These are described within the ethnocultural context of the Han-Mongol mixed-living area of the Ordos, and as seen mainly through the eyes of the missionaries. The desertification of the Ordos steppes, as well as the aftermath and impact of the popular Boxer movement in Inner Mongolia on the development of the Scheut mission and the local church are also summarized."--publ. note.

Introduction – Prologue -- Fragile Equilibrium or Lost Harmony -- Chapter 1. Ordos Mongols and the Qing Empire -- Chapter 2. Christian Mission and European Nation-States -- Chapter 3. North of the Great Wall: Winds of Change -- Chapter 4. Missionary Vignettes and Institutional Growth: The Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary -- Chapter 5. Socioeconomic Woes and Missionary Motives: For the Greater Glory of God and the Salvation of Souls -- Chapter 6. The Ethnocultural Kaleidoscope: Mongol and Han Catholic Communities -- Chapter 7. 1900: The Boxers United in Righteousness: Christian Adversity and Militancy -- Epilogue: From the Ashes of the Foreign Mission to the Sprouts of a Local Church – Bibliography – Annexes – Index.

Introduction / Patrick Taveirne - Opening Address to the 7th International Symposium - On the History of the Catholic Church in China and the History of Catechesis in China / His Eminence Paul Cardinal Shan - Bian Zhengjiao Zhenchuan Shilu 辯正教真傳實錄 (Testimony of the True Religion): a catechetical book of the Sixteenth Century / Miguel San Roman - Mission and Medicine in China: Between Canon Law, Charity and Science / Claudia von Collani - The Figurists, and G.B. Vico on the Chinese: Esoteric wisdom versus poetic wisdom / Philip Vanhaelemeersch - Jean Basset MEP (1662-1707) and his catechetical writings in Chinese: A bibliographical introduction / Ad Dudink - The Chinese writings and translations of Andreas Ly / Robert Entenmann - The catechetical approach of Andrew Li (1692-1775): A Chinese priest in Sichuan Province / Jean Charbonnier - Scheut Missionaries (CICM) and Catechetics in Northern China and Inner Mongolia (1865-1949) / Wim Holderbeke and Patrick Taveirne - Catechisms and catechetical material published by Divine Word missionaries (S.V.D.) in China (1882–1950): Preliminary Bibliographical Notes / Roman Malek - Reaching out through printed words and pictures: Maryknoll catechetical materials, 1918-1950 / Jean-Paul Wiest - Maryknoll and catechetics in China / Peter J. Barry - Catechesis on Heaven天堂要理: A Chinese catechetical painting prepared by Raymond De Jaegher SAM and Br. Liu Yuejue CSJB introducing the Christian message to Chinese farmers / Jeroom Heyndrickx - History of catechesis in China: Missiological reflections on a catechism explanation / Jac Kuepers - 第七屆國際學術研討會「中國天主教會史和中國要理講授史」開幕詞 / 單國璽樞機主教 His Eminence Paul Cardinal Shan - 漢語語境中的基督教闡釋：「本地化」還是「處境化」 (Inculturation or contextualization: Interpretation of Christianity in the Context of Chinese Culture) 楊慧林 Yang Huilin - 《四字經文》, 本位化與台灣天主教 (The Four Character Classic and the Taiwan Catholic Church) / 古偉瀛 Ku Wei-ying - 教理講授之全球地方化：從《萬物真原》, 《三山論學記》與《慎思錄》談當代教理講授的處境化問題 Chinese lay Catholics and the Catechetical movement: Speaking about the inculturation problems of catechesis from "Wan-wu-zheng-yuan 萬物真原", "San-shan-lun-xue-ji 三山論學記" and "Shen-si-lu 慎思錄" / 潘鳳娟 Pan Fengchuan - 佛耶交涉與“禮儀之爭” -- 從《聖朝破邪集》到羅江頂頭村 The dialogue between Catholicism and Chinese Buddhism – From "Sheng-chao-po-xie-ji 聖朝破邪集" to Ding-tou Village, Luojiang 羅江頂頭村 / 李向平 Li Xiangping.