Jindai Guangdong liudong shehui de xingheng yü jidu jiaohui de xiangying 近代廣東流動社會的形成與基督教會的響應 = The making of a mobile society in modern Guangdong and the Protestant Churches' response / by Xue Ximing 薛熙明

https://ccspub.cc/jrcc/article/view/429

Published in Zhongguo jidujiao yanjiu 中國基督教研究 = Journal of Research for Christianity in China, no.25 (2025): 102-132.

Local access dig.pdf [Xue_jindai_Guangdong_liudong_shehui.pdf]

Abstract:

近代廣東社會是一個以現代交通、新興僑鄉和向外移民為主要特點的流動社會。廣東基督教各教會適應這一發展態勢，通過調整傳教交通路徑拓展了廣東省內宣教地的範圍，關注疍民等流動群體需要開展福音船水面傳道，創立本土自立教會推動僑鄉信仰社區建立，借由移民連通跨地域信仰網絡，開展了大量新的信仰實踐。盡管流動社會也給教會帶來了諸如教區擴大、信徒分散，以及因大量移民導致的信眾群體不穩定等問題，但廣東基督教會借助道路交通和海外移民的網絡連接作用積極響應，呈現為三個方面的轉向：教會發展重心由植堂轉為宣教，教會分布由地域性轉為跨地域網絡型，教會屬性由族裔型轉為跨文化教會。

Modern Guangdong society was characterized by high mobility, shaped by the development of modern transportation, the emergence of overseas Cantonese hometowns, and large-scale outward migration. In response to this dynamic context, Protestant churches in Guangdong strategically adapted their missionary routes, launched gospel watercraft to serve mobile populations such as the Dan people, established indigenous self-governing churches in the hometown of overseas Cantonese, and fostered Christian practices through faith networks that connected migrants with local believers. While this mobility posed significant challenges—such as the expansion of parish boundaries, the dispersion of congregants, and the destabilization of church communities resulting from extensive migration—Protestant churches in Guangdong responded proactively. Their adaptive strategies were manifested in three major transitions: from church planting to broader missionary outreach, from localized congregations to cross-regional missionary networks, and from ethnically defined churches to more inclusive, cross-cultural faith communities.