Christian Publishing in China (1912-1949)

Author: (USA) He Ka-li, Author; Chen Jian-ming, Translator
Translator: Chen Jian-ming, Wang Zai-xing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features:
Section 2: Missionary Work and China's Response (1918—1927)
1. The Spread and Influence of Social Gospel
After 1912, missionaries continued their efforts to improve social and moral environments. Disaster relief still attracted the attention of many missionaries. Under the persistent opposition of missionaries, the opium trade was finally banned in March 1917, though only nominally. Missionaries also helped organize anti-tuberculosis campaigns, proposed the construction of public, and introduced the use of clean water. By the late 1920s of the 20th century, a institutionalized form of church growth had emerged. It gained community support in the process of Christianizing community life. Notable examples include: under the advocacy efforts of the Hangzhou Church Union, Zhejiang Province ceased the issuance of lotteries; the Guangzhou Christian Church launched a movement against gambling, prostitution, child betrothal, concubinage, and decadent literature. However, this new form of missionary work was still in its infancy, and the emphasis on converting people to Christianity, as emphasized by the movement, still dominated the work of missionaries. Even in the 1920s and 1930s, although Social Gospel had gained broader recognition, missionaries had not taken any significant measures to help solve China's economic and social problems. The Social Gospel movement, as it was later called, was largely influenced by the rise of Christian humanism in the United States. Its members adhered to the belief that religious faith was a matter of personal experience but also emphasized the relationship between Christian teachings and society. Most members of the Social Gospel movement came to China either before or shortly after World War I. As China was just beginning to industrialize, this brought a series of economic and social problems. Therefore, missionaries and Chinese church leaders believed that a better economic and social order should be built in China to embody Christian values through this work. Previously, missionaries had sought to rebuild Chinese society through the path of Christian conversion, but now things were different. They began to advocate a comprehensive and Christian-aligned social reform process, hoping to achieve their goals of correcting societal ills through this approach. This perspective was clearly reflected in the book Christianity in China Faces the Challenge by Lucius Poncr. He argued that Christianity should be the vanguard against the demon of industrialization and called on people to "boldly practice the principles of love and justice taught and accomplished by Jesus Christ." In the 1920s, the shift from individual gospelism to social gospelism was accompanied by the church's growing concern for the plight of the working class. In the years before 1920, the Young Men's Christian Association (Y.M.C.A.) had established an Industrial Department. This department primarily focused on promoting various social and industrial welfare works in major Chinese industrial cities such as Hankou, Wuchang, and Shanghai. For example, it provided fitness facilities for workers, arranged physical education counselors, offered medical services, held lectures, and organized recreational activities. In 1920, the Chinese Christian Young