At Leiden, Ruizendaal studied a wide selection of Chinese classical literature, including the Confucian classics, Yuan drama, and Ming and Qing novels, before going to China in 1986 to study at Xiamen University. There he chose to write his master's thesis on Quanzhou puppet theater.
在萊登大學，羅斌開始研究四書五經、元雜劇、明清小說等中國古典文學。1986 年他到中國，就讀廈門大學中文研究所，選擇以「泉州傀儡戲研究」作為碩士論文題目。