author
Lewis Hodous
1872–1949
A missionary-scholar who spent decades in China, he wrote clearly about Chinese religion and Buddhism for Western readers. His life joined lived experience, teaching, and careful study in a way that still makes his work approachable.
1 Audiobook
Buddhism and Buddhists in China
by Lewis Hodous
About the author
Born in Bohemia on December 31, 1872, Lewis Hodous emigrated to the United States as a child and later trained for the ministry and for academic work. He studied at Western Reserve University and Hartford Theological Seminary, with additional study in Germany, before going to China as a missionary of the American Board.
Hodous spent many years in Fuzhou, where he worked as an educator as well as a missionary. Over time he became known not only for religious work but also for scholarship on Chinese religions, especially Buddhism. His writing helped introduce English-language readers to Buddhist ideas and to the wider religious life of China.
He is remembered as an educator, Sinologist, and Buddhologist whose career moved between cultures rather than staying inside just one world. That mix of direct experience and scholarship gives his books a grounded, observant quality, especially for readers interested in China in the early twentieth century.