Professor Hsia’s research has focused on the history of the Protestant Reformation, Catholic Renewal, anti-Semitism, and the encounter between Europe and Asia. His current book project, tentatively titled Translating Christianity: China and the Catholic Missions 1584-1780, is a study of the history of cultural encounter between Counter-Reformation Europe and the Ming and Qing empires.

After working on the history of Central Europe for more than twenty years, during which time he published extensively on the Reformation, Counter-Reformation, and the history of anti-semitism, he has widened the horizon of hisresearch to a global perspective. Thus, the history of explorations, the rise of Western Europe, the comparative history of early modern empires, and the history of Christian missions (particularly in China) constitute his current teaching and research agenda. With a background in Chinese history and culture, being born and educated in Hong Kong, Hsia studied primarily in the UK and the USA, and has extensive research experiences in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Portugal, Austria, and Italy.