"A caged bird in a Communist pavilion : Chao Tzu-chen and the remolding of Yenching University’s School of Religion, 1949–1951" / Peter Kwok-Fai Law.

Religions 2024, 15 (8): 1-19.

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).

Local access dig.pdf [Law-A Caged Bird in a Communist Pavilion.pdf]

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.

Ignatius : the life of Ignatius Cardinal Kung Pin-Mei / Msgr. Stephen M. DiGiovanni.
Gift of Fr. Robert Carbonneau.

"L'auteur qui appartient à l'Institut pontifical des Missions Etrangères de Milan, arrivé en Chine en 1938, il en repartira en 1946 après avoir été fait prisonnier par les communistes chinois en 1945. Ce livre est le récit de ses deux années de captivité. L'auteur donne aussi son avis sur la situation de la Chine dans les zones controlées par les communistes à cette époque."--OCLC note.

Seeking the common ground : Protestant Christianity, the Three-Self Movement, and China's united front / Philip L. Wickeri.
Based on the author's Thesis (Ph. D.)--Princeton Theological Seminary, 1985.
Bibliography: p. 331-348.
Includes index.

This is the most comprehensive treatment ever written of the history of the Protestant Church in China over the last forty years. Philip Wickeri takes an unprecedented look at one of the most turbulent periods in Chinese history-the years from 1949 to the present. Wickeri explicates what Chinese Protestants have been saying about themselves in historical and theological perspective. His interpretation is based on one particular dynamic: how Chinese Protestants have sought to situate themselves in a socialist society within the unifying framework of the united front. After an overview of church, Marxism, and Christianity in China, Wickeri discusses the united front. He focuses on ideology, organization, and religious policy. Wickeri then explores the Three-Self Movement as both a Chinese and a Christian movement. His conclusion: the Three-Self Movement, despite problems, has made Christianity more accessible to the average Chinese and the church more acceptable to Chinese society.--Pub. info.