CHINA



CHINA 101: A MINI-COURSE

CHINA & HER 4 RELIGIONS

1.3 billion people; 1/5 of the world’s population; ancient, proud, resistant unreached peoples.

Han = majority people; 50+ major minority groups, hundreds more! China is multicultural!

Traditional religions – 4 traditions intermingled; most people have a mixture of beliefs.

1. Confucianism: Man to find his proper place in family, society and universe; pay homage to (worship) ancestors; Emperor is the Son of heaven, and Emperor worshipped heaven. Heaven (according to Confucius) = a moral (impersonal) force in the universe.

2. Taoism: Man to flee from society to commune with nature. Everything in the world is relative; do not hang on to anything as truth. A philosophy originally, but after 200 AD, intermingled with folk religion (search for elixir of life, funeral ceremonies, qi gong, etc.).

3. Buddhism: Entered China after 200 AD, and intermingled with Confucianism (Buddhist themes are used in Chinese literature, art, architecture) and Taoism (original Buddhism had no deities; Chinese Buddhism created deities, and made historical figures gods).

4. Folk religion: There is a hierarchy of gods in the universe, comparable to the hierarchy with the Emperor on top, and mandarin officials according to rank. Fear of future, fear of death; appease ancestors and other (evil) spirits with sacrifices, burning of incense.

Taoism, Buddhism and Folk Religion are making strong comeback, e.g. Fa-lun-gong.

Church grew tremendously under persecution (1966-76) and harassment (1980-present); approx. 80 million Christians in China. Due to lack of Bibles and leadership, heresies are spreading.

China has the most # of unreached people; and (soon) the most # of Christians!

Challenge: Treat each Chinese as an individual. Many opportunities to befriend and reach them.

HISTORY OF CHINA AND THE CHINESE CHURCH: A STORY OF MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

551- 479 BC Confucius (private teacher) taught princes to be virtuous, each man in his place.

221 – 206 BC First emperor united feudal territories; built Great Wall; brutally killed dissidents.

206 BC – 220 AD Han dynasty, first empire (the Han majority people = named after it).

220 AD First empire disintegrated into rival territories. Buddhism entered China.

618 – 907 AD Tang dynasty, second empire, China’s borders extended to inner Asia.

Nestorian Christianity entered China during the Tang dynasty. (1st entry)

Catholics entered China in the 1300s; Jesuits in 1600s. (2nd and 3rd entries)

1636 – 1911 Manchu (Qing) dynasty (last dynasty), resented by Han majority.

1807 Robert Morrison, first Protestant missionary to reach China. (4th entry) China was closed.

1839-42, 1856-60 Two opium wars forced China to open to the west.

1842 Nanjing Treaty; Hong Kong became British colony (till 1997).

1858,1860 Tianjin and Beijing Treaties: Protestant missionaries now entered inland China.

1865 Hudson Taylor founded China Inland Mission (“1000 lives all for China”).

1880s Western missions built colleges in China; many did not believe/teach the biblical gospel.

1895 Japan defeated China in war; western nations “carved” semi-colonial spheres in China.

1899 Macau became Portuguese colony (till 1999).

1900 Antiforeign “Boxer Rebellion” killed missionaries and Chinese Christians.

1900-1911 China = humiliated; turns to west in fear and adoration. (Key to understand Chinese.)

1911 Manchu dynasty collapsed, Oct. 10 revolution succeeded; China became republic.

1916-27 Warlords fought civil wars. Refugees fled villages, flooded cities. Sun turned to Russia.

1915-27 Intellectuals searched for western ideas to build new culture, e.g. science, communism.

1921 Chinese Communist Party organized; 1922 staged Anti-Christian Movement. Evangelicals were absent to provide response. Many of China’s brightest youths turned Communist.

1927-37 Chiang Kai-shek ruled China from Nanjing; heyday of evangelists, e.g.Watchman Nee.

1931 Japan invaded Manchuria; 1937 invaded and occupied mainland China till 1945.

1945-49 Civil War; students revived, prepared for missions and ministry.

1949 Communist Revolution succeeded.

1966-76 Cultural Revolution, a time of brainwashing and brutality. Churches persecuted severely.

1976 Mao died; soon, Deng Xiaopeng called for 4 modernizations. (over)

1989 Tiananmen Square (June 4) tragedy. Vacuum of beliefs. We can’t miss opportunity now!

1997 Deng dies; Hong Kong returns to Chinese rule; 1999 Macau returns to Chinese rule.

The point: Chinese has gone through war, suffering, upheaval almost constantly for 200 years; the past 25 years have been the most peaceful period in modern Chinese history!

Challenge: How to encourage Chinese to turn to Christ, to “heal” their memories with the grace of God, and to commit their lives to the lordship of Christ?

CHINESE INTELLECTUALS – KEY PEOPLE GROUP; ARE WE REACHING THEM?

1860s Intellectuals attacked Christianity because it was foreign and barbarian.

1922-27 Anti-Christian Movement: Intellectuals attacked Christianity because it was (a) unscientific and (b) a tool of imperialist aggression. Evangelicals absent, unprepared.

1930s, 1940s Students turned to Christ (God prepared them for suffering after 1949).

1960s-70s Students from Taiwan and Hong Kong formed Chinese Bible study groups (later churches) in USA and Canada. Americans missed opportunity to reach and partner with them.

1989 Tiananmen Square tragedy: mainland Chinese (PRCs) turned to Christ. “The most strategic mission field in the world, bar none” (David Aikman, Time magazine). Search for worldview in a vacuum of beliefs. In light of 1860s and 1920s, this is unique opportunity!

1990s Mainland Chinese (PRCs) in North America enter ministry, form new churches here.

1980s, 1990s Chinese “Cultural Christians” study Christian religion, culture, thought; 80-100 volumes in “theology” published to date in China’s academic press (none evangelical).

2000 Which idea will govern China tomorrow? (a) Materialism, (b) antiforeign and anti-USA hatred and nationalism, (c) Buddhism and folk religion, or (d) biblical worldview?

Many ways to reach China! Key: Christians working in/blessing China, building relationships.

Western Christians lobbying their government to sanction China’s persecution will bring MORE persecution to Christians! China needs a strong Christian presence, not Christian enemies.

Or goal: share Christ, build relationships, bless China (not to destroy communism.

Challenge: We are witnessing the most open period among Chinese intellectuals (won’t last!). Will we present them with Biblical worldview as it relates to all of life? Many want to hear!

OVERSEAS CHINESE – KEY PARTNER; ARE WE WORKING WITH THEM?

Migration to Southeast Asia and North America, since (18th-)19th century.

Today, 5 milliion Chinese in USA and Canada; 1200 Chinese churches. 7% = Christian.

Singapore and surrounding areas = center of Chinese mission commitment.

Southeast Asian Chinese = world’s 3rd largest economy (John Naisbitt, Megatrends Asia, 1998).

USA and Canada = also center of Chinese educational resources and international connections.

Though without publicity, overseas Chinese is the key force outside China to reach China.

The point: Overseas Chinese Christians and churches are our major partner in supplying the church in China with Bibles, theological teaching and literature/media. Get to know them!

Challenge: How can American churches work with overseas Chinese to reach China?

CHINA HORIZON

Purpose: to biblically respond to ideas and doctrines impacting the Chinese church.

Goals: Publish theological books in Chinese (in both simplified and traditional script);

Give theology courses, seminars and lectures; promote authority of the Bible.

Samuel Ling, President, China Horizon, 16634 Fieldcrest Ct., La Mirada, CA 90638

sling@ - download free articles

Study our books: Chinese Intellectuals and the Gospel; Chinese Way of Doing Things; Asia’s Religions. Order through: P&R Publishing, PO Box 817, Phillipsburg, NJ 08865. (800) 631-0094.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download