Introduction 
The Centre for Judaic and Inter-Religious Studies (www.cjs.sdu.edu.cn) is a research centre directly under the office of the President of the University and attached to the School of Philosophy and Social Development. Its president is acclaimed philosopher and dean of department Professor Youde Fu. Recently the Centre was designated by the Chinese Education Department as one of 100 prestigious key research institutes in China, uniquely permitting it to take on larger numbers of graduate, masters and doctoral students, to run conferences and summer schools, to build large archives and host the national Chinese Association of Jewish Studies. It is developing a library, resource and research centre which aspires to service all other Chinese centres and departments of Jewish studies with books, curricula, services and scholars. The centre is attracting new students from around China, holding an international conference and an annual summer school and publishing an annual journal of Jewish studies. Many eminent scholars from around the world already participate in these projects. It has developed an M.A and Ph.D program for foreign students wishing to come to China and combine Judaic and/ or other religious studies with Chinese culture and language. The aim is to develop an international atmosphere at the Centre, to bring scholars from other parts of the world to exchange their interests and expertise in Judaism, inter-religious studies, Chinese religions such as Confucianism, Buddhism or Taoism as well as Marxism and Chinese political thought as well as learn Chinese and interact with the Chinese students at the Centre.

History of the Centre
The Centre for Judaic and Inter-Religious Studies of Shandong University was established in April 2003, having evolved from the Judaic Culture Study Centre at Shandong University which was first set up in January 1994. The present Director is Prof. Fu Youde, who presides over the Centre with the assistance of two deputy directors, Associate Prof. Niu Jianke and Prof. Liu Jie. The centre invited Prof. Zhao Dunhua, Dean of Department of Philosophy of Peking University, as its primary consultant. The Centre is composed of five institutes: Institute of Jewish Studies, Institute of Philosophy of Religion, Institute of Baha’i Faith and Japanese Religions, Institute of Christian Studies and Institute for Buddhist Studies. It boasts fifteen full-time research members and twelve part-time members.

In 1994, having finished his studies in Britain, Prof. Fu Youde returned to Shandong University and established the Judaic Culture Study Centre at Shandong University, which focused on Judaic religion and philosophy, inter-religious and cultural studies. The past decade has witnessed its rapid development until 2003 when it became the “Centre for Judaic and Inter-Religious Studies”.

Throughout its evolution, the Centre emphasized the need to cultivate qualified scholarly personnel. On the one hand it engaged prominent scholars from home, on the other it brought experts from abroad. It attracted doctoral graduates from key universities and nurtured a scholastic atmosphere for its young teachers and postgraduates, who have all accomplished considerable achievements.

In addition to the emphasis on Judaic studies, religion and philosophy, the Centre managed to broaden its research fields and engaged relevant professional research members in inter-religion studies such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Shintoism, Bahai and more.

The Centre’s maxim is “from a high starting point to even higher standards” and sent professors Fu Youde, Liu Jie, Guo Peng and Fu Yongjun, Liu Xinli, Zhao Jie and others successively to Britain, the U.S., Hong Kong and Taiwan, to further their study and maintain ties with international academic institutions and collect newly published materials.

The Centre also invited foreign experts to give lectures, hosted and attended important international academic conferences. In the last five years, 40 foreign scholars and professors, experts in their fields were invited to give lectures at the Centre  on a long and short term basis, including the well known philosopher of religion Richard Swinburne, Melville Stewart, Jonathan Magnet and so on.

Recent Appointment
Most recent appointment to the School of Philosophy and Sociology and to the Centre for Judaic and Inter-Religious Studies at Shandong University is Mark Avrum Ehrlich. In 2004 the senate of the university voted to appoint him a full professor and an important factor in the strategy to further develop the Centre for Judaic studies at the University. As such he became – at the time - only the second person in China to receive a senior appointment within the ranks of Chinese academia. In addition he was elected by the University’s academic committee to a senior academic role permitting him to supervise Ph.D. students at the department.

Professor Ehrlich is the author of a number of books on Hasidism and articles on Jewish mysticism and religious sects, as well as biblical commentaries and articles on Jewish ethics, Professor Ehrlich teaches courses in Modern Hebrew, Hebrew Bible, Talmudic thought and Kabballa. An ordained rabbi, a graduate of the Cambridge based Centre of Jewish – Christian Relations and a former researcher at Cambridge University’s Department of Social and Political Sciences, Professor Ehrlich’s contribution to the Centre supplements its all round Inter-Religious and philosophic studies program.

As Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora and other works on the broader scope of Jewish civilization, an emerging class of Chinese scholars of Judaism will have exposure to a broad range of Judaic studies subjects. Since his arrival he has secured scholarships abroad for Ph.D. students from the Israeli Foreign Ministry and private donors to study at Hebrew University and Bar Ilan University. He initiated the Ehrlich Fund to develop broader Judaic studies initiatives in China including the annual summer school in Judaic studies open to all post graduate Chinese students.

Judaica Library
The Centre has begun to build its own Judaica Library which seeks to become the most important collection of Jewish books and archives in China. Under the leadership of Mr Noam Urbach the library is beginning to grow. Starting from naught it has since collected books from private donors and universities abroad initiating an book exchange scheme where Chinese books are traded for Judaica. Friends of the centre include librarian of the University of Texas, Nathan Snyder and former Chief Rabbi of Japan, Rabbi Marvin Tokayer. More friends and contributors to the Shandong collection are being sought.

Achievements
From its inception, the Centre for Judaic and Inter-Religious Studies has accomplished a remarkable series of achievements: 

• It was elected by the Chinese Department of Education to be one of the “100 Key Research Institutes of the Humanities and Social Sciences at Chinese Universities”. In this capacity it became one of only three key research institutes in China permitted to carry out research, publications and scholarship in the broad area of religious studies.
• In 2005 it was granted the right to offer Ph.D degrees in religious studies, ethics, aesthetics and other areas which allows the department to accept more students and diversify its range of studies beyond philosophy and sociology. The decision made by the National Higher Education Commission essentially makes the School of Philosophy and Social Development and the Centre for Judaic and Inter Religious Studies, one of the leading schools of religion in China.
• In 1995 it initiated major programs; the large project of editing and translating into Chinese language the “Masterpieces of Judaic Culture” under the coordination and senior authorship of Professor Fu Youde, the first part of this series was published in 2003. The Series gathered the classic books by the most important writers of Judaic culture, with special focus on quintessential works on Judaic religion and philosophy. Its publication offers, for the first time, first-hand reference materials for home grown Chinese Judaic scholars and their research. The series includes the following books: Judaism on Trial, Everyman’s Talmud, Modern Jewish Religious Movements, A Short History of The Jewish People, the Guide for the Perplexed, and more.
• The Centre was awarded by the National Social Science Funded Program funds to write the first home grown Chinese work in the field of Jewish philosophy entitled “Program of Modern Jewish Humanistic Philosophy” and publish a book entitled “Modern Judaic Philosophy” (People’s Publishing House, 1999). As a part of the program, the edition of History of Judaic Philosophy was also published.
• A Biography of Jewish Personalities and Thinkers, edited by Prof. Fu Youde, was published in 2002. It introduced and appraised the important Jewish philosophers and thinkers during every stage of its history with concise language and profound insights.   This contributed to the understanding of Judaic cultural studies in China.
• Papers published in formal journals include: “Maimonides on Prophecy: Synthesis and Reconciliation” (Britain, 1994), “Judaism and Confucianism: A General Comparison”（Israel, 2000），“Revelation and Prophet: Comparative Studies of Judaism and Confucianism”（Hong Kong, 2002）, “Soul and Body: The Comparative Study of a Problem in Religious Philosophy” (1999), “On the Jewish Phenomenon” (1998), “ Jews: a Distinct People” (Israel, 2002), “the Comparison of the Concept of Messiah in Judaism and Christianity”(1997), “Christianity and Judaism: Dialogue, Problem and Prospect”(2000), etc.
• In other aspects of inter-religious studies, the Centre also succeeded in bringing out substantial works including the following books: Studies of Contemporary Islamic Arabic Philosophy, Studies of Contemporary Baha’i Faith, Modern Islamic Tides and Movements, Chinese Taoist Science and Technology History, Deng Xiaoping Theory and Studies on Contemporary Religious Issues, Christianity and Western Culture, Christianity and German Nation, etc.;
• Articles included: “Islamic Philosophy in Arabic World”, “Millennium Communication of Oriental and Occidental Cultures”, “Baha’i Faith”, “What is Judaism”, “Terrorism and Religious Issues”, “Self-Annotation of Judaism”, “The Rise of Primitive Taoism and The Social Order of Han Dynasty”, “Early Religious Taoism and the Re-understanding of History of the Han through the Tree Kingdoms”, “Schools of Primitive Taoism in Han Dynasty”, “Buddhist Ethics: A New Perspective of Ethics”, “On the Educational Thought in Buddhism”, etc.
• In 2002, the Centre set up an academic journal entitled “Judaic Studies”, which is the first and only journal on Judaic studies published in China. Its content ranges from Judaic religion and philosophy, history and culture, ethics and law, literature and art, ideology and politics, folklore and customs, the relationship between Judaism and Christianity, and the relationship between other religions and cultures. Since then an issue has been published annually.
• The Centre supported and coordinated the writing of a multi-volume history of Judaism as well as a work on Anti-Semitism; past and present.
• In the recent years, the Centre has begun to host annual Jewish studies conferences and annual summer schools in Jewish studies.

Future Direction
Over the next few years, the main activities of Centre for Judaic and Inter-Religious Studies of Shandong University will focus on the following:

• Continue the translation and publication of the Masterpieces of Judaic Culture Series, increasing the volume number from ten to twenty;
• Continue to hold annual symposiums and summer schools;
• Finish the first two volume work on Jewish history and an Introduction to Judaism;
• Build a national information Centre for Judaic cultural studies;
• Build its Jewish scholarship library and archives and serve as a centre for academic books on Judaism for the whole of China.
• Improve the quality of Judaic Studies amongst its students and foster knowledge of Jewish studies in China.
• Develop its reputation as the leading Centre of Jewish Studies in China and Asia
• Develop international programs and exchanges including international Diploma, Masters and Ph.D. programs to be undertaken at the Centre.