Word Count: 1328
Mark: Distinction
Comment: Again, a very basic overview of the topic, but one which came out surprisingly well in the end. I was astonished by the mark, especially as I misread the question (I didn't notice it said PROTESTANT until almost too late, and had to hurriedly try and fix up the beginning)!
The Assignment
Introduction
The history of Christianity in China has had periods when the growth was strong and exciting, and other periods where believers were persecuted, and Christianity was forgotten. Various people have undertaken mission trips to try and share the gospel of Jesus Christ in this vast and populous country, and this essay will attempt to outline the most prominent people and their results, commencing with a brief look of the Catholic beginnings.
The Early Days of Catholicism
The earliest recorded mention of Christianity in China goes back to 635 A.D., when the Nestorians arrived during a time when the Chinese were enjoying immense power under the T’ang Dynasty, but they were phased out by 845 with the arrival of Buddhism, despite a brief comeback under the Mongol Dynasty. The peace brought by Genghis Khan’s Mongol conquest ignited the next significant Christian step, allowing Pope Nicholas III, and John of Montecorvino, a Franciscan, to bring Christianity back to China. However, the Mongol empire fell in 1368, and since the Franciscans were identified with them, they collapsed too. The following rise of the Mings almost dismissed Christianity from China altogether, but near the end of their rule, the Jesuits started sending missionaries out, the most prominent one being Matteo Ricci, who found great success when he settled in Canton in 1583, eventually helping establish a church in the capital of Beijing.
After Ricci’s death in 1610, Roman Catholicism grew in strength, but missionary factions started to fight between each other, before Pope Innocent XIII finally rejected the Jesuits. All this weakened Christianity in China, as it was seen more and more as a hostile and foreign force.
Bible Translations and Protestant Missionary Movement
The first major significant step of Protestant movement in China began with the arrival of Robert Morrison, a Scot, who arrived in Canton in 1807. Due to his linguistic skills, he gained respect from traders, and started translating the Bible, despite many hardships. At the same time, another prominent missionary in India, Joshua Marshman, was likewise translating the Bible into Chinese.
This opened the way for more missionaries, including the first Americans, Elijah and Eliza Bridgman. The first medical missionary, Peter Parker, arrived in 1834, and he opened the very successful Canton Ophthalmic Hospital.
Trouble, however, came with the British introduction of opium, due to a need to find a new trade import to China. Chinese officials were against this, but Britian commenced two wars against China over this and various other matters, won both, and China gave into a treaty, which allowed free trading and religion. It is therefore rather startling to think that, “… the opening of doors for merchants and missionaries was inevitably linked with opium.”
Two of the major missionaries of this time were Timothy Richard, who wished to transform China culturally and spiritually, and Hudson Taylor, a man who arrived with somewhat different ideas. Unlike many other missionaries, Taylor was not one to force western ideas into Chinese culture, and he did all he could to fit in with the country, including getting his head shaved and wearing a ponytail. Taylor remains one of the most successful and best remembered of all missionaries to China. It was he who first had a heart for inland China, and set about sending missionaries to every inland part of the country he could; the famous China Inland Mission movement originated from this.
Atrocities And Communism
With the help of such factors as education and medicine, Protestantism continued to flourish in China, making an impact on the shaping of the country, although this didn’t mean missionaries were free from persecution. Some Chinese remained very much against it, seeing it as a foreign invader, amongst other things, and from this arose the horrifying Boxer movement in 1900, supported by the Empress Dowager Zi Xi. Calling themselves the “Fists Of Righteous Harmony”, and numbering at least 100 000, the Boxers set themselves against all foreigners, Christian or otherwise, and on 27 July, 1900, it was reported that 1500 foreigners had been massacred , while there was an overall death count of 1900 Protestants and 30 000 Roman Catholics. Following further atrocities, the Boxers were eventually defeated and their leaders executed early in1901.
The twentieth century has brought varying degrees of success and failure to Christian missionary work, and was influenced by Nationalism, which was an attempt to restore China to some kind of world power. In its various ways, it both helped and hindered mission work. On the positive side, the number of Protestants and Chinese pastors had grown by 1936, despite less missionaries. Also, the Christians in China started to combine as one, rather than be various groups of unconnected denominations, which they had been in the past; the first National Christian Conference was held in 1922, and the notable Church of Christ in China officially commenced in 1927. However, they had to battle against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which was led by Mao Zedong, which seized power in 1949. Part of the Communists’ aim was to bring peace and stability to the country, and Christianity came under threat, although some Christians actually welcomed it as a desperately needed stabilizing factor. However, mission work came to a close, missionaries stopped coming into the country, and some who were already there were persecuted. Such men as Rev. Wang Mingado, Watchman Nee and Isaac Wei suffered prosecution and imprisonment for their fights against the CCP.
Cultural Revolution And The Recovery Worse was to come in 1966, with the commencement of the Cultural Revolution, something seen as even worse than the Boxer movement. It was a rebellion of young people, incited by Mao Zedong, against anything from authority and education, to varying religions. The most appalling atrocities were brought upon the Christian church, as well as other religions, such as learned people being dragged out into the streets and humiliated, ordered to confess to crimes they hadn’t committed, or admit to seemingly innocent things that weren’t crimes, like owning a Beethoven record, as Beethoven was “western”. Thousands of deaths were reported as a result of this horrifying movement.
In 1972, however, two churches in Beijing began holding services again, thanks to the continuation of House Congregations, private Christian meetings made in various people’s houses, which had been kept going throughout the Revolution. The death of Mao Zedong in 1976 was the start of desperately needed changes to China. Deng Xiaoping took over, and although he continued with Communism, he brought in greater freedom, which allowed Christianity to rise once more. The eighties saw great growth in Chinese Christianity, although certain cults started to make headway too. Again, Christians were persecuted in some ways, thanks to an “Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign” in 1983-84. But revivals continued, including the work of Sister Liang, who started a church in the Talian district of Fushun City in Liaoning province. In 1987, she was one of seven Christians who came to meet together, but through much praying and visiting of the sick, she led the way in a church being built which now has over 400 regular attenders.
Under Deng Xiaoping, Christianity has grown in China, and has continued to since his death in 1997, despite restrictions on evangelisation of people under eighteen years of age. OMF’s “Global Chinese Ministries” announced that, “By early 1999 there were over 13 000 registered churches and 35 000 meeting points in China, as well as 18 Bible schools or seminaries.”
Conclusion
Christianity in China has faced many battles, endured some defeats, but has always risen again. It has seen through persecution due to cultural differences and various religious beliefs, and has had God use a wide variety of people to do His work. As a result, Christianity is continuing to make strides through this great land, and we can see that, no matter what setbacks the Lord’s people might continue to face, they will continue to rise as God sees fit.
Bibliography
Adeney, David H. China: The Church’s Long March. California: Regal, 1985.
Broomhall, A.J. Hudson Taylor & China’s Open Century: Survivor’s Pact. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1984.
Broomhall, Marshall. The Bible In China London: British and Foreign Bible Society, 1934.
Brown, G. Thompson. Christianity in the People’s Republic of China. Atlanta: John Knox, 1986.
Church growth continues in China. Global Chinese Ministries, Epping: OMF, 1999.
The 50th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China: A Spiritual History. Global Chinese Ministries, Epping: OMF, 1999.
Lawrence, Carl. The Church In China. Minneapolis, Bethany, 1985.
Macindoe, Betty. Hudson Taylor: God’s Man For China. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1974.
Ross, John (ed.). Chronicle Of The 20th Century. Ringwood: Penguin, 1999.