Protestantism in China
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- See also: Christianity in China
Protestant Christianity called Xin jiaotu (新教徒, literally "new religion followers") entered China in the early 19th century, taking root in a significant way during the Qing Dynasty, and the Taiping Rebellion was arguably influenced to some degree by Protestant Christian teachings. The last 200 years have seen the growth of indigenous Protestant Chinese Christianity that has far outpaced church growth in the West[citation needed]. Nicholas D. Kristof, a columnist of the New York Times wrote on June 25, 2006:
Although China bans foreign missionaries and sometimes harasses and imprisons Christians, especially in rural areas, Christianity is booming in China. [1]
There were 250,000 baptized Roman Catholics, but no known Protestant believers in 1800 out of an estimated 362 million Chinese. By 1949, out of a 450 million estimated population, there were only just over 500,000 baptized Protestant Christians[2] Anonymous internet columnist Spengler commented in 2007 that Christianity, which is mostly Protestant and evangelical by nature in China "will have become a Sino-centric religion two generations from now."[3]
For further discussion of figures see: article Christianity in China.
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[edit] History 1807-1953
Protestant Christianity did not arrive in China until Robert Morrison of the London Missionary Society began work in 1807 at Macau.
In 1860 Protestant missions were confined to five coastal cities. By the end of the century, however, the picture had vastly changed. Scores of new missionary societies had been organized, and several thousand missionaries were working in all parts of China. This amazing transformation can be largely traced to the excitement caused by the 1859 Awakening in Britain and the example of J. Hudson Taylor (1832-1905). By 1865 when the China Inland Mission began, there were already thirty different Protestant groups at work in China[4], however the diversity of denominations represented did not equate to more missionaries on the field. In the seven provinces in which Protestant missionaries had already been working, there were an estimated 204 million people with only 91 workers, while there were eleven other provinces in inland China with a population estimated at 197 million, for whom absolutely nothing had been attempted[5]. Besides the London Missionary Society, and the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, there were missionaries affiliated with Baptists, Southern Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians, and Wesleyans. Most missionaries came from England, the United States, Sweden, France, Germany, Switzerland, or Holland[6].
In addition to the publication and distribution of Christian literature and Bibles, the Protestant Christian missionary movement in China furthered the dispersion of knowledge with other printed works of history and science. As the missionaries went to work among the Chinese, they established and developed schools and introduced the latest techniques in medicine[7]. The mission schools were viewed with some suspicion by the traditional Chinese teachers, but they differed from the norm by offering a basic education to poor Chinese, both boys and girls, who had no hope of learning at a school before the days of the Chinese Republic [8].
The 1800s witnessed the expansion of Christianity beyond the isolated areas of the Treaty Ports by thousands of new missionaries who entered the interior of China. Western missionaries spread Christianity rapidly through the foreign-occupied coastal cities; the Taiping Rebellion was connected in its origins to the missionary activity. British and American denominations, such as the British Methodist Church, continued to send missionaries until they were prevented from doing so following the establishment of the People's Republic of China. Protestant missionaries played a significant role in introducing knowledge of China to the United States and the United States to China. The book The Small Woman and film Inn of the Sixth Happiness tell the story of one such missionary, Gladys Aylward.
Protestant Christians in China established the first clinics and hospitals[9], provided the first training for nurses, opened the first modern schools, worked to abolish practices such as foot binding [10], and the unjust treatment of maidservants, as well as launching charitable work and distributing food to the poor. They also opposed the opium trade[11] and brought treatment to many who were addicted. Some of the early leaders of the Chinese Republic, such as Sun Yat-sen were converts to Christianity and were influenced by its teachings.[12]
By the 1950s all foreign missionary work had ceased and the indigenous Chinese churches began a span of growth that would soon outpace the churches of the West.
[edit] Bible in China
A Chinese version of the Bible was translated by British missionary and linguist Robert Morrison. More than 300 million copies of the Bible in Chinese have been published and disseminated since 1823 with active participation of the Protestant missionaries between 1807-1953.[13]
[edit] Contemporary Mainland China since 1949
Since the loosening of restrictions on religion after the 1970s, Christianity has grown significantly within the People's Republic. It is still, however, tightly controlled by government authorities. The Protestant Three-Self Patriotic Movement and China Christian Council have affiliations with government and follow the regulations imposed upon them. Three-Self Patriotic Movement by 2005 claimed to have 10-15 millions worshippers, while Protestant unofficial house churches may have to 30 million members. [14]
[edit] See also
[edit] Names for Christianity and God
The Chinese language today typically divides Christians into two groups, believers of Jidu Xinjiao, Protestantism, and Tianzhu jiao, Catholicism. The terms originate with different terms for God used in Chinese. The Catholic church historically favored Tianzhu (literally, Lord of Heaven) over Shangdi (literally, Sovereign Above), an alternate term used more commonly by Protestants. The current term for the Protestant denomination refers to the Mandarin Chinese translation of Christ, Jidu.
[edit] References
- Austin, Alvyn (2007). China’s Millions: The China Inland Mission and Late Qing Society. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-2975-7.
- Burgess, Alan (1957). The Small Woman. ISBN 1568491840.
- Gulick, Edward V. (1975). Peter Parker and the Opening of China. Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 95, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1975).
- Soong, Irma Tam (1997). Sun Yat-sen's Christian Schooling in Hawai'i. Hawai'i: The Hawaiian Journal of History, vol. 13.
- Broomhall, Marshall [1901]. Martyred Missionaries of the China Inland Mission with a record of the Perils and Sufferings of Some Who Escaped. London: Morgan and Scott. Retrieved on 2006-06-21.
- Latourette, Kenneth Scott (1929). A History of Christian Missions in China.
- Spence, Jonathan D. (1991). The Search for modern China. W. W. Norton & Company. 0393307808.
- Taylor, James Hudson (1868). China's Spiritual Need and Claims (Third Edition). London: James Nisbet.
- Townsend, William (1890). Robert Morrison: the pioneer of Chinese missions. London: S.W. Partridge.
- Wylie, Alexander (1867). Memorials of Protestant Missionaries to the Chinese. Shanghai: American Presbyterian Mission Press.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Church growth in China.(Century marks)(Brief article) Industry & Business Article - Research, News, Information, Contacts, Divisions, Subsidiaries, Business Associations
- ^ Latourette, (1929)
- ^ Christianity finds a fulcrum in Asia. Asia Times Online (August 7, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-25.
- ^ Spence (1991), p. 206
- ^ Taylor (1865),
- ^ Spence (1991), p. 206
- ^ Spence (1991), p. 206
- ^ Spence (1991), p. 208
- ^ Gulick, (1975) pp. 561-562
- ^ Burgess, (1957) pp. 47
- ^ Austin, (2007)
- ^ Soong, (1997) p. 151-178
- ^ Beijing Review
- ^ Internation Christian Concern Report on China
[edit] External links
- Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity
- Information on the Church in China
- Bible in Chinese
- Chinese Bible Resources
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