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Expressions of Chinese Christianity in Texts and Contexts: In Memory of Our Mentor Professor R. G. Tiedemann (1941–2019)

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A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 May 2024) | Viewed by 16046

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Lars Laamann

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Guest Editor

Department of History, SOAS University of London, London WC1H 0XG, UK
Interests: popular religion in late imperial China; medicine, drugs and healing; Manchu culture in the Qing empire

Prof. Dr. Joseph Tse-Hei Lee

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Guest Editor

Global Asia Institute, Pace University, New York, NY 10038, USA
Interests: Chinese church history; church and state; Sino-American relations; East Asian cinema

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This special issue has been edited in memory of our doctoral supervisor, Professor R. G. Tiedemann (1941-2019), 永念恩師狄德滿教授（1941-2019).

Chinese Christianity, or Chinese Christianities, being perceived both as a cultural phenomenon and as a field of research, has gained much attention in recent decades.

The “phenomenon” of the rapid growth of Chinese churches, with multiple expressions of faith and practices, has been investigated by historians, anthropologists, sociologists and religious scholars and continues to attract ample attention.

Equally important is the scholarly debate about the historical transformation of Chinese Christianity, or Chinese Christianities, as a field of study in the historiography of modern China. Some of the following analytical contours and approaches of this field have emerged:

Attention to the spatial and temporal diversities of Christian missionary presence and indigenous church movements from a historical perspective in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Investigation into the transnational, national and local connectivities of Christian communities and its evangelistic agents/transmitters/recipients (whether individual, organizational, material, cosmological, artistic, linguistic or multipolar networks).
Research on the encounters and correlations between expressions of Christianity and Chinese social, economic, cultural and historical forces, as well as between Christianity and other existing Chinese religious and spiritual traditions.
Reflection on the empirical and analytical tools, such as access to new and old archival sources, the re-conceptualization of Christian terminologies, doctrinal concepts, lived religious experiences and the reassessment of perceived turning points in specific time and space.

This Special Issue showcases the latest historical and social–scientific scholarship on the continuities and changes in Chinese Christian movements and the new emerging research directions.

We strive to move beyond the longstanding state-centered paradigm that defines a Chinese indigenous church against Euro-American Christianity and the oversimplification of “Chinese Christianity” as a singular entity, overlooking intra-/inter-church exchanges across doctrinal and liturgical boundaries and the living reality of trans-local church ties.

We seek to demonstrate that the multiple Chinese expressions of Christianity took root in resistance to Western missionary efforts to win the hearts and minds of the people since the Ming–Qing eras and to decades of sociopolitical upheavals that greatly impacted Chinese churches and believers since the early 20th century.

Methodologically, we explore ways in which the analytical term of Chinese Christianity or Chinese Christianities reveals changing interpretations and approaches in studying China’s rich and diverse Christian landscape across time and space. This Special Issue places the reciprocal process of Chinese–Christian interactions at the center of discussion, revealing the overlap of circulatory local and global church networks.

Circulating Resources: Exploring the expressions of Christianity in diverse Chinese historical/political/cultural contexts.

Circulating Knowledge: Mapping the interconnectivity of Christian faith experiences between China and the world via the exchange of religious prints, arts/songs, scientific and theological knowledge, etc.

Circulating Networks: Studying the trends of Chinese Christian migrations.

Dr. Lars Laamann
Prof. Dr. Joseph Tse-Hei Lee
Guest Editors

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Keywords

anti-Christian movement
Bible translation
boxer movement
Cantonese
Catholicism
Christian literature
children’s literature
hymns
indigenization
lutheranism
mission schools
missionary medicine
music
protestantism

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Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 2258 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Caged Bird in a Communist Pavilion: Chao Tzu-chen and the Remolding of Yenching University’s School of Religion, 1949–1951

by Peter Kwok-Fai Law

Religions 2024, 15(8), 898; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080898 - 25 Jul 2024

Viewed by 966

Abstract

This article examines church–state relations in the early period of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) by scrutinising the thoughts and the administration of Chao Tzu-chen—a prominent Chinese Christian leader—at Yenching University’s School of Religion and its successor organisation. This article largely relies on the archives of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, delving into Chao’s psychological conflicts and the role of the Anglican churches in Chao’s plan for the separation of the School of Religion from the university. It argues that Chao Tzu-chen’s self-contradictions in his public versus private expressions after 1949 signify his disillusionment in fostering the convergence between Christianity and Communism, as demonstrated in his dilemma regarding church–state relations. Although Chao tried to adapt to the new political order by urging Chinese churches to offer practical and concrete social services, he continued his independent, critical theological reflections on the indigenisation of Christianity, as reflected in his private portrayal of the incompatibility between Christianity and Communism, and in his close connection with foreign churches in his fund-raising campaign. Moreover, apart from highlighting the importance of the Hong Kong Anglican church in financially supporting the Yenching School of Religion, this article seeks to contribute to academic research of Chinese higher education in the 1950s through examining how the Chinese Communist Party’s remolding of the School put an end to the emerging public sphere of a civil society. It reveals that this liberal Christian institute, which lost its control over curriculum design and the right to accept foreign funds, was quickly converted into a government-funded, socialist theological college in service of two masters: the Party and the Church. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Expressions of Chinese Christianity in Texts and Contexts: In Memory of Our Mentor Professor R. G. Tiedemann (1941–2019))

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10 pages, 334 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Contingent Companion with the Cantonese: Uncovering a Hidden History of Written Cantonese Christian Literature in the Late Nineteenth Century

by Christina Wai-Yin Wong

Religions 2024, 15(7), 758; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15070758 - 22 Jun 2024

Viewed by 1221

Abstract

This paper aims to uncover a hidden history of Cantonese Christian literature. Written Cantonese has been present since the late Ming dynasty in parallel to the emergence of a distinct Cantonese identity. Western missionaries, for the sake of evangelism, facilitated the development of written Cantonese in South China since the mid-nineteenth century. At that time, missionaries put a lot of effort into translating religious leaflets and booklets, the Bible, the book of prayers, and even Cantonese–English dictionaries. These works contributed to standardizing written Cantonese and indirectly helped to develop Cantonese identity. I will critically examine how Cantonese Christian literature declined for the sake of nationalism, as the first publication of Heheben 和合本 (Mandarin Union Version) in Protestant Christianity in 1919 represented the unification of the Church by using written Mandarin. After elaborating on the unintentional alliance of missionaries with Cantonese in the nineteenth century, in conclusion, I will make a brief comparison of Hong Kong Church in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, which is inactive in the continuous written Cantonese movement in Hong Kong. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Expressions of Chinese Christianity in Texts and Contexts: In Memory of Our Mentor Professor R. G. Tiedemann (1941–2019))

18 pages, 13606 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Linguistic Contributions of Protestant Missionaries in South China: An Overview of Cantonese Religious and Pedagogical Publications (1828–1939)

by Shin Kataoka and Yin Ping Lee

Religions 2024, 15(6), 751; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15060751 - 20 Jun 2024

Viewed by 1226

Abstract

Robert Morrison 馬禮遜, the first Protestant missionary to China, came to Guangdong as an employee of the East India Company and with the support of the London Missionary Society in 1807. Amongst his path-breaking translation work, he published the first Chinese Bible (Shen Tian Shengshu 神天聖書) in 1823. As many foreigners in Guangdong could not speak Cantonese, Morrison compiled a three-volume Cantonese learning aid, A Vocabulary of the Canton Dialect (1828), using specifically Cantonese Chinese characters and his Cantonese romanization system. In consequence, missionaries translated Christian literature and the Bible into Cantonese, for they realized that proficiency in Cantonese was essential for proselytization among ordinary people. Over the past twenty years, we have collected and identified around 260 Cantonese works written and translated by Western Protestant missionaries, and these Cantonese writings can be categorized as follows: 1. dictionaries; 2. textbooks; 3. Christian literature; 4. Bibles; and 5. miscellanea. In the study of the Western Protestant missions, their linguistic contribution is relatively under-represented. Through analyzing the phonological, lexical, and grammatical features of early Cantonese expressions in these selected missionary works, we strive to highlight the missionaries’ contributions to the diachronic study of the Cantonese language in modern southern China. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Expressions of Chinese Christianity in Texts and Contexts: In Memory of Our Mentor Professor R. G. Tiedemann (1941–2019))

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12 pages, 325 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Neither Eastern nor Western: Jia Yuming’s Support of Independent Churches in the Anti-Christian Movement

by Junhui Qin

Religions 2024, 15(6), 743; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15060743 - 19 Jun 2024

Viewed by 801

Abstract

The Chinese Christian church was accused of colluding with Western imperialism, and this led to the anti-Christian movement. The Chinese church responded by accelerating a movement of church independence. Discussions of this movement have often been incorporated into a discourse of aggression and resistance between East and West. Such discussions obscure the differences between individuals and the plurality of thought in the Chinese church. Based on the textual analysis of his writings, the article aims to reveal previously overlooked details within Jia Yuming’s justification of the independence movement by. On the one hand, Jia responded to nationalism by pointing out the ethnic and national identities and obligations of Christians. On the other hand, he avoided conflict with the Western missions in the process of independence, thus taking the church’s independence out of the context of East–West confrontation. Finally, he reconciled the conflict between national identity and the Western image with the ecumenical values of Christ and the Christian reformation of society, unifying both sides with ultimate spirituality. His justification draws attention to an attuned theological path of thought in the process of indigenization of the Chinese church. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Expressions of Chinese Christianity in Texts and Contexts: In Memory of Our Mentor Professor R. G. Tiedemann (1941–2019))

14 pages, 345 KiB

Open AccessArticle

From Singing “Out-of-Tone” to Creating Contextualized Cantonese Contemporary Worship Songs: Hong Kong in the Decentralization of Chinese Christianity

by Shin Fung Hung

Religions 2024, 15(6), 648; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15060648 - 24 May 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1477

Abstract

For over a century, Hong Kong Christians have sung Chinese hymns in an “out-of-tone” manner. Lyrics in traditional hymnals were translated or written to be sung in Mandarin, the national language, but most locals speak Cantonese, another Sinitic and tonal language. Singing goes “out-of-tone” when Mandarin hymns are sung in Cantonese, which often causes meaning distortions. Why did Hong Kong Christians accept this practice? How did they move from singing “out-of-tone” to creating contextualized Cantonese contemporary worship songs? What does this process reveal about the evolution of Chinese Christianity? From a Hong Kong-centered perspective, this article reconstructs the city’s hymnological development. I consider the creation of national Mandarin hymnals during Republican China as producing a nationalistic Mainland-centric and Mandarin-centric Chinese Christianity. Being on the periphery, Hong Kong Christians did not have the resources to develop their own hymns and thus continued to worship “out-of-tone”. With the decline of the old Chinese Christian center of Shanghai, the growth of Cantonese culture and Hongkonger identity, and the influence of Western pop and Christian music, local Christians began to create Cantonese contemporary worship songs. This hymnological contextualization reflects and contributes to not only the decolonization but, more importantly, the decentralization of Chinese Christianity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Expressions of Chinese Christianity in Texts and Contexts: In Memory of Our Mentor Professor R. G. Tiedemann (1941–2019))

12 pages, 290 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Accommodation and Compromise in the Contact Zone: Christianity and Chinese Culture in Modern Hong Kong Literature

by Yi Yang

Religions 2024, 15(5), 629; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15050629 - 20 May 2024

Viewed by 2000

Abstract

Situated in the unique historical context of Hong Kong—a contact zone between East and West—this study explores how Christianity’s introduction through British colonialism and missionary efforts has intertwined with and influenced Chinese cultural traditions. By examining selected works of Xu Dishan and Chen Zanyi, this study reveals the dynamic negotiations of identity and values between these two cultural and religious traditions. These literary works not only depict the complexities of cultural hybridity but also provide insights into the evolving nature of cultural identity in Hong Kong, illustrating how global religions and local traditions can merge and transform each other. This study contributes to understanding the intricate dance of religious exchange, conflict, and compromise in Hong Kong’s cross-culture setting, suggesting that such literary explorations can bridge Christianity with the socio-economic, cultural, and historical fabric of Chinese society. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Expressions of Chinese Christianity in Texts and Contexts: In Memory of Our Mentor Professor R. G. Tiedemann (1941–2019))

15 pages, 7001 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Competing Loyalties in a Contested Space: The Lutheran Middle School in Hunan Province, 1907–1914

by Silje Dragsund Aase

Religions 2024, 15(5), 589; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15050589 - 11 May 2024

Viewed by 1148

Abstract

This study explores the complexities of mission-state and church-state relations from a micro-level perspective, asking how the missionaries, teachers, and pupils at the Lutheran Middle School in Hunan Province negotiated conflicting claims on church membership and national citizenship. However, Hunan is not a microcosm of modern China. When dealing with nationalism in a Hunanese context, it is sometimes more accurate to speak of Hunanese nationalism rather than Chinese nationalism. This micro-level case study sheds light on the general trends of changing mission-state and church-state encounters, but it also emphasizes unexpected expressions of local Christianity in a context that has not so far been given much scholarly attention. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Expressions of Chinese Christianity in Texts and Contexts: In Memory of Our Mentor Professor R. G. Tiedemann (1941–2019))

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10 pages, 309 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Encounter between Christian Medical Missions and Chinese Medicine in Modern History: The Case of Benjamin Hobson

by Man Kong Wong

Religions 2024, 15(5), 583; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15050583 - 8 May 2024

Viewed by 1693

Abstract

This article discusses how and why Christian medical missionaries established their foothold in Chinese society through the medical career of Benjamin Hobson, who was active in China from the late 1830s to the 1850s. Apart from his evangelical work among the Chinese, one of his key contributions was the new medical vocabularies he created to communicate medical knowledge. In addition to literary considerations, Hobson had his strategies for sharing modern medical knowledge. Moreover, he was prepared to debate with the Chinese over the validity of the pulse theory. The debate did not happen, however. His intention to establish the case for the superior position of Western medicine was not contested. His medical texts, at best, became the necessary underpinning for introducing modern Western medicine to China. When Western medical college projects took place in China at the turn of the century, biomedicine took over as the key paradigm, with Hobson’s medical texts being of limited use. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Expressions of Chinese Christianity in Texts and Contexts: In Memory of Our Mentor Professor R. G. Tiedemann (1941–2019))

13 pages, 210 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Contextualizing Transnational Chinese Christianity: A Relational Approach

by Nanlai Cao and Lijun Lin

Religions 2024, 15(4), 510; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15040510 - 20 Apr 2024

Viewed by 1341

Abstract

In recent years, the number of Chinese Christian organizations in Europe has grown considerably compared to other overseas Chinese community organizations. They can mobilize transnational networks and resources to expand religious space in host societies and form a highly visible social force. Although the rise of early Christianity in the Western world has been considered an outcome of inherent religious strength, especially in terms of its central doctrines and religious ethics, this article suggests that in the diasporic Chinese world where Christianity constitutes a non-indigenous religious tradition, social relatedness based on native place, family, and kinship ties provides a more useful context for understanding its dynamic expansion and cross-regional transmission. Drawing on anthropological fieldwork conducted in Europe among overseas Chinese Christian traders and entrepreneurs, this research seeks an alternative framework for understanding the religious-cultural dynamics of Chinese Christianity in the context of transnational migration. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Expressions of Chinese Christianity in Texts and Contexts: In Memory of Our Mentor Professor R. G. Tiedemann (1941–2019))

15 pages, 390 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Inculturation at Home: The Belgian Catholic Project for Chinese Students (1920–1930s)

by Zhiyuan Pan

Religions 2024, 15(3), 327; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030327 - 8 Mar 2024

Viewed by 1264

Abstract

Initiated by Vincent Lebbe in 1920, the Belgian Catholic project for Chinese students was a harbinger of inculturation. Contrary to the impression that the Catholic Church reacted slowly to the demand of indigenisation in the early twentieth century, this article demonstrates that a project specifically designed for Chinese students had already been prepared for this purpose back in Belgium. In other words, through the fostering of intercultural understanding and personal contacts between students abroad and home communities, the Belgian Catholic project became part of the Leuven school’s missiological initiative, which was meant to realise Church implantation in mission countries. In order to maximise the contacts between young Chinese intellectuals and the Belgian Catholic milieu, Lebbe and his associates strategically anchored their cause into the allocation of the Sino-Belgian Indemnity Scholarship, despite stiff competition. The Catholic efforts to encourage a sense of unity evoked sympathy in Belgian society towards China, and in time contributed to charitable support for war victims at the beginning of the Sino-Japanese War. Though originally driven by evangelical purposes and ideological challenges, the spirit of inculturation gave rise to an awareness of human solidarity, a legacy worthy of a true apostolate. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Expressions of Chinese Christianity in Texts and Contexts: In Memory of Our Mentor Professor R. G. Tiedemann (1941–2019))

12 pages, 778 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Making Knowledge in the Local Settings: Vernacular Education and Cantonese Elementary Textbooks

by Sixing Chen

Religions 2024, 15(3), 299; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030299 - 28 Feb 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1170

Abstract

A growing number of Protestant missionaries engaged in vernacular education in the late nineteenth century. To meet the demands of the new era, Christian church education faced challenges not only in its curriculum design but also in the way it presented new knowledge. Previous studies have focused on church education at the tertiary level while overlooking the elementary level. This article discusses vernacular church education and vernacular textbooks at the elementary level in the late Qing, with specific reference to Youxue baoshen yaoyan 幼學保身要言 (The Human Body for Children). It argues that the demand for spreading new knowledge urged Protestant missionaries to compile vernacular textbooks and present Western knowledge in the local settings. Vernacular church education should be regarded as the precursor of indigenous education proposed by the late Qing Court. The local dialect, Cantonese in this case, bridged the linguistic gap between new terms and children’s cognition and became an effective means of presenting new knowledge. Vernacular textbooks had an unparalleled significance in the cultural sphere of dialect writing, since the language of textbooks could drastically influence the writing and reading habits of the young generation and further influence people’s attitudes towards dialects and dialect literature. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Expressions of Chinese Christianity in Texts and Contexts: In Memory of Our Mentor Professor R. G. Tiedemann (1941–2019))

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