Journal of Research for Christianity in China (JRCC)
Journal of Research for Christianity in China (JRCC, Semi-Annual, ISSN: 3068-479X) is an international, double-anonymous (external) peer-reviewed academic journal. It is edited and published by the CCS Publishing House (since 2025). JRCC was launched in December 2013. JRCC is an Open Access journal, and all articles are published under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. JRCC aims to provide a platform for (Chinese) Christian studies, publishing scholarly articles and reviews in Chinese or in English on the history of Christianity in China, (Chinese) religions, culture, etc. All articles related to Christian studies are welcome. All submitted articles are free of charge. JRCC is currently indexed in databases such as EBSCO, ProQuest, and ATLA.
The Priestly Identity of Melchizedek and the Messianic Views in the Testament of Levi and the Epistle to the Hebrews
This paper provides a comparative textual analysis of the Melchizedek priestly tradition and its messianic implications as presented in two key passages: Testament of Levi 18 and Hebrews 7. Despite their distinct literary genres, historical contexts, and theological purposes, both texts share a remarkably consistent theological framework. Each emphasizes a priestly office that is eternal and divinely ordained, transcending established levitical lineage; each bases its vision on a critique of the existing priestly system; and each intimately fuses priestly function with messianic expectation. Building on this common foundation, the Testament of Levi foregrounds the figure of a future “new priest”—a composite eschatological deliverer who acts as king, warrior, and judge, exercising authority in divine warfare and final judgment. Hebrews, in contrast, systematically develops the idea of Jesus Christ as the eternal high priest “after the order of Melchizedek.” Its argument culminates in the definitive, once-for-all efficacy of his sacrificial offering, raising the tradition to a Christological height centered on his unique person and work. The study demonstrates how these two writings, individually and in dialogue, bear witness to the fluidity and richness of messianic speculation in late Second Temple Judaism, particularly the emerging conception of a “priestly messiah.” Furthermore, it illuminates the early Christian movement’s creative reinterpretation of Jewish scriptural and interpretive traditions. Through its reshaping of the Melchizedek narrative, Hebrews articulates a coherent vision of Jesus Christ as the singular Savior, fulfilling both messianic hope and divine sonship.
Copyright (c) 2026 陈宇 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The China Medical Missionary Journal and the Observations of Traditional Chinese Medicine by Medical Missionaries in Modern China
Since the 19th century, Medical missionaries coming to China have developed a keen interest in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The China Medical Missionary Journal(CMMJ), a professional journal founded by medical missionaries, extensively published their observations and records on TCM, serving as an important platform for them to exchange views and disseminate their findings. The in-depth observations of TCM by medical missionaries stemmed from both their professional interests and the practical needs of daily medical practice. Taking Chinese medicinal herbs as the core of their research, they not only explored and applied local medicinal materials to meet pharmaceutical needs but also conducted systematic studies on TCM using methods such as biochemistry and pharmacology, promoting the subsequent standardized and scientific development of TCM research. At the practical level, although medical missionaries found it difficult to understand the entire TCM system, under the advocacy of expanding medical methods, they explored and pondered on many practical TCM techniques with an open and meticulous attitude. In addition, the CMMJ recorded that medical missionaries, from the perspective of modern scientific medicine, put forward relatively professional and objective criticisms and improvement suggestions on the deficiencies of TCM. By sorting out the observations and explorations of TCM by medical missionaries recorded in the CMMJ, we can explore the reasons, processes, and impacts of this group’s observations on TCM.
Copyright (c) 2026 何翔钰 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Reverse Mission: African Spirit Churches, Transnational Dynamics, and the Reconfiguration of Global Religious Space
As the center of world Christianity continues to shift southward, African Spirit Churches have gained growing transnational reach and international visibility. In recent years, this trend has become especially evident as some African-led churches have established branches across Western societies. In some cases, migrant Christian communities have also founded new churches with the aim of “re-evangelizing” former colonial centers and other Western settings. This phenomenon is commonly described as “reverse mission.” It should be noted, however, that reverse mission is not unique to African churches, but forms part of the wider expansion of the global Pentecostal-Charismatic movement. Even so, West African Spirit Churches are especially representative in terms of historical continuity and organizational vitality. Among them, the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in Nigeria offers a particularly important case. Emerging from the Aladura tradition in the 1950s and taking on Pentecostal-Charismatic features in the 1980s, RCCG has developed rapidly in Britain and North America. Its expansion highlights the importance of diaspora networks, church planting, and pneumatology in transnational religious growth. This article examines how the theological-ritual resources and organizational structures of African Spirit Churches sustain such expansion, and analyzes RCCG’s religious practices in British and American contexts as well as its limited impact on local religious space. It argues that the reverse mission of African Spirit Churches reflects North-South interaction and the reconfiguration of spiritual resources within global religious flows, even as its conceptual boundaries and practical forms remain contested. As global religious interactions deepen, this phenomenon is likely to assume more complex cultural forms.
Copyright (c) 2026 刘梦 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
A Study on the “Pan Jiao” Thought of Taoism by Modern Protestant Missionaries
This article focuses on how modern Protestant missionaries understand, judge and settle Taoism based on their own belief positions in different stages, that is "pan jiao". From the perspectives of the true knowledge of God, morality, and salvation, it analyzes the interpretations and evaluations of Taoism by missionaries in the three stages, and points out that their “pan jiao” view has undergone a shift from the complete replacement model, the partial replacement model to the fulfillment model. It is believed that this change does not mean that missionaries and Taoism have formed a truly equal religious dialogue, but is closer to a kind of understanding, absorption and integration centered on Christianity.
Copyright (c) 2026 刘晶戈 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The New Women's Perceptions of Missionary Women in Late Qing Dynasty in The Christian Home in China
Missionary women who came to China during the late Qing primarily focused their work on Chinese women. Coming from Western and religious backgrounds, yet also being long influenced by Chinese culture, their understanding of Chinese women’s present situation and future was both contradictory and, at times, reconciled. Around the time of the Boxer Movement, ideas of gender equality and women’s rights gradually became new aspirations for Chinese women. missionary women did not overlook these social changes. When revising the second edition of The Christian Home in China: The Daughter in The Home, a textbook for girls in missionary schools, they adopted a framework centered on moral cultivation, love for family, love for country, and love for the Kingdom of Heaven. Through discussions on law, women’s rights, equality, and freedom, they sought to guide female believers into the currents of societal transformation. At the same time, influenced by both Christian family values and traditional Chinese culture, The Daughter in The Home also exhibited clear characteristics of the “virtuous wife and good mother” ideology.
Copyright (c) 2026 郭 红, 伍艳茹 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Selected Abstracts of PhD Dissertations on Chinese Christianity Abroad
Copyright (c) 2026 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
A Theological Interpretation of Confucius’ Idea of “Great Unity” by the German Missionary Paul Kranz from a Cross-Cultural Perspective
The Confucian thought of "Great Unity" (Datong) in the world originates from the chapter "Li Yun" (The Evolution of Rites) in The Book of Rites and took shape during the Pre-Qin period. This thought not only embodies Confucius' praise and reverence for the golden age of ancient China, but also carries his vision and yearning for an ideal society in the future. Since the modern era, Paul Kranze, a German missionary and sinologist, has conducted a detailed study of Confucius and his thought of "Great Unity" based on Confucian classics such as the "Four Books and Five Classics", and put forward the unique view that "Confucius is a great prophet bestowed by God on the Chinese nation". The prophetic nature of Confucius is reflected in his clear recognition that he himself was a "not yet perfect" person—he was not the "Perfect sage" （“至圣者”）revered in The Doctrine of the Mean, but a prophet of the "Perfect sage"（“至圣者”）. The ideal of "Great Unity" outlined by Confucius has a deep inherent alignment with the core values of Christianity. In a certain sense, breaking down the spiritual barriers that hinder the exchange between Eastern and Western civilizations and striving to make all civilizations created by humanity shine together also vividly embodies the early exploration of the concept of "a community with a shared future for mankind".
Copyright (c) 2026 胡瑞琴 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Revision and Sinicization of William Milne’s Two Friends
Two Friends is the first dialogue-based chapter novel serialized by Protestant missionary William Milne (1785–1822) in the Chinese Monthly Magazine between 1817 and 1819. It embodies both religious propagation and literary experimentation. As a quintessential text of Sino-Western cultural encounter in the 19th century, its revised editions underwent dozens of reprints over nearly a century, spanning regions including Fuzhou, Shanghai, Ningbo, and Beijing. This paper presents a detailed examination of the textual variations of Two Friends over the past century. By analyzing the sinicized translation strategies employed in its revisions, this study explores the diverse pathways of Sinicization during the Protestant dissemination in China.
Copyright (c) 2026 苏佳怡 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The Christian Genealogy of the New Culture Movement's “Anti-Superstition” Narrative
The anti-superstition narrative of the New Culture Movement was not a secular construct that emerged out of thin air during the May Fourth period. In terms of its intellectual origins, this discourse of enlightenment internalized and appropriated the very object it originally intended to critique: the historical legacy of Christianity. From the late Qing period onward, missionary organizations, represented by the Christian Literature Society for China, pioneered a path of disenchantment by using natural science to critique local religious beliefs, based on the concept of natural theology. Subsequently, in establishing the authority of modern science, intellectuals of the New Culture Movement adopted the discursive framework of "using science to dispel superstition." However, by stripping "Ge Zhi Xue" of its natural theological connotations and reshaping it into "Mr. Science"—the embodiment of the standard of truth—the authority of modern science was thereby established. Beyond this relay of narrative structures, in the actual construction of their critiques, these intellectuals used cited field data collected by missionaries and adopted the classification criteria for "superstition" originally compiled by church scholars. During the height of the Anti-Christian Movement—indigenous Christian elites, in response to the ensuing social pressures, actively embraced the anti-superstition narrative established by the New Culture Movement. This discursive relay—which transcended the boundaries between religious denominations and the secular sphere—demonstrates that the power boundaries delineating "science," "religion," and "superstition" in modern China were dynamically generated through a complex interplay of intellectual borrowing, discursive displacement, and the tensions of the era.
Copyright (c) 2026 杨佳伦 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
This article uses John Van Nest Talmage, a nineteenth-century Reformed Church missionary in Amoy (Xiamen), as a case study to show how dialect Bible work moved from speech to script, from texts to classrooms and circulation, and thereby shaped society. Drawing on archives, mission reports, letters, and early romanized materials, it traces the formation of Amoy Romanization (Pe̍h-ōe-jī), Talmage’s translation practices, and the social impact generated through the circulation of Bible portions, hymns, primers, dictionaries, and other related texts. Findings: a low-barrier writing system, sustained text supply, and the work of women’s classes and local teachers rapidly lifted grassroots literacy—women first—and extended reading beyond religious use. This shift helped congregations move from an externally driven model to locally led self-reliance. The resulting corpus, together with E-mng-im ê Jī-tián (Dictionary of the Xiamen Dialect), informed later Chinese romanization efforts and supported Fujian dialectal studies. The Talmage case clarifies how dialect translation fueled local social change and cultural renewal.
Copyright (c) 2026 谢嘉鹏 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The Shaping of Confucius’s Image in Early Western Writings
This article examines the sustained and complex process through which Western missionaries in China constructed the image of Confucius during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Previous scholarship has generally taken the “Life of Confucius” included in Sapientia Sinica (1662) by Prospero Intorcetta and Ignatio da costa as the starting point of this tradition. By uncovering an earlier “Life of Confucius” contained in António de Gouvea’s Historia de China dividida em seis idades (1654), this study reveals a previously overlooked origin of this line of writing. Focusing on Gouvea’s account, the article analyzes how early Jesuits fashioned Confucius as an intellectual and moral authority intelligible to European audiences. It further situates this construction within a broader context of inter-order exchange and controversy. Through a comparison of Jesuit and Dominican interpretations—particularly concerning the “kongzi guan qi qi孔子观欹器,” the dictum “Jun zi bu qi君子不器,” and Confucius’s religious status—the article demonstrates how divergent readings of Confucius became entangled with the broader dynamics of the Chinese Rites Controversy. It argues that the early Western image of Confucius was not a unilateral Jesuit construction, but rather the product of sustained interaction, negotiation, and polemical engagement among different missionary orders.
Copyright (c) 2026 张宝宝 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
“The Incarnation” in the Horizon of Gadamerian Hermeneutics
Scholars have proposed two interpretive approaches—theological and phenomenological—to Gadamer’s concept of “incarnation.” Yet neither fully implements his principle of the “fusion of horizons” leading to interpretations that deviate from his original intent. Employing Gadamer’s own hermeneutic methodology, this paper systematically demonstrates that “incarnation” constitutes a universally applicable interpretive framework, rooted fundamentally in the hermeneutic structure wherein truth emerges through historicity. By analyzing the ontological significance of “incarnation” as a metaphor, its universal hermeneutic transformation in Bultmann’s “demythologization,” and its philosophical function as an interpretive model, the study reveals how this framework mediates the tension between finitude and infinitude, history and truth. It further highlights Gadamer’s theoretical originality in grounding his approach in a “hermeneutic stance” rather than in merely theological or phenomenological positions.
Copyright (c) 2026 李琳 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
On the Comparative Study of Christianity and Daoism by Christian Scholars in the Early 20th Century
In the early 20th century, driven by the "Anti-Christian Movement" and the wave of national awakening, some Chinese Christian scholars began to pay attention to the comparison between Christianity and Daoism in order to promote the integration of Christianity with Chinese culture. Through methods such as cross-textual interpretation, they attempted to explore the construction of a Christian theological framework with distinctive Chinese cultural characteristics. At the same time, some more open-minded missionaries in China gradually abandoned their earlier prejudices against Daoism and expanded the scope of comparative studies between Christianity and Daoism from pre-Qin Daoist philosophy to the later canonical doctrines, rituals, and practices of religious Daoism. Although these studies were often limited by forced interpretations and insufficient engagement with practical concerns, their contribution lies in initiating preliminary attempts at equal dialogue between Christianity and Daoism, broadening the field and approaches of comparative research, and providing important theoretical resources and historical references for the sinicization of Christian thought.
Copyright (c) 2026 徐弢 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
This article addresses the terminology of “love” in Book I of Augustine’s De Doctrina Christiana. From the perspective of biblical hermeneutics, it aims to demonstrate how Augustine, by shifting the terminology from dilectio to caritas, endows “love” with three progressive layers of meaning within the interpretation of the Bible: love as action, love as relation, and love as substance. Beginning with his treatment of the “commandment of love” in the Gospel of Matthew within the dichotomy of usus-fruitio(use-enjoy), Augustine leads dilectio, as an action, toward caritas, as a relation. He thereby establishes that the central task of biblical hermeneutics is “enhancing love”, and the connotation of dilectio in terms of action is subsumed into caritas. Ultimately, Augustine alludes to the substantial nature of caritas which integrates both action and relation. This substantiality is explicitly manifested in the proposition that “the Holy Spirit is love,” through which caritas acquires the power to fortify the authority of Scripture. Therefore, caritas becomes the ultimate end of Augustine’s biblical hermeneutics.
Copyright (c) 2026 李浩 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
V. Solovyov’s Views on Chinese Religions
Religions of the Eastern world constituted a sustained intellectual preoccupation for Solovyov and served as a critical frame of reference in his conceptualization of Russian national character and the nature of religion itself. In his discussions, ancient Chinese philosophy, mystical religions, and the crucial principle of patriarchy together constitute the religious beliefs of the Chinese people, while such a religion also hinders China's progress toward absolute values. His philosophical system was fundamentally shaped by the dialectical opposition between Slavic and Western traditions, as well as between Eastern Orthodox and Western Christian traditions, with the ultimate teleological aim of establishing a universal Christian church and achieving collective human salvation. His perspective on China is an organic component of his moral philosophy and his theocratic teachings, and thus an essential element for understanding the Christian world's perception of China.
Copyright (c) 2026 柴旭东 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
"All Things Are Lawful"? Paul’s Reframing of Freedom Through the Lens of Body (1 Corinthians 6:12-20)
The relationship between the perception of human body and the understanding of freedom was a contentious issue in early Christian churches. This paper examines Paul's reframing of freedom from the lens of the body in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20. Through a three-tiered methodology—social-historical analysis, rhetorical analysis, and exegetical study of the Corinthian texts—this paper first reconstructs the Corinthians’ theology of body and traces its intellectual roots in the dualistic view of body in Stoicism and the similar dualistic traits manifested in Proto-Gnosticism. I argue that Paul, using the rhetoric of diatribe, challenges this dualistic and individualistic view of body, rejecting its disembodied moral implications and articulating instead a holistic and communal vision of freedom grounded in the embodied participation within the body of Christ. Finally, by engaging in a dialogue between Paul’s reframing of freedom and the Confucian concept of freedom, this paper proposes a constructive hermeneutical bridge for interpreting Pauline concept of freedom in Chinese cultural contexts.
Copyright (c) 2026 Yichen LIANG (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Under the leadership of Professor Ye Nong, the Institute of Macao Studies at Jinan University has dedicated itself to compiling literature and historical records centered on Macao during the Ming and Qing dynasties, focusing on the Maritime Silk Road. Beyond academic research, the institute has collaborated with publishing institutions in Macao and Guangzhou to produce series such as Maritime Silk Road Series. Since 2016, the institute has published over 30 academic works, including bibliographies, dictionaries, archives collections, Westerner's writings, inscriptions and image materials, monographs, translations, and policy-oriented reports. These publications vividly illustrate Macao’s role as a bridge in Sino-foreign cultural exchange, significantly advancing academic fields such as Macao Studies, Sino-foreign relations history, and Sinology.
Copyright (c) 2025 代国庆 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Contributions of Christianity to Humanity’s Civilization
The Christianity, since it formed, always opposed against the various barbarous, backward and ignorant habits and traditions, such as infanticide by drawing and abandoning infants, gladiatorial shows, suicide, promiscuous heterosexual sex, homosexuality, pederasty, child marriage, polygamy, widows buried alive, foot binding of women, slavery, etc.. The Christianity too advocated universal love, compassion, charity and praised highly arts. The Christianity made positive contributions to Humanity’s Civilization and social progress and made itself developing gradually to a most civilized religion which has the biggest power and influence in the world. Alvin J. Schmidt’s Under the influence: how Christianity transformed civilization expounds these completely, systematically, deeply and concentratedly, and becomes a synthesized work.
Copyright (c) 2025 张 箭 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The Integration and Interaction of Laozi and Christianity
Yuan Bujia's Laozi and Christ is an excellent work that promotes the integration of Laozi and Christianity and the sinicization of Christianity. In Yuan Bujia's understanding, Laozi's theory of the Tao and the Christian theory of God are highly isomorphic. The sage mentioned by Laozi is a prophecy of Jesus who would come to the world through "the incarnation of the Word" six or seven hundred years later. Cultivating the Tao according to Laozi's teachings is an embodiment of truly believing in God and his incarnation, Jesus. Yuan Bujia's integration of Laozi and Christianity is very conducive to Chinese Christians' understanding and acceptance of China's inherent excellent traditional culture. It is also very beneficial for Laozi to go global and be understood and accepted by countries that believe in Christianity.
Copyright (c) 2025 韩焕忠 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The Trinity of Christianity in the Context of Religious Dialogue
The attribute of more in one of Trinity breaks through the natural exclusiveness of absolute monotheism, and the roles and functions of different persons give the support of dogmatic theory for the possibility of the dialogue between Christianity and the other religions. Although the Trinity has been accepted by Christianity as the basic doctrine, the situations and ideas of different eras always made debates for the Trinity, in order that the theory of the Trinity has often been understood and interpreted in different views. And then, the Trinity has the potential of being meaningfully expressed in the context of the pluralistic dialogues during religions. Therefore, the doctrine of the Trinity has become the resource of theory for the Christianity who wants to stand firmly in different forms of dialogues of religions while the Christianity is meeting, communicating and talking with other religions.
Copyright (c) 2025 郑娜达 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Study on the East Syriac Anaphorae and Their Theological Implications
The East Syriac liturgy is one of the major liturgical traditions within Christianity. Its anaphorae, as the central prayer of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, bears rich theological meaning and a profound ecclesiastical tradition. This study compares the structure and content of the three principal East Syriac anaphorae, which are attributed to Mar Addai and Mari, Mar Theodore and Mar Nestorius, revealing their shared structure and thematic elements. Special focus is given to the Anaphora of Mar Theodore the Interpreter, examining its textual composition and theological implications. This paper highlights the central role of the epiclesis in all three anaphorae, particularly emphasizing the Spirit’s divine power in the consecration of bread and wine. Furthermore, it explores the interpretations of this prayer by Gabriel of Qatar and Yohannan Bar Zoˁbi, unveiling the religious significance of the epiclesis in the East Syriac rite and illustrating the distinctive liturgical theology of the Church of the East.
Copyright (c) 2025 段文郡熠 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Starting from Paul’s expressions such as “born of a woman” and “descended from David according to the flesh,” this study adopts a methodological approach that privileges theological interpretation while integrating textual exegesis and interdisciplinary insights from historical-critical studies, spiritual theology, and liturgical theology. Its purpose is to clarify the intrinsic relationship between Mary’s relation to the Incarnation and the twofold economy of salvation (Law/Spirit) as reflected in Paul’s letters. Although Paul does not elaborate extensively on Mary, in Galatians 4:4 he emphasizes that Christ was “born of a woman,” thereby affirming Mary’s pivotal role in the divine plan of salvation. Through faith and obedience, she became the gateway of God’s salvific economy and the channel of divine grace; her free assent allowed the Word of God to assume human nature and inaugurated a new history of cooperation between God and humanity. Mary is thus not only the mother of Jesus but also the spiritual mother of all believers. While Paul’s theology does not explicitly develop a Marian doctrine, it provides the foundational framework upon which later Church tradition deepened and confirmed Mary’s place within the mystery of salvation.
Copyright (c) 2025 钱怡婷 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
In the Book of Revelation, who is the “woman” in Chapter 12? The author John did not provide an answer in this chapter or the Book of Revelation, so her identity remains a mystery! According to the research of Bertrand Buby, there have been 28 interpretations of “woman”, and the woman is like a “lady with many faces”. This article sorts out four main types of the woman's identity - Type 1 “Mary”, Type 2 “Church”, Type 3 “Israel”, and Type 4 “People of God”. The author uses two hermeneutical rules to examine the rationality of the four main types.
Copyright (c) 2025 江耀国 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The Construction of the National Identity of the Israelites from the Perspective of Geographical Space Changes in the Book of Ruth
The Book of Ruth, as a short narrative in the Hebrew Bible, through the story of Ruth, a Moabite woman, migrating and integrating into the Israelite community, demonstrates the profound connection between geographical space changes and the construction of national identity. This article takes geographical space as the entry point, combining textual analysis, historical sociology, and cultural geography theories, to explore how the geographical space transformation from Moab to Bethlehem in the Book of Ruth symbolizes the crossing and reconstruction of the boundaries of the Israelite national identity. The Book of Ruth, through the fluidity and openness of geographical space, challenges the exclusive narrative of the traditional Israelite ethnic group, emphasizes the identity recognition model centered on moral law, and provides a model for identity integration for the Israelite community in the diaspora period.
Copyright (c) 2025 赵亮芹 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Franciscan spirituality in Early Qing China
In the Sixteenth century, Franciscan spirituality started to disseminate widely all over the world. There has been a great deal of research on how Franciscan spirituality was transplanted in Latin America, but there is presently little research on East Asia. This paper shows how a Sixteenth century Franciscan treatise on meditation came to be translated into Chinese language and published in Canton in 1694. Based on textual analysis, it focuses on its Spanish sources and its efforts toward localization.
Copyright (c) 2025 梅谦立, 王 琦 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Adaptive Interpretation of Creatio ex Nihilo in Chaoxingxueyao
This article explores the adaptive interpretation of creatio ex nihilo by Ludovico Buglio in his translation of St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae I, Q45, A1 (corresponding to ChaoXingXueYao, CXXX, Section I.3, Chapter 10.2.1). By analyzing Buglio’s textual structural adaptations and terminological choices, this study highlights his strategies for bridging Western theological concepts with Chinese cultural frameworks. The primary findings reveal that Buglio employs the Confucian term HuaCheng (化成) to translate creatio and creare, emphasizing the dynamic process of creation while adjusting the content’s organization in accordance with Ming-Qing literary conventions. His translation prioritizes readability for Chinese audiences, striking a balance between fidelity to Aquinas’s arguments and cultural adaptation. Furthermore, Buglio’s work exemplifies the early Jesuits’ efforts to negotiate theological terminology across cultural boundaries, striving to construct “equivalence relations” between Latin-Christian and Chinese philosophical terms amidst linguistic and philosophical tensions. These “equivalence relations” not only facilitated the dissemination of Christian theology in China but also provide methodological insights for the development of Sino-Christian theology in terms of translation and hermeneutics.
Copyright (c) 2025 邓梓琢 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The Eastward Spread of Thomas Aquinas' Theological Thought and Its Construction of the Theory of Human Nature in Catholic Theology and Philosophy of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in China
The eastward spread of Thomas Aquinas' theological thought can be regarded as a path of "endogenous construction". It integrated into the internal logic of Catholic theology and philosophy in the Ming and Qing Dynasties of China based on its inherent theories and theological purposes and became a core resource for the construction of this philosophical system. Meanwhile, it was adjusted for localization in combination with the context of traditional Chinese philosophy. Therefore, it played a foundational role in the construction of Catholic theology and philosophy especially the Theory of Human Nature in the Ming and Qing Dynasties of China. Matteo Ricci's Tian Zhu Shi Yi and Giulio Aleni's Xing Xue Cu Shu are typical texts introducing Thomas Aquinas' theological thought. Especially in terms of the theory of soul and the theory of human nature,Tian Zhu Shi Yi basically inherits Aquinas' tradition of natural theology; Xing Xue Cu Shu realizes a systematic introduction to the Aristotelian-Thomistic theory of soul by using the expression of China's native "Xing Xue"; furthermore, Xing Shuo by Xia Dachang, a Confucian Catholic, initially constructed the "spiritual theory of human nature" by "adopting" Aquinas' theory of soul and integrating it with Confucianism's "theory of the goodness of human nature". Regarding the "endogenous construction" of Thomas Aquinas' thought, we need to pay attention not only to its role as a foundational cornerstone but also, more importantly, to its evolutionary characteristics in China and the responses from local scholars.
Copyright (c) 2025 张浩钇, 张永超 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
A Study on Chiang Kai-shek’s Christian Faith in Ningbo, 1949
Chiang Kai-shek (1887–1975), a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang, was both President of the Republic of China during the Chinese Civil War and a professing Christian. This article investigates the expression of Chiang’s Christian faith in 1949 by examining his participation in a range of religious activities while in Ningbo. Methodologically, the study combines historical analysis of primary sources with a sociological perspective on religion, enabling a nuanced interpretation of Chiang’s religious practices within their broader cultural and political contexts. The analysis demonstrates that Chiang’s Christianity was not an isolated religious identity but one deeply intertwined with Confucian ethical traditions and marked by enduring Buddhist influences. Moreover, as a political leader, Chiang’s choices concerning ancestral rites and other religious observances reveal the tension between personal belief, family traditions, and the exigencies of socio-political life. This case thus illuminates the complex interplay of faith, culture, and political authority in modern Chinese history.
Copyright (c) 2025 吴凌云 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
“Raising Enterprises to Evangelize and Relief”
During the late Qing Dynasty, with the opening of five ports for trade, Protestant missionaries flocked to China. Among them, the American Methodist Episcopal Church’s missionary, William N. Brewster, carried out his preaching activities in Hinghwa city, Fujian Province with the strategy of “Industrial Missionary Work”. However, at the same time, other missionaries opposed his “Industrial Missionary Work”, believing that it would lead to a secularization tendency. So, does Brewster’s method really work? What is its theological basis? And what are the actual effects and what kind of influence does it have? Based on these questions, this paper taking the historical background of that time as the starting point, re-examines and analyzes this strategy’s origin, characteristics, and the role it played in the development of Hinghwa indigenous church, aim to deepen the understanding of William N. Brewster and the Methodist Church. At the same time enrich the research on the history of Christian missionary work and the regional history of Christianity in Fujian.
Copyright (c) 2025 唐守康 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
An Examination of the Indigenization Pathways of Rural Churches
Christianity experienced widespread dissemination in rural Shandong. Taking the Anglican church as an example, both the number of rural chapels and adherents continued to increase, with Chinese workers playing a pivotal role in this process. In the sphere of doctrinal transmission, they translated theological concepts into local idioms, thereby strengthening emotional identification among the populace. In religious practice, they mediated the tension between Christian culture and indigenous beliefs through the integration of miracle narratives and ritual performances. At the organizational level, the kinship-based dissemination of faith fostered the formation of local faith community. Institutionally, Chinese workers assumed leadership in church governance, advancing the principles of self-propagation, self-support, and self-governance. Consequently, the indigenization of rural churches in central Shandong entailed not merely an adaptation of doctrinal transmission but also a reshaping of language, ritual, social structures, and institutional forms. The indigenizing trajectory of rural Christianity was neither a simple transplantation of Western models nor a wholesale accommodation to local culture, but rather a synthesis of universality and locality achieved within the framework of faith identity.
Copyright (c) 2025 王思琪 (作者) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0