Texts, Interpretations, and Reception Histories in Chinese Christianity

Dear Colleagues,

According to Chen Yuan, the history of Chinese Christianity can be divided into four stages, namely, Jingjiao (景教)/the Church of the East in the Tang dynasty, Yeli kewen (the people who believed in Gospels) during the Yuan Dynasty, Catholicism during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and Protestantism in the late Qing dynasty. Different manifestations of Chinese Christianity during these four stages left behind voluminous texts in Chinese and other languages, which became the basis for the study of the history of Chinese Christianity. In this Special Issue of Religions, we aim to revisit the history of Chinese Christianity based on these texts, their interpretations, reception histories, indigenous influence and inter-developments with the historical communities who adopted, composed, adapted, or transmitted them. This includes a focus on indigenous Chinese Christian texts, whether proselytical, liturgical, literary, or doctrinal, etc., as well as Chinese-authored texts on the history of the Chinese Church, theological works and writings dealing with the reception of particular Christian theologies or denominational Christianity. Contributions may also cover reflections on, journeys of, and responses to such texts in Chinese Christian history, particularly from Chinese linguistic and cultural perspectives. In this sense, the proposed issue distinguishes itself from related upcoming Special Issues in Religions, whose focus in on a particular period in Chinese mission and local Christian histories and their historiographies (see here), or theology, interreligious dialogue, and biblical studies in distinct periods of Chinese-Christian encounters from antiquity to May 4th and contemporary China (see here). Our proposed concentration aims to filter out some of the core concepts within textual, reception, and hermeneutical histories of Chinese Christianities by employing methods of historical research, textual analysis, and sociological and anthropological approaches rather than reflecting theological concerns or isolating a certain historical period.

We are pleased to invite you to submit manuscripts to a Special Issue entitled “Texts, Interpretations, and Reception Histories in Chinese Christianity” to promote the research in this field.

This Special Issue aims to sort out the basic texts of the history of Chinese Christianity and their various interpretations, and to explore significant topics through the lens of cultural exchange and mutual appreciation of civilizations, such as publication, collection and circulation of books and other writings, core texts, terms and different interpretations, key concepts and their receptions and reactions, texts, and communities of Chinese Christians and other related topics are also welcomed. The basic methods of research will include textual analysis, as well as historical, philosophical, sociological, and anthropological approaches.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following:

1. The basic texts of the history of Chinese Christianity: composition, publication, collection, (re-)printing, circulation, and influences;
2. The history of books and other writings of Chinese Christianity in Chinese and other languages;
3. The core terms, concepts and ideas expressed in Chinese Christian texts and their different understandings, interpretations and responses in Chinese and Western societies;
4. The relationship between texts and communities and their influences on the development of Chinese Christianity.
5. The reception, reinvention, and transmission of Christian theology in Chinese Christian communities.
6. Indigenous Chinese Christian literary works, Chinese Christian liturgy, including hymns and hymnals, doxologies, Christian devotional writings, sermon texts, transcripts of Christian testimonies
7. Texts relating to Christian institutions and institutionalization

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Qinghe Xiao
Dr. Naomi Thurston
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.