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R eist, K atherine Kennedy

A CHURCH FOR CHINA: A PROBLEM IN SELF IDENTIFICATION, 1919-1937

The Ohio State University Ph.D. 1983

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A CHURCH FOR CHINA:A PROBLEM IN SELF IDENTIFICATION,

1919-1937

DISSERTATIONPresented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University

ByKatherine Kennedy Reist, B.A., M.A.

* * * * *

The Ohio State University 1983

Reading Committee: Approved byDr. Samuel C . Chu Dr. Hao Chang Dr. James R. BartholomewDr. Michael W. Curran Advisor

Department of History

To the Memory of my Father Gordon Patrick Kennedy

IX

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Such attempts as one must make to recognize guidance, assistance, and encouragement are always inadequate. Some such acknowledgment must, however, be attempted.

To the history faculty of Muskingum College for their support and encouragement much appreciation and gratitude is due. Particular mention should be made of Lorle A. Porter, who focused my interests on history, and of David R. Sturtevant who defined that interest in Asia.

To my graduate committee, Hao Chang, James Bartholonew, Michael Curran, and my adviser, Samuel Chu, appreciation for their intellectual challenges in and out of the class­room, and their patience with many questions.

Appreciation also is due to the Graduate School of The Ohio State University for the award of a Presidential Fel­lowship.

To my husband and sons much gratitude for enduring the entire process.

1X1

VITA

December 5, 1942 .......... Born— Paterson, N.J.1974 .......................B.A., suirana cum laude,

Muskingum College, New Concord, Ohio

1975-82.................. Teaching Associate, Departmentof History, The Ohio State Uni­versity, Columbus, Ohio; The Ohio State University-Newark, Newark, Ohio

1976 .................... M.A. , The Ohio State Univer­sity, Columbus, Ohio

1980 ..................... Research Associate Departmentof History, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

1980 .................... Visiting Lecturer, Departmentof History, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio

1981-2 .................. Presidential Fellow1982-3 .................. Instructor, Department of

History, Muskingum College,New Concord, Ohio

FIELDS OF STUDYMajor Field: History

Modern China. Professor Samuel C. ChuTraditional China. Professor Hao ChangJapan. Professor James R. BartholomewRussia and the Soviet Union. Professor Michael W.

Curraniv

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page1. Breakdown of the Church of Christ in China-1927 346

TABLE OF CONTENTSPage

DEDICATION ................................. ilACKNOWLEDGMENTS................................... iiiV I T A ................................................ ivLIST OF TABLES..................................... VABBREVIATIONS ..................................... ixGLOSSARY ........................................... X

INTRODUCTION ....................................... 1Chapter

I. CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA; A BRIEF SURVEYTO 1 9 1 9 ..................................... 7

Diplomatic Implications................... 10Nationalism . . . . . ................... 19Areas of Concern......................... 22Missionary Problems ..................... 27Changes Within China ..................... 30

II. THE CHURCH FROM 1919: CHALLENGE FROM WITHOUT 40Postwar Problems ......................... 46May Fourth and New Culture Movements . . . 49Anti-Imperialism and Its Response........ 53Utilization of Western Ways.............. 59Christianity's Beseiged Position ........ 69Possibilities For Progress .............. 80

III. THE CHURCH FROM 1919: CHALLENGE FROM WITHIN. 92Diverse Views ........................... 94Institutions in Transition .............. 103Problems of Leadership .................. 107Property— The Root of Discord............ IllIndigenization ........................... 116The Church's Role.............. 120Mission Field or Church.................. 131

vi

PageIV. ATTEMPTED SOLUTIONS BY THE CHURCH.... 142

Attempted Unification............. 145Formalized Cooperation . .............. 155Transition Stages:

Leaders........................ 162Denominational Union........... 173Organic Union ....................... 176

V. UNEXPECTED PROBLEMS AFFECTING THE DEVELOP­MENT OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN CHINA . . . 191

Anti-Foreignism and the Unequal Treaties 193Missionary and Chinese Response... 198Complicating Factors:

The Kuomintang: Party and Government 201The Communist Challenge ............ 227Worldwide Depression............ 235Japanese Aggression ................. 237

VI. THE CHURCH 1927-1937: NATIONAL REALITIES,INTERNATIONAL ASPIRATIONS ................. 255

Developments After 1927................. 258Ongoing Cooperation..................... 265The Chinese and the Church............ 268Ongoing Problems ....................... 273International Recognition.............. 277The Church in 1937 ..................... 281

VII. CONCLUSION.................................. 299VIII. POSTSCRIPT.................................. 313APPENDIXES

A. Memorial and Rescript Concerning IntercourseBetween Local Officials and Missionaries. . 317

B. Memorial of the Ministry of Foreign Affairsand Imperial Rescript, in Regard to the Re­vision of the Procedure Governing Inter­course Between Local Officials and Mission­aries ..................................... 320

C. Treaty Excerpt, Between the United Statesand China for the Extension of Commercial Relations................................. 322

vii

PageD. Presidential Mandate Declaring at an End

the State of War Between China and Germany 324E. Plan of Union of the Church of Christ in

China..................................... 325P. Doctrinal Basis of Union and Constitution

of the Church of Christ in China.......... 334G. Breakdown of the Organization of the Church

of Christ in China-1927 .................. 346BIBLIOGRAPHY................................... 347

Vlll

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ABCFM

CGC . CCP . CIM . IMG . KMT . LMS . NGG . NLM . NTM . YMGA. YWGA.

American Board of Goitutiissioners for Foreign MissionsGhina Gontinuation GommitteeGhinese Gommunist PartyGhina Inland MissionInternational Missionary GonferenceKuomintang or Nationalist PartyLondon Mission SocietyNational Christian CouncilNew Life MovementNew Thought MovementYoung Men's Christian AssociationYoung Women's Christian Association

IX

GLOSSARY

Chang Chih-tung 5 ^ ^ / ^Chao Tzü-ch'enChe Yeh-su Shih Shen-mo Teng-hsi? Ch'en Tu-hsiu ^Ch'eng Ching'yi ^ Chi NanCh'i-ying (Kiying) ^

Ch'in-ch'ai Ta-ch'en £Ch'ing Ming 0^Chou Tso-jen ^ yC_Chu Chih-hsin ^ ch'üchün tze ^ ^

Chung'hsüeh wei t'i . ,Hsi-hsüeh wei yungChung-hua Chi-tu Chiao hui ^ gChung-hua Hsin-i hui ij ^ ^Chung-hua Sheng-kung hui Fei Chi-tu Chiao Hsüeh-sheng T'ung-meng 4^ ^ ^Hsiao tao ^ hsien <1VHsin-ch'ao

X

Hsu Pao-chien ^

HU Shiht±-Huang Tsun-hsien

Hsin Ch ' ing-nien ^p-zhien

in-hsieiKungch'antang (CCP) p k ^ kuo chiaKuomintang S U Liang Ch'i-ch'aoLiu-mei Ch'ing-nien ^ ^ ^

Liu T'ing-fang Lu HsiinMei-dao hui ^ >(§” New Culture Movement ^

pai hua Peita Peitaiho pen se lÿigSan-min-Chu-i — ^

shen

T'ienT'ien-chia pan yue pao T'ien hsia ^Ts'ai Yuan-p'ei Tsing-hua Ta-hsiieh ^

XI

Tsungli Yamen Tu-chünyang chiao ,Yenching University ^ ^ 7^*^^ yung ^

Xll

INTRODUCTIONThe establishment of the Church of Christ in China in

1927 was something of a landmark, not only for Chinese Protestantism, but for the worldwide Christian movement as well. This church represented the union of sixteen Western denominations which were brought together by the desire of the Chinese Christians to eliminate a foreign element in their religious experience. The identification of the church as "foreign" had hindered the attempt to indigenize the church. The Western missionaries also realized that the fragmented approach to spreading the Christian message in China was not feasible given the resources in money and personnel available. They, too, had a hand in encouraging the Western mission societies to continue their support to­ward such a goal. Their hope was that ecumenical unity would become a fact in Asia, and from there spread West in a time of needed revitalization in the church.

Most studies dealing with Protestant Christianity in China take as their subject either the missionary effort by the West in a particular period or province, or that of the efforts of a particular denomination. Others study the re­jection of Christianity by Chinese society at large. Still other researchers deal with the contrast of Christian and

2non-Christian beliefs, or the effects of Christianity in non-Christian societies. Few of these studies deal with the role of the Chinese Christians themselves. This over­view of the development of a Chinese church deals with Chinese problems, ideas, and aspirations. It naturally takes the missionary contributions into account since they played both a positive and negative role in the movement. But it is the problems of China and those of the Chinese Christians on which this study attempts to focus.

Conditions in China in the years 1919-1937 were turbu­lent. Five simultaneous revolutions were occuring: po­litical, industrial, social, intellectual, and ideological. There were periods of civil war and natural disaster. So­cial change and ideological challenge contributed to the arguments of intellectuals searching for a way to make China modern. With the ideological bankruptcy which the First World War demonstrated. Western institutions in par­ticular came under close and not altogether friendly scru­tiny. This examination was especially directed toward an institution which could be associated with the unequal treaties imposed on China, and the special privileges asso­ciated with them. The church came under increasing attack as foreign, meaningless, and unscientific. Materialism and secularism challenged the position of the church in

3

many of its roles. Many Christians began to reexamine their religious assumptions and associations.

In order to respond to these challenges, the church had first to overcome several problems. Chinese had first to be placed in positions of responsibility within the in­stitutional framework of the church. A more comprehensive approach to the criticisms leveled at it was also needed. Some agreed upon policy was needed and a unified means of answering criticisms developed. More than these, a uni­fied church was needed to accomplish the evangelization of the Chinese people. Such an institution would have the added advantage of speaking with one voice on issues of im­port to the church, rather than the many, often contradic­tory and confusing answers engendered by criticisms. Money and people would be more effectively distributed, and over­lapping and redundant efforts could be eliminated.

The reasons for establishing such a church were many, but so were the obstacles to its establishment. Among the most prominent of these was the national and denominational variety of the Protestant effort in China, a condition which made effective cooperation difficult. Other ob­stacles were the reluctance of some missionaries to share meaningful responsibilities with their Chinese colleagues, the un-Chinese idea of supporting directly and on a regular basis any religious institution, and other difficulties

4associated with the attempt to indigenize a Western institution in a non-Western society. Chinese support of the church was a major element needed for successful trans­plantation of the church. Chinese custom provided for the support of religious foundations, of course, as the numer­ous well-endowed Buddhist establishments attested. But the usual manner of support was to endow such an institution with land, either for direct use, or for lease, or for capital accumulation by donation of the profits from the land. Special donations at festival times or for such ser­vices as funeral rites were also common. But the practice of donating regularly a given sum at a weekly service, for no special occasion, was not customary. Since the West supported Christian foundations, the Chinese found little need, at least initially, to change their customs.

The Western association of Christianity was also a negative quality in a nation which was in the process of asserting its national identity. Complicating matters fur­ther was the attitude of the Kuomintang party and govern­ment to Christian foundations in its jurisdiction, and the challenge by the Communist party in the areas of ideology and social work. The Depression would shake further the financial underpinnings of the Christian enterprise, and the incursion by Japan in 1931 would challenge the Chris­tian proclamation of international brotherhood with China becoming increasingly nationalistic.

5The church's response to these challenges was limited.

The causes limiting effective counteraction were those of lack of organization, limited resources, and a lack of a clearly defined self-identity and purpose. The church was unable to deal with these difficulties in a unified manner. Its further growth was hampered by its ineffective response and its growing association in many Chinese minds with the status quo. In some areas perhaps a meaningful response could only have been made by a national, i.e., state sanc­tioned, church. The disarray in which the Christian estab­lishment found itself on the eve of World War II was indi­cative of the problems with which it had failed to cope in the period since the First World War. Some progress had been made, and some problems had been addressed, if not solved. But the crux of the church's problem remained its lack of a sense of concrete identity. The Christian faith in China had comparatively fewer problems of assimilation; the institutional church seemed to defy Sinification.

Basically the Chinese church wished for a legitimate role in the Chinese revolution. In order to achieve this status it had to overcome its foreign association. Yet it wished to alienate neither its missionary benefactors nor to separate itself from the international Christian organi­zation. The Chinese had therefore to be patriotic without being narrowly nationalistic, not an easy path to follow in the best of times. The role which the church sought, that

6of endowing social reform with an ethical dynamic force, a sense of individual responsibility, was not theirs to play. It was usurped by other agencies or overshadowed by criti­cisms and attacks. But the bedrock difficulty remained.The church could not mount a concerted effort toward social reform until it had achieved unity in its organization and agreement on the proper measures to be undertaken.

Christianity was in part responsible for the social upheaval which helped crack the traditional foundation of Chinese society. It was simultaneously a focal point for patriotic coalition against an imperialist remnant in China, and a means of overcoming the disruption in which it had been an instrument. With a national organization, leaders with modern education, commitments to political reform and economic stability, and the institutions and support needed to achieve its goals, Christianity was a po­tential force for reform and stability in China. The rea­sons that it did not fulfill its potential will be explored in this study.

CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA: A BRIEF SURVEY TO 1919

Christianity is by nature an apostolic religion. Its mission is to teach, preach and heal, to bring its message to all the peoples of the world. Thus in the nineteenth century, when conditions in the industrialized West pro­duced sufficient ideological enthusiasm to undertake exter­nal missions in force, and sufficient wealth to support them, there was a great outpouring of missionary fervor. There was a sense of impending crisis which sought outlet in expanding mission activities around the world, to save the world in one generation, as the slogan of the univer­sity based religious groups phrased it.

One special area of concern to mission groups was China. Her exotic reputation, her ancient civilization, but most of all her huge population of potential converts drew the missionaries like a magnet. In the view of most nineteenth century Protestant sects, people were divided into two categories : the saved and the damned. There wereno alternatives. Those who had heard and rejected the Christian gospel were, deservedly, damned. But what of the millions who had never heard the message? They could not be saved if they could not be reached. Therefore the im­petus to witness to, and reach out to those who had never

7

8had the opportunity to gain salvation gained momentum. So began an attempt to remake China in the image of a Chris­tian nation; exactly which nation was to be taken as a model or which theological definition of Christianity was to be adopted was to be left to a later time. The first priority was to evangelize, to convert and save as many Chinese as time, money and energy permitted.

Problems arose. Among them the problem of the nature of the Western mission effort was central: to thoroughlyindoctrinate a few, or to preach broadcast hoping that fer­tile ground would be found; to ensure a searching, inten­sive, personal experience of God, or to baptize those who were willing to receive some instruction. In 1890, for ex­ample, J. Hudson Taylor appealed for one thousand new mis- sionnaries. They were to evangelize China in three years, each missionary to be responsible for reaching fifty fami­lies a day. When all the Chinese had heard the message, then the responsibility of the mission was to end. This approach has been characterized as the "Paul Revere" mis­sion method. It had only mixed support and undocumented results.

Another problem for the missionaries was where to begin their effort: to convert first the educated, the officials,the influential leaders would require great time, effort, and intellectual flexibility, or to concentrate on the pre­dominantly illiterate poor millions whose conversion did

9not require a marked intellectual commitment. Other problems developed in the realm of potential denomination­al, indeed, international, competition for converts.Should, for example, Swedish Lutherans preach in the same district as Scots Presbyterians, or should there be a sort of Gentlemen's Agreement as to which group would work where? Other aspects of the mission work which needed to be considered were in the area of the training of mission­aries. What requirements were needed beside fervent be­lief? How much education should be required, including background information on Chinese civilisation, or lan­guage? Language in particular was an obstacle since it represented the only means of direct communication with the potential convert. One missionary wrote, and many felt,that "the Evil One himself invented Chinese for the pur-

2pose of keeping Christianity out of China." To achieve success in the mission field, not only were the skills of communication necessary, but the development of a sympathy with the Chinese people as well, their aspirations, their anxieties, and the influences on their lives. The early failure to develop this particular sympathy can be read in the difficulty in effecting conversions, and in the com­ments of the missionaries to their supporting brethren back home in which heathen stubbornness and superstition were stressed, perhaps to sublimate the missionaries' frustra­tions with their seemingly ungrateful audience.

10still there were outstanding individuals in the

mission field in the nineteenth century. S. Wells Williams, Timothy Richards, and Young J. Allen were among the most notable. These men were able to communicate a Christian concern to the Chinese community. Unfortunately their con­cern was regarded only as that of individuals.

Diplomatic ImplicationsIn order to safeguard their right to preach in an in­

hospitable climate, missionaries began to rely on diplo­matic protection and justification to adjudicate any prob­lems with the Chinese populace. Under the system of un­equal treaties won by the technological superiority of the West, missionaries were given the right to preach in China. They and their converts were covered by the provision of extraterritoriality granted by the Treaty of Peking in 1860. Extraterritoriality was the right of a foreigner re­siding in China to exemption from the provisions of the Chinese judicial system. When a law was broken, or a civil case instituted, in which one party was a Westerner, the case would be tried under the law code of the country to which the Westerner belonged. Since missionaries extended this right to their converts, whom they felt would be dis­criminated against for having accepted the Christian re­ligion, they were often involved in litigation whose as­pects they did not understand. In Hunan, for example,Huang TsUn-hsien, a colleague of Governor-General Chang

113Chih-tung, specialized in missionary cases. (See also

Appendixes A and B .)The consular representatives of the Western nations

were charged, to their annoyance, with protecting the lives and property of the missionaries. They could order their nationals out of any troubled area (except for the U.S. representative who could only ask) or supply military assistance in times of turmoil. Missionaries frequently claimed rights which consular officials were loathe to be­come embroiled in, since their legality was of a dubious nature. Yet frequently the threat of involvement with a Western government and its military forces was enough to ensure that a missionary was granted that which he demanded, legal or not. This practice, in turn, began to identify Christianity as an insidious aspect of the machinations of imperialism. It had been noted that Christianity came to China "clad in a juvenile civilization, which is honey­combed with the psychology of conquest."^ Since mission­aries often relied on the privileges gained by imperialism, indeed some saw imperialism as the secular arm, as it were, of Christian society, this particular juxtaposition became deeply rooted in the Chinese consciousness. Although mis­sionaries gradually became aware of the negative impact of their insistence in reparations, apologies, and so forth, and began to slowly back away from these practices, the identification of the mission effort with Chinese

12humiliation was ingrained. Imperialism may have given the missionaries some initial advantages, some of them perhaps even needed, in the nineteenth century, but it was to cause irreparable harm to their position in the twentieth. Nine­teenth century imperialism was predominately political and military in character; twentieth century imperialism tended to be economic and cultural. But the cultural imperialism represented by missionary presence owed its status to mili­tary force. In the Chinese mind there was a difference only of degree.

Yet under the aegis of imperialism, people were con­verted; more importantly. Western ideas and customs were introduced to the Chinese. This introduction played a role outside of the treaty ports, where the majority of the traders and diplomats, the only other Westerners in China, lived. Western lifestyles, ethics and customs were ob­served by the Chinese. While some initial curiosity and animosity was reported, little sustained interest was gen­erated. Either the evangelists were itinerant, thus no prolonged contact was possible, or the foreigner was placed in a probationary position. That is, he would be listened to politely, if he could make himself understood in Chinese, then judgment would be reserved until the manner in which he practiced that which he preached could be ascertained. Much frustration was engendered on both sides; the Westerner wished to convert at once, his ways were demonstrably

13superior; there was much to accomplish and so little time. The Chinese wished to observe at leisure, to make con­sidered judgment as good manners dictated, to discover the qualities of that which was offered for themselves.

Inevitably there was a culture clash, though it was not recognized specifically as such. Cultural misunder­standing was one of the major challenges facing those at­tempting to incorporate a Western institution into an Asian society. To be sure in the early centuries Christianity had adapted to or incorporated the customs of non-Christian cultures. But by the modern era institutional traditions had solidified. They still retained a modicum of flexi­bility; but the perceived need to change their customs rather than the customs of the country which was the focus of their evangelization, was absent. Thus the Western Christians often failed to identify areas where greater flexibility of approach was needed. This failure can per­haps be illustrated by the story which was recounted of a missionary attempting to attract the interest of his Chi­nese listeners in a small market town by describing all the advantages, indeed the delights to be found in the Chris­tian Heaven. After embroidering extensively on this theme, he realized that his audience was polite but basically un­interested. The missionary questioned one of his audience as to his understanding of the message. He then tried to

14discover the reason that his message had not attracted a more positive response. His Chinese respondent queried "But, you have to die first?

The Chinese had been for centuries the highest civili­zation in the areas with which they had contact; cultural borrowing was minimal and only after long periods of accul­turation. Life followed a timeless agricultural calendar, and haste was considered rude. Society was ordered, by tradition, by ti, by lack of interference from outside forces. Religion was eclectic; the best was borrowed from all that was known. One could be a good Buddhist and a follower of Confucius with little or no exclusivity. The Chinese goal was ahtin tzz, the superior man, educated to a concern and responsibility for his brethren, an ethical example for his community, whose superiority was acknowl­edged by communal status and privilege.

The West, in contrast, had undergone several centuries of conflict and change: in ideas, in government, in econo­my, in religion, and in lifestyle. No single nationality reigned supreme; there was competition, compromise, and balance of ideas, and of power. New ideas were being rap­idly introduced and assimilated. Industrialization and its concomitant concentration in urban areas made for a rest­less, unsettled, quick moving, kaleidoscopic society. So­ciety was ordered by law, and to a degree, by religion, which was exclusive in nature. The Western goal was success

15in both a material and cultural sense, but the only way to succeed for the vast majority who had not inherited status was to strive.

This divergence in attitude and lifestyles was to cause difficulties for those who came to convert China in the post-1880 period. It is in this period in which Prot­estant missionaries came in great numbers. It is also in this period when the domination of the Protestant group by the Anglo-American contingent began to be evidenced. When reports were sent to the home mission boards, the diffi­culties of the China mission field and the exotic custom of the people were the predominant themes. These themes were emphasized in order to explain few converts and many diplomatic incidents. In this way a picture was drawn for the West of a stubborn heathen race whose major charac­teristic was a childish lack of (Western) sophistication. The characterization of the Chinese as heathen had also a built-in cultural prejudice; it not only designated a non- Christian, but one of lower cultural development than the missionary.

On the Chinese side, too, a less than accurate pic­ture of the West, based on the words and behavior of the missionaries emerged. The picture was that of a boorish, condescending, perhaps well-meaning group, who wished to have things their own way, even, or especially, when they were contrary to local custom. They had, by and large.

16little sensitivity toward Chinese ideas and values, little appreciation of Chinese culture, and an awkward capability in the Chinese language. They appropriated land upon which they built inharmonious structures, and offended Chinese sensibilities when they visited local institutions, as for example when they held a Protestant prayer service in the Temple of Heaven in Peking.^

Still, to divide the two groups into two always op­posing forces was to simplify a complex situation. Dif­ferences in attitude can be detected between coastal Chi­nese and those who lived inland; between the educated and the illiterate; between the conservatives and the moder­ates; between those who had direct contact with Westerners and those whose information was hearsay; and between those who converted, those who examined Christianity and found it lacking, those who felt that ordered society was threat­ened by it, and those who felt that it might offer a new path to influence and power. The Western reaction was varied as well. Differences occured between those whose background was urban and those who had come from rural areas; those who had been educated and recruited from a Christian academy and those who had studied at a secular university; between those who arrived convinced of their religious and cultural superiority and who came to save, and those who came to serve; between those who were

17fundamentalist in belief, and those who were modern; between those who came only to evangelize, and those who came to heal and teach; and between those who came to save the individual, and those who came to benefit society.

Thus the general impression created in China by the missionaries was varied. They were often viewed as basic­ally good people advocating a new religion with little pro­found effect. Some of them were seen as medlers in the nor­mal course of Chinese life. A few missionaries served as translators or consular officials, thereby acquiring a direct identification with the Western imposed unequal treaties. But until the 1890's the perceived effect of the missionary effort v/as that of a nuisance, usually minor in scope. Unfortunately missionaries usually had the hazi­est grasp of their rights; occasionally a major disturbance was caused when they invoked privileges for their converts in civil disputes. These missioners tended to believe that their enterprise was protected by the full force of Western custom, law, and military might, regardless of the Chinese tradition. Since in truth Western military technology was superior, most disputes resulted in the Chinese government being caught between the appeals of their people and the de­mands of the representatives of the Western countries. Most often the government was forced to acquiesce to Western demands for apologies, indemnities, requests to buy land, and the protection of the Christian converts as though they

18were citizens of another country. Small wonder that Christians began to be resented in many areas of Chinese society. The masses saw that those who ate the foreigners' rice had privileges that they had not. Government offi­cials resented being caught between the interests of their own people and the foreigners, and being forced to side with the latter in order to maintain peace. The literati also resented the Christian presence in that they found nothing new or inspiring in the Christian message and re­sented its privileged status within their country.

Missionaries did have a positive impact, if not in the area that they intended. Since they were the predominant group who lived outside the treaty ports, they were often the first and/or only Westerners whom the Chinese people encountered. In this way they acted as a cultural broker for the West. Among their contributions were the intro­duction of new ideas, and the methods of communicating them (i,e., high circulation journals and daily newspapers), new inventions, and new ways of thought based on scientific premises. They also introduced new methods in education, and schools for girls, new medical treatment and the con­cept of public health, and a campaign to change the status of women. Their most notable effort in this field was the anti-foot-binding campaign. Most of these innovations took place in the cities, but gradually they began to dis­perse into the countryside as well. Such changes followed

19the establishment of widespread mission efforts in the provinces of China. In effect, the missionaries began a social revolution which would have vast effect on twenti­eth century China. This revolution was one the missionar­ies could initiate but not over which they could maintain control.

These results were not the missionaries' primary pur­pose in travelling to China, however, and frustration among the mission communities began to be apparent. China was so big, and missionaries and their supporters so few, and results were so long in coming. The causes of the mission­ary frustration were many, but the major results were the beginnings of organization and self-examination of the goals, techniques, successes and failures of the Protestant evangelization efforts in China.

NationalismAt the same time, particularly in the post-1895 period,

a realization on the part of the educated Chinese occured of China's weaknesses and, as a result, her victimizatiom by the West. Thus the beginnings of awakening national­ism were engendered by a linked to Western presence in a position of privilege in China. This sense of injury fanned by those who were xenophobic resulted in an anti- Christian movement which led to riots, causing the deaths of foreign as well as native Christians. The Western re­sponse to the so-called Boxer rebellion of 1900-1901, was

20harsh. Therefore the sense of injury linked to an anti­imperialist stance started to generate a strong sense of nationalism. In addition, inevitably, Christianity and imperialism became irrevokably linked for many Chinese, educated and uneducated alike. This situation simply made more complex the missionary effort in the post-Boxer period. The problem in essence was the creation of a sepa­rate identity for the Christian church which would not automatically seem to oppose the goals of Chinese nation­alism. Rather an image was needed which would convey an ability to strengthen Chinese society in order to achieve its independent goals.

Two streams of thought and change seemed to encourage hope in the accomplishment of integrating Christianity into Chinese society. One of these was the reforms sanctioned by the Empress Dowager after 1900, which included changes in government form and procedure, creation of a strong mili­tary and the formation of a national school system. The latter reform in particular interested the missionaries since the various Protestant denominations had, in effect, their own network of schools from the primary to the uni­versity levels. These schools were to be part of the national system, yet left intact under Christian organiza­tion and management. This situation was due in part to the financial exigency of the Chinese government, and partly because the mission schools taught the Western sciences and

21languages, health care, and advanced agricultural techniques which the government found to be necessary in order to bring about China's modernization.

The other change which began about this time was in the attitude of some of the missionaries themselves. A change in perception sanctioned by the World Mission Or­ganization. This attitude emphasized the opportunity for Christianizing China as her traditions and attitudes changed with the modernizing process. It was assumed by part of the missionary population that Christianity and the rise of the industrialized capitalistic West were co-factors in the process which achieved Western pre-eminence. Chris­tian service therefore should extend as a matter of course beyond evangelization to include help in overcoming the problems which the process of industrialization would in­evitably create. In this manner Christianity would become linked in the Chinese awareness with the means of achieving the nationalistic goals of a strong, independent, modern nation.

Increased interest in Christianity became evident in this period. From 1902 to 1914, young China was least critical of new ideas, admiring almost all facets of Wes­tern civilization. Western missionaries seemed most under­standing, and possessed of the spiritual and moral forces

7needed to regenerate the country. A desire to understand the faith and to discover the way in which it could solve

22China's problems on the part of Chinese students at mission schools increased missionary optimism that the time for the conversion of China was at hand.

Areas of Concern Still there remained many difficulties before those

Chinese who found Christianity attractive would progress beyond the inquirer stage. Predominant here was the prob­lem of denominationalism. The rise of the various denomi­nations was rooted in Western conditions and history, and taken for granted by most of the missionaries. Their goals, naturally, since they accorded with their personal beliefs and those of the mission board which supported them, was to establish in China an extension or analog of their home church. The differences in church organization, liturgy, creed, and so forth, were all very real and mean­ingful to the Westerners. However, to the Chinese these differences were artificial, confusing, and for many, dis­couraging. If a Chinese who had been baptized by a British Methodist in one province moved to another where the mis­sionary was an American Baptist, then it seemed that he needed to be converted all over again. These denomination­al differences made no sense to the Chinese. Not only was his religious philosophy non-exclusive, but even if he adopted the exclusivity of Christianity, the differences between the various interpretations of it seemed of minor importance. Even the Catholic missionaries were struck by

23the problem of explaining these differences; they said that the Protestants led the Chinese "from Confucius to con­fusion.

For many Chinese people another obstacle in accepting Christianity was the lack of understanding exhibited by many missionaries over the practice of ancestor worship.The Doctrine of Filial Piety (HiXao too] had permeated Chinese society for millennia. Not only was the text part of the education of any literate person, but the ideas had become ingrained in the social fabric, part of the ac­cepted rules of conduct of even the meannest peasant. This particular aspect of the cultural misunderstanding preva­lent in missionary contacts with Chinese culture had been a problem with which the proselyters had had to contend since they first entered China. Its most noted exposition prior to the nineteenth century had been the Rites Controversy in the 1600's. The crux of the matter was semantic, i.e., the applicability of the term "worship" to the respect and ven­eration due to deceased members of one's family. The Jesuits had decided that respect was probably the appli­cable term in the sense that Christian family members in the West visited and cared for family gravesites in cele­bration of All Souls Day. This interpretation had been challenged by the preaching orders, particularly the Fran­ciscans, and the Pope had had to adjudicate the dispute.In this case he found the friars' argument to be the more

24persuasive. From this and other causes Christians suffered a severe setback in this period and the religion was pro­scribed by the Emperor. In the late nineteenth century the problem had again risen. Was the veneration of ances­tors in conflict with Christian doctrine or merely the in­stitutionalization, as it were, of the fourth commandment? Many missionaries hearing the term ancestor worship decried it as contrary to Christian principles. Others, having be­come acquainted with the ideas and practices associated with it, felt that a compromise within the Christian defi­nition could be reached. Until this issue was decided, however, Christianity remained for many Chinese a religion which was alien to their cultural practices.

It was the identification of Christianity as "alien" which hampered its efforts the most. Because of the high cultural achievement of Chinese civilization, developments in the religious sphere were sophisticated, highly or­ganized, and adaptable in large measures to the needs of Chinese society. The only "outside" religious influence—

aside from Islam, a special case— was Buddhism which had penetrated China from India. It had taken several hundred years of Sinification for Buddhism to be accepted as Chi­nese. Indeed the process of adaptation had proceeded to such a degree that the Buddhism of China (and Korea and Japan, China's cultural neighbors) differs markedly from that of the rest of Asia. While Christianity had been

25introduced into China at least three times previous to the nineteenth century, it had in each case fluorished for a brief time and then disappeared.

Christianity had been brought to China by Nestorian Christians in the seventh century. Their settlements had been confined to Northwest China, thus they had never a- chieved a national impact. The Franciscans had travelled to China in the late twelfth century and had converted suf­ficient numbers of Chinese that a bishop had been appointed for the Peking diocese. However, this group was identified with the Yüan dynasty and fell when it did. The Jesuits in the seventeenth century were a more successful mission until internal disputes resulted in papal suppression of the society. The Protestant missionaries who were aware of this history were determined that this time Christianity would become part of the Chinese cultural pattern. Thus the problem became the need to Christianize China by first making the Church in China Chinese. In this manner the problem of a viable identification as a Chinese institution was approached.

Ideally, of course, the aim of the missionary en­deavor was to create an "indigenous" church. This church would be one staffed by, organized by, and supported by members of the evangelized country. In this way it would become part of the recognized religious structure of the country. This indigenization of the Protestant church in

25China was the goal of the majority of missionaries. Differences arose in the definition of an indigenous (pen ■6&] church and the means by which it could be achieved. Therefore in real terms the problem which the missionaries faced was one of identity, a definition of who and what they and their converts were in terms of Chinese civiliza­tion. If such an identity failed to be established, Chris­tianity would suffer the ultimate rejection. It was this concern around which most of the events, controversies, and arguments would revolve between the end of the First World War and the beginning, in China, of the Second.

After the revolution of 1911, the optimism engendered by the reform movement escalated. China proclaimed herself a republic, thus in the eyes of the missionaries bringing her in line with Western ideas. They also interpreted the republic as a rejection of much of the tradition of China. This in turn led to the hope that this political change was one step toward the breakdown of resistance to Christianity. A time when new ideas were being explored seemed an un­equaled opportunity for the acceptance of Christianity, which was viewed by many Chinese as being a means to Western

Qacceptance and to modernization. Some people assumed that Christianity had a direct relationship to the new government and were more willing to be associated with the new religion. It was not that Christianity was judged to be political, per se, but that it was known to be opposed to evil and

26corruption. A new government surely needed new men with such principles. Then, too, many leaders of the revo­lutionary movement were Christian or had been educated at Christian schools. Not only were they not hostile to Christianity or its institutions, they had seen that free­dom of religion was included in the constitution promul­gated in 1912. Many of the new officials were convinced that Christianity could be a useful tool in accomplishing the modernization of China since it was an active and dy­namic religion. Interestingly, in the first year of the republic, the President ordered all military and civilian officials to go to church and pray for the nation.

Yet this did not mean that Christianity gained aspecial endorsement or status. Indeed in 1916 an attemptwas made to have Confucianism declared the state religion.The campaign to defeat this proposal was led, successfully,

12by a prominent Chinese Christian, Ch'eng Ching-yi. Ad­ditionally, if the goals of the new republic were to be accomplished, then the unequal treaties, and in particular the provision for extraterritoriality, would have to be abolished. The missionaries were identified with these treaties. But even without the identification of Chris­tianity as foreign, many Chinese were opposed to it. Often for the educated Chinese, his only contact with Christi­anity had been in the person of a missionary less well educated than himself, and of lower social status. The

27Chinese found that many missionaries were unsophisticated, unappreciative of ideas other than those with which they were familiar. Moreover, some of the Chinese who had been educated in mission schools found the rigidity of belief expressed there unattractive. Some found the ethical mes­sage of the religion attractive, if not that different from that of the Chinese sages, but they rejected as supersti­tious the accounts of miracles and the Virgin Birth. In many ways, then, Christianity was judged to be inferior to the system of ethics already in place in China.

Missionary Problems.One factor which compounded this impression was the

lack of fluency in Chinese which many missionaries ex­hibited. Missionaries usually hired Chinese "helpers" to translate as they preached or to deliver the message under their supervision. Many of the helpers were barely liter­ate and barely Christian. That is, their spoken style was unimpressive, and their grasp of Christianity limited. They were unable to answer questions well, and often misinter­preted doctrines. Another element of this problem was the attempt to translate scriptures into Chinese for distribu­tion during evangelization meetings. Even with a better than average grasp of the language, missionaries found that there were simply no corresponding Chinese terms for some Christian concepts. If they borrowed Chinese philosophical, ethical, or religious terms, which they often did, they

28also borrowed the connotations which these terms had in Chinese society. This practice led to further complica­tions and misunderstandings. Missionaries themselves often failed to agree on which terms were to be used as correla­tions for Western terms thereby compounding the confusion. This language problem led to misinterpretation, an inabili­ty to clearly explain the message they wished to proclaim, disagreements as to what, in Chinese, the message was, and a contempt on the part of educated Chinese for crudely ex­pressed ideas. Perhaps it should be said that the confu­sion was mutual in that the evangelist thought he knew what he said, but was unaware of the broader meanings and/or so­cial implications of the terminology which he had utilized. One such term was Shzn which the evangelist used to mean God, but which in Chinese meant a spirit (or deity), but in no sense a supreme or exclusive one. Similarly, T'-can was used to connote Heaven; in one sense this is a direct translation, but in Chinese heaven is a deity, not a place in which to spend an earned afterlife. Quite frequently those who heard these messages did not achieve any under­standing of Christian doctrine. Either what was explained was incomprehensible, or seemed to be in harmony with fa­miliar doctrines. At the least, Christianity appeared in no way remarkable.

Since some of the missionaries failed to master the language, and most lived apart, except for servants, from

29the people they had come to save, they also failed to break out of the Western mold. Many equated Christianity with aspects of Western civilization. They had no inten­tion of bringing only part of their culture to China. This attitude led to insensitivity to Chinese practices. Most missionaries in the interior, for instance, did not recog­nize the basic problem responsible for rural conditions. Thus, they also failed to appreciate that for most peasantssurvival was the focus of their lives, religion was con-

13sidered a luxury. There was also the element of suspi­cion in peasant society of someone who had to be paid to preach his ethical b e l i e f s . M o s t Chinese felt that there was something insincere about a paid p r e a c h e r . O n e Catholic priest said that he did not require people to sup­port his church lest the Chinese think he came to their country to make money.

Mission schools also reflected a certain insensitivity. Most schools conducted their classes in English; very lit­tle time was spent on Chinese literature and philosophy. Ideas instilled were often those associated with the middle class of an industrialized society. In essence, Chineseleaders produced from these mission establishments were

17alienated from their own society. Part of the mission role then was to reintegrate these Chinese leaders into a recognized place in society, to give them a comfortable identity which allowed them to be both Chinese and

30Christian. The schools had to ensure that this "lost generation" of leaders was allowed to earn a place where their ideas and talents could be utilized, where their modern education could be of benefit to their country. The idea that Christians were separated from their civiliza­tion, an idea which had been based on the refusal of rural Christians to take part in local festivals, had to be over­come. Christianity did not seek to alienate its adherents, but, in order to prevent alienation from occuring, had to begin to integrate itself within Chinese society.

Changes Within ChinaThe social, economic, and political dislocations in

China were symptomatic of the forces for change fermentingwithin the country. Part of the change was due to attemptsto industrialize, part due to the nationalistic awakeningof the educated, and part due to the determination of thegovernment to end China's semi-colonial status. For thefirst time in her history, China could neither Sinify the

18barbarians nor throw them out. She was forced to come to terms with them. Much of this ferment was simply "growing pains" as the Chinese tried to establish a modern nation and a new identity. Many Chinese welcomed the changes and the chance to break the hold of tradition on their society.Others "hunted for a magical formula to reduce the complex

19dilemmas of an industrializing society.... Basically, the Chinese tried to bring order or at least find a means of

31establishing order, in their lives. To do this a new system was needed, to bring about a new identity and a new nation. Such a search was characterized, as in other so­cieties, by "the unfamiliarity of new relationships and am­biguity of new principles, the continuing debate over al­ternatives, and the continuing struggle for place and

20position....Chinese students and intellectuals were told that

their attitude and behavior should demonstrate a break with the past. That is, they should be independent, not servile; be progressive, not retrogressive; be cosmopolitan, not iso­lationist; be utilitarian, not impractical; be scientific,

21not visionary. These qualities were needed if a new so­ciety was to be shaped; yet the form which the society was to take remained obscure. All agreed that a strong, inde­pendent, respected nation was the goal, that Confucian tra­dition had hampered modernization, and that the accomplish­ment of modernization was possible, since the Russians and the Japanese had found the way.

Much of the difficulty which the reformers faced was the size of the country. China was equal in size to Europe. But Europe had splintered into a dozen nations; China was attempting to remain whole. Still she encompassed as many dialects, divergent customs, and regional peculiarities as Europe. The force which had bound the Chinese together was cultural. But was this bond strong enough to forge

32effectively a nation? If, in addition, the basis of the culture was being called into question, what then becomes of a cultural bond? Many Chinese who had received a modern education were already alienated from much of the tradi­tion; to many of the peasants these potential leaders seemed alien. If the cultural entity no longer sufficed, then a national identity was needed to accomplish their goal.

Part of the momentum for change came from the need to overcome past humiliations at the hands of the West. Wes­tern science had been acknowledged as superior, but in other areas empiricism could give no absolute judgment. In the realm of philosophy and religion, answers other than Western ones could be found. The temptation was to findChinese solutions. In Levenson's words "the Chinese wished

22to own the ground they stood on." Therefore the situa­tion facing China was "...one of cultural conflict and

23control." Yet the Chinese did not wish to repeat the chaos through which Europe had passed during the process of their own national awakening. Could some of the process be made smoother by a Sinification of the essences of Wes­tern strength? Would intense criticism of both Chinese and Western institutions prove favorable to rapid develop­ment, or prove so disruptive as to impede it? Some coher­ent system of inner values was needed to provide "identity, continuity, and coherence", while encouraging institutional

3324change. Such a search could include Western ideas and

ethics. If the missionaries could organize their effort, an opportunity for acceptance within Chinese society was present. This Chinese preoccupation with the search for an identity was a phase of adjustment to a rapidly and radically changed environment. Until a clear self-image emerged, the Chinese would have difficulty in undertaking major accomplishments since neither the new institutions nor the philosophy guiding them would be clear.

Several impediments to this process remained. A ris­ing tide of nationalism was often impatient with and un­sympathetic to intense self-criticism. For many Chinese the goals were clear, if not clearly enunciated: to ridthemselves of their semi-colonial status and to reunify the nation. But they faced a dilemma. The intellectualswished to be modern in order to be rid of colonialism, and

25to be rid of colonialism in order to be modern. The means to resolve the situation were unclear. Then, too, there was the difficulty in restoring order and authority in a situation where tradition was no longer a cohesive force.The republic was new and trying to establish its traditions. But without a sense of unity upon which to build, these efforts would be difficult to institute. To further com­plicate the situation, the republic was unable to absorb those who had received a modern education. Society was in transition, and those whose training was Western or Western

34based found few opportunities to employ their knowledge or skills. This lack of meaningful employment led inevi­tably to frustration and unrest. A major factor in the search for stability was the need to reestablish civilian control over the warlord factions and end their constant rivalries and civil wars.

The Ta-chun or warlord era is the descriptive term for the years 1916-1927. It had begun when differences between the northern and southern forces in the National Assembly had disrupted the tenuously republican nature of the gov­ernment. When the President of the Republic began to in­stitute a movement to restore the Imperial government under his aegis, divisions within the political fabric of the country hardened. Dying soon after this abortive attempt, the president left a weak political inheritance. His mili­tary subordinates, however, were in position to acquire as much political power as was individually possible. In this manner the country was divided into a shifting series of satrapies, the leaders of which contended for control of the richer provinces. The result was constant civil war, despoliation of the towns and populace, and uncertainty as a constant in any attempt to plan for reconstruction or improvement in existing conditions.

The missionaries in China claimed that they had a means with which both unity of purpose and modernization could be achieved. They pointed to the development of the

35industrialized Protestant nations and claimed thatProtestantism and capitalism had played reciprocal roles intheir rapid evolution. They argued that the "Great Nations"

26were all products of Christianity. Protestantism could give coherence to a national identity since it was con­cerned with social order as well as individual conscience. Thus Christianity could strengthen feelings of patriotism and restore national pride. Missionaries disclaimed the accusation that Christianity was incompatible with China. Christianity, they contended, was originally an Oriental religion, therefore its basic teachings were congenial to the Oriental mind. Further, Christianity would not destroyChinese civilization but fulfill all that was good and true

27of the past. In addition, they maintained, Christianity could supply a religious dynamic lacking in the older faiths of China which stressed either harmony or unconcern with this life. Protestantism was bound up with the forces of change, socially in its active concern for community well­being, and economically in its Calvinistic concept of "call­ing" coupled to the admonition to frugality. Both concernshad led in the West to the accumulation of capital without

28inclinations to invest surplus money in land. Profitableinvestment won the church's blessing if dividends were notdevoted to ostentatious display. For this process to beaccomplished in China there was a need for rational law

29and administrative structures. These elements were

36Protestantism's contribution to government and the economy; if Christianity were adopted, the end result would be a strong, modern, cohesive state.

If this example of Protestantism's role in European development was overly simple and optimistic, it was be­lieved by many missionaries. It was a simple answer to a complex situation. Thus for many, Chinese and Westerner alike, it proved an appealing solution. The problem then for Protestantism was to end the stigma of "foreign" which was attached to Christianity. It was felt that only a truly Chinese Christian church could save Ch i n a . T h e r e f o r e in a time when Chinese leaders sought for a Chinese solution to the problems of modernization, the Christians sought a Chinese identity in order that their solution would not meet rejection on xenophobic grounds. Each group was seek­ing a self-definition, a self-identity and the means to achieve it. This proved to be a complex search.

Notes Chapter IPeriodical AbbreviationsAM Atlantic MonthlyCC Christian CenturyCR Chinese RecorderCT Christianity TodayIRM International Review of MissionsLD Literary DigestMRW Missionary Review of the World

1. Lewis S.C. Smythe, Changes in the Christian Message for China by Protestant Missionaries, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 1928, p. ii.

2. Helen B. Montgomery, Western Women in Eastern Lands, The Macmillan Co., New York, 1910, p. 90.

3. Daniel H. Bays, China Enters the Twentieth Century,University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 1978, p. 38.

4. Frank Rawlinson, The Naturalization of Christianity inChina, Presbyterian Mission Press, Shanghai, 1927,p. 171.

5. Smythe, Changes in the Christian Message, p. 267.6. Leonard M. Outerbridge, The Lost Churches of China, The

Westminster Press, Philadelphia, Pa, 1952, p. 133.7. Kenneth S . Latourette, A History of Christian Missions

in China, Russell and Russell, New York, 1967, p. 534.8. Ibid. p. 362.9. K.C. Chao, "The Ideals of New China," CR (January, 1919)

p. 12.10. C.Y. Cheng, "The Chinese Church in Relation to Its Imme­

diate Task," ™ (July, 1912) p. 382.11. T.T. Lew, "Christian Ethics in China," CR (September,

1933) p. 558.12. C.L. Boynton, "Cheng Ching-yi," CR (December, 1939)

p. 691—6. 37

3813. George B. Workman, The Chinese Mind and the Missionary

Approach, M.A. Thesis, Union Theological Seminary, New York, 1939, p. 899; Rawlinson, Naturalization, p. 32; David M. Baton, Christian Missions and the Judgment of God, S.C.M. Press, Ltd., London, 1953, p. 38.

14. Rawlinson, Ibid., p. 32.15. Fr. J. Loftus, interviewed by "China Missionaries Oral

History Project," Claremont Graduate School Oral His­tory Program, Claremont, Ca, 1969, p. 7. Used with permission.

16. Kwang-ching Liu, ed., American Missionaries in China— Papers from Harvard Seminars, East Asian Research Cen­ter, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1966, p. 5.

17. Baton, Judgment of God, p. 40; Jessie G. Lutz, China and the Christian Colleges 1850-1950, Cornell Univer­sity Press, Ithaca, New York, 1971, p. xviii; Colum­bia Cary-Elwes, China and the Cross, Longmans, Green and Co., New York, 1957, p. 227; Paul A. Varg, Missionaries, Chinese, and Diplomats, Princeton Uni­versity Press, Princeton, N.J., 1958, p. 33.

10. Joseph R. Levenson, Revolution and Cosmopolitanism,University of California Press, Berkeley, 1971, p. 21.

19. Robert H. Wiebe, The Search for Order 1877-1920, Hilland Wang, New York, 1967, p. viii.

20. Ibid., p. 302.21. Immanuel C.Y. HsÜ, The Rise of Modern China, second

edition, Oxford University Press, New York, 1957,p. 601.

22. Joseph R. Levenson, "Marxism and the Middle Kingdom," Joseph R. Levenson, Modern China; An Interpretative Anthology, The Macmillan Co., London, 1971, p. 299.

23. T'ang Liang-li. The New Social Order in China, China United Press, Shanghai, 19 36, p. 4.

24. Robert N. Bellah, "Epilogue," Robert N. Bellah, ed., Religion and Progress in Modern Asia, The Free Press, New York, 1965, p. 171.

25. John H. Kautsky, ed., Political Change in Underdevel­oped Countries, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1965, p. 52.

39

26. John R. Mott, The Decisive Hour of Christian Missions,The Student Volunteer Movement for Christian Missions,New York, 1911, p. 35; Those nations which indus­trialized the most rapidly were leaders in Christian work. Lutz, Christian Colleges, p. 5.

27. J.L. Stuart, "Where Should Emphasis be Put on the Christian Message," CR (May, 1920) p. 349-50; "Chris­tian Opportunity in China," editorial, CR (November, 1919) p. 719-20.

28. John M. Yinger, Religion in the Struggle for Power,Duke University Press, Durham, N.C., 1946, p. 90; ErnstTroeltsch, Protestantism and Progress, Beacon Press, Boston, Mass., 1958, p. 134; Max Weber, The Protes­tant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, tras. Talcott Parsons, Chas. Scribner's Sons, New York, 1958,p. 173; Parsons in Edward A. Tiryakian, ed.. Socio­logical Theory, Values, and Sociocultural Change, Free Press of Glencoe, Collier-Macmillan, Ltd., London, 1963, p. 51-2.

29. Weber, Ibid., p. 25.30. Lucius C. Porter, China's Challenge to Christianity,

Missionary Education Movement of the United States and Canada, New York, 1924, p. 28.

THE CHURCH FROM 1919: CHALLENGE FROM WITHOUT

By 1919, the missionaries and their church had been accepted as a part of the Western presence in China, Chris­tianity had gained recognition as a minor religion in China. This recognition was apparently based more on its institu­tional status than on the number of converts. These, given the general population, were few. Statistics on Christian converts vary, but an acceptable figure for the numoer of Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, in China was given as approximately one and one-half million, with an annual increase of approximately one hundred thousand.^The Chinese population of five hundred and fifty million increased almost four million per year. The Protestantsalone counted 401,539 communicants (1922) which increased

2to six hundred thousand by 1935. Chinese Christians at no time,however, exceeded one percent of the population.

One percent of the population of the world's most popu­lous country was not unimpressive. Yet, given the long term presence of Christian missionaries in China, the conversion statistics were disheartening to the Westerners. Not only were converts proportionally few, but they were scattered throughout the country; they remained in all areas a minori-

40

41As for their religious institutions, Protestant

churches numbered in the area of six thousand establishments3at this time. To staff them there were, in 1919, 6,636

missionaries listed as active, though this aggregate also included missionary wives and some of the people on fur­lough.^ In the period through 1927, this number was aug­mented by the arrival of six to seven hundred new mission personnel annually.^ The peak year was 1925 which found a total mission population of over eight thousand.^

During this period some changes occured in the conceptof mission service. Where formerly the emphasis had been

7on foreign service and for life, now the average tenure ofPthose who arrived in China was thirteen years.'' In these

years the Anglo-American churches fielded the majority ofmissionaries, though in fact thirteen nations were repre-gsented by mission groups. Together they were supported by approximately one hundred separate Protestant mission s o c i e t i e s . T h e y were well supported, by and large, with only the extreme evangelistic sects believing that their representatives would or could be supported by the local communities in which they were established. It was esti­mated that the Americans alone spent $7.7 million a year in support of their missionaries, exclusive of property pur­chase or special needs such as famine r e l i e f . A l l told,approximately twelve million (silver) dollars a year was

1 2spent to maintain a Christian presence in China. To

42place these figures in perspective, it was estimated that American capital investments in China totaled roughly sev­enty million dollars; American missionary investment-church property, schools, and other holdings, totaled roughly eighty million d o l l a r s . W h i l e it was considered that most of this investment and most mission efforts were concen­trated in cities (66%), yet at the same time, only 126 fi6-le.nof the total 1,713 kô^zn in China had no Christian pres-

14ence.The role of the missionary had, by 1920, undergone a

major change. Instead of being sent to China primarily as an evangelist, missionary employment now ranged from preach­ing to agricultural experimentation, teaching and healing to running a Y.M.C.A., Bible translation to anti-opium cam­paigns. Indeed the missionaries were beginning to special­ize. Instead of one man being called upon for many talents, now those who healed rarely preached. This in turn meant in some ways a lessening impact, since the number of mis­sionaries increased only slightly in this period whereas the diversity of Christian undertakings required a great many more.

Christians had begun to take a broader view of their role in Chinese life. Instead of preaching of their con­cern, though certainly they continued to do this, they also began to live it. Christians and Christian organizations ran youth programs, literacy campaigns, labor law reform

43movements, and health education programs. They ran twenty- six orphanages, five leprosarium, two homes for the aged, three hundred hospitals, six medical colleges, and ten mis­sion presses. The latter in their peak year (1925) pub­lished nine million B i b l e s . T h e missionaries' largest institutional commitment was to education. This concen­tration had its roots in a two-fold expression of Protes­tantism. The first was that all should be able to read the Bible. Biblical translation into Chinese was not suffi­cient for dissemination of theological tenets in a barely literate society; the Chinese needed first to be taught to read. That this goal was not unachievable may be ob­served from the estimation that sixty-five percent of the male converts were l i t e r a t e . T h e second aspect was that many missionaries regarded Protestantism as the driving force behind secular achievements in the West. China lacked this dynamic and thus the advantage of Christian dynamism linked to new scientific studies, which were most commonly available in the Christian schools, would be the magnet to attract converts. Education, then, would both Christianize and modernize the country through its auspices. Thus, by 1920, there were six thousand Protestant primary schools with an approximate enrollment of 174,482 pupils; three hundred and thirty-nine middle schools had been es­tablished. Additionally thirteen universities with more

44than seven thousand students completed the Christian

17education establishment in China.Perhaps these numbers are not overly impressive in a

large and populous country, but the educated always ledChinese society. The missionaries hoped that if the "righttwo thousand" were converted, their efforts as leaders for

18a new China would be disproportionally rewarded. Already some of those in positions of influence were Christian or Christian educated. Approximately one-third of the dele­gation to the Versailles Conference, for example, fit into

19this category. However, there was still some disagree­ment in the missionary ranks as to where to find these po­tential leaders. Most of the students enrolled in the Christian schools, except for the girls' schools where the situation was somewhat different, were from the peasant or merchant classes whose parents saw an advantage in an abili­ty to understand English. A few students from the lower literati were also enrolled, since their traditional means of entrance to government employment had been closed. They hoped that a modern scientific education would provide a new ladder of advancement to office. The outlook for these students was not all that promising. In the Provincial Assemblies set up in the early twentieth century as steppingstones to republican government, mission school graduates

20had been denied office. Sun Yat-sen and some of his associates were Christian as well, though Sun was described

45by some as being Christian only when he remembered. But he made no point of seeking well-educated Christians for his government, and his San-mln Cku-l stressed secular achievements. In the 1920*s Christianity was associated with imperialism and was considered unpatriotic. These factors presented several problems with which the mission­aries were forced to cope.

In short, by 1920, the Protestants were in place, in relative force, well supported from home, and owners of a substantial amount of property. They also had, they be­lieved, two new rallying points for Chinese conversion. First, they hoped to save China from Russian encroachmentand her subsequent loss to the West and the Western

21churches. Such a fear was based on the success of the Russian Revolution which emphasized secular goals and secu­lar means of achieving them. The fear that this secularism might spread to China as a means of achieving her national goals was real. It was fed by the presence of Russian agents in China in the nineteen-twenties and the populari­ty of Russian writings, especially those of the anarchists and social revolutionaries. China's geographic proximity to the Soviet Union was an additional factor in the fear of the spread of communism in China. Secondly, at a time when Chinese intellectuals were questioning all traditions and denying the ability of Confucianism to assist them in achieving a respectable place in the world, the missionaries

46hoped to offer the example of Western development andChristianity's part in it as an enticement to the accep-

22tance of the religion. Further there seemed to be an urgent need to establish Christian influence quickly, be­fore the decay of the old moral controls was complete andthe lack of social and ethical restraints made the Chris-

23tians task that much more difficult. The Christian posi­tion in China had advanced from the struggle to gain a foothold in 1858, to a struggle for legal status over thenext forty years, to a concentration on institutional de-

24velopment in the next twenty-five. By the 1920's the missionaries felt that they were ready to make significant progress in Christianizing China.

Post War Problems Yet the times were not especially propritious. "The

basic thread of Chinese history during the first half of the twentieth century was the search— sometimes ebullient, often heartbroken— for the new institutions in every sphere of public and private life, institutions which would con­nect the pride in a great past to high hopes for a great

25future." This sentiment was particularly true of the period during and immediately after the First World War. From the defeat of the Boxers until the war, the Western way appealed to many Chinese as the only proven way. But with the war, and in particular, when in its wake the secret treaties and cynicism of the West began to dim the

47admiration of the Chinese, particularly that of such leaders as Liang Ch'i-ch'ao, Hu Shih, and others, a new set of questions arose and needed to be answered. What of our old society was worth keeping? Can we keep it and survive in the modern world? What of the new was desirable? Must we take the undesirable elements, too, to survive? Can China make a future for herself, and not pattern herself after others?

Questions concerning Western ethics and the superiori­ty of the Western way had begun with the war. If moderni­zation which was based on Western culture with its Christian base led only to war for selfish ends, how could this be of benefit to China? Wilsonian idealism had excited the edu­cated in China as being the best hope for her future, as well as the best of Western ethical achievements. China had been persuaded to side with the Allies so that when peace came she might take part in the bargaining process. Yet, her place at the peace table was not one of determin­ing major policies, or even of defending her own interests. She was forced to watch as a promised clause on racial equality was not forthcoming, and as Wilson's ideals were subordinated to materialistic gains for the victors. The greatest blow, however, came when China discovered that the German concessions within her territory, notably Shantung, were not to revert to Chinese sovereignty but were to be awarded to Japan. The Japanese had already outraged the

48Chinese leaders with their Twenty-One Demands. This list of cessions and privileges would have subordinated China's economy as wall as her political independence to Japan. It had been submitted in 1915 when the major powers were en­gaged in the struggle in Europe. Japan had hoped to pre­sent the West with a icUZ acaompti at war's end. The effect of the Demands, though most were granted due to the ina­bility of the Chinese government to withstand alone Japan­ese pressure, was a rising tide of nationalism directed against continuation of any foreign privilege in China.The cession of Shantung to Japanese control was for many Chinese the incident which turned them from admiration of the West.

Since Chinese troops took no part in the fighting, China's expectations from the peace settlements seem some­what sanguine, but the Chinese were convinced that the ideals proposed for the League of Nations and expressed in the Fourteen Points held out unprecedented hope for a radi­cal change in her status. "China expected the peace con­ference to do for her what no peace conference could do, that is, set her on her feet at once; she got less from the peace conference than any world conference could give herand still hope to have laid the foundation for permanent

27peace." Her proposals would have abolished extraterri­toriality, returned all concessions and foreign settlements, favorably modified the Most Favored Nation clause, and

4928cancelled the Boxer indemnity. None of these proposals

was accepted at the peace conference though their enuncia­tion may have influenced subsequent negotiations. The reasons for the failure of China's proposals were complex; in part they were due to Western squabbling at the peace table, with few nations agreeable to a reduction of their position in the world; the fear of Woodrow Wilson that Japan would walk out of the negotiations if her demands were not met; the record of China during the war years, i.e., her failure to achieve national unification and her acceptance of most of the Twenty-One Demands; and the failure of the conference to enunciate the rights of weak nations. Al­though China joined the League of Nations, she did not sign the Versailles Treaty. She ended her participation in the war by notice on September 15, 1919. (See Appendix D)

The May Fourth and New Culture Movements Part of the failure of the Chinese delegation to sign

the treaty arose from the extreme pressure brought to bear on the Chinese government by students (and others) in the capital area. The shock which greeted the announcement of the Shantung reversion led to massive protests, demonstra­tions, and a growing political consciousness outside this groups' normal political realm. This galvanization of opinion was known as the May Fourth Movement. It was to stimulate the intellectual leaders to search for a means to overcome China's humiliation. Part of the process was

50political, an organized boycott of Japanese goods, strikes in Japanese owned factories, or demonstrations at govern­ment institutions or at the homes of officials. Another part, though less physically active, was of no less impor­tance; this was the intellectual reappraisal of China's position, the reasons for it, and possible means of alle­viating it.

Essentially the May Fourth fervor joined with another movement which had been taking place in intellectual cir­cles, particularly those associated with Peking National University. Three of the best known leaders involved in the attempt to change the philosophical foundation of national life, and in the process change Peita from a stuffy stepping stone to government position to a place of dynamic learning, were Chancellor Ts'ai Yuan-p'ei, educated in Ger­many, Hu Shih, educated in the United States, and Ch'en Tu-hsiu, who had been educated in France. This movement, which has been variously described as the New Culture Move­ment, had begun with students who had completed a tradi­tional education in the Chinese classics with further edu­cation in the West. They returned to China determined on change. Yet their sojourn in the West had shown the prob­lems as well as the potentialities to be found there. They were determined that China should be modern, but still her­self. With these men the search for a new modern China, a new self-identity intensified.

51"Intellectual disenchantment with the great Chinese

tradition had emotional repercussions; and the emotional was translated into intellectual t e r m s . . . i n t o a search for answers to questions posed by the challenge of moderni­zation. The search led to Darwin, to Dewey, and to Marx, among others. This was a time when the educated searched the "isms" as Hu Shih called them: liberalism, individual­ism, anarchism, socialism, and materialism. Chinese stu­dents consumed in great abundance and in almost random selection, a great feast of Western literature, philosophy, science, political theory, and economic writings. Indeed the reaction to this rather indiscriminate sampling could probably best be described as literary indigestion. Much was read, but seldom systematically or in depth. Many ideas were discussed and written about, particularly in the journals Hsin Ch'ing-nien (La Jeunesse) and Hsin-ch'ao (New Tide). But few conclusions were reached as to how, and with what, to shape the new China, or in what order reforms should be accomplished. Hu Shih advocated beginning with educational reforms, all others developing logically from them; Ch'en Tu-hsiu argued that economic change was needed to finance all else. It was a time of vast intellectual excitement when much could be questioned and examined and criticized. The students, journalists, and others brought an awareness of this ferment to many parts of the nation as they travelled to school, or undertook a planned itinerary

52to "awaken the countryside." One area to be examined in the light of this new criticism was Christianity, the Christian message, and the Christian church.

Two results of the May Fourth cultural movement which were unanticipated, and which would shape the struggle in China in the 1920's and 1930's, were first, that it was much easier to tear down the old culture than to construct any lasting institutions for the future; and second, that intellectuals would split in the period of the mid-1920's, one group advocating political revolution would be incor­porated into the philosophy of the Kuomintang, and another group, fearing that Japan or the West would take advantage of China's weakness, believed that social revolution within a philosophical framework was the only solution to China's problems. These intellectuals eventually joined the Chinese Communist Party. The battles of words and philosophies became translated into that of politics and armies.

Christianity was scrutinized by all the parties in this period. From the perspective of the nationalist, it repre­sented foreign imperialism. Could one be a Chinese patriot and also a Christian? From the perspective of scientific analysis, how did one explain the myths, miracles, and su­perstition of the religion? From the perspective of dogma, how did acceptance of its teachings translate into indi­vidualism? From the point of view of materialism, how did Christianity move Western civilization to its position of

53economic dominance? These and other challenges were presented to the missionaries in China to answer if they could. Many accepted the challenge joyfully, seeing in it an unparalleled opportunity to attract the educated. Others reacted defensively to this attack; these missionaries be­came symbols of the arrogance of Western domination in China and of the need for change. Many missionaries had not yet learned to cope with the old problem and were to­tally unprepared for the new. The 1920's for the Protes­tant Church were to be a challenge and an opportunity, or, in the Chinese sense, a crisis.

Anti-Imperialism and Its Responses The major goad for the awakening of Chinese national­

ism had been military defeats and the political and eco­nomic encroachments resulting from them. Much of the aware­ness of self as a nation, one among many, had been due to imperialism and its results in China. Anti-imperialism in its various manifestations, in particular the May Fourth Movement, had been a major factor in awakening Chinese national consciousness. But could a nationalist movement based on a rejection of the West adopt successfully Western techniques and ideas to achieve sufficient strength to throw the barbarians out? How could Christianity, allied with imperialism, be accepted by those influenced by na­tionalistic arguments? It was in part the negative

54dimension of China's nationalism which made any concrete efforts difficult. How does one build positively on a negative base?

Even with the anti-imperialistic, anti-Christian cam­paigns of the nineteen twenties, it was doubtful if a ma­jority of the missionaries realized the connection between assertive nationalism and the attacks on their position. Since the students seemed to be questioning or attacking everything, the missionaries did not feel singled out as a target. Chinese Christians, however, appeared to feel vul­nerable to attack on this issue. Many articles were writ­ten defending the position of being both a Christian and a nationalist. Still, some began to isolate themselves from overtly Christian organizations or to make conspicu­ous contributions to national publications and protests. These efforts still did not suffice; for others in the Chi­nese Christian community the only solution was a complete disassociation from Western institutions. This move away from participation in Christian affairs by the most edu­cated and aware segment of the Chinese church could only diminish its legitimacy in the eyes of the non-Christians, and weaken its efforts to attract converts among the edu­cated. Thus those who were associated with Chinese insti­tutions by the end of the decade were frequently under­qualified, if Christian, or if qualified, then non-Christian.

55This situation presented a paradox which the churches were unable to resolve successfully.

Part of China's problem lay in the fact of previous failures of reform attempts. There were, until 1919, few issues of sufficient national concern around which the Chinese people might rally. There was little nationalistic spirit among the peasants, the oÂ,-di(>ant government was hardly national, reforms could only be enforced by the military since other social and political forums were dis­credited or inept, and military domination seemed only to invite Western intervention. Further, any reform movementwould of necessity have to take into account the "residual

31strength of Chinese tradition to resist change." Even with the issues of anti-imperialism and anti-warlordism, which after Versailles had penetrated beyond the university and treaty port areas, national unity was still a goal rather than reality. To add to the disruption, China was in the throes of severe economic, political, social, and intellectual dislocations. She was attempting to industri­alize. The war had had the effect of lessening competition and expansion for four years, allowing nascent Chinese in­dustries to gain strength. With peace. Western business attention had begun to focus again on the Chinese market. Industrialization had had its effects not only on the cities, and on the family, but on politics as well. The incessant warlord conflicts, which amounted to continuing civil war.

56further disrupted a shaky economy, with uncertain tax collection, massive property destruction, foreign loan pay­ment, and political instability. The latter problem was compounded by the habit of Western nations of recognizing as the government of China whichever clique or faction happened to occupy Peking. Among these competing groups was a common denominator, a need for arms to maintain their position. Inevitably this desire for arms meant foreign loans and debts for the nation. It did not escape Chinese notice that many of the nations which sent missionaries were the very ones which sold arms to the warlords.

Socially the influence of the family had been weakened by the disruption already described. Additionally, the in­crease in displaced peasantry due to defaulting tenantry agreements, the results of education for women having de­veloped beyond the point of novelty, and the effects of in­dustrial working conditions further disrupted the normal family structure. Added to these elements was the dispute into which Confucian norms as absolute values had fallen in this period. This reexamination of values was fueled, as Hu Shih pointed out, by a situation where the old proved itself hopelessly inadequate in addressing present problems, and their concomitant intellectual confusion. New elements had failed to graft onto the tradition or be assimilated as a basis of a new cultural equilibrium.

57To add to this confusion, in the wake of World War I,

Western intellectuals began to question the assumed superi­ority of their own civilization. Their writings were translated into Chinese. Occasionally, as in the case of Bertrand Russell, they visited China. The students, edi­tors, government officials, and other opinion makers heard their doubts at first hand. They began to examine what the desirable acquisitions of the culture were. These the Chi­nese were prepared to adopt and modify, if the less desir­able accretions could be deleted. This led, according to Russell, to the situation "...among the young of a pas­sionate desire to acquire Western knowledge, together with

32a vivid realization of Western vices."One outgrowth of the New Thought Movement which facili­

tated the spread of ideas was the support given by its lead­ers to the use of the vernacular language or pat kua, as a means of literary and intellectual expression. It was rec­ognized that one of China's major deficits was illiteracy. The requirement that intellectual discussions on issues of national importance be conducted in the classical language was akin to requiring that all such Western discussions be carried out in the Latin of Cicero. In order to increase literacy, competency in pal h m was encouraged particularly at the primary school level. Experiments were made with the romanization of Chinese. Satisfaction with the attempts at romanization by the Chinese intellectuals was limited, and

58these attempts were basically discarded in favor of a limited number of characters (or even simplified characters) as the means of increasing literacy. The written style be­came less elaborate and formal and thus easier to master. Newspapers began to adopt this straightforward style, bring­ing about an increase in circulation and communication. One system based on one thousand common characters was developed to increase adult literacy in a relatively efficient manner. Using the vernacular the written style was modified in such a manner that technological terms could be adopted, ideas could be disseminated rapidly, and literacy increased. The thrust of the Chinese movement, then, was with pcU, kua.

In this attempt many missionaries also played a part in that they were trying to increase the ability of their congregations to read their Bibles. It was hoped that ro- manizing the language in a phonetically based system would make literacy more readily achievable than it would be had the student to master the thousands of individual characters otherwise needed. The Wade-Giles system was mission de­veloped and adopted by the West. Few Chinese admired the admittedly cumbersome system. More lasting contributions were made in transcribing certain dialects into roman let­ters . Bibles were then issued in these romanized dialects, in for example, that of Swatow. Basically, even for the missionaries, the transition to the vernacular was the major result of this development; at one time, due to its

59association with mission tracts, pcU hua had been

33stigmatized as "foreigners' Chinese."Utilization of Western Ways

The emphasis on literacy was but one of the solutions offered by those seeking to create an independent China. Initially the discussion of ways and means of strengthening her dealt with intellectual and social reform. New modes of thought, primarily critical analysis and "scientific assessment" were to produce a modern, more democratic soci­ety on which the new republic could be built. It was at first conceived of as an evolutionary process, slow inevi­table change which could accomplish revolutionary goals, but not by revolutionary means. Two of the major separable strands within the movement, which was extremely broad in concept, were to use nationalism to combat imperialism, and to use the West to obtain methods whereby China could be modernized and therefore saved.

The difficulties encountered in the absorption of alien ideas and institutions in a highly developed society are legion. Not the least of these was an instinctive recoil from those innovations which would threaten to rend the so­cial and intellectual fabric of the society so affected.The proponents of these changes, then, would have to appeal somehow to logic and rationality in order to engender sup­port for their proposals; but they would have to cloak this logic in nationalistic rationale in order to gain

60

enthusiastic cooperation. Such was the situation facing those Chinese who proposed to adopt Western institutions and technology in order to modernize their society. They needed to demonstrate that such adoptions would strengthen the state and society, yet not destroy them outright, to demonstrate that the change would make China modern, but not Western. These proposals which began to attain nation­al attention from the time of the Self-Strengthening pro­gram, beginning in the 1860's, came to be gathered together in Chinese intellectual considerations as arguments of

and yung.^^T ’l is the Chinese word signifying "essence;" yung, in

contrast, deals with "usefulness." Thus a differentiation was made between the essential characteristic of a national philosophy, identity, and ethos, and those elements which are adopted simply because of their utility. Some Chinese intellectuals argued the adoption of Western methods, in that they were useful, would not significantly alter the essential character of their society. Western ideas and modes could be grafted onto the body of Chinese society and all that would be altered would be the superficial appear­ance of some of its a s p e c t s . C h i n a would be modern, effi­cient, competitive, and strong, and still Chinese.

The t'Â./yu.ng argument found a place in Chinese intel­lectual tradition in dealing with Western ideas, as it had previously been discussed in the utilization of other

61non-Chinese ideas; but the cases were not parallel.China's cultural, political, and economic developments had always been superior to those of her neighbors, even if oc­casionally her military had not. In dealing with the West, these traditions encountered those of equal consequence.Not only did such innovations as a Ministry of Foreign Af­fairs recognize publicly and concretely a vast change in China's relationship with these countries, this change in conceptualization of her role \ii& â \)âj, other countries necessitated a new definition of status for herself. This transition is usually described as the change from the con­cept of T'ien k(>ZcL (a cultural entity) to one of feao ckla.(a political identity).

Thus the utilization of Western means and methods changed more than China's institutional framework. It changed the conceptualization which most Chinese used in regard to their culture and its superiority relative to the rest of the world. Western ideas challenged more than the utility of some of her traditions, they challenged the essence. China's intellectuals were caught in a dilemma: to reject Western ways outright would mean giving up the hope of rapid modernization and the abrogation of the une­qual treaties, but to adopt them in all but superficial ways would mean a series of profound changes in society effecting even its intellectual core. How then could China modernize and still remain Chinese?

62If Christianity had been the key to capitalistic

growth and power, need the essence of the religion be adopted, or only its useful qualities? Could the ideas of Christianity be adapted to a Confucian framework or must a new foundation also be set in place? Perhaps even newer and more modern concepts based on science and materialism rather than religion would be more effective. Chinese so­ciety had been organized around an ethical base; a new re­vitalized dynamic ethic might indeed be able to move China swiftly into the modern era. First the new ethic must prove its effectiveness; second, it must prove compatible with the guidelines of tradition; and last, it must be able to be incorporated as part of the basis of a new tradition. In short, it must become Chinese.

Part of the process in adapting Western techniques was the adoption of Western ways of thinking in order to under­stand the utility of the technique. Thus the essence of intellectual pursuits also changed. China was not neces­sarily Western, but she was no longer comfortably tradi­tional. This struggle to achieve an identity with which the Chinese could associate preoccupied the intellectuals in the republican era.

This concern with China's identity in no way negated the t'-ilyung argument. Which road to follow to achieve her goals was part of the ongoing debate in the literate com­munity. If in order to achieve utility one must inevitably

63embrace the essence, then careful consideration must be given to all the strengths and weaknesses of the idea sys­tem proposed. Christianity, therefore, came under review as to its ability to achieve national goals. Those who were educated, who had received their training at Christian institutions, or had observed such establishments as they functioned in the West were particularly involved in this process. Their evaluation was careful; the utility of some Western foundations such as hospitals, training schools, and so forth, was accepted, but need they be Christian?The response which the church would make both as an insti­tution and in the individual responses of its members would determine to a great degree the outcome of this evaluative process.

One of the major conflicts involved in the attempt by the Chinese to test the utility of Christianity was in the effort to adapt the faith to China. Some Westerners or Western educated Chinese felt that it would be difficult to develop a Sinicized theology which could at one and the same time answer the questions of the intellectuals and still satisfy the emotional need of the masses. One area or the other, it seemed, would be left unsatisfied. Since the Wes­tern church leaders had not yet identified the targets for evangelization within the Chinese populace, this potential conflict remained unresolved. Many Westerners had come in contact with Chinese religions only in the forms of popular

6437Taoism and Buddhism. To them Christianity was clearly

superior. Others tried to find in the Chinese tradition ideas which expressed Christian concepts rather than at­tempting to adapt Christianity to the needs of the Chinese in their religious life. This attitude of superiority (sometimes unconscious) was recognized and resented, since it clearly implied that Chinese ideas were inferior and could only be accepted in accord with those held by the West. Westerners wrote of Sinifying Christianity, but what they were attempting to do was Westernize Chinese ideas. In doing so, many Western Christians failed to take into ac­count the many adaptations which Christianity had undergone as it moved through the various countries of the West. The faith was certainly elastic; it seemed that church struc­ture and theology was not.

Many suggestions were brought forward over time to deal with aspects of this problem. Most Westerners recog­nized the attractiveness of Christian ethics for the Chi­nese. Many advocated an emphasis on Christ's personality and teachings and the downplaying of miracles and mysticism. Others suggested turning the church over to the Chinese and have Westerners provide guidance in theological areas while allowing Chinese instigated innovations. It was the frus­tration of the Chinese in not being allowed this opportunity which led most to leave the church. As one Chinese commen­tator on this situation summarized this problem: "Offer an

65alien race the boon of a great ideal, and if the boon isaccepted at all, you need have no fear but that its newpossessors will give fitting expression in terms of theirreligious or artistic instincts. Let Chinese have a sharein Christ if you will, but let the Chinese construct their

38own Christology."Additional problems arose since in modern times,

39nationalism, too, had a moral quality. Its issues of right and wrong were defined in strong terms in the Chinese mind. Christian claims of moral superiority were under­mined by the association with imperialism. With national­ism itself claiming a moral position, outside sources of morality might no longer be necessary. For this reason, too, many Chinese lost interest in the Western religion; Chinese needs would be met by Chinese means. These goals mirrored in some ways those proclaimed by the political party of Sun Yat-sen in his San-min Chu-i. This perception of the need for change was at the same time an examination of and a challenge to Western political, social, economic, and philosophical modes, past and present.

The essence of the problem enunciated by John Dewey after his visit to China was; "Can an old, vast, peculiar, exclusive, self-sufficient civilization be born again? Made over it must be or it cannot endure. Yet it must accomplish the making over in the face of facts and forces profoundly alien to it, physically, politically, industrially.

5640intellectually, and spiritually." Many members of the

May Fourth generation believed that the intellectual trans­formation must occur first, and lead other aspects into the

41modern era. Thus the New Thought Movement sponsored a series of publications, in pcU. hm, which discussed at length problems of life, youth, morality, culture, the place of women, and other issues of interest. Ideas spread; they were not confined among the intellectuals, but these potential leaders of new China needed to formulate a new philosophy for a new Chinese civilization.

Thus in enthusiastic and uncritical selection Chinese students devoured the writings of the West; Locke and Kropotkin, Mills and Marx, Tolstoi and Strindberg, all had their advocates of the moment or for the long term. All of the "isms" were proposed, examined and criticized. For some, Hu Shih in particular, this period was characterized by "an attitude of dissatisfaction towards the imperfec­tions of the present order of things, in order to realize

42better things in the future." Therefore, criticism would lead to reconstruction; thought would lead to action.

The fact that the movement was by and large unstruc­tured was both its strength and its weakness. Its strength lay in its diversity, but the movement became overconfident. It assumed that it could discover all the answers, and that goals were achievable in a short time. Some supporters lacked both patience and persistence.^^ Or, as a foreigner

67at Yenching observed, the students seemed to follow anything new as uncritically as their fathers clung to the o l d . B u t since the movement was willing to attack the established order of Chinese life, the autocratic institutions, and the warlord government, the movement was immensely popular.

Although Christianity per se had little part in the movement, it had been the criticisms of such social sores as opium addiction, child slavery, foot binding, and so forth by the missionaries which had contributed to the iconoclasm of the 1920's. To achieve most of the social reforms, the missionaries had appealed to the government for regulation and enforcement. These rather Western no­tions had worked subtly on Chinese student awareness of the role of government and society. Mencius had been inter­preted in classical exegesis to have said that if the peo­ple were to be controlled by ethical standards, the results would be a civilization (T'Zen lU-ca., the traditional ideal) ; but if the people would be controlled by force, the results would be a nation (feao cfUa, which lesser cultures could a c h i e v e ) . S i n c e the enunciated goal was a strong nation, the means to power were also explored. To achieve a strong modern state, changes in China's traditional structure were needed. Christianity focused public attention on some of the areas where reforms should occur. Such innovations neces­sitated a different methodology of approach to problems; in some cases these differences were of major significance, thus

68leading to the charge of iconoclasm. "The whole storyof the growth of iconoclasm in modern China, of how itcame to be possible for Chinese minds to drift away fromChinese values, is implied in the modern history of the

46Christian church in China."The success of the Russian revolution also influenced

the students. It fueled an examination of the elements which made possible a break with tradition and the struc­turing of new institutions. It seemed to many that Russia had discovered a means of transforming an ancient society into one becoming modern. Since the revolutionaries in Russia had denounced the church as one element which pre­vented modernization, many in China adopted a similar at­titude even if the situations were far from parallel. The logical outcome of this turmoil was an anti-religious move­ment, which later became anti-Christian. If, in truth. Science and Democracy were the keys to Western moderniza­tion, then where was the role of religion in the process?If science held the key to explaining natural phenomenon, and the relation of man and the universe, and democracy set up the rules by which are governed the relationships of man, and man and government, where was the need for reli­gion? Religions were attacked as antiquated, illogical, unscientific, and superstitious explanations of natural forces for which science had discovered rational answers.

69

Christianity's Beseiged Position This period was an opportunity as many Christians rea­

lized to hold a dialogue with critics, to make Christian views known at first hand, to answer the criticisms and argu­ments made against religion. Yet few Christian leaders were able to do this; those who were so able were new missionar­ies who had come to China since 1915. Others felt threaten­ed, unappreciated, ridiculed, and misunderstood. They recog­nized the challenge and the concomitant opportunity, but were unable to take advantage of it. Thus many of the potential Christian influences which could have helped shape the forc­es for change in China were never brought forward in a mean­ingful manner. Missionaries were relegated to the role of reactants to attack or were left in a sort of intellectual backwater, isolated and ignored. Missionaries had been in­fluential in beginning the process of intellectual challenge but were unable to lead it or control it. Their part in the process was generally overlooked or minimized.

Sun Yat-sen may have said "to do is easy, to know is difficult," but for the missionary the traditional (reversed) order held equally true. Action was occasionally easier to institute than productive ideas; conversely committees to study and present ideas relieved the pressure for immediate action. To organize a school, at least until 1927, was easy; to decide on a meaningful curriculum was not. The latter statement was particularly true if, as frequently was the

70case, the school was staffed by teachers representing more than one denomination. Religious teachings tended to be blurred in order to avoid preference or offense in any theo­logical category. Students in such institutions commented on the poor quality of religious teachings there. Religion in these circumstances was presumably taught by example, or per­haps, osmosis. Such practices made neither for consensus among the Christian community nor for a high regard for the intellectual basis of Christianity.

The anti-religious movement was influenced by the events of the Great War. Western réévaluation and self-doubt in the wake of the war had great impact on China. Once the West relinquished its adamant claim to absolute superiority, then the need to adopt the ideas of such a society disappeared.To the Chinese the West appeared to have dissolved intoselfish atomistic societies whose only goals dealt with ma-

47terialistic gains. Further, the West seemed to have aban­doned its claim to power regulated by moral laws. Chinese tradition was to use moral position as the basis of legiti­mate power. If, then. Western religion was no longer the base of Western government, how could it work for China?

Basically the anti-religious movement began with the4 8organization of the Young China Association in 1920. This

group had its headquarters in Peking, but had received its ideas from France. One of its foci for protest was against the assertion that the Chinese constitution guaranteed

71freedom of religion. There had been an attempt to make Confucianism the state religion, which had been defeated. The attitude of the New Thought Movement which subjected all philosophies and religions to the tests of scientific accur­acy and utility also helped to focus an attitude of reli­gious skepticism. The arguments of Western anti-religious philosophers such as Bacon, Descartes, Voltaire, Hugo, andDarwin appeared in the literary journals, the organs of in-

49tellectual debate. Students organized protests, meetings, and occasional strikes, particularly at the institutions which required courses in religion or attendance at daily chapel. The height of the early anti-religious movement was reached when it was announced that the World Student Christian Federation would hold its meeting at Tsing Hua College in Peking during April of 1922.^^ The meeting was sponsored by the Y.M.C.A., one of the most successful Wes­tern social institutions in C h i n a . T h e choice of TsingHua was perhaps unfortunate since it had been the American

52indemnity (Boxer) college. It had been one of the first to have students study the Bible. A demonstration was or­ganized by the Great Federation of Anti-Religionists, and student fervor was directed against the study of reli­gion, especially when, as here , it seemed to h a v e a political (imperialist) connection. These students were joined by the Anti-Christian Student Federation (Fei Chi-tu

72Chiao Hsüeh-Sheng T'ung-meng) which linked Christianity

53with capitalism and the oppression of the masses.The attacks on religion, and Christianity in particu­

lar, were many. Religions were based on emotionalism and54were unscientific. Religion was devisive in society since

each claimed to be the only or final truth. In this way religion held back man's natural curiosity by which society was advanced. There was, the anti-religionists claimed, no relationship between religion and morality; religious mor­ality was passive and false, based on the concept of reward

55or punishment in the hypothetical hereafter. This atti­tude could only lead to selfishness.^^ Religions, it was charged, were not of practical benefit in the life of thepeople and "...endangered the preservation and rebirth of

57Chinese civilization." Religion promoted slavish obedi­ence, not thinking for oneself; it taught superstition, and by concentrating on an afterlife, encouraged neglect ofduty in this. The anti-religious movement as a whole pre-

58ferred to emphasize freedom from religion.Christianity came in for specific attacks. In a time

of rising nationalism, it could most easily be denounced as foreign, an accompaniment of, if not an inducement to, im­perialism. Indeed as yet little Sinification of Christian practices or institutions had been permitted by the mission­aries. Most of the Chinese Christian leaders were Western educated. They lived in the major cities, and seemed more

73at home with Western people and lifestyles. It was chargedthat Christianity denatured its converts, making them intoforeigners. To assure that no conflicts in interests arose,many of the Chinese patriotic organizations forbade member-

59ship to those who were Christian. To other Chinese it seemed as though Christianity was attempting to dominate the spiritual realm even as the political and economic or­gans of the West tried to monopolize the m a t e r i a l . T h i s charge was given some credence when a nationwide field sur­vey was published by the mission organizations entitled The Christian Occupation of China. T h e reaction to this militaristic term used to describe mission activities only served to reinforce the charge of "cultural imperialism." Although political and economic imperialism were targets against which young China organized patriotic drives, these forms did not penetrate deeply into the Chinese conscious­ness. Cultural imperialism did. In fact, it undermined the foundation on which Chinese society was built; its ef­fect was much greater than had been previously thought. For these reasons the anti-Christian movement "has its roots in China's desire to emancipate herself from foreign aggres­sion."^^

The New Thought Movement had questioned the Confucian ideals which it seemed must be in part responsible for China's plight. Although Confucianism had lost its domina­tion, at least among segments of the intellectuals who felt

74that it was a product of feudalism, they were not ready toreplace it with a foreign religion which had many of thesame weaknesses. Indeed, it was said that Christianity wasnot strong enough in itself to gain for China acceptance asan equal by the West. Although some students received theimpression that equality with the West would be more quicklyachieved if China were Christian; others reasoned, with moreeffect, that were China strong, regardless of religion, shewould be more quickly accepted than if she were Christian

6 3but weak. These students pointed to the evolution of Japan and her relations with the West as proof of their contention.

Others questioned the assumption by missionaries of the role of teacher in Chinese society when in fact they were handicapped by language inadequacies and ignorance of Chinese proprieties. It was also charged that Christianity stifled thought. Those who presented this argument claimed that Peking National University had become a center of in­tellectual excitement only after the missionary W.A.P. Martin had been replaced as chancellor by Ts'ai Yuan-p'ei.^^ Many missionaries did not perceive such deficiencies.^^ The Chinese church was Western in form, faith, leadership, and support. Too, the Western nations which seemed most con­cerned with sending missionaries and money to help Chris­tianize China sent no other means of help except arms. The gap between that which Christianity offered and what

75Christian nations practiced appeared enormous. Some critics went so far as to charge that the modern Christian movement was a white race movement led by advocates of white superiority.^^ Since Japan had been accepted as equal, it seemed to prove, Q.E.D., that only strength counted.

In part the sense that Christianity was foreign can be demonstrated by the fact that converts did not participate in local religious festivals which cut them off from join­ing in the normal high points of village life. Since they did not participate, they did not support them financially. Reduction in support meant a curtailment in the appropri­ate festival expression and further resentment of the Chris­tians. Christian businessmen were encouraged to observe the Sabbath by closing their places of business; if they complied, they lost a day's profit and their employees, a day's pay. Also, as converts among the literati were few, people lacked respect for the Christians. The accusation

67that converts were "rice Christians" was frequently heard. The literati claimed that Christian literature was inferior to the classics. Chinese literature dealt with kings, nobles, and sages; the New Testament dealt with fishermen and peasants. Indeed some claimed that they did not under­stand what was remarkable about an illegitimate son, or a

6 8religion based on his life and ideas. Chinese had been warned as early as the first century by the philosopher

76Wang Ch'ien against trusting in credulous tales of miracles and a virgin b i r t h . F u r t h e r , to give him a pseudo­legitimacy by claiming Divine parentage was to the literati merely a trick to charm children. There was nothing in the Christian teachings which made them preferable to the sages.

Additionally, it was asked why mission activity was expanding in China when it was under attack at home.^® Re­turned students reported that Western nations were often only nominally Christian. It seemed as well that mission­aries were guilty of misrepresenting China and the Chinese to the West. This misunderstanding was reflected in the manner in which relations with China were conducted by the West.^^ Further, the missionaries were charged with fail­ing to exhort their governments to end discriminatory prac-

72tices in China. Christianity was mentioned in the unequal treaties; its status was irreparably linked with imperial­ism. If the Chinese constitution guaranteed freedom of re-

73ligion, then why the need for special protection? For many Chinese the answer for the continuing presence of Wes­terners was the ease and comfort of their lives: servants,separate compounds, vacation retreats, no taxes, and few difficulties. Western lives appeared to touch only the sur­face of Chinese society; they were protected and thus iso­lated from much of its reality. No wonder, so the critics charged, that many missionaries who stayed were unsuited

77for their task, and had little sympathy for the problems of the Chinese

Since Christianity was identified in the Chinese mind with imperialism, it was also appraised as a natural sup­porter of capitalism and militarism. One of its weaknesses in Chinese eyes was that it gave money to the poor and paid its teachers, thereby giving the impression that all be­lievers were bribed into their adherence. Christian pas­tors were also accused of marrying Christians to non-

75Christians in order to increase their congregations. Missionaries had engaged in lawsuits and protected crimi­nals; they did not allow their students to participate in patriotic organizations and demonstrations. These circum­stances only reinforced the idea that Christianity would separate Chinese from their culture, and that it attracted only marginal elements within tne society. Many literati charged that since Christians dealt with the lower orders of society, they encouraged disaffection from it.^^

Some differences had come about between the attacks published in 1922 and those of 1925, when the anti-religious movements became noticeably more anti-Christian. The 1922 movement was characterized as promoting irregular publica­tions which were written by students at government and pri­vate schools. Further, it could not be characterized as possessing a distinct organization, and received little support outside its own membership. The 1925 movement

78published a weekly bulletin and was supported by students at the Christian institutions as well. It boasted an or­ganizational framework comprised of fifty branches, with its Central Committee in Shanghai. It was identified with the Left-Kuomintang; others pointed to organizational simu- larity with the Chinese Communist Party. Having drawn these conclusions, some of the Western community regardedthese attacks as anti-foreignism which used anti-religionism

77as an issue to political ends. The Westerners felt that the organizational simularities explained the origin of the attacks. To discredit Westerners who professed democratic ideas by attacking their religion seemed to the missionary the epitomization of Communist tactics. Therefore they tended to discount the content of the criticism and its impact.

Occasionally the attacks on Christianity became vitu­perative. One such attack was the widely reprinted pamphlet which appeared under the title "Che Yeh-su Shih Shen-moTeng-hsi?" or, roughly translated, "What Kind of a Thing Is

78This Jesus?" The use of the impersonal descriptive terms in the title expresses the contempt which the author obvi­ously felt toward the subject. It was written by Chu Chih- hsin, a member of the Kuomintang. By its style, it tried to influence its audience in advance by the extremely nega­tive characteristics of its title. The internal criticisms

79were reflective of Western criticisms.

79Basically, then, the charges against the Christian

missions were those of religious snobbery, insincerity, thefailure to practice announced ethics, racial prejudice, andeconomic exploitation. Missionaries, it was charged, didnot teach ideas in China which were at the intellectual

8 0forefront in the West. This intellectual condescensionwas cited as one more example of missionary insensitivity.Young China felt herself insulted by the prospect of beingoffered a religion which was not only "morally defective,intellectually absurd, and historically untrue," but was

81decaying in influence in the West. The students refused"to be fed with an inferior philosophy, impractical ethics,witless superstition, and Old World myths, which are passedon by the bulk of the missionaries as Divine revelation and

82historical truth." In essence the intellectual situation in China had been reversed; instead of the Christians hold­ing the Chinese and their ideas up to Western standards forjudgment, now the Chinese were testing Christianity and the

8 3civilization of which it was a part. Many of those who wished to be thought aa couMJLa.nt then advocated science and denigrated religion.

There were several reasons for the anti-religious movement. One was the latent feeling in Chinese society based on orthodox Confucian teachings against any religion concerned primarily with an afterlife. Another was the promotion of science by the New Culture Movement in

80opposition to religion, rather than complementary to it. Too, there were influences of Marxist philosophy and the example of the successful Bolshevik revolution. This was preached effectively by Michael Borodin and those who worked in the political institution at Whampoa (Galen, Voitinsky, et . They helped draft the 1923 Kuomintang constitution and set up a political institute for propa­ganda, most of which was in competition with Christian teachings. Other influences were those brought back from France by returning students which centered on atheism, and the influence of materialist philosophy. The latter wascondemned by the West, as well as the East, as the back-

84ground for the First World War. These ideas appeared to retain their popularity nonetheless. Confucianism had been discredited, and Christianity, the only faith in China which had the vitality to take its place, was examined and found foreign.

Possibilities for Progress Many Chinese leaders in the intellectual movements of

the 1920's were not inimical to Christianity. These men admired some aspect of its teachings, usually those dealing with social questions and morality, but they were critical of those areas which were mystical, miraculous, or, in their words, unscientific. There was a basic element of respect present in their writings on Christianity per se.It was in the area of its institutionalization, both in the

81churches and in the practices of the Christian nations, where criticism was pointed and intense. It was the church as a Western institution, as a symbol of exploitation, which attracted attack. The faith, while burdened by un­necessary and unattractive elements, was intellectually re­spectable. Many of the ideas embodied in the ethic of Christianity were already to be found in the writings of the Chinese sages, but it was in its impact on and ability to mobilize society that Christianity was attractive to the intellectuals. If the religion could be used to mobilize society toward a common goal for the good of China, then its place in Chinese society would be assured. It was in the mobilization and organization of such a force that con­flicts occured.

The Chinese intellectuals wished to accept only those ethical areas which they found attractive. Most Westerners were fearful that such selectivity would denature Chris­tianity. Their contention was that the Chinese religions contained some elements of truth; Christianity was true. Most missionaries insisted that Christianity could not be divided into useful and non-useful elements; as a faith it was integrated as a unit. This attitude on the part of the missioners alienated most of the intellectuals who con­cluded that other means of engendering social dynamism existed and were more easily assimilated into the Chinese traditions. Perhaps no reconciliation of views was

82possible; a doubt remains. Had the Christians in China been able to attract some of the leaders of the New Culture Movement, much of the later animosity towards the Christian institutions might have been avoided. Chinese mental out­look was certainly flexible during the New Thought period; common grounds might have been more advantageously explored. That this interaction did not occur was demonstrated in the continuing (if sporadic) attacks on Christianity, spe­cifically, in the subsequent years. Nor did all elements of the mission community learn to meet these criticisms with substantial rebuttal. As Treadgold sums up the in­teraction; "A brief debate occured between a bewilderedand intellectually inept Christian minority and the mili-

8 5tant secularists."Many intellectuals seeking a path toward the moderni­

zation of China discarded that which was not "scientific" as backward and undesirable. It was around the concept of science that the May Fourth generation rallied in the at­tempt to define a national identity. Tradition could only impede progress; new ideas, tested by scientific postulates would serve as the philosophical basis of the future soci­ety. It was thought that the "bonds of tradition impeding social and economic development could be broken in a frontal attack against tradition and as the result of secularizationaccompanying the process of education, urbanization, and

8 6industrialization...." Religion, then unless

83scientifically "true", had little place in the scheme of modernization. Since religion claimed to be the only or final truth, it was a divisive not a constructive element. What was needed was a religious life which was thoroughly ethical, profoundly critical, adjusted to the social and intellectual environment, with a rational interpretation of beliefs and religious experiences. A common religious or ethical foundation was necessary; this need was hardly sur­prising given the ethical foundation of Chinese tradition.It was to be used as a means of consolidating national thought and action, a consolidation necessary to China's survival as a nation and a people.

Thus the search for a new ethical base began; one which would not be adopted -in toto , but as advocated by Ts ' ai

8 7Yuan-p'ei. adapted to the needs of Chinese civilization.In the process of examining Western ideas, an interesting assessment of Western ethics was made. Hu Shih argued that Western religions were selfish since they concentrated on an afterlife. Man should live for the good of all hu­manity , but he did praise the influence of Christian

p pmorality on China. Chou Tsou-jen (the brother of LuHsün) said that the spirit of Christianity, especially asrevealed in secular literature, could be used to transfer

8 9the scientific spirit to Chinese culture. Many in the New Thought Movement began with an examination of material­istic literature, but few publicly agree with Chou.

84Ch'en Tu'hsiu, writing in 1917, found that religion's benefits to society were valuable. Christianity in par­ticular could give a dynamism and moral force to the mod­ernization process. Ch'en's later writings attacking as­pects of Christianity in China distinguish between Chris­tian religion, whose only weakness was an insistence onmiracles, and the church, which he found to be morally re-

90sponsible for many of the ills of Chinese society. Stillhe proposed adoption of Christian moral education for China.

Lian Ch'i-ch'ao was the most ambivalent; he likened9T_Mo Tzu to a small (fuXao) Christ. Yet at Versailles with

the Chinese delegation, he found Western society dominatedby materialistic concerns with very little evidence of orconcern for moral authority. It was Liang's observation asto the reality of the position of Christianity's concern inthe West which shattered the dream of the omnipotence of

92Western scientific ideas to rebuild China. Even if the missionaries had presented effective and concerted argu­ments as to the lack of conflict between science and re­ligion, little progress by Christian thought to influence the New Thought Movement would have been made.

At the same time the missionaries found hope in the anti-religious movement. To attack the religion, the stu­dents were first required to become familiar with it. Stu­dents were not simply dismissing religion unexplored. New ways of approaching the students needed to be developed in

85order to demonstrate the compatibility of Christianity and science. Moreover, these attacks would only strengthen those who already believed. Perhaps they would shake out some of their weaker and less admirable adherents. In the aftermath a stronger, more vigorous program oriented for students might be put into place. The anti-religious move­ment was vigorous; it presented a challenge -- a challenge which the missionaries and the Chinese Christians needed to answer in order to keep Christianity as a viable contributor to the shape of modern China. In order to explore the di­mensions of this challenge, however, some sort of con­certed effort on the part of the Christians was needed. Agreements on basic concepts had to be reached. As with other groups faced with China's challenge, a united front of sorts was necessary in order to succeed.

Notes Chapter II

1. Unless otherwise stated, statistics refer solely to Protestant numbers in China, Lin Shao-yang, A Chinese Appeal to Christendom, G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1911, p. 15n.3.

2. Outerbridge, Lost Churches, p. 156.3. C.Y. Cheng, "The Chinese Church," China To-Day Through

Chinese Eyes, Student Christian Movement, Headley Bros., London, 1922, p. 125.

4. China Christian Yearbook, Christian Literature Society, Shanhai, 1932-1933, p. 36-7. (Subsequently CCYB)

5. Outerbridge, Lost Churches, p. 155.6. Arthur L. Rosenbaum, "The Claremont Missionaries: Sum­

mary and Evaluation of Findings," Claremont Oral His­tory Project, p. 15.

7. Valentine H. Rabe, "Evangelical Logistics; Mission Sup­port and Logistics to 1920," John K. Fairbank, ed., The Missionary Enterprise in China and America, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1974, p. 56.

8. CCYB, 1929, p. 248.9. William A. Brown, "The Protestant Rural Movement in

China (1920-1937)," Liu, American Missionaries, p. 219.10. Moore Bennett, "Christianity in China," ^ (August,

1928) p. 273; Frank Rawlinson, ed.. The Chinese Church As Revealed in the National Christian Conference, Shanghai, 1922, The Oriental Press, Shanghai, 1922, p. ii.

11. Peter Duus, "Science and Salvation in China: The Lifeand Work of W.A.P. Martin," Liu, American Missionaries, p. 14.

12. C.Y. Cheng, "The Chinese Church," China To-Day, p. 128.

86

8713. Paul Monroe, China— A Nation in Evolution, The Cha-

tauqua Press, Chautauqua, New York, 1927, p. 229.14. C.Y. Cheng, "The Chinese Church," China To-Day, p. 128.15. Cary-Elwes, China and the Cross, p. 259.16. C.Y. Cheng, in David Z.T. Yui, "Cooperation from the

West," China Her Own Interpreter, Milton Stauffer, ed.. Missionary Education Movement of the United States and Canada, New York, 1927, p. 130; C.Y. Cheng, "The Chi­nese Church," China To-Day, p. 130; National Christian Conference, p. 180; James Yen reported 50%. James C. Thomson, Jr., While China Faced West, Harvard Univer­sity Press, Cambridge, 1969, p. 52.

17. Cary-Elwes, China and the Cross, p. 259.18. Donald W. Treadgold, The West in Russia and China; Re­

ligious and Secular Thought in Modern Times, vol. II, China 1582-1949, Cambridge University Press, New York, 1973, p. 67.

19. Cary-Elwes, China and the Cross, p. 259.20. Smythe, Changes in the Christian Message, p. 49; Lutz,

Christian Colleges, p. 205.21. Christianity was credited with keeping society stable

and lessening social disturbances. Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., "The Missionary Enterprise and Theories of Im­perialism," Fairbank, Missionary Enterprise, p. 365.

22. Mott, Decisive Hour, p. 38.23. T'ang, New Social Order, p. 66.24. Rawlinson, Naturalization, p. 167.25. Mary C. Wright, "Modern China in Transition 1900-1950,"

Levenson, Modern China, p. 200.26. China Mission Yearbook, Christian Literature Society,

Shanghai, 1919, p. 4. (Subsequently CMYB)27. Idem.28. Idem.29. Ibis., p. 6.

8830. Joseph R. Levenson, Confucian China and Its Modem

Fate, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1968, p. xi; Y.C. Wang, Chinese Intellectuals and the West, 1872-1949, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1966, p. 4; Philip West, Yenching University and Sino-Western Relations, 1916-1952, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1976, p. 7.

31. Yue Him Tam, "An Intellectual's Response to Western Intrusion: Naito Konan's Views of Republican China,"Akira Iriye, ed.. The Chinese and the Japanese, Essays in Political and Cultural Interaction, Princeton Uni­versity Press, Princeton, 1980, p. 176.

32. Bertrand Russell quoted in Treadgold, The West in China, p. 138.

33. National Christian Conference, p. 160.34. During the 1890*s Chang Chih-tung was the most notable

popularizer of the phrase which in its entirety read Chung-liiueh H6^-kiuzk iv&i-yung, or Chinese studiesfor the base. Western studies for use. Ssu-yu Teng and John K. Fairbank, China's Response to the West, A Documentary Survey 1839-1923, Atheneum, New York,1975, p. 164-5.

35. Levenson, Confucian China, p. 69.36. Joseph R. Levenson, "The Province, the Nation, and the

World," Levenson, Modern China, p. 67.37. Smythe, Changes in the Christian Message, p. 7.38. Lin, A Chinese Appeal, p. 272.39. Levenson, Revolution and Cosmopolitanism, p. 7.40. John Dewey in Asia, quoted in Porter, China's Challenge,

p. vi.41. Chow Tse-tung, The May Fourth Movement, Harvard Uni­

versity Press, Cambridge, 1960, p. 359; Hsu Pao-ch'ien, "The Christian Renaissance," CR (July, 1920) p. 459.

42. Hu Shih quoted in Hsu, "The Christian Renaissance," p. 459.

43. Chow, May Fourth, p. 366.

8944. J.L. Stuart, "The Christian Dynamic for China," CR

(February, 1923) p. 73.45. Ku Yen-wu on Mencius quoted in Levenson, Confucian

China, p. 102.46. Ibid., p. 117.47. Akira Iriye, "Toward a New Cultural Order; The Hsin-

men Hui", Iriye, Chinese and Japanese, p. 225.48. Smythe, Changes in the Christian Message, p. 75; Chow

May Fourth, p. 322.49. Ibid., p. 324.50. Ibid., p. 323.51. West, Yenching University, p. 93.52. Ibid., p. 20.53. Lutz, Christian Colleges, p. 220; Chow, May Fourth,

p. 324.54. Chow, Ibid.55. Herman C.E. Liu, "Chinese Students and Religion Today,"

CMYB, 1925, p. 43.56. Smythe, Changes in the Christian Message, p. 75.57. Idem.58. Chow, May Fourth, p. 324.59. Ibid. , p. 322.60. T'ang Liang'li, China in Revolt— How a Civilization

Became a Nation, Noel Douglas, London, 1927, p. 153.61. This report represented a three year study by the Lay­

men's Mission Inquiry; it incorporated 468 pp. of text with 112 of appendices, 125 graphs and charts--these allegedly measured both the task and the achievement.

62. Schlesinger, "The Missionary Enterprise," Fairbank, Missionary Enterprise, p. 365; T.C. Wang, The Youth Movement in China, New Republic, Inc., New York, 1927,p. 188

9063. P.C. Hsu, "Intellectual Movements," China To-Day

Through Chinese Eyes, second series. Student Christian Movement, Edinburgh Press, London, 1926, p. 28.

64. Lin, A Chinese Appeal, p. 21-3.65. A.R. Kepler, "Christianity as a Social Gospel," Jessie

G. Lutz, Christian Missions in China; Evangelists of What?, D.C. Heath and Co., Boston, 1965, p. 52; Work­man, The Chinese Mind, p. 189.

66. Chow, May Fourth, p. 322.67. Hawlinson, Naturalization, p. 160; J.L. Stuart in West,

Yenching University, p. 94.68. Ch'en Tu-hsiu quoted in A.R. Kepler, "Christianity as

a Social Gospel," Lutz, Christian Missions, p. 48; T'ang, China in Revolt, p. 65.

69. T'ang, China in Revolt, p. 103.70. Treadgold, The West in China, p. 147; Lin, A Chinese

Appeal, p. 2.71. T'ang quoted in A.R. Kepler, "Christianity as a Social

Gospel," Lutz, Christian Missions, p. 52; T.C. Chao, "Religious Situation in 1930," CCYB, 1931, p. 67.

72. T.T. Lew, "China's Renaissance," China To-Day, p. 118.73. Frank Lee, "Communism and the Anti-Christian Movement,"

CR, (April, 1925) p. 233.74. Edgar Snow quoted in West, Yenching University, p. 45.75. Herman C.E. Liu, "Chinese Students and Religion Today,"

CMYB, 1925, p. 43.76. Varg, Missionaries, Chinese and Diplomats, p. 33.77. Herman C.E. Liu, "Chinese Students and Religion Today,"

CMYB, 1925, p. 45; C.Y. Cheng, "Spiritual Preparedness of the Christian Church in China to Meet the Present Situation," David Yui, ed., Report of the Conferenceon the Church in China Today, January 5-7, 1926, Na­tional Christian Council of China, Shanhai, 1926, p. 18.

78. R.M. Cross, interviewed in Claremont Oral History Project, p. 19.

9179. This attack was printed in Shanghai in 1924, 1925.

Lutz, Christian Colleges, p. 219.80. Lin, A Chinese Appeal, p. 34.81. T'ang, China in Revolt, p. 153.82. Idem.83. Rawlinson, Naturalization, p. 166.84. Liang Ch'i-ch'ao quoted in Chow, May Fourth, p. 32885. Treadgold, The West in China, p. 170.86. Bellah, Religion and Progress, p. x.87. T'ang, New Social Order, p. 132.88. Smythe, Changes in the Christian Message, p. 75.89. West, Yenching University, p. 56-8.90. Idem.91. Rawlinson, Naturalization, p. 1.92. Chow, May Fourth, p. 328.

THE CHURCH FROM 1919: CHALLENGE FROM WITHIN

. e Protestant Church in China in the nineteen twenties found itself faced with an opportunity and a challenge. It might almost be said that the one brought forth the other.In the turmoil which was China in this period, the church had a role to play in restoring order and helping to deter­mine the shape of the future. This time, most Christians agreed, was to be a period of testing. If the church could meet the challenge, take a leading role, effect a differ­ence in the manner in which China resolved her problems, then the church would have become a viable part of Chinese society. If, however, the church failed to face this chal­lenge, failed to attain a role in the remaking of society, then it would always remain a foreign anomaly.

Challenges arose not only from outside the Christian community, but from within it. To speak at all of a Chris­tian community was only to identify it in regard to the non- Christian majority. Under pressure a stronger sense of community did develop, but there were almost as many factors which made for division as for communality. It appeared as though the challenges from areas outside the church had helped to individualize some of its components. There were

92

93factors within the church as well which only strengthened these divisions. There were divisions by denomination, by age, by philosophy, by theology, and by experience in Chi­na. Those who belonged to the liturgical churches expressed one opinion, those from the non-licurgical disagreed.Those who had come to China prior to 1919 differed in at­titude from those who arrived in the 1920's. Those whose first concern was evangelism perceived their role in China in markedly different terms than those whose first concern was social service. Those Christians who were liberal or modern in their faith were challenged by the rise of neo­orthodoxy. Finally, those who worked in the cities or coastal provinces, particularly with educational institu­tions, differed in the conception of their place in Chinese society from those assigned to rural evangelism in the interior. These groupings are, obviously, somewhat arti­ficial and overlapping; yet they categorize some of the divisions within the Christian community which would play a decisive role in the attempts to establish an effective church in China.

Problems which had to be dealt with included the anti- Christian campaign, the stigma of being foreign and linked to imperialism, the desire of the Chinese Christians for the devolution of control of the institutional churches, and the establishment of a "church" rather than the pro­longation of a mission field. These and other problems had

94to be addressed if Christianity were to be accepted by more than a few Chinese. It was in addressing these problems that the divisions within the Christian fellowship became, in themselves, a problem. Indeed much of the energy of the Christian leaders in this period would be devoted to heal­ing cracks in their own communal structure. Much time and energy would thus be turned inward towards their own paro­chial concerns rather than in answering the attacks of the non-Christians. These issues might be summarized as those from which Chinese Christianity would evolve: the struc­ture of the institution which would represent this faith, the control of the church, and the role of the church in Chinese society.

Diverse ViewsOne of the changes which became apparent was that of a

change in attitude on the part of the missionaries towards the Chinese religions. The First World War had shattered some of the complacency of the West regarding aspects of their culture. Christian theology and its role in shaping society was to be restudied by the new generation of mis­sionaries who had been exposed to studies in comparative religions, and exhibited attitudes which were more flexible than those of their predecessors. Many missionaries relin­quished, at least to a degree, the attitude of absolute superiority which had characterized earlier dealings with non-Western peoples. Therefore some Christians and

95Christian teachers were more receptive to ideas whose origin was non-Western. One shift in emphasis by the Wes­terners was that of emphasizing the Eastern origins of the faith. Christianity had after all arisen in West Asia, not Europe. Some missionaries even began to hope that the process of adaptation in an Eastern society would give them new insight into their own religious evolution. Perhaps through this process they would be able to distinguish the elements which were essentially Christian and those which were Western historical accretions. Naturally, this view was not universally adopted among the missionaries in China; but, where it was, an increase in understanding between the Chinese and the missionaries seemed to indicate the estab­lishing of a new basis of relationship for Christians in China.

Many of the China missionaries of this period have been interviewed by the Claremont Oral History Project. With permission, some of their attitudes and reflections have been incorporated into the discussion. The Methodist Bishop James Baker criticized missionaries who tried to "overthrow" the indigenous religions instead of "trying to understand and appreciate what they had done for the people of C h i n a . D r . H. Bradshaw admitted that his greatest problem was "growing up," i.e., "getting the idea that the people you are living with have pretty good ideas..., some of them as good as yours; or you ever reach the point where

96you are ready to admit that some of their ways and morals

2are even better than yours." Thus some of the mission community began to try to adapt Christianity to China rather than China to Christianity. One suggestion in this spirit was to adapt some of the Chinese festivals to a Christian celebration. Ch'ing Ming, for example, could easily be given a Christianized interpretation.^ Such an adaptation would help to overcome the feelings of isolation from their community experienced by many converts. Another example where modification was needed was the practice of following Western liturgical colors for the church seasons without regard for possible mis-association in the Chinese mind. The most notable example of this sort of unthinking cultural imposition was found in the season of Easter. On Good Friday the altars were draped in black, remaining so until Easter Sunday when white vestments, altar cloths, and so forth appeared as a symbol of rejoicing. In Asia white was the color of mourning. It would have been more sym­bolic to the Chinese for the church to have employed white

4on Good Friday and red on Easter. Another aspect of this attitude was the perhaps unconscious realization that Con­fucianism was no longer a formidable foe; it could now be admired rather than attacked.^ However much Christianity had been attacked by the New Thought campaigns, Confucian­ism, viewed by the Chinese as the basic reason for their lack of modernization, had suffered more. Many articles

97on the similarity of the ethics of Confucius and Christ were published in this period. In some of them the superi­ority of the Christian concern for people was stressed; old habits die hard. One missionary expressed the view that as Judaism was the basis of Christianity, the old Chinese faiths would form a basis for Chinese Christianity.^ An appreciation of these faiths was obviously necessary. One should gain thereby an appreciation in the area of theology for a Chinese Christian without separating him from or damaging his culture. Frank Rawlinson found, in retrospect, that he could not recall "any Christian virtue that was un­known to the Chinese apart from Christianity."^ The senti­ments towards Chinese philosophy of the mission community as a whole, however, lacked agreement. Christianity was described variously as superior to, a fulfillment of, or complementary to the religions and philosophies of China.

These various descriptions illustrate the variety in the mission attitude. The initial missionary position had been that Christianity was naturally superior since it had as its basis Divinely revealed truth. This particular stance did not unduly impress the Chinese. Other mission­aries, particularly those who had been exposed to the study of comparative religion, and most of the Chinese pastors, began to explain Christianity as the fulfillment of admir­able elements in the Chinese system of ethics. Others tried to juxtapose Christianity in a complementary sense.

98furnishing the active Western yang to the passive yin, as it were. Some missionaries wondered how Chinese systems, in themselves complete, could be incorporated into other ideas. Others used Confucianism to combat skepticism and

pmaterialism. W.A.P. Martin had attempted to mix Confu­cian and Christian elements in order to attract the atten-

9tion of the gentry. Some innovators went so far as to in­corporate Chinese and Christian religious symbols, such as a cross rising from a lotus f l o w e r . S t i l l other groups thought that with a base in the Confucian ethic, Christian­ity could build further on or fulfill the goals expressed in those concepts of society. Steps such as these were taken to change the image of Christianity in China, the onlyreligion habitually referred to as ijang ckLao, or foreign

11teaching.But, for those missionaries who felt that Christianity

was demonstrably superior, to dilute its message with ele­ments of a non-Christian civilization was to make it indis-

12tinguishable from Chinese religions. Indeed it was the ability of Christianity to produce a modern moral society which was its best argument. Indigenous religions were in­compatible with Christianity, nor were they able to help China in her national ordeal. Some missionaries wrote ofthe fear that any adaptation of Christianity would lead to

13a primitive Old Testament type of religion. There existe a delicate problem: that by naturalizing Christianity it

99

would be denatured, and that some distinctly Christian14tenets would be sacrificed. These concerns reflect first

the missionary attitude towards the Old Testament as being the primitive prelude to the developments in the New. Secondly, they reflect the idea that the incorporation of any Chinese elements would be a step backwards towards the less systematized (theologically) times. The Old Testament, for example, mentioned concubinage, a practice to which in China the missionaries were opposed. Chinese elements could only dilute the "purity" of Christian concepts. Thus there seemed to be an inherent contradition in the Christian mis­sions : if the missionaries tried to evolve the church as it had been in the West, with Western forms, it would always remain foreign and not in accordance with China's needs; but if the universalism of the church was emphasized, then how could the missionaries explain the difference between Christianity and Confucianism, or even Communism, for that matter?

Part of the mission society argued that Christianity must adapt or be rejected. Others claimed that to adapt it was to destroy it. The problem was first, to distinguish Christian theology from Western historical trappings, and second, to reconcile the differences of liberal, modern, and fundamental interpretations of the faith. As Frank Rawlinson, the liberal editor of the Chinese Recorder wrote at this time, "that Christianity is both causing and being

100subjected to strains within the social and religious consciousness of China does not, however, permit of a con­clusive prophecy that it will survive t h e r e i n . " . . . I f Christianity wishes to become native to China, to gain emotional as well as intellectual acceptance, to become in­dependent and self-nourishing, it must express itself in Chinese fashion, taking the central spirit of its message and allowing it to be clothed in indigenous representa­tions."^^ Perhaps as Timothy Lew wrote, the church would always be a little odd in Chinese eyes; but even strong nations import foreign things.

The structure of the Chinese church, i.e., the manner in which it was to be organized, was also a matter of dis­agreement. Understandably with such a variety of denomina­tions in China, church organization varied from the indi­vidual Quaker and Congregational churches to the districts, presbyteries, and bishoprics of the more organized Luther­ans, Presbyterians, and Methodists. Thus the problem came to be a decision as to whether there would be a Protestant Chinese Church, or a Chinese Lutheran Church, Methodist Church, or, to carry it even further, a Chinese Church of the New Zealand Presbyterian Church. The most ludicrous example of such particularity cited, whose existence wasfor that reason often denied by the missionaries, was the

18American Dutch Reformed Chinese Church. How should a decision be reached? Should individual congregations

101decide? Or, should the mission boards in the West, which after all had been responsible financially and otherwise for the mission personnel and institutions, have the deciding vote? Was not the division and multiplicity of denomina­tions in China damaging its image in Chinese eyes? As one Chinese argued, there was in Manchuria Scots, Irish, and Danish missionaries, who for lack of money and people were forced to cooperate. They had worked together for twenty- five years with frequent conferences on work in the field.Yet in all that time they were unable to reach agreement on

19any issue. Even if overstated, the impression such dis­array had on potential converts could only be negative. If Westerners, all of whom were Christian and Protestant could not agree, how then could Chinese and Westerners ever reach a consensus? The fact of denominational division had to be dealt with, especially when in the 1920's, new evangelical sects challenged the incumbent mission effort, refusing to cooperate in any way. Much of the mission effort in this period, was for this reason internal, an attempt to set its house in some kind of institutional order so that it might face the questions and problems which threatened to engulf it. Such an attempt led to further complications; as pointed out by a mission survey, Christianity, while it dealt with people and evangelism, was active and effective."But it always goes dead and static as soon as it becomes

20absorbed in its own preservation." In this as in other

102areas, Christian missions spent much of their effort absorbed in issues of self-preservation.

Another area of division lay in the matter of control of the church. That is, with whom did the decision making responsibility lie? This issue not only divided the mis­sion elements, but also tended to divide the missionaries and the Chinese. The Chinese contended that there were sufficient Chinese Christians, Chinese pastors, and edu­cated lay persons that the decision making process should be controlled by them, with missionary advice as needed.The issue was really the timing of the transition from a mission field to a church. This distinction was described by the World Missionary Conference (1910) as follows; A mission church is surrounded by a non-Christian community which is its target of evangelization; it is in close rela­tionship with an older Christian home church from which it receives support, which stands to it in a parental rela­tionship and still offers it such help, leadership and even control as may seem appropriate to its development.When the church is no longer dependent financially or or-

21ganizationally, it is no longer a part of the mission. A major adjustment between the mission and the church in the field becomes necessary for continued cooperation. Mission­aries, too, described the stages of mission work as they envisioned it. First, missionaries establish a field and are responsible for it Xn toto; second, the missionaries

103cooperate with native workers. The church begins to emergeas a strong entity. Third, the church becomes indigenous,but is still too weak to continue alone, although it hadmanaged to establish its own leadership. Fourth, thechurch becomes independent of outside aid, in fact, adopts

22its own missionary program. All four of these stages were present in China in the nineteen twenties, though much of it, towards the end of the decade, was in the third stage.

Institutions in Transition The mission goal had always been the establishment of

a self-supporting, self-propagating, self-governing church. Yet the transition phases were painful for many. For some missionaries, the paternalistic attitude was difficult to discard. Others pointed to an experiment in this three- self approach in Shantung in the 1880's. Chinese leaders were appointed and Chinese support encouraged under the guidance of J.L. Nevius. It had been considered unsuccess­ful since the areas funded by the mission boards had made

23more headway. Some missionaries had little contact with Chinese except in inferior positions. One of Christianity's major problems was the failure to attract and hold the edu­cated. The missionary lived apart, in separate compounds. Even their retreat areas such as Peitaiho had separate beach facilities for Chinese and Westerners. Few of the latter took part in any of the local celebrations. One

104missionary reported that he had lived in China for ageneration without having once invited a Chinese to dine

25with him. Such separateness could only strengthen mis­sionary isolation, which in turn would harden paternalistic ideas. One former missionary said that she was naiveenough to assume that upon landing in China she would help

26"occupy" the land in the name of the Christian faith. Ob­viously her idea was that the message would hastily and in­evitably overcome all obstacles. Another noted that mission personnel arriving in China in the 1920's had the same at­titude as his generation had had when they arrived twenty-

27five years previously. The attitude referred to was thatthe Chinese would learn from the missionary, not vice versa.Others have suggested that the basic attitude had developedfrom the concept of the White Man's Burden, and needed to

28be abandoned. Obviously, at least to some of the people stationed in China, if not to the boards at home, some changes in the preparation of future missionaries was needed. As was explained in Missionary Methods ; St. Paul's or Ours?.

We have been anxious to do something for them.And we have done much. We have done everything for them. We have taught them, baptised them, shepherded them. We have managed their funds, ordered their services, built their churches, provided their teachers. We have nursed them, fed them, doctored them. We have trained them, and have even ordained some of them. We have done everything for them except acknowledge any equality. We have done everything for them.

105but very little with them. We have done every­thing for them except give place to them. We have treated them as 'dear children,' but not as brethren.29Old authority patterns were difficult to break on

both sides. Many missionaries found it difficult to ac­cept the fact that they were no longer indispensable; it was hard not to give advice, particularly when there was the fear that the Chinese would make the same mistakes as the older churches, and older Christians, for that matter, had made. Some missionaries felt that the challenges in­cumbent in the rise of nationalism necessitated keeping control of the church in the hands of the "professionals. Part of the problem lodged in the Westerners paternal at­titude. Missionaries spoke of the "parent church," thus endowing themselves with the power, responsibilities, and problems of a parent who must oversee the growth, education, and maturation of a child. But, as many Christians pointed out, the parent/child image was not accurate. After so long a Christian mission in China, it hurt the dignity ofthe converts to be treated as children, and thus not re-

31sponsible. The church might not be fully mature, but it was long past being a child. A better analogy would en­vision the Chinese church as an adult convert, that is,

32mature in everything except Christianity. Such an atti­tude would allow for help as needed, but the relationship would be on an adult basis.

106Other arguments put forth to account for the lack of

transfer of responsibility to the Chinese dealt with the inability of some of the missionaries to serve under former subordinates, and for the converts, the difficulties in

33asserting themselves in the presence of a former superior. Some Chinese were reluctant to handle money or responsi­bility for, if a mistake were made, there was the problem of blame (face).^^ The new converts were felt to be zeal­ous in their religious pursuits, but not very well grounded

35theologically; they could not be left to go their own way.Even J. Leighton Stuart, a respected missionary who spentfifty years in China, much of the time in association withYenching University, described the grasp of the Chinese onthe principles of the religion as a "nebulous apprécia-

3 6tion." Perhaps as Ch'eng Ching-yi, an emminent Chinese pastor, had expressed it, the Chinese Christians were un­consciously waiting for someone to deliver them and China

37from the dilemma in which they found themselves.Chinese pastors were described as unaggressive in pur­

suing their goals, tending rather to compromise, or arbi­trate; for this reason their leadership ability was over­looked. The fact that the Chinese did not take an active part was deplored by the missionaries and the Chinese them­selves. They were described as being "...as usual, inactive,

38irresponsible, and servile." David Z.T. Yui, one of the best known organizers of the Chinese Y.M.C.A. movement, had

107said that among the Chinese congregations there was a noticeable lack of initiative; that the standard of morali­ty was not as high as he would wish (presumably a comment on gambling); that many people lacked sufficient training, gave up too easily when difficulties were encountered, or

39tended to let the organization perform any needed service.Further, they were to dependent on custom and feared socialdisapproval, tending to follow the ways of the world andnot stand alone. Given this Chinese assessment of converts,it was understandable that many missionaries felt that theChinese were not ready for independence. Indeed a few wereincensed that some converts were claiming equal status withthe missionary.Others contended that unequal status wasnecessary, it was right that the missionaries were paidmore, for example, because they had to send their childrenhome to be educated; the Chinese understood and accepted

41this discrepancy.Problems of Leadership

Missionaries were both highly respected pioneers and the scapegoats for everything which went wrong. As a group they initiated social campaigns, rural improvements, edu­cational innovations, labor welfare, and other attacks on conditions in society. In these fields they were unques­tionably innovative, and were responsible for great social change, but, given their prominence, they made convenient targets upon whom to heap blame. Perhaps this was one

108reason some Chinese were reluctant to assume positions of leadership; they felt that they would be too exposed to censure.

Finding Chinese leaders whom the Chinese and Western­ers could both respect represented a major stumbling block to the devolution of church control and the establishment of a truly independent church. Many Chinese had become used to the idea that they would be passed over for a qualified foreigner. One such example of missionary discouragement of the Chinese occured at a long established mission school, affiliated with a strong American church. Teachers were needed to fill out the school staff. Sufficient funds were available to have supported two or three Chinese teachers just graduated from the mission supported univer­sity. Instead, one missionary was hired. This person, moreover, was without language training; for two years he was unavailable as a teacher. During this time inexpensive Chinese substitutes were hired, most of them rejected can­didates for the freshmen class at the university. Needless to say the students were poorly taught, and the Chineseuniversity graduates upon whom the missionaries had spent

42much time and money were alienated.There were other reasons as well why few educated

Chinese, especially mission educated, became pastors, or even lay leaders within the church. Some were discouraged by the lack of intellectual challenge to be found in most

109sermons or intellectual discussions. Others found therigidity of the forms, most of them Western, unappealing,intellectually or esthetically. Timothy Lew complainedthat there were too many foreign rules, particularly inthe areas which dealt with social customs such as marriageand funerals. He suggested that the Chinese determine

43the Christianization of these customs. Most of those who studied abroad went into business or medicine or government service, not the church. For those who were educated in the West, the ministry was near the bottom of the list of professions surveyed. It ranked sixteenth out of twenty professions/areas.^^ Part of the reason for this lack of enthusiasm was the perception of the status of a pastor. A missionary, as a foreigner, had status, if only that guar­anteed under the unequal treaties; but those students who had been abroad did not find that pastors in the West en­joyed a like position. Nor did Chinese ministers in China. A teacher was respected; but a minister enjoyed little re­spect and often less remuneration. Many pastors earned only twenty dollars a month. By one Chinese minister's calculation, a very frugal budget would come to sixty dol­lars and this left little leeway for problems of health.

45He recommended eighty dollars. Parents often objected also, even Christian parents. With the education which a candidate for the ministry had acquired, he could enter other professions which engendered less social friction and

110were better paid. Often Chinese pastors encountered prob­lems when they wished to marry. All that they could offer a bride was a small salary, an uncomfortable home, a dif­ficult social life, and an uncertain future, especially where the education of their children was concerned.Chinese pastors feared their inability to care for their parents, especially without contracting debts which they could not meet. As a group they had few resources with which to fulfill social obligations or travel, to buy books, to keep up in their field, and so forth. Many Chi­nese felt that preaching was an avocation for their spare time, not a full time occupation.

In 1920, the Chinese Recorder reported that there were48only 846 Chinese pastors. Almost one-half of these were

to be found in Kwangtung, Fukien, and Chekiang, strong clan areas where family support would be strong. The traditions of clan support for religions would enable a Chinese pas­tor to enjoy a more financially secure life than those of his less fortunate brethren. As some missionaries pointed out, the lower status of Chinese within the Christian com­munity could only mean that the best candidates would not serve; they would enter a more respected profession. The example cited was that of Charlie Soong, a prominent Metho­dist businessman who had received his education in Chris-

49tian institutions. Perhaps if the church and local con­ditions had determined the salary of the minister, he would

Illhave considered himself part of the community and not dependent on mission funds. He would then have had ade­quate housing, health care, and so forth, and the Chinese congregation would have been responsible for their minis­ter's well-being.

This situation contributed to a vicious cycle. Since the best people did not serve, the missionaries were reluc­tant to hand over money and responsibilities to those whom they did not consider qualified. Since there was little opportunity to exercise responsibility, the best people were not attracted to Christian service. Additionally, missionaries who had been in close contact with the Chinese government, with various militarists, or increasingly in the period, bandits, found the lack of Chinese leadership to be general, and described China as a hopeless muddle. Such missionaries accepted as logical the fact that an in­telligent Chinese boy educated abroad in Christian institu-

52tions and traditions should become President of China.Yet, they could not see that Sun Yat-sen's grasp of Prot­estant theology was uneven. While he was acclaimed as a convert, the intellectual leaders in China such as Liang Ch'i-ch'ao, Hu Shih, or Ch'en Tu-hsiu, were unmoved by Christian ideals or their representatives.

Property— the Root of Discord Another aspect of the situation was control of prop­

erty, which was nominally in the hands of the mission

112boards. Since individual contributors in the West had donated funds for the establishment of religious institu­tions in China, many boards felt an obligation to continue to mold policy and to hold responsibility for the land, buildings and institutions in which they had invested. The missionaries,as their representatives, followed their dic­tates, most agreeing with this premise. Even some of the missionaries who advocated more responsibility for the Chi­nese drew the line where property was concerned.

The reasons for this attitude were varied. The poverty of the average Chinese congregation, the lack of a tradi­tion of titheing or individual contribution on a regular basis, made the resources available for upkeep and expan­sion tenuous. Further, political instability and the whis­pered charge that the church had come to China to make money served to reinforce the idea that church property could find its only protection in the fact of Western own­ership.^^ Most warlord armies were loathe to offend the West, the source of their arras and financial support. In reality this meant that the churches, while safe, were safe for the wrong reasons from the Chinese point of view; such reasons were based in the privilege and protection granted under the unequal treaties. Property safety was guaran­teed by the presence of foreign military forces on Chinese soil.

113Still, how could property be controlled and intelligent

financial decisions be made by long distance? The Chinese Christians needed continuing financial aid, but not as a favor. They needed to learn to manage by doing. With so little Chinese input into the decision making process, many came to feel that the church was not theirs, but was rather organized as a club with a well-paid foreign secretary. Missionary meetings were characterized as secret enclaves where power resided.Therefore if Chinese voices were unheard in management, then the incentive for financial contribution was lacking; the Chinese, after all, were poor, the foreigners were not.

One missionary commented that he had had reservations about returning to China since the main effort of the mis­sionaries seemed to be directed to maintaining the old

57order. Yet changes occured. Missionaries proposed learning from the Chinese, and not just their language. If the church was to be Chinese, then they should help to shape it. Devolution was not the stated goal of the Inter­national Missionary Conference. It was rather that the unique contribution of the Chinese and their church to thechurch universal was to be nurtured, a process which could

58not begin until the church was in truth Chinese.At the same time voices were heard urging devolution.

Within some denominations some steps were taken to give Chinese control or joint control over allocating funds.

114assignment of staff (including missionaries), and generalinstitutional policy. Within the mission community as awhole, meetings, conferences, and councils held sessionswith an increasing number of qualified Chinese participants.By including the Chinese the missionaries hoped to dealwith the problems already outlined on a consensus basis.Often at these meetings, the younger members voted againstthe older members in an attempt to make the church more re-

59sponsive to Chinese needs.Some Chinese were impatient to claim their responsi­

bilities. A few Chinese churches broke away from the Wes­tern organization and formed successful independent church­es. Such independent churches occasionally retained good relations with the "parent church." Their development had simply reached a stage where self-government and support was practical and the founding boards recognized a laÂjt ac.c.omp.ti. Others broke away in the face of controversy and were most militantly independent. Such churches usually provided excellent places of employment for Chinese pas­tors; Ch'eng Ching'yi, for example, was pastor of such a church in Peking. This movement greatly alarmed some missions since it meant that these churches were cut off from the universal church and had instead raised the possi­bility of an independent national church. Such a division had already occured, as the missionaries were aware, in Japan. The mission goal was not oriented to such a

115movement. Some missionaries citing reasons for such a break in unity said that the time had passed when the mis­sionary went in the front door and the convert went in at the back.^^ Several Chinese Christians suggested that mis­sionaries should have no ecclesiastical status; they should be invited back, and their duties assigned and contracts controlled by the Chinese church.Further, new mission­aries should be assigned as assistants to the Chinese pas­tor, not vice versa. With more control given to its Chi­nese members the church might attract m o re qualified

leaders. If such a program was adopted, it would require6 2a tactful pensioning of some of the older missionaries.

It was sad, some missionaries admitted, that the Chi­nese felt that they had to fight for their independence.^^ Mutual trust and love needed to be emphasized to offset this feeling. The Chinese wanted responsibility— the joy, the burden, the sacrifice of it, but they wanted it for th em selves.Since Westerners often stated that only the Chinese understood the Chinese, responsibility for their future should devolve upon them. This might end the "most difficult cleavage between Christian forces in China. The most difficult of all barriers to overcome... the differ­ences between foreigner and Chinese, even within the Chris­tian c h u r c h . T h u s several options had to be explored. Should the mission effort merge within the church?

116This change in status in the mission field was a delicate one, if it was to be adopted. Some congregations were mature, some leaders fully trained, but other Chinese as­sistants identified with the missionary who had founded the congregation and were loyal to him, rather than the insti­tution. Many pastors were not as well qualified as their Western counterparts. There was, as well, the always sticky question of finances. These were not issues which could be settled quickly or imprudently if the church was to survive; similar negotiations in Japan had taken fifteen years to r e s o l v e . B u t the issues had to be acknowledged and a beginning in their resolution made.

Indigenization If "independence of foreign control is the inherent

right of the Chinese church," to form its own organization, worship, and theology, and if the aim of the mission is not to save souls, but to establish a permanent means by which souls were saved, then the goal of the missions in China had to be clarified.Initially the missions had been con­ceived as a brief effort, the planting of the seed. Logic­ally then there should have been pressure from within the mission community for the swift devolution of control ofthe churches. As Ch'eng Ching-yi stated it, the mission-

6 8aries founded the church; others should build it. The institutionalization of the mission effort had slowed progress on this path and the attitude of some people

117involved had changed. They had never come to stay, but they found it hard to let go.^^ Some argued that in their push for independence and equality, the Chinese were for­getting all the benefits which the missionaries had b r o u g h t . O t h e r s raised the specter of Chinese faction­alism, so amply demonstrated in the political arena. But, as one contributor to the debate concluded, how could a fewChinese factions be any worse than eighty-plus foreign

71ones? Others feared that without a stronger theologicalunderstanding and emphasis, the church might indeed becomeChinese, but would remain encapsulated within Chinese so-

72ciety, not a part of it. Still others advanced a sortof forced acceptance of responsibility. The AnglicanChurch announced that it would cut its support budget ten

73percent each year for ten years. In this manner, it was hoped, the Chinese would be forced to gradually increase support and take financial responsibility for their church. The churches so affected, according to reports, were deci­mated. There seemed to be no easy path to the accomplish­ment of the increase in church authority with a simultaneous and planned decrease on the part of the mission.

Definitions used in describing an indigenous (pen &z) church were many and varied but they centered on two major characteristics; that of giving the church into Chinese control, and that of adapting the church to Chinese society. These conditions could be met when the church was organized

118and led by Chinese; or when the administration of the organization was freed from Western control. Some Chris­tians felt that it should also be financially independent. Others wished to have all outward expression of the insti­tution brought into harmony with its surroundings by adopt­ing local styles in architectural, sculptural, or graphic representation, and by following some of the local festi­vals and customs. Still other portions of the Christian community declared that the church could demonstrate its independence by announcing constructive programs for social issues. By taking an active role in society, adapting its institutional appearance to those standards prevalent in that society, and to be seen as being led, financed, and organized by members of that society, the church could be recognized as indigenous in China. Then, perhaps, an in­stitution could develop which would be based solely on the Bible and its teachings, and not on Christian teachings brought in from the West. Based on these and similar cri­teria regarding the definition and status of an indigenous, and within that definition, independent Chinese church, a sort of ultimate catch phrase was established utilizing the summation of these ideas: an indigenous church was self-governing, self-propagating, and self-supporting.^^

Certainly if the ideas embodied in this "three-self" definition were to be achieved, the church could be re­garded as Chinese. This change in identification from a

119foreign based organization to one which was to all appearances Chinese, would mitigate much of the criticism engendered by anti-imperialistic organizations in this period. A major achievement would be recorded when the church was regarded as independent of mission control.Yet, would it truly be indigenous? Presumably there was some doubt as to the seemingly simplistic goals established by the three-self definition. One could establish a church run and staffed by Chinese, supported by Chinese, and evan­gelized by Chinese and still have in essence a Western in­stitution. Unless, as well, some Sinification occured within the institution, all that might be accomplished was the planting of a Western institution in China. For some Christians, this achievement, no mean feat in itself, would have been sufficient. Once the Chinese were responsible for their institutions, Sinification could gradually occur. This would be true particularly if the seminaries for the training of Chinese pastors were also staffed by Chinese theologians. The question remained, of course, whether such a newly established church might not attempt to solidify a tradition which seemed to them to be both "authentic" and comfortable to the people involved. Possibly the only changes would be in the outward symbols of the religion and not in its essence. It would need to amicably divorce Christianity from its Western trappings, retaining the essentials of the religion but not its ornamentation. The

120goal of the development of the church lacked clear articulation: would Chinese control, staffing, and finan­cial independence achieve indigenization, or would a fur­ther step of Sinification, of establishing new traditions, liturgies, and theological interpretations be necessary for independence? For many Christians, the elimination of Western control did not necessarily guarantee the establish­ment of a Chinese church, only that of a Chinese governed church.

The Church's Role However much these issues divided the church, the pri­

mary conflict which split Protestants in the 1920's con­cerned the role of the church in Chinese society. The definition of a role was a complex issue since it dealt with such questions as to whether or not the church should take a public stand on political issues; the anti-opium campaign had achieved its success from pressure on the Chinese gov­ernment. The church had to decide its role in economic problems, particularly in the rural areas by establishing farmers' cooperatives, banks and related projects. The Church had also to define its role in the evolution of Chinese society by publically working for child labor laws, monogamous marriages, and other such campaigns not previ­ously sanctioned by the mission boards. The alternative was to define the role of the church as the propagation of Christianity and the spiritual care of Christian converts.

121The issue, which tended to split the mission brethren alongmodernist/fundamentalist lines, was called the social

75gospel.The social gospel had its roots in nineteenth century

America where the changes from an agricultural to an indus­trial society had had profound effects on the social en­vironment. Some nineteenth century Protestants found that there was a clear role for the church in attempting to off­set or ameloriate the conditions which prevailed in Ameri­can cities. Thus the idea of a social gospel: one thatwas practiced, not merely preached. It entailed an active involvement in the changes taking place, an advocate role on political, social and economic issues. Those who pro­fessed the social gospel felt that individual salvation was not sufficient; rather it was the transformation of the society, a bringing of a precursor of Heaven to earth, that should be the responsibility of the church. In other words, the church had other areas of responsibility than just the moral. This attitude led to increased cooperation between churches in order to coordinate resources as an active pressure group within society.

Justification for the social gospel was in the Cal­vinist tradition of the saved having to demonstrate their salvation within secular society. They were to be a force in shaping and controlling their world for the glory of God.^^ A primarily moral stress was placed on secular

122achievement and activities. Not only was the individual to

77be saved, but through him, society. For roughly fiftyyears it was an influential part of American Protestant

78theology. One contribution of this aspect of Protestant­ism transmitted to Asia was that "religion had primarily

79to do with human welfare."Of course, the Protestant effort in China always had

an aspect of the social gospel. Missionaries founded hos­pitals, schools, orphanages, became involved in the lit­eracy movement, and so forth. But under the impetus of this movement, some areas of concern were broadened and new ones developed. These areas concentrated the missionar­ies either in urban areas or in rural ones. Rather than specifically defined concerns, such as education, the mis­sionaries became involved in overall conditions of the peoples' lives and the means to improve them. As FrankRawlinson concluded, "It is an effort to express Christian

80life through the meeting of social needs." The movementtried to consider a man as a whole. Religion could not beisolated from the environment in which it was practiced.In China, where for millions survival took all their energy,religion was a luxury. Confucius had recognized this whenhe said that one must be sufficiently clad and fed before hecould be expected to learn the virtues of propriety andmusic. As H.H. Rung pointed out, Christ fed the multitudes

81before He had preached. Therefore, Christianity must

123serve the people in practical ways. It was one aspect of Christianity which most Chinese understood.

The idea as it developed was to give China that which would save her; not just Bible study and prayer, but pro­gress toward material, intellectual, social, and political renovation. In order to accomplish this, poverty and ig­norance had to be alleviated, peace initiated, and the end of legal oppression instituted. A movement of social ser­vice would lead to social reconstruction. Service to

82others was the best apologetic for Christian life. The social gospel would be one way in which the claims of the missionaries that Christianity was the greatest civilizer could be borne out. The missionaries also felt it to be a legitimate way to help satisfy China's national aspira­tions. There were a significant number of Chinese who were in contact with Christian establishments and programs.If they were all similarly motivated for social change,

83they could move China. If they did not take the lead in the social reconstruction of China, and many Chinese criti­cized the Christians for only suggesting and not leadingsuch a movement, then other forces, probably secular,

84would. Additionally, social work would respond positive­ly to the criticism that the religion cut the Chinese off

QCfrom their community. In order to be a vital force in the shaping of China and therefore maintain credibility in Chinese eyes, the church would have to take the advice of

124Q gSir Robert Peel, "If you see a movement coming... head it."

The social gospel movement offered such an opportunity forChristianity. For as Rawlinson phrased it, at this timeChristianity in China is like an army holding a beseigedposition, engaged in watching other armies maneuver, rather

8 7than pushing forward. The social gospel was a positive movement; it answered the criticism that Christianity was too legalistic and not sufficiently humanistic.

Humane concerns in the rural areas led the church to become more vigorously involved in attacking the problems of the villagers. This concern was manifest not just in forming agricultural stations, or in introducing new breeds of animals or grain for higher productivity, but in the planning and establishment of buying and marketing coopera­tives, church-run banking ventures, public pressure in thematter of fair rents, and a campaign against the abuses of

88absentee landlords. Also, the China International FamineRelief Commission, administered in part by missionaries,helped to distribute food and other aid to the areas hardhit by natural disasters. This effort also focused beyondthe immediate need to stave off starvation. By 1930 theRelief Commission, at the insistence of mission members,had dug five thousand wells and established two thousandmiles of roads and canals, thereby improving the chancesthat crops would reach market. In this manner, improvements

89in the standard of rural living were achieved.

125The other concentration of energy was in the urban

areas where the effects of industrialization were being experienced. Here, in addition to literacy and public health concerns, the churches sought to enlist public sup­port for a Good Citizens League (anti-corruption), forparks and playgrounds, for a Red Cross organization, and

90other civic measures. In additional campaigns, they triedto pressure factory owners and government officials for theestablishment of a minimum wage, paid regularly, an eighthour day, one day in seven for rest, establishment of theminimum employment age at twelve years, and the granting of

91one month maternity leave. Not only would these measures prove beneficial in terms of health, but they would in­volve Christians directly in community problems. Some Chinese, educated and uneducated alike, had complained thatthey had joined the church to serve and that no task had

92been offered them. Under the social gospel, no matterwhat their talents, they could find a means of service, ofinvolvement in the changes taking place in China. In thisway they could counteract those who claimed that Christianswere unpatriotic. In this shift of concern from individualto social salvation, many people became involved for the

93first time with China as a nation.Much cooperation of effort among various Christian

groups was required in order to achieve the maximum result from the expenditure of time and manpower involved. Many

126coordinating committees, regional councils, and national associations were formed for the exchange of ideas and the sharing of expertise in various areas. In this movement Chinese took full and active part. Yet, as the critics of the social gospel were to point out, these efforts diluted the manpower and financial resources available for evan­gelism. Time and effort were diverted from what, to many, was the primary task of the Christians. To some the divi­sion between those who actively advocated the social gos­pel and those as passionately opposed seemed to center on the manner in which Christian ideas and practices were to be shared with the Chinese. Either, it seemed, one preached the Gospel or one professed to live it. Rarely were both achieved.

Those who opposed the social gospel on the grounds that it was too secular, or too materialistic, were referred to as the fundamentalists. Some of those so labeled had their roots in the nineteenth century pietist sects, the descendents of which were also, to the dismay of the more conventional denominations, in China. Others were disciples of the 1920's movement called Neo-Orthodoxy. Neo-orthodox theology was one result of the post-war disillusionment in Europe. Liberalism in all its manifestations was called into question. Led in Europe by Karl Barth and Emil Brunner and in the United States by Reinhold Niebuhr, the

127proponents of this school wished to emphasize the sovereignty of the scriptures and return to the principles of the Reformation.

Criticisms of the social gospel centered on its shallow theological basis and its lack of emphasis on the scrip­tures. Bishop James Baker said that too much time and money had been spent on educational institutions "...at theexpense of building up a strong religion, well-rooted in

94church and community." Critics charged that "if the pri­mary purpose of the missions was to do good deeds, and notsave souls, was there a religious justification for their

95presence in China?" Rather than decrease dogma and the­ology as the social gospel proponents had done, they tried to emphasize the completeness of the Gospels and an under­standing of their meaning, to make certain that the theology was deep-rooted, not just the forms.

The social gospel was decried by its critics as merelya social movement with theological overtones, stressing ac-

97tion rather than belief. It had also been described as9 8too Utopian to be well-organized. The social gospel was

better, said its detractors, as diagnosing social ills thanin finding long term solutions to them. The only way tochange society was first to change the individual. Thesocial gospel lacked reality, was too opinionated, was too

99interested in secular civilization and not in God. Re­lief work was helpful, but it was not C h r i s t i a n i t y . T o o

128many missionaries confused Christianity and the adjuncts of Western civilization.Activities needed to be spiri­tualized and this spiritualization emphasized. Since it was the activities of the Christians and not their teach­ings which drew praise and respect from the Chinese, a

102shift in emphasis was obviously necessary. Basically, then, the social gospel reflected the optimism of its times; later it would reflect its disillusionment.

But the fundamentalists were not free from criticism. They were accused of being too rigid, too narrow, too con­cerned with the individual and not sufficiently with the society with which he had to cope. They were charged with worshipping the Bible rather than studying it .. Theirchurches, critics said, were so formalized and rigidlyorganized that the Chinese were spectators rather than par-

104ticipants. Further, they concerned themselves with fundraising and social activities to the extent that they droveaway those seeking serious spiritual s o l a c e . S i n c ethought and form in the church were Western, the life andspirit of Christianity could reach Chinese consciousnessonly with d i f f i c u l t y . T h e church had lost its focus"...worshipping the Bible instead of the savior; emphasizingtradition rather than life, perpetuating accretions insteadof the essence of Christianity, and exhibiting a spirit ofstrife, conflict and division instead of the spirit of love,

107sympathy and brotherhood,"

129The Chinese Christians were somewhat bewildered by

this split in the mission community. Many adopted the at­titude that it was a Western problem and did not concern them. Others were confused by what they perceived as two"types" of Christianity, one a social expression of reli-

108gion, the other concerned solely with the individual.David Yui stated that the fundamentalist/modernist split threatened to divide the Christians in China; such a situ­ation was simply not in the best interests of the church in

109this time of challenge from secular forces. Another cause of confusion related to the message of oneness and Christian unity and its lack of demonstrability at this time.^^^ Many Christians of course simply sided with whichever interpretation they had come in contact , or found congenial.

These divisions were, however, a Chinese problem, if not in the immediate present, then in the future; for the manner in which the church conducted itself, whether social­ly active or not, would help determine its role and its identity in China. Some Chinese found the social gospel emphasis on cooperation and committees, and their necessary funds, too m a t e r i a l i s t i c . T h e y contended that the em­phasis should be on the life and teachings of Jesus since even the opponents of Christianity, per se, admired the ethical precepts which Christians professed. It was the gap between what was professed and what was practiced which

130upset many Chinese especially among the educated. Studentsfound the religion to be too unworldly and indifferent to

112the social needs of China. But, they would respond toa religion of action, especially one concerned with social

113work. In this way the divisions reached the Chinese community also, though its origins and embellishments were Western.

Attempts were made to organize the socially active churches that they might go their own way, but this threat­ened division within the Christian community. An attempt was made to reconcile the contradictory views. One mis­sionary proposed that all Christians should spend six monthsof the year saving souls and six months in social service

114for individual and public welfare. This proposal wasnever adopted, but some accommodation, except within the extreme evangelistic groups, was informally reached. Most of the impetus behind the social gospel in initiating pro­grams occured between 1920 and 1927. The fundamentalist challenge was greatest in the mid-twenties. Other factors would intervene in 1927, which thereafter overshadowed this philosophical split. Both approaches were continued, but the reconciliation of views did not formally occur. The paradox encompassed in the two approaches was best stated in the observation: "If religion ends with the individual,it ends. If it does not begin with the individual, it never begins.

131Mission Field or Church?

The major problem, in its many manifestations, was that the mission field overshadowed the church. Although the Chinese were beginning to control some areas of church development, the control of money and property was basic­ally mission dominated. Chinese church workers were be­ginning to have equal or dominant positions within the com­mittees and conferences held to thrash out some of the problems which challenged the church, but they did not dominate them. Indeed, some of the Chinese felt that many of the problems were of Western origin and therefore re­quired Western solution. But the fact remains that until the late 1920's and even beyond, the mission was more prominent than the Chinese church. As John Fairbank re­marked, it was no accident that Latourette's book dealt with the missions in China and not the c h u r c h . P a r t ofthe problem lay in the fact that Christianity had been crys-

117tallized in "forms fashioned for it by promoters abroad."There was an awakening appreciation of Christianity on thepart of the Chinese, but it was "formless and lacking in

118definite aims or trained leaders."Still the missionaries had unlimited faith in man's

ability to progress and create new institutions by reason. They questioned their own institutions and traditions, but the situation required that the Chinese fashion their own church. For an institutional church must come to grips with

132the secular forces in society if it is to survive; the mission did not in effect have to do this, since it existed under the protection of the unequal treaty system. Reli­gion was a part of the social process, "...especially in

119Asia;" for Christianity to be a part of that process, its special status under the missions had to be ended.This step was not only practical, but would eliminate much of the foreigness or reminders of imperialism with which the mission venture was tainted.

As Ch'eng Ching'yi pointed out, even with mission dominance, there were approximately 24,000 Chinese communi­cants employed as salaried workers by the church, in addi-

120tion to pastors, educators, and so forth. Thus a size­able community already existed on which responsibility could logically devolve. There still seemed to be four distinct groups within the Christian community: the mis­sionaries, still partly autocratic figures who needed to spend more time in training Chinese leaders; Chinese minis­ters and preachers, who by and large were too tied to daily concerns to cultivate themselves sufficiently to attend adequately to the spiritual needs of their congregations; Christian lay leaders, who were too few in number but had the potential for great contribution if encouraged; andchurch members, who needed to increase their literacy and

121emphasize the spiritual aspects of the religion more.If the educated could be persuaded to lead rather than to

133stand back and criticize, perhaps some of the problemscould be dealt with satisfactorily.

Others said the needs of the church could be satisfiedby defining a definite objective towards which they couldwork, establishing a thorough organization and a convincingprogram, ensuring adequate financial support, sufficient

122mobility, a team spirit, and high statesmanship. Inother words, what was needed was an adequate conception ofthe church’s role and its goals within China, and "posses-

123sion of the Chinese point of view." Coupled to this conceptualization was the need for trained and dedicated leadership. Steps to attain these goals were taken in the nineteen-twenties. The problems were identified, and the solutions sought. The church in China became a fact, if not in concrete form, at least a spiritual fact. As one con­temporary expressed it, the church "partly is and wholly

124hopes to be."

Notes Chapter III1. J. Baker, "Biographical Sketches," Claremont Oral His­

tory Project, p. V.2. Dr. Homer Bradshaw, Ibid., p. v.3. Ch'ing Ming was the festival associated with the gath­

ering of the family for the care of the family burialplot. It had much in common with the traditional ob­servation of All Souls Day in the West. CMYB, 1919, p. 70.

4. Personal letter from Rev. William Gepford, Co-ordinator of Christian Outreach, Hong Kong, 1965-1972.

5. Rosenbaum, "Summary," Claremont Oral History Project, p. 43.

6. Workman, The Chinese Mind, p. 6.7. Rawlinson, Ibid., p. 299.8. Smythe, Changes in the Christian Message, p. 32.9. Peter Duus, "Science and Salvation in China," Liu,

American Missionaries, p. 33.10. Porter, China's Challenge, p. 199.11. Smythe, Changes in the Christian Message, p. 85.12. J.E. Baker, "Christianity and the Material Advance of

China," CR (December, 1920) p. 835; Lutz, Christian Colleges, p. 281.

13. Smythe, Changes in the Christian Message, p. 37.14. Ibid.,p. 85; Perhaps in partial justification of mission

fears, one might cite the Church of the Five Religions, which tried to incorporate Taoism, Confucianism, Budd­hism, Islam, and Christianity. Wang, Youth Movement,p. 190.

15. Rawlinson, Naturalization, p. 173.

134

13516. Workman, The Chinese Mind, p. 6.17. T.T. Lew, "Making the Church in China Indigenous," CR

(May, 1922, p. 308.18. R.K. Evans, "The Church of Christ in China," CR (June,

1922), p. 396; G.F.S. Gray, "Chinese Church-World-Wide Church," CR (June, 1933), p. 369. One might point out that the American Dutch Reformed Church changes its designation to the Reformed Church in America.

19. Quote from China's Millions, in Lin, A Chinese Appeal,p. 100.

20. Laymen's Foreign Mission Inquiry; Regional Reports of the Commission on Appraisal: China, vol ii, supple­mentary series, part 1, ed. Orville A. Petty, Harper and Bros., New York, 1933, p. xi.

21. "To Consider Mission Problems in Relation to the Non- Christian World," World Missionary Conference, Edin­burgh, 1910, Report on Commission II, The Church in the Mission Field, Fleming H. Revell, Co., New York, 1910, p. 5.

22. P.C. Hsu, "Nationalism and Religion," CCYB, 1928, p. 142.23. Smythe, Changes in the Christian Message, p. 23-4.24. Earl Cranston, Claremont Oral History Project, p. 19;

Rosenbaum, "Summary," Ibid., p. 48.25. Monroe, Nation in Evolution, p. 394.26. Mildred Cranston, Claremont Oral History Project, p. 2.27. "Much Christian work in China had been and still is car­

ried on as though the Chinese had nothing, or at most very little, that, compared with Christian idealism, is worth noting." Rawlinson, Naturalization, p. v.

28. West, Yenching University, p. 49.29. Roland Allen quoted in Paton. Judgment, p. 42.30. Latourette, Christian Missions, p. 618.31. C.Y. Cheng, "The Development of an Indigenous Church in

China," IRM (july, 1923), p. 373.

13632. "Is the Chinese Church a Child?," CR (June, 1926),

p. 382-3.33. Rosenbaum, "Summary" Claremont Oral History Project,

p. 36; Valentin H. Rabe, "Evangelical Logistics; Mis­sion Support and Logistics to 1920," Fairbank, Mission­ary Enterprise, p. 73.

34. A.M. Steele, Claremont Oral History Project, p. 37.35. Cary-Elwes, China and the Cross, p. 256.36. Leighton Stuart, quoted in Ibid., p. 258.37. C.Y. Cheng, "Problems of the Chinese Church," China

Interpreter, p. 114.38. "The Evangelization of China— A Symposium by Chinese

Christian Workers," CR (July, 1919), p. 444.39. David Z.T. Yui, "The Coming Chinese Christian Leader­

ship," ^ (January, 1919), p. 25.40. Rosenbaum, "Summary," Claremont Oral History Project,

p. 36.41. Louise H. Stanley, Claremont Oral History Project, p.70.42. Monroe, Nation in Evolution, p. 320.43. T.T. Lew, "Making the Christian Church in China Indigen­

ous," CR (May, 1922), p. 301.44. Duus, "Science and Salvation," Liu, American Missionar­

ies , p. 14.45. T.C. Chao, "The Problem of Securing College Graduates

for the Ministry," CR (May/June, 1920), p. 383-5.46. Ibid., p. 379-81.47. Ibid., p. 382-5.48. "Call to the Chinese Ministry," CR (April, 1920),

p. 225-6.49. Sherwood Eddy, Pathfinders of the World Missionary Cru­

sade, Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, New YOrk, 1945, p. 206.50. A.L. Warnshuis, "The Chrisitan Ministry in China," CR

(October, 1921), p. 622.

13751. Monroe, Nation in Evolution, p. 394.52. Treadgold, The West in China, p. 90.53. Earl Cranston, Claremont Oral History Project, p. 39;

Rosenbaum, "Summary," Ibid., p. 36.54. J.L. Stuart quoted in West, Yenching University, p. 94.55. James Maxon Yard, "Self-Support— Is it Growing?," CMYB,

1925, p. 94.56. CMYB, 1919, p. 68.57. Earl Cranston, Claremont Oral History Project, p. 94.58. "The National Christian Council of China," IRM (January,

1924, p. 95.59. Rosenbaum, "Summary," Claremont Oral History Project,

p . 35.60. Wu Lien-teh, "A Chinese View of Missionaries," CR (Janu­

ary, 1920), p. 11.61. Cheng Ting-wang, "Making Christianity Indigenous in

China," CR (May, 1921), p. 324; R.K. Evans, "The Churchof Christ in China," CR (June, 1922), p. 394.

62. Cheng, Ibid., p. 325.63. Isaac Mason, "What the Chinese Are Thinking About Chris­

tianity— The Independent Church," CR (October, 1920,p. 705.

64. C.Y. Cheng, "The Development of an Indigenous Church inChina," ^ (July, 1923), p. 373.

65. Bishop Roots, Report of the C.C.C., National Christian Conference, p. 41.

66. World Missionary Conference, Edinburgh, p. 36.67. Paton, Judgment, p. 58; Nelson Bitton, The Regeneration

of New China, Church Missionary Society, London, 1914, p. 147.

68. C.Y. Cheng, "The Chinese Church in Relation to Its Im­mediate Task," IRM (July, 1912), p. 381-92.

13869. James A. Field, Jr., "Near East Notes and Far East

Queries," Fairbank, Missionary Enterprise, p. 43.70. A.J. Brown, "Democratic Government in Indigenous

Churches," CR (August, 1926), p. 545. It must also be noted that in their resentment of the Western position in China, a statement of China's benefits,borrowed from the West, simply did not work. Lutz, Christian Col­leges, p. 269.

71. P.F. Price, "Church Union in China," CR (April, 1923) ,p. 206.

72. Smythe, Changes in the Christian Message, p. 84.73. E.P. Hayes, Claremont Oral History Project, p. 3.74. Sumiko Yamamoto, Studies on the History of Christianity

in China, Committee on Modern Chinese History, Tokyo University, Tokyo University Press, Tokyo, 1972, p. 24. (Japanese language with English summary.)

75. "The Application of the teaching of Christ and the total message of the Christian salvation to society, the economic life and social institution...as well as the individual, brought"... the ethical element of Christi­anity to bear upon the unprecedented problems of social adjustment caused by the rise of an industrial society." R.C. White, Jr., and H.C. Hopkins, The Social Gospel: Religion and Reform in Changing America, Temple Univer­sity Press, Philadelphia, 1976, p. xi, 81.

76. "The consciously elect person feels himself to be the destined lord of the world, who in the power of God and for the honor of God has it laid upon him to grasp and shape the world." Troeltsch, Protestantism and Prog­ress, p. 63.

77. J.S. Burgess, "The Christianization of Life in China,"CR (April, 1919), p. 221; Talcott Parsons, "Christianity and Modern Industrial Society," Tiryakin, Sociological Theory, p. 53; Smythe, Changes in the Christian Mes­sage, p. 56; White/Hopkins, Social Gospel, p. 274.

78. Smythe, Ibid., p. 61; White/Hopkins, Ibid., p. 31, 285.79. Robert Bellah, "Epilogue," Bellah, Religion and Prog­

ress, p. 197; White/Hopkins, Social Gospel, p. 65, 174.80. Smythe, Changes in the Christian Message, p. 56-8;

Treadgold, The West in China, p. 79.

13981. H.H. Kung, "How Does the Modernization of China Affect

Christianity?," CR (January, 1929), p. 17; Wu Lien-teh, "A Chinese View of Missionaries," CR (January, 1920),p. 10.

82. Smythe, Changes in the Christian Message, p. 58,83. "The Church in China Begins to be Chines," CR (June,

1924) , p. 389.84. The comparison was made with Japan where secular forces

under the leadership of Fukuzawa Yukichi had led the fight for social improvement. Liu, American Missionar­ies , p. 64.

85. J.S. Burgess, "The Christianization of Life in China," CR (April, 1919), p. 223.

86. Sir Robert Peel quoted in Yinger, Religion in the Struggle for Power, p. 131.

87. Rawlinson, Naturalization, p. 2.88. CCYB, 1928, p. 311-2.89. John K. Fairbank, Chinese-American Interactions ; A

Historical Summary, Rutgers University Press, New Bruns­wick, N.J. 1975, p. 46.

90. Latourette, History of Christian Missions, p. 657.91. CCYB, 1928, p. 309.92. J.S. Burgess, "The Christianization of Life in China,"

CR (April, 1919), p. 225.93. Varg, Missionaries, Chinese and Diplomats, p. 77; West,

Yenching University, p. 138.94. Bishop James Baker, Biographical Sketch, Claremont Oral

History Project, p. v, 12; CCYB, 1928, p. 208.95. Rosenbaum, "Summary," Claremont, Ibid., p. 43.96. Outerbridge, Lost Churches, p. 164; Smythe, Changes in

the Christian Message, p. 85.97. White/Hopkins, Social Gospel, p. xvi.98. Yinger, Religion in the Struggle for Power, p. 137.

14099. White/Hopkins, Social Gospel, p. 248, 260, 263.

100. Roberto Paterno, "Devello Z. Sheffield and the Found­ing of the North China College," Liu, American Mis­sionaries, p. 47; Paul King, Weighed in China's Bal­ance , Heath Cranton, Ltd., London, 1928, p. 177.

101. King , Ibid., p. 179; C.Y. Cheng in David Yui, "Co­operation from the West," China Interpreter, p. 123-4; Americans in particular were criticized for equating Christian civilization with indoor plumbing and pep. King, Ibid., p. 179; Treadgold, The West in China,p. 138.

102. David Yui, "The Needs of the Christian Movement in China," China ToDay (second series), p. 148.

103. Outerbridge, Lost Churches, p. 168; T.T. Lew, "Chris­tian Ethics in China," CR (September, 1933), p. 559.

104. T.C. Chao, "The Strength and Weakness of the Church in China," National Christian Conference, p. 207; Rawlin­son, Naturalization, p. 173; Lin, A Chinese Appeal,p. 248-58; CMYB, 1923, p. 75; Price, "Church Union in China," CR (April, 1923), p. 202.

105. CCYB, 1920, p. 10b; Conference on the Church in China Today, p. 23.

106. Rawlinson, Naturalization, p. 173; Lin, A Chinese Ap­peal , p. 248-58; K.T. Chung, "The Yôarnings of the Chinese Church," CR (August, 1924), p. 493.

107. National Christian Conference, p. 209.108. "Some Conditions Confronting Christianity," CR (Janu­

ary, 1921) , p. 4.109. David Yui, "Cooperation from the West," China Inter­

preter, p. 134; CCYB, 1928, p. 83; Outerbridge, Lost Churches, p. 167.

110. Outerbridge, Idem.111. Ibid., p. 162; C.Y. Cheng, "Spiritual Preparedness of

the Christian Church in China to Meet the Present Situation," Conference on the Church in China Today, p. 15.

112. CMYB, 1923, p. 75; CCYB, 1920, p. 133-4.

141113. J.S. Burgess, "The Christianization of Life in China,"

CR (April, 1919), p. 223; "Christianity and Government Students— A Symposium," CR (August, 1920), p. 541.

114. G.L. Gelwicks, "Outline of a Program for Christian Service," CR (March, 1920), p. 191.

115. Outerbridge, Lost Churches, p. 164.116. John K. Fairbank, China— The People's Middle Kingdom

and the U.S.A., The Belknap Press of the Harvard Uni­versity Press, Cambridge, 1967, p. 132.

117. Cary-Elwes, China and the Cross, p. 258.118. Idem.119. Bellah, Religion and Progress, p. ix; White/Hopkins,

Social Gospel, p. 285; One might also note that a change in mission attitude was evidenced in that through 1925 the China Mission Yearbook was published; in 1926, however, the China Christian Yearbook re­placed it.

120. C.Y. Cheng, in David Yui, "Cooperation from the West," China Interpreter, p. 126.

121. Hsu Pao-chien, "The Christian Renaissance," CR (April, 1920), p . 462.

122. David Yui, "The Needs of the Christian Movement in China," China To-Day (second series), p. 45.

123. David Yui, "The Coming Chinese Christian Leadership," CR (January, 1919), p. 25.

124. "The National Christian Council of China," IRM (Janu­ary, 1924) , p. 91.

ATTEMPTED SOLUTIONS BY THE CHURCH

The goal of the mission had always been the establish­ment of an indigenous, independent church, one which would be able to take an equal place in the international forum. But the problems both within and without the church which the Christians faced in the 1920's had made clear the dif­ficulties in the path of realizing that goal. Solutions needed to be found, and a series of adjustments made in order that the mission could finally lose itself within the organization of the church.

The size of the task in China juxtaposed to the re­sources available there was staggering. As missionaries continued to arrive, financial support to be pledged, and institutions to be founded, optimism as to the successful continuation of the task was apparent, but the task itself was fragmented. Within the Christian community there were a large number of small projects in progress. What was needed was a small number of projects of large vision which would have a national impact. These would require increased cooperative efforts. An article in the Atlantic Monthly pointed out that there was simply too much duplication of effort. There were one hundred thirty separate mission

142

143societies with one hundred thirty separate headquarters and General Secretaries, all of whom dealt with similar questions of travel, salaries, bookkeeping, and organiza­tion within the churches. The nineteen separate denomina­tions had spawned six times that many mission societies.The competition and duplication of effort made necessary an endless round of conferences and conventions. The author calculated that if the present effort was to persist at the level of the last seventy-five years, then it would take approximately twenty-five hundred years and fifty billion dollars to Christianize one-quarter of China.^ Articles such as this one, coupled to the experiences of missionar­ies in the field, convinced a sizeable segment of the Chris­tian community that some form of federation or direction from a national board in China was the only method by which systematic effort could be effectively undertaken.

The obvious solution was to attempt to unify the Chris­tian churches and , at the same time, form them into some sort of recognizably Chinese institution. Sinification im­plied that the leaders, the liturgy (if any), and programs be identified as Chinese. These goals were neither new nor novel. Yet for the first time, in 1922, the situation seemed propitious for their achieving reality. A Sinified, unified church would have sufficient institutional and or­ganizational strength to become a major force in the pro­cess of social reconstruction in China. It would also be

144able to combat the image of the church as foreign and, as such, not entitled to a role in the national revolution.A unified church would be a means of allowing the Chinese to determine the course of the adaptation of Christianity without severing them from the international Christian com­munity. A church for China would develop, but not an ex­clusive nationalistic church. Moreover, if unity could be achieved in China, perhaps this spirit could be exported to reinvigorate the ecumenical attempts in the West. This then could be the contribution of the Chinese to the world Christian movement: the reunification of the one churchfrom its many branches. As such, any attempt would be closely watched in the West. In China, too, many observed the evolution of the process with great interest. If in fact the church became recognizably Chinese, and the mean­ingless distraction of denominationalism could be done away with, many Chinese, intellectuals, returned students, and others who had been less than satisfied with the mis­sionary dominated institutions, could find a spiritual haven which had so far eluded them. In a sense this in­stitution was to be the culmination of the challenges with which the mission had had to grapple in the nineteen twen­ties. If it succeded, then the Christian church was as­sured of a role in the development of modern China.

145Attempted Unification

The concept of a unified Christian effort in China was not new. Early missionaries gauging the size of the task and the resources available, had advocated various unifi­cation schemes. In 1877, for example, the China MissionConference called for organic unity saying that there was

2no place for denominations in China. Further, as the Rev. A. Williamson declared, nationality had no place either; "Be it ours to preach the Gospel and rear an united and glorious church in this land— the church of God in C h i n a . . . . I n 1879, a demand for an indigenous church was expressed by Chen Tao-jen in Reformation of the Mission Enterprise in China, which emphasized the need to concen­trate on the essence of Christ rather than denominational dogma.^ Little concrete achievement, however, occured along those lines. The China Inland Mission, of course, was non-denominational, and to a degree, international in personnel. Evangelical efforts were sometimes interde­nominational in character, but the original concept cited had in mind a unified church, not a unified mission, though they would have conceded the desirability of the latter in order to bring forth the former. In the years before 1877 to the Boxer uprising, efforts toward unification receded in the build up of denominational territories, institutions and rivalries supported by a plethora of mission boards in the West. The idea did not die, only the impetus to achieve

146it became moribund, overwhelmed by the perceived advantages of denominational advancement.

In 1907 at the Centenary Conference, Chinese leaders who had risen through the Evangelistic Association were recognized for their role in the leadership of the Chris­tian movement.^ These leaders were most often associated with independent churches, interdenominational organiza­tions, or extra-church organizations such as the Y.M.C.A.It was in these areas that Chinese leadership was most en­couraged and nurtured. Their efforts, not surprisingly, were directed toward a national Chinese Christian organiza­tion. Opposition from the major organizations was strong. Some missionaries feared that a strong national church would represent a loss for the universal church. Others, citing the example of Japan where an independent national church federation had broken with the mission societies, feared loss of direction of the emerging church or a dis­tinct division emerging between the independent and the mission churches. Which is better, Bishop Bashford asked rhetorically, several world wide denominational churches in which all members were equal, or several national churches in which membership was limited by nationality?^ Bishop Bashford may have been certain of his answer, but the Centenary Conference began to set in place machinery to facilitate the free transfer of membership between congre­gations.^ The major question for discussion was whether

147a national union through federation was possible and, if

0so, how to set about it.It was decided that both National and Provincial

Councils were to be formed in order to study the problem. Several Provincial Councils actually functioned for a peri­od of years, but no National Council was formed nor nation-

9al officers elected. This attempt was overshadowed by other events. Yet the conference records that "indepen­dence of foreign control is the inherent right of the Chi­nese Church...it will solve in its own way questions of organization and forms of worship, and it will build its own t h e o l o g y . I n the report of the conference, sent in the form of a letter to the Chinese churches, it stated that "The missionaries themselves belong to different na­tions and different societies...but this is not reason why the Chinese church should, in days to come, perpetuate a number of different societies. In the course of time, the church in China will be independent of foreign supervision and then, no doubt, those who are now worshipping in sepa­rate buildings and with different arrangements will, in many cases, think it best to u n i t e . . . . T h e letter goes on to exhort church members to consider themselves part of the family of God rather than members of different nations.

The culmination of this early feeling was expressed at the World Missionary Conference held in Edinburgh in 1910. Conferences of the international mission movement were

148held irregularly to assess the state of the world-wide Protestant community and its mission effort, the theme of the 1910 meeting was to consider mission problems in rela­tion to the non-Christian world. To this end conference reports were presented dealing with the constitution and organization of the churches, conditions of membership, church discipline, the edification of the Christian com­munity, the training and employment of workers, the char­acter and spiritual fruitfulness of Christian life, and Christian literature and theology. In addition, problems of corporate unity in the mission field were discussed, asthey had been at the meetings in Allahabad in 1872 and

12Bombay in 1893. A loss of momentum in this area was ascertained, although Appendix J lists "instances of vari­ous steps taken at various stages of development toward cooperation and u n i t y T h e conference found unity, or at least cooperation necessary if a serious attempt to evan­gelize the world was to be undertaken, since the forcespresent were inadequate and some of their methods unsuit-

14able. The spirit of unity was, therefore, declared to be the object of their concerted p o l i c y I t was noted that some persons advocated a national church; in principle, it was declared that a national church offended the concept of unity. Further, it was discovered "the influence of this national feeling is most powerful in C h i n a . U n l e s s the mission community supported this strong sentiment for union.

149they would forfeit their position of leadership among Christian forces in China. Two methods of union were pro­posed at this time: (1) actual organic union of thosewith similar doctrines, or (2) the federation of groups

17by geographic location.As noted, one of the major concerns among some mis­

sionaries in China was the growth of the independent church­es which broke away from the mission dominated parent churches. The threat these churches posed was in the appar­ent division of the Christian community into Western domi­nated and independent churches (those with the potential to form a national church). Such a threatened division was undesirable at any time, but was completely unacceptable in a period of strident nationalism. The independent church attracted some of the returned students since within them they could reconcile their putatively Western religious orientation in a Chinese institution. The other side of the coin was exemplified by the comments of one missionary who claimed that he had heard a brilliant sermon on the need for an indigenous church while attending a servicewhich was identical to those which he had attended as a

18child in England. Although a major problem had been identified, little concrete action had been taken to solve it.

By 1920 there was organized a National Association of Chinese Independent Churches and a Federal Council of

15019Chinese Christian Churches of North China. According to

Ch'eng Ching-yi, many missionaries served as deacons in20the latter organization. These churches were ninety per­

cent financially independent in Shantung and Chihli withand annual budget of twenty-three thousand (silver) dollars,

21and twenty-six hundred members. There was also a move­ment toward independent churches in Kwangtung and other areas in the South. This independent church movement was a major factor with which the missionaries would have to cope in their efforts to unify mission enterprises in China. If they failed in that endeavor, they would alienate the emerging Chinese leaders and the independent congregations, both of which were essential to achieve the missionaries' primary goal.

In recognition of the growing strength of the Chinese churches, one of the Chinese delegates at the Edinburgh Conference was offered the opportunity to address the as­sembly for seven minutes. His speech not only spoke elo­quently for the Chinese view, it introduced in an inter­national setting one of the leading churchmen of China, Ch'eng Ching-yi. So well did he present his views that for many delegates his speech was the high point of the conference. Ch'eng's words were to be the foundation of belief upon which he and others labored to erect a Chinese church.

151The problem in China is the independence of the Chinese church. I use that word meaning nothing more than church support and church management. Really there is no independence of the church. All churches of Christ are depen­dent first upon God and then upon each other. Some of our friends are a little afraid of the Chinese church movement. They are afraid of the inability of Chinese Christians to accom­plish that which they have started, and they are also afraid that the Christian church in China is still too young, and weak, and feeble, and cannot undertake such a great responsibili­ty. Speaking frankly , we are both weak and poor, but experience shows that out of deep poverty Christian liberality may abound, and again the feebleness of the Chinese Christians will not be a hindrance in the way. Does this mean a breaking with those who have brought out the Gospel, and is this foreign? No. It is the principle of mission work and the ground plan of the future Chinese church. We can never thank you enough for what you have done for us and your helping hand regarding the future of the self-governing and self-supporting Chinese church will ever be appreciated and ever remem­bered by all Christians in China. Is there too great a burden on the shoulders of the Chinese Christian? Surely not. Everyone here can tes­tify that there is nothing so joyous, so delight­ful, as directly working for Christ. It is our privilege and our burden.... The controlling power of the Christian church in China had largely been in the hands of foreign mission­aries and there is no doubt that it should have been so in the days gone by, but the time has come when every Chinese Christian should real­ize and undertake this responsibility, when they should know what it means to be a Christian and his relation to the church. What is the motive power of all this? It is nothing new. It is the working power of the same spirit as inspired you to realize your responsiblity toward men of other lands. Yes, the same blessed spirit of God. Every Christian in China should be a soul winner, and every Christian is a part of the church. References have already been made to the recent spiritual awakening among the Chinese students of Peking, of which I was a witness.It will be our interest to watch with great expectation the Chinese Christian student at

152home and abroad, and it is in them we hope for the future of the Chinese church. I hope with all sincerity that this conference will recom­mend and take measures toward helping the Chi­nese church movement. May the will of God be done in this manner.22The World Missionary Conference attempted to draw

together various forms of mission work. In order to accomplish this unification, an organization "however ten­tative" was to be set up to unite in cooperative effort for

23the work of the present, as well as for future needs.This organization was to be the Continuation Committee, formed to deal systematically with the problems of mission­aries and serve as a clearing house for mission societies. The committee was to be made up of thirty-five missionary leaders: ten British, ten European, ten American, and fivefrom Asia, Africa, and Australia. The organ of the commit­tee was to be the International Review of Missions.

Regional meetings were also organized, such as that for the Continuation Committee Conference on Asia. These regional conferences were to compare notes as to progress

25and problems within a given geographical or cultural area. Special conferences were also organized to deal with is­sues felt to be peculiar to a particular nation's develop­ment. Such an assembly was held in Shanghai, March 11-13,1913, following sectional meetings organized in Canton,

26Shanghai, Tsinanfu, Peking and Hankow. This consultatic was held to exchange views on denominational policies and

153plans, missionary education in Chinese, areas of theological education which needed to be stressed, and business administration problems. Cooperative enterprises were stressed such as the Association of Mission Treasur­ers, the Chinese Christian Education Association, the Chinese Medical Missionary Association, the Chinese Chris­tian Literature Council, the Sunday School Union, the Chi-

27nese Recorder, and so forth. Added to the organizations were ongoing interdenominational institutions such as theo­logical seminaries, summer retreat programs, health facili­ties, and translation projects; one estimate of the numberof cooperative pursuits in education and medicine alone

28was more than one hundred.The national Conference also set up the China Continu­

ation Committee which was to survey the task in China as well as the resources available to meet it. Chinese mem­bers were to constitute one-third or more of the estimatedforty to sixty members, and were to hold one of the two

29Secretaries-General. Rawlinson estimated that the Chi­nese filled half of the committee p o s i t i o n s . T h e growth in Chinese representation at such meetings was significant. The 1907 meeting, for example, had no Chinese delegates, butthe 1913 gathering had had one-third of its representatives

31from the Chinese community. The China Continuation Com­mittee was to become one of the most effective instruments of Christian cooperation in China. It was to be responsible

154for editing the China Mission Yearbook, The Chinese ChurchYearbook, and the Directory of Protestant Missionaries in

32China. The National Christian Council was also somethingof an outgrowth of the Edinburgh meeting. This was not a general missionary gathering, but rather a meeting of one hundred-twenty experts to establish a united Christian ex­pression for China; one-third of these experts were Chi-

33nese. This organ, too, served to bring together Chineseand Westerners, making the idea of cooperating in union more acceptable.

Because of the need for greater coordination of pro­grams, the National Conference adopted the following resolu­tion: "In view of the areas yet to be evangelized, missionsentering upon already occupied districts should first con­sult the mission already in the field and the Federation Council or similar organ of the province or district and give due consideration to the recommendations made."^^ The China Continuation Committee would reinforce this with the1917 Comity Agreement which was meant to prevent overlapping

35efforts in new districts. As steps toward unity, the con­ference urged: (1) The uniting of churches of similar ec­clesiastical order planted in China by different missions.(2) The organic union of churches which already enjoy inter­communion in any particular area, large or small. (3) Fed­eration, local and provincial, of all churches willing to cooperate in the extension of the Kingdom of God. (4) The

155formation of a National Council of Churches in accordance with plans which the Continuation Committee of this confer­ence shall devise if it deems such a council to be neces­sary. (5) The reference to the China Continuation Commit­tee of the following suggestions: (a) That the C.C.C. beasked to consider the question of uniform terms for use in the churches; (b) that a hymn book for common use and a book of prayers for voluntary use in public worship be pre­pared; (c) that provisions be made for publication of a Chinese Church Yearbook. (6) The fresh study by all Chris­tians of the faith and order held by those who differ from them in order to promote cordial mutual understanding; and the holding of local conferences from time to time for the discussion of the important subject of Christianity. (7) Prayer in public and private for the whole church of Christ with confession of our sins against one another and inter­cession for the growth of unity.

Formalized CooperationThe China Continuation Committee was thus to become an

organ for cooperation between the various Christian groupsin China. It functioned well, but it duplicated the ef-

37forts of the nascent Federation of Churches. The C.C.C. was in place first and had in addition a national organiza­tion and headquarters. Two Secretaries-General kept the committee functioning; these were B.C. Lobenstine and Ch'eng Ching-yi. Both the C.C.C. and the National Christian

156Conference were deliberate efforts to bring Chinese and missionaries together to make integration and union an ac­ceptable idea. This did not mean, of course, that there was no dissent from this idea. Work of the committee was delayed until some mission societies faced the fact of changing conditions in the world, but the committee wascredited with preventing a major split in the Christian

38community between the Chinese and foreign members.Other movements were either associated with or were

outgrowths of the Continuation Committee in the late 1910'sand early 1920's. In 1919 a Christian National SalvationSociety was formed by Chinese students whose goal was ser-

3 9vice to their country. In the same year the FederatedWomen's Boards of Foreign Missions began a study of labor

40conditions in East Asia. Out of this study emerged the National Social Service Committee to investigate conditions of labor for women and children. Also in 1919, in response to the Paris Peace Conference decision on Shantung, the China For Christ Movement was begun by Chinese leaders in order to minimize the Western identification of the Chris­tian Church. This movement was led by C.T. Wang, Chang Po-ling, David Yui, and Ch'eng Ching-yi.Through this organization the Chinese leaders became increasingly promi­nent national figures, leading the Christian movement in China in the national consciousness.

157This China For Christ Movement was initiated during a

five day meeting in Shanghai beginning December 16, 1919.The impetus for the movement was the realization that patri­otism had swept up Christianity in an unorganized manner. Instead there was felt a need to express patriotism in a Christian way, i.e., the recognition of a national need and the desire of the Christians to meet it. The confer­ence to determine how best the church might help China was made up of one hundred and ten Christian workers, one-halfof them Chinese, representing twenty-six different organi-

42zations. The stated objectives were to organize local prayer groups, to conduct a campaign to make church mem­bers literate by 1921, to emphasize personal work, such as a drive in which each Christian would win one convert a year, and to express their faith through service and a systematic giving.

One example of the effect of the movement was the or­ganization in Peking of a China For Christ organization in which twenty-two churches with approximately fifty-three hundred members worked together in areas of evangelization, religious education, social service, student recruitmentfor the ministry, training Christian leaders, and the spiri-

44tual life of Christians. Other groups were organized in other cities, especially where Christian schools or other major institutions were located. This was an effective method of enlisting Chinese students, who were concerned

158with Chinese society and its problems, and wished to take an active part in dealing with them. The organizers also printed a bulletin which achieved a circulation of almost five hundred thousand.

In this spirit a Chinese Home Mission Society was formed. It employed approximately ten thousand workers (after four years in the field), who were ninety percent financed by Chinese contributors (including overseas Chi­nese) , with a budget of $27,100 in 1921-2. It worked first in Manchuria and later in Yunnan, where on three mission stations were established three churches, two dispensaries, a girls' school and a kindergarten.^^ The goal was to les­sen "the narrow and somewhat selfish conception of caring only for the church with which he or she is connected.

There was concern expressed by Ch'eng Ching-yi of a possible duplication of effort in the C.C.C. and the China for Christ organizations. Accordingly, he advocated the

48merger of the China For Christ Movement under the C.C.C.It was agreed that the new cooperative efforts would re­quire a spirit of fellowship and mutual esteem, plus months

49of meetings, plans and revisions. Such a cooperative drive merely reflected the consciousness of the magnitude of the task Chinese Christians faced, and their realization of the finite and otherwise divided resources which were at their disposal.

159In 1922, a National Christian Conference was held at

Shanghai. This meeting gathered together representatives of one hundred-thirty Christian bodies in China. More of these representatives were Chinese than missionary and bi­lingual reports were p r e s e n t e d . O f the Chinese dele­gates, forty percent were ordained, twenty-eight percent were Christian laymen, and the rest were teachers and doc­tors. This meeting ended the existence of the China Con­tinuation Committee, whose work was taken over by the Na­tional Christian Council. This council was to have repre­sentation by denomination determined by the number of com­municants. The representatives were divided between Chi­nese and missionaries. By 1926, three-quarters of the

52delegates were Chinese. The Council consisted of four representatives of the Anglican churches, six from the Baptists, four Congregationalists, five Lutherans, nine Methodists, ten Presbyterians, seven China Inland Mission members, and five from the other churches. Additionally, three representatives came from the universities and col­leges, three from the Y.M.C.A., one from the Y.W.C.A., one

53from the literature society, and one other. The counciltook over much of the direction of such organizations asthe Child Welfare Association, the National Anti-Opium

55Association, and the Mass Education Movement.In the report on "The Present State of the Chinese

Church," progress in some fields was reported. There were

160over one thousand Chinese ministers in the field, almost one in twenty of the Chinese church w o r k e r s . S i n c e fifty-one percent of the missionaries had less than ten years experience in China, transfer of administrative au­thority in Christian work was proceding with less friction

57than previously encountered. Along these lines the ec­clesiastical authority of ordained Chinese was recognized as equal to that of the missionary (the number of Chinese in positions of ecclesiastical leadership was greater than the number of missionaries in similar positions), Chinese leaders in national organizations were becoming prominent, recognized Chinese Christians were having some influencein Chinese politics, and there was some evidence of an in-

58flux of well trained students into Christian work. Itwas also discovered that the church was weak in meeting theneeds for intellectual stimulation of the newly educated

59Christians. Two problems were identified as responsible for this failure; the first was to be found in theology when missionaries did not agree on theological interpreta­tions of dogma. This naturally caused confusion rather than stimulation. The second lay in the fact that many converts were employed by the church in less than responsi­ble positions (colporteurs, assistants) thus limiting the perception of the church's intellectual range and diver­sity.^^ Some Chinese felt that because so many converts were employed by the church, the perception of the

161non-Christian was that the church was the convert's rice bowl, thus the legitimacy of their beliefs was questioned. Many intellectuals did not wish to be identified with those of lesser qualifications employed by the church. Thus the perception endured that the intellectual attractiveness of the church was limited at best.

The intellectual aspect of the movement needed atten­tion for T.C. Chao reported that of children in school, one in thirty-five boys and one in three girls were in a church supported s c h o o l . A disproportionate number of the edu­cated were Christian educated; it would be counterproduc­tive to alienate them intellectually or have them seek a church independent from the general community. The move­ment toward independent churches was gaining momentum at this time.^^ While 1922 saw the full launching of the forces of religious, social, ethical, and political revolu­tion, the church was not adequately meeting these chal­lenges. "The church, that had through her life and power started various changes in China and had in the past been able to change environment by her impact on China, now shows an inability to adapt herself to her rapidly changing envi ronment."

In support of those who recommended a few cooperative efforts instead of many diverse ones, concentration of en­deavors had proved itself effective. There were almost ten thousand evangelistic centers in existence with the

162greatest numbers and growth in the Chinese heartland, i.e.,

64Hunan, Hupeh, and Honan. It had demonstrated its ef­fectiveness in central China. Similar regional concen­tration, it was postulated, should also prove effective.

Transition Stages: LeadersSince the church was a sovereign body, it was suggested

that individual missionaries should regard themselves either as members of a Western church on loan to the Chi­nese church or as equal members of the Chinese church.The number of missionaries in China at the time, roughly six thousand, were on the one hand too few in number for the work they faced, and on the other a preponderance of influ­ence. If this influence had been matched by a preponder­ance of humility, sympathy, patience and love, then no problem would have seemed incapable of solution. It was further recommended that the diversity of denominations, races, and nationalities represented, the only intelligent method was to handle church organization from a Chinese national point of view.^^ If the Christian effort was notunified, it would pull in different directions. Strength

67could only be found among the Chinese Christians. Thus measures should be encouraged whereby union under Chinese auspices could be achieved.

In order to facilitate the transition to a Chinese church, Chinese leaders had to become prominent within it. Not only were Chinese pastors, educators and social workers

163needed to maintain the institutional integrity of the Christian enterprise in China, but nationally recognized Chinese leaders were needed to direct and shape the emerg­ing Chinese church. In work associated with Christian sponsored organizations, David Yui of the Y.M.C.A. and James Yen of the Mass Education Movement were well-known. In church affairs, whether in development of theological arguments to appeal to educated Chinese or in the attempt to coordinate nationally and internally efforts to recog­nize a Chinese church, three names in particular attained recognition within the Christian community. These were T.C. Chao (Chao Tzu-ch'en), Timothy Lew (Liu T'ing-fang), and C.Y. Cheng (Ch'eng Ching-yi). These men contributed much to the dialogue seeking solutions to the problems of Christianity in China. All were articulate spokesmen for Christian beliefs and in particular for the adaptation needed for it to fulfill its potential in Chinese society. They were comfortable in the West as representatives of the Chinese church, and had attained international recog­nition for their work at home. T.C. Chao was the first of his family to convert; C.Y. Cheng was the son of a convert; and T.T. Lew was the son and grandson of Christians. They would, working separately and together, mold the Christian effort in the 1920's and 1930's.

T.C. Chao was born in Chekiang on February 14, 1888.He was given a traditional education and did not encounter

164Christianity until he was an undergraduate at Soochow University. Here he was converted and received his B.A. in 1913. In the next year he became a lay delegate of the Chinese Mission Conference to the general conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.From there he travelled to Nashville and graduate study at Vanderbilt University, receiving his M.A. in 1916 and aB.D. in 1917. Returning to China he was appointed a pro­fessor of sociology and religion at Soochow University, becoming in 1922 the first Dean of the College of Arts. He left Soochow for Yenching University in 1925 to become a faculty member of the School of Religion and in 1928 dean of this body. He would retain this position for twenty years. Meanwhile, he would earn a D. Litt. from Soochow/ Oxford in 1932 or 1933 (sources disagree) and in 1940 accept ordination into the Episcopal Church in Hong Kong.Dr. Chao was to be active on the National Christian Council, the National Committee of the Y.M.C.A., and a delegate to the International Mission Council meetings in Jerusalem in 1928, Madras in 1938, and Whitby (Canada) in 1947. In 1948 he attended the First General Assembly of the World Council of Churches where he was elected one of six vice-

g opresidents.Chao was known as a vigorous and persuasive interpreter

of the Christian view of life. His goal was the adaptation of Christianity to the "special environment and needs of

165modem China," and the construction of a foundation for an indigenous Chinese Christian Church. His was a belief which had evolved from the concerns with the methods by which improvements in the social situation in China could be achieved. His eminence was based on his creative and penetrating inquiries into Christian theology. His pub­lications include: Jesus' Philosophy of Life, Philosophyof Christianity, Directions (a book of prayers), Fishing (a book of religious verse), The Christian Fellowship Hymnal, The People's Hymnal, Life of Jesus, and numerous periodical articles. He was especially popular with stu­dents for his ability to speak cogently on complex reli­gious and philosophical issues. He remained in China after the 1949 revolution.

Timothy Lew was another Christian scholar and teacher of note. He, too, was born in Chekiang, in 1890. He re­ceived his preliminary education at Wenchow College and St. John's University, Shanghai. He enrolled at the Uni­versity of Georgia, where he won the Horace Russell prize in psychology and his B.A. in 1914. He received his M.A. from Columbia in 1915 and his B.D. from Yale Divinity School in 1918, where he had held a prestigious scholarship. In that year he taught in the Department of Religious Edu­cation at Union Theological Seminary, the first Chinese to teach a non-Chinese subject at an American theological school. He then returned to Columbia Teachers College,

166earning his Ph.D. in psychology and education in 1920.While a student he became chairman of the board of the Chinese Student Alliance (Eastern section), and President of the Chinese Christian Association of North America. He served as the editor of the association's quarterly journal Uu-meÂ. Ch'Xng-iiie.n, and associate editor of the Chinese Stu­dent 's Monthly. Dr. Lew also became a member of the Ameri­can Society of Church History, and the Council of the Re­ligious Education Association. He returned to China in 1920 to become Dean of the Graduate School at Peking Normal College, Professor of Psychology at Peking National Uni­versity, and a member of the theology faculty at Yenching University's School of Religion. At the latter institution he was elected Dean of the School of Theology (1921-6), and Assistant Chancellor of the University. HS would return to the United States in 1926 to lecture at Yale Divinity School, Union Theological Seminary, and Hartford Theological Semi- ary. He also received an honorary D.D. from Middlebury College and an S.T.D. from Oberlin (1927). He served as guest preacher at London's City Temple and returned to the United States as a visiting professor at Boston University. He was invited to give a series of prestigious lectures in 1928 at Bangor Seminary (Maine) and at Chicago Theological Seminary. After completing these lectures, he returned to China.

167In addition to his academic duties, Dr. Lew served at

the National Christian Conference in Shanghai in 1922, and as an honorary pastor of the Mi-shih Chinese Independent Church in Peking. He had also had the distinction of being appointed as a missionary by the American Board, a rare honor for a non-American.^^ Recognition on a national scale occured in China when in March, 1925, he conducted the funeral service for Sun Yat-sen. Additionally he was elected to the executive committee of the National Chris­tian Council for over ten years, served as a director of the Peking Y.M.C.A. national committee. He was the founder of the Psychology Association in China, and was chairman of the committee for standardizing tests for the Christian Education Association, in which he served as the first Chinese president from 1924-7. He also became chairman of the National Committee for Christian Higher Education, the Religious Education Fellowship of China, and on the commit­tee to establish a standard scientific vocabulary for China.

Lew represented China at the World Conference on Faith and Order at Lausanne (Switzerland) in 1927 and in Germany at a meeting of the World Alliance For Promoting Intern- national Fellowship Through the Church. He was a delegate to the World Council of Churches meetings at Oxford and Edinburgh (1937) and the International Mission at Madras in

1681938. He also served as a member of the Legislative Yuan of the Government of China in 1936.

Dr. Lew published extensively as well. He served as editor of Life Journal from 1920-24, Truth Weekly from 1924-6, associate editor of the Journal of New Education from 1922-25, editor of Truth and Life Bi-weekly from 1928-37, founded the Amethyst Quarterly in 1930, and was co-founder of The Education of Tomorrow. He also wrote and translated hymns and was responsible for preparing and editing the China Union Hymnal— Hymns of Universal Praise, published in 1936.^^

Through various media, Timothy Lew tried to define the basic concepts of Protestant Christianity and demonstrate its relevance to issues current in China such as democracy, science, and modernization. He often challenged popular positions and was considered something of a rebel by his more conservative colleagues. Nonetheless, T.T. Lew re­mained one of the driving forces of the Chinese Christian

74Church until his death in 1947.The third example of Chinese leadership in the Chris­

tian brotherhood of China who was recognized both nation­ally and internationally was Ch'eng Ching-yi. He was born to the family of a Christian pastor in Shanghai in 1881.His father, a London Mission Society convert, had encount-

75ered the Western religion in a Christian hospital. Though given a traditional Chinese education, Ch'eng Ching-yi also

169attended the Anglo-Chinese Institute of the London Mission Society, graduating in 1896. He then attended the theo­logical school of the L.M.S. at Tientsin, graduating in 1900. During the Boxer troubles Ch'eng's family sought refuge in the British Legation Quarter, where he served as a stretcher bearer for the Allies. From 1900-1903 he be­came secretary of the L.M.S. church in Peking and gave the annual L.M.S. conference sermon. During this time he was involved in the project to revise the Chinese New Testa­ment, assisting George Owens who headed the project. Ch'eng accompanied Owens to England where the translation revision was completed. This revision was to become part of the union version of the Mandarin Bible. For his work Ch'eng Ching-yi was made an Honorary Foreign Member of the British Bible Society, and an Honorary Life Member of the American Bible Society.

Ch'eng then attended the Bible Training Institute,Glasgow, where he graduated in 1908, though he postponedhis ordination until his return to China. In China he wasappointed pastor of the Independent Mi-shih Hutung Churchin the eastern section of Peking. The Christian Yearbookreports that he had charge of three churches in the city

77at this time. His talent as a speaker was discovered at the Centennial Conference in 1907, and as a result he was sent to the International Mission Conference at Edinburgh where he gave his celebrated speech. It is interesting to

170note that Dr. Ch'eng was sent to represent China at this time even though he was a Manchu and the tide of anti- Manchu feeling in China was rising. Nevertheless he was appointed to the Continuation Committee of the Internation­al Mission Council, and after his return to China, appointed chairman of the National Evangelical Association Conference held at Hankow. He subsequently spent more than a year travelling in China in the interests of church unity and religious toleration.

In 1913 Ch'eng was appointed Chinese Secretary of the China Continuation Committee, a post he held until 1922.He accompanied J.R. Mott on his travels in China in 1913, and then spent a year travelling in England. Dates given vary, but sometime in these years he studied at Union Theo­logical Seminary. He became the first Chinese D.D. from aWestern university receiving his degree from Knox College

78(Toronto). Upon returning to China he launched a suc­cessful campaign against the establishment of Confucianism as the state religion. He founded the China Home Mission Society in 1918 and was its president for ten years. He was instrumental in starting the China for Christ campaign in 1919. He became Chairman of the National Christian Con­ference in 1922 and secretary to the National Christian Council of China until 1933. He edited those issues of the Chinese Church Yearbook which were printed in Chinese. He served at many conferences, councils and meetings, such as

171that was held in Jerusalem in 1928. He received two more degrees, an L.L.D. from Wooster College (Ohio) in 1923, and a D.D. from St. John's University, Shanghai in 1929.

It has been stated that Dr. Ch'eng influenced every79significant Protestant venture in China for thirty years.

He devoted his life to the growth of an independent and unified Chinese Protestant Church. His church in Peking attained independence under his pastorate, while remaining friendly with its parent church. His was much of the re­sponsibility for the increased vigor and drive of the Chi­nese Christian community in the nineteen twenties. Addition­ally, he authored a compilation of services for family wor­ship widely used in China.

Ch'eng had the personal qualities which make for an outstanding leader as well. He had the ability to appear to never be hurried, and to listen "generously" to thosewho did not agree with him. He also had the ability to

80have meetings adopt his resolutions and plans. He or­ganized almost all non-Roman Christian missions for meet­ings for Christian service. He was never a theological partisan, caring more for the essence of the truth than the edges. He was thus able to steer a center course in the development of Chinese Christian activism in China.More, he had the gift of making others forget his and theirnationality, and yet to enunciate the distinctive message

81of his own country to the world.

172These three men played instrumental roles in

sponsoring and coordinating Christian enterprise in China. They were indefatigable in their attempts to develop a Chinese expression of Christianity and to gain interna­tional recognition for the transition from mission field to indigenous church. Although their service on internation­al bodies helped publicize the Chinese church's desire and readiness for independence, it was their work in China which was more significant. They were leaders, at home both in China and the West, who were not alienated by their study abroad and service in Western institutions. Many Chinese wished to project this image as leaders of a mod­ernizing country; these three men were its epitomization. The seeming ease with which these outstanding Christians were able to achieve a non-alienated internationalism was most helpful in the campaign to make Christianity indigen­ous in China.

On a somewhat negative note, however, it must be pointed out that with their involvement in extensive publi­cation efforts, organizations, teaching, travel, and so forth, these three men served the Christian movement at a rather rarified level. They seemed to be most effective outside of the church per se, at the universities, commit­tees, councils, and speaking before international fora.This criticism takes nothing away from their significant contributions, it merely points up the problems which the

173church encountered in China. Christianity was one area of concern, the church was another.

The goal of these men was that of a cooperative ef­fort within the Christian community. As had been seen, this was not a new idea, and steps of various kinds had been taken since the mission community first grasped the enormi­ty of their undertaking. In the interwar years a culmina­tion of many cooperative efforts occured, particularly in the areas of Christian service and education. One other area became particularly prominent in these years, and that was the effort towards the organic union of the church.There were three basic approaches to organic union under consideration; within a geographical area to facilitate activity in a given political or linguistic demarcation; within a denomination, that is, all of the congregations be­longing to a particular theological affinity would join in a national organization regardless of the various sources of funding from nations in the West; within the nation as a whole, the organic unity of all denominations that the church might be truly united to establish its place in modern China.

Denominational Unions These different approaches were taking place simul­

taneously in China, and at different speeds depending on location, liturgical tenacity, strength of control from abroad, and similar factors. For example, the missionaries

174who worked in some of the smaller dialect areas pooled resources out of necessity, but it was the manner in which funds and property were to be controlled which was a key obstacle to unification. Each home board was somewhat jealous of its rights. Early attempts at amalgamation of several separate missions of the same board (four previ­ously unconnected London Mission Society missions) met with

8 2the argument that small groups were more effective. Anattempt as early as 1857 to unify the Dutch Reformed andEnglish Presbyterian Churches in Amoy led to a seven year

83fight with their home boards. This attempt was success­ful, but the diversity of effort continued to be a problem, finally leading to the suggestion that each board withmore than one mission district appoint a council for the

84whole of its work. In 1919 a mission endeavor was suc­cessful in Kwangtung among churches which had been actively cooperating since 1913. The merging groups included Pres­byterians, London Mission Society Churches, and represen­tatives of the American Board of Commissioners for ForeignMissions; together these groups represented one-third of

8 5the Protestants in the province.Most progress was evidenced in establishing national

denominational unions. This effort, too, had its opposi­tion. Independence of all but perfunctory control from home would have to give way to a national council and closer scrutiny of individual operations. Some missionaries

175naturally feared circumscription of their efforts. Yet these and other obstacles caused by differences in tradi­tions were to a degree overcome. The Presbyterians began to talk of union in 1902; it was achieved in 1922.^^ This union included the Presbyterian Churches of Britain, Scot­land, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, the United States (North and South), and the United Free Church of Scotland. Additional members were the L.M.S. and A.B.C.P.M. churches.This union was known as the General Assembly of Presbyteri-

87an Churches in China. The Lutherans began their effortin 1907 and managed to incorporate the Norwegian MissionSociety, the Church of Sweden Mission, the Finnish MissionSociety, the Lutheran United Missions, and the Augustana

8 8Missions. This union was known as the Chang - h m Ske.ng- 91kung hoi.

Other groups, mainly Baptists and Methodists, agreedto cooperate within their denominations (and with others)

92but were opposed to organic union. Gradually, however, cooperation and union were creating a more stable institu­tional organization within China. In a time when many in­stitutions in China were in chaos the Christian church be­gan to acquire strength. It was still diverse in character, unsettled in areas of purpose and direction, but forward momentum had been achieved and was accumulating. It seemed to members that they were on a threshold of the establish­ment of a viable indigenous independent institutional church.

176Yet one more step remained. If the Chinese rejected

the concept of denominationalism, which by and large they did, then the establishment of national denominational churches, while a step towards unity, was not the final step. What many Christian leaders wanted was a unified Christian church without denominational distinction, a truly united catholic church. Most Chinese ministers, when one con­siders the fact, had been trained in "union" theological

93seminaries. It was only natural, then, that the concept of union was to them obvious and workable. This idea had opponents, many among certain missionary groups. They ar­gued that Chinese leadership was weak, that unification of such diverse groups would prove uriwieldly and unworkable, thus setting back mission work instead of facilitating it. They also argued that to do away with denominations wouldprovoke anew the very arguments which had created them in

94the first place.Organic Union

The concept of interdenominational union found suffi­cient acceptance for beginnings to be made toward a Church of Christ in China. Some of the initial impetus grew out of regional and denominational unions. The joining of the Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and L.M.S. members neces­sitated some articles of agreement on joint worship. By 1922, this essentially Presbyterian nucleus had been joined by the Councils of the Churches of Christ in Kwangtung and

17795South Fukien. This union was pushed in particular by the

Chinese members concerned. Although there was some diffi­culty in adjustment in tradition and local customs, it was noted that in the areas affected by the union, there was very vigorous church development: new initiatives wereundertaken, efforts at cooperation were easier, and goals were clarified.

The Church of Christ in China was organized in 1922.A Provisional General Assembly was held in Shanghai fromApril 27-29, to work out some of the areas of differences

97as to organizational and doctrinal issues. The originalplan called for a federal union, "but the desire among theChinese for organic union was so strong..." that the com-

98mittee adopted a plan for organic unity. An agreement as to the provisional measures was reached and submitted to the constituent groups scattered over China for their con­sideration and approval. It took five years to secure the necessary agreement to the proposed plan of union. (Ap­pendix E) The areas of greatest disagreement were in the resolution of the creeds, corporate (Anglican) versus in­dividual (Nonconformist) worship, church authority, and

99autonomy. But, in the words of Timothy Lew, they had agreed to differ, but resolved to love.^^^ The actual Doctrinal Basis of Union and Constitution adopted in 1927 differed only slightly in its major points from that adopted in 1922. (Appendix F)

178Interestingly, the general definition accepted for an

independent church was that of one which was self-supporting, self-governing and self-propagating. The constitution added also the quality of unity of the believers in prac­ticing Christian principles. Missionary status was left fluid since conditions were not uniform throughout the coalescing groups, but they were recognized as a "temporary factor" until the three-self status was fully attained.The Districts were given jurisdiction over missionary em­ployment and assignments. They were also to control all church related educational and medical work within their area of jurisdiction. Further, the constitution stated that in the elections of commissioners to the General As­sembly, no distinction was to be made between missionaries and Chinese. Missionaries then were to be considered as members of the church or on special assignment with the church, but possessing no special status.

Further, the problem of doctrinal differences was left for the Chinese to resolve over time. The constitu­tion recognized that variety as well as unity of doctrine was essential to the well being of the church. The only doctrine required was exceedingly basic; other doctrines could be retained at the discretion of the individual mem­ber churches. In this way, it was hoped, maximum flexibili­ty in approach would attract other denominations into the union and at the same time allow the Chinese a loose

179framework upon which to construct their theological tradition.

The First General Assembly of the Church of Christ in China was held in Shanghai, October 1-11, 1927. The goal of the meeting was to bind all evangelical bodies into one organized whole for worship, mutual edification, and ser­vice. The union was organized on the basis of the local church or parish, the District Association or Presbytery, the Divisional Council or Synod, and the General Assembly. The doctrinal basis of union was to be only a modicum of doctrine which all Christians observe. The proposed plan of union was not an ultimate plan, but rather one around which more than a hundred denominational bodies could gath­er, a point of departure to the ultimate goal of a united indigenous Chinese church. This church would continue in sympathy and harmony with world Christianity, yet serve as an expression of Chinese worship and fellowship based onChinese customs and culture.

Despite difficulties in travel, the assembly had a fullrepresentation; delegates arrived from Harbin in the north to Hainan in the south, and from as far west as the Yangtse Gorges. There were eighty-eight commissioners present, of whom sixty-six were Chinese and twenty-two were missionar­ies. They officially represented eleven Divisional Coun­cils, and forty-six District Associations. There were, in addition, eight commissioners from two presbyteries who had

180not yet fully approved of the union, and twenty-eight fraternal delegates from other communions not yet joined in the united church. (See Appendix G for organizational breakdown by district.) The groups represented in the Church of Christ in China were; the Chinese Independent Churches, the Swedish Evangelical Free Church, and United Brethren in Christ, the American Board of Congregational Churches, the London Mission Society Churches, the New Zealand Presbyterian Church, the Presbyterian Church of the U.S.A., the United Church of Canada, the English Pres­byterian Church, the Reformed Church in America, the Pres­byterian Church-South, the Reformed Church in the U.S., the Church of Scotland, the Irish Presbyterian Church, the United Free Church of Scotland, and the English Baptist Church.

These groups were organized into twelve Divisional Councils, fifty-one District Associations, 585 organized churches, 2,035 preaching places, 333 ordained pastors, 2,072 evangelical workers, and 129,175 communicants.(Figures are approximate for 1928.) Their goal was not a larger denomination or a requirement that anyone sacrifice any beliefs or creeds; neither conformity nor uniformity was the goal. Their goal was for a self-governing, self- supporting, and self-propagating church. Therefore, the name chosen by the Chinese delegates signified both the

181challenge and the objective: Chung-hua Cki-ta Ckiao hui, theChurch of Christ in China.

The union provided a modicum of democracy and indi­vidual expression for the local churches. The organization was not heirarchical in the sense of power or policy making.The General Assembly was restricted to issues essential forthe promotion and conservation of unity.

By 1927, of the six great denominational bodies inChina, the Anglicans and Lutherans had each achieved anational unity within their denomination; the Baptists and Methodists were holding talks on federation and world or­ganization, respectively; and the Presbyterians and Congre­gationalists had u n i t e d . T h e National Christian Council was coordinating efforts at a national level and cooperative ventures in social, educational, and medical fields continu­ed. It seemed as though momentum toward an organized Prot­estant effort in China had finally engendered sufficient force as to ensure continued growth along these lines, ex­pansion of efforts toward unity, and achievement of recog­nition as a legitimate and contributing part of the Chinese social fabric.

The ideals for the Chinese church were enunciated by P.C. Hsu as follows: it should be a national growth fromthe religious experiences of the Chinese people; bring out the best in Chinese culture and environment; be self- governing, self-supporting, and self-propagating; be an

182integral part of the church universal; be ready to cooperate with the churches of other lands; be tolerant toward re­ligious faiths and rejoice in all that is good, true, and beautiful no matter where it may be found; submerge its denominational differences or difficulties in a rich and vital unity; and be a spiritual and religious institu­tion. It was this kind of religion, personal, but notdogmatic, which "is homogeneous with and adapted to modern c i v i l i z a t i o n . T h u s it was to be flexible in approach, generous in outlook, and Chinese in its development; able therefore to fit into the rapidly changing arena which was China in this period.

Notes Chapter IV

1. M.M. Jones, "A Missionary Audit," ^ (December, 1927) p. 750-1.

2. A.R. Kepler, "Movements for Christian Unity," CCYB, 1928, p. 74.

3. Rev. A. Williamson quoted in CCYB, 1928, p. 74.4. Chen Tao-jen, Reformation of the Mission Enterprise in

China, quoted in Smythe, Changes in the Christian Mes­sage, p. 82.

5. Ibid ., p. 24.6. Bishop Bashford, Ibid., p. 86.7. World Missionary Conference, Edinburgh, Report of Com­

mission VIII, Cooperation and Promotion of Christian Unity, p. 111.

8. A.R. Kepler, "Movements for Christian Unity," CCYB, 1928, p. 78.

9. CCYB, 1928, p. 80.10. Centenary Mission Conference Records quoted in Bitton,

Regeneration of New China, p. 147.11. M. Searle Bates, "The Theology of American Missionaries

in China, 1900-1950," Fairbank, Missionary Enterprise, p. 146.

12. "To Consider Mission Problems in Relation to the Non- Christian World," World Missionary Conference, Edin­burgh , p. 33.

13. "Instances of Steps Taken at Various Stages of Develop­ment Toward Cooperation and Unity," (Appendix J), World Missionary Conference, Edinburgh, p. 312-6.

14. Ibid., vol. VIII, p. 7.

183

18415. Idem.16. Ibid., p. 64.17. Ibid., p. 87.18. A.P. Lansdown, "The Worship of the Chinese Church," CR

(March, 1927), p. 181.19. Milton T. Stauffer, ed.. The Christian Occupation of

China, China Continuation Committee, Shanghai, 1922, p. 380; "The Evangelization of China— A Symposium by Chinese Christian Workers," CR (July, 1919), p. 444; C.Y. Cheng's L.M.S. church served as the model for the self-supporting Chinese Independent Churches. Hans- Ruedi Weber, Asia and The Ecumencial Movement, 1895- 1961, S.C.M. Press, Ltd., London, 1966, p. 144.

20. C.Y. Cheng, "The Chinese Church," China To-Day, p. 127.21. Ibid., p. 135.22. C.Y. Cheng, World Missionary Conference, Edinburgh,

p. 352-3.23. J.R. Mott, "The Continuation Committee," IRM (January,

1912), p. 71.24. Ibid., p. 62.25. Latourette, History of Christian Missions, p. 669.26. The Continuation Committee Conference in Asia, 1912-

1913, The Continuation Committee, New York, 1913,p.321.27. E.B. Lobenstine, "Cooperation and Union in China," CCYB

1932-3, p. 160-3; CMYB, 1919, p. 66; Many universities also represented cooperative efforts. Cheloo Univer­sity was a joint undertaking of thirteen missions.Lutz, Christian Colleges, p. 262.

28. A.R. Kepler, "Movements for Christian Unity," CCYB, 1928, p. 81.

29. Latourette, History of Christian Missions, p. 671; Samuel Couling, The Encyclopedia Sinica, Kelley and Walsh, Ltd., Shanghai, 1917, p. 97.

30. Frank Rawlinson, "Christian Cooperation for Nationwide Task," CR (June, 1920), p. 421; T.C. Chao, "The Strength and Weaknesses of the Church in China,"

185National Christian Conference, p. 211.

31. Rawlinson, Ibid.32. Couling, Encyclopedia Sinica, p. 97.33. Idem.34. Continuation Committee Conferences on Asia, P. 328.35. Most missions went into unoccupied territory, but in

the 1920's such groups as the Pentecostal Holiness Mission did not observe this territorial imperative to the chagrin of the established missions and the confusion of the Chinese. Cary-Elwes, China and the Cross, p. 250; E.B. Lobenstine, "Cooperation and Union in China," CCYB, 1932-3, p. 159.

36. Continuation Conferences on Asia, p. 328.37. A.R. Kepler, "Movements for Christian Unity," CCYB,

1928, p. 80.38. Report of the C.C.C., National Christian Conference,

p. 76.39. Wang, Youth Movement, p. 184.40. Parter, China's Challenge, p. 58-9.41. CMYB, 1919, p. 59-60; "China for Christ Movement," CR

(April, 1920), p. 278.42. Report of the C.C.C., National Christian Conference,

p. 69; Rawlinson, "Christian Cooperation for Nationwide Tasl," CR (June, 1920), p. 429; "The 'China for Christ' Conference," CR (January, 1920), p. 3-4.

43. "Christian Cooperation," CR (June, 1920), p. 438; Rawlinson, "Christian Cooperation for Nationwide Task," CR (June, 1920), p. 429; "China for Christ," CR (July, 1920, p. 512-3.

44. "Christian Cooperation," Ibid.45. Report of the C.C.C., National Christian Conference,

p. 69.46. C.Y. Cheng, "The Chinese Church," China To-Day, p. 137;

CMYB, 1923, p. 114-5; Interestingly, an attempt to

186organize a Home Mission Movement had been begun thirty- five years previously as a local/denominational effort. The Chinese had been uninterested. Ibid., p. 112.

47. C.Y. Cheng, "China's Need of Christ," MRW (September, 1920), p. 803.

48. Rawlinson, "Christian Cooperation for Nationwide Task," CR (June, 1920), p. 421.

49. CMYB, 1919, p. 77.50. National Christian Conference, p. i; "The National

Christian Council of China," IRM (January, 1924), p. 90-5.

51. National Christian Conference, p. iv.52. Smythe, Changes in the Christian Message, p. 24.53. "Coordination and Cooperation in the Work of the

Church," Report of Commission V, National Christian Conference, p. 645.

54. John Fairbank, "The Many Faces of Protestant Missions," Fairbank, Missionary Enterprises, p. 11; Latourette, History of Christian Missions, p. 979; "The National Christian Council of China," IRM (January, 1924),p. 90-5.

55. C.Y. Cheng, "The Christian Movement in China," MRW (August, 1931), p. 574.

56. Report of the Present State of the Christian Church, National Christian Conference, p. 78.

57. Ibid., p. 94.58. Ibid., p. 137.59. National Christian Conference, p. 189.60. Ibid., p. 173; Cheng, "The Chinese Church," China

To-Day, p. 139.61. T.C. Chao, "The Strength and Weaknesses of the Church

in China," Ibid., p. 208.62. Report of the Present State of the Christian Church,

National Christian Conference, p. 137.

18763. Chao, "The Strength and Weaknesses of the Church in

China," China To-Day, p. 208.64. Report of the Present State of the Christian Church,

National Christian Conference, p. 135; Additional evi­dence of such regional ties can be seen in the estab­lishment of four churches and eight schools in Kwang- tung supported by Chinese in California. Mott, De­cisive Hour, p. 177.

65. Chao, "The Strength and Weakness of the Church in China," China To-Day, p. 211.

66. Bishop Roots, Report of the C.C.C., National Christian Conference, p. 43.

67. Statement of the 1922 National Christian Conference, reported in Kepler, "Church and Unity," CCYB, 1931, p. 146; T.T. Lew, "Christian Unity and Chinese Chris­tianity," CR (October, 1927), p. 546; "The Church of Christ in China," CR (August, 1932), p. 470.

68. Howard L. Boorman, ed., Biographical Dictionary of Republican China, vol 1, Columbia University Press,New York, 1967, p. 147-8.

69. Ibid.; Workman, The Chinese Mind, p. 46; CCYB, 1936-7, p. 430.

70. Boorman, Biographical Dictionary, vol. 2, p. 416-7.71. William H. Topping, Claremont Oral History Project,

p. 20.72. Boorman, Biographical Dictionary, vol. 2, p. 416-7.73. Idem.74. CCYB, 1936-7, p. 443-4; Idem.75. "Dr. C.Y. Cheng Elected Honorary Life Member of Ameri­

can Bible Society," CR (July, 1935), p. 383.76. Idem.; "C.Y. Cheng, Great Chinese Leader," MRW (Octo­

ber, 1930), p. 780.77. Boorman, Biographical Dictionary, vol. 1, p. 284-5;

C.L. Boynton, "Cheng Ching-yi', CR (December, 1939), p. 691-6

78. C.Y. Cheng, China Her Own Interpreter, p. viii.

18879. Boorman, Biographical Dictionary, vol. 1, p. 284-6;

Report on the C.C.C., National Christian Conference, p. 70.

80. H.H. Tsui, "Reminiscences of Dr. Cheng Ching-ti," CR (December, 1939), p. 698; Nelson Bitton, "Cheng Ching'yi: A Christian Statesman," IRM (October, 1941),p. 517; "Dr. Cheng Ching-yi," CR (December, 1939).p. 689.

81. Bitton, Ibid., p. 520; Kenneth S. Latourette, A History of the Expansion of Christianity, vol vii. Harper and Bros., New York, 1945, p. 353.

82. CMYB, 1919, p. 75-6; Bitton, Regeneration of New China, p. 157.

83. Kepler, "Movements for Christian Unity," CCYB, 1928, p. 73.

84. CCYB, 1928, p. 150; 1929, p. 261; Yui, "Cooperation from the West," China Her Own Interpreter, p. 137.

85. C.C. Sparham, "The Church of Christ in China," CMYB, 1925, p. 125; CMYB, 1919, p. 61; Latourette, History of Christian Missions, p. 789; H. Davies, "Church Union in Kwangtung," CR (September, 1920), p. 642.

86. P.P. Price, "Church Union in China," CR (April, 1923), p. 196; Sparham, "The Church of Christ in China,"CMYB, 1925, p. 123.

87. Kepler, "Movements for Christian Unity," CCYB 1928, p. 81; Price, "Church Union in China," CR (April,1923), p. 196.

88. Price, Ibid., p. 197; Report on the Present State of the Chinese Church, National Christian Conference, p. 130.

89. Kepler, "Movements for Christian Unity," CCYB, 1928,p. 81.

90. P.P. Price, "Church Union in China," CR (April, 1923), p. 195-6; CMYB, 1919, p. 75-6.

91. Kepler, "Movements for Christian Unity," CCYB, 1928; p. 81; M. Searle Bates, "The Theology of American Mis­sionaries," Pairbank, Missionary Enterprise, p. 141.

92. Kepler, "Church and Unity," CCYB, 1931, p. 143; Report

189of the Present State of the Christian Church, National Christian Conference, p. 131; E.P. Hayes, Claremont Oral History Project, p. 20; Price, "Church Union in China," CR (April, 1923), p. 199.

93. CMYB, 1919, p. 66; John L. Stuart, Fifty Years in China; Memoirs of John Leighton Stuart, Random House, New York, 1954, p. 39; Additionally, nine of thirteen universities, plus all hospitals and training schools, and all schools for missionaries' children were union. Lobenstine, "Cooperation and Union in China," CCYB, 1932-3, p. 170.

94. "Coordination and Cooperation in the Work of the Church," National Christian Conference, p. 645.

95. Sparham, "The Church of Christ in China," CMYB, 1925, p. 125.

96. Ibid., p. 126-8.97. Kepler, "Movements for Christian Unity," CCYB, 1928,

p. 84; Latourette, History of Christian Missions,p. 800; Fairbank, "The Many Faces of Protestant Mis­sions," Fairbank, Missionary Enterprises, p. 11; "The Church of Christ in China," CR (October, 1922), p. 669.

98. Kepler, "What is the Church of Christ in China?," CR(January, 1927), p. 28; CMYB, 1919, p. 126-8.

99. "Christian Unity— The Starting Point," CR (June, 1920), p. 374.

100. Lew, "The Church of Christ in China," National Chris­tian Conference, p. 228; Porter, China's Challenge,p. 209; "The Church of Christ in China," CR (August,1932), p. 470.

101. Kepler, "Movements For Christian Unity," CCYB, 1928, p. 89.

102. Ibid., p. 85; Andrew Weir, "First General Assembly of the Church of Christ in China," CR (November, 1927), p. 713.

103. Ibid., p. 84; "More Facts About the 'United Church of China'," CR (November, 1927), p. 734-5.

104. Bishop Roots, Report of the C.C.C., National Chris­tian Conference, p. 42.

190105. Hsu Pao-chien, "The Chinese Church Comes of Age," CR

(January, 1931), p. 15-6.106. Troeltsch, Protestantism and Progress, p. 203.

UNEXPECTED PROBLEMS AFFECTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN CHINA

Although the organization of the Church of Christ in China was a major step forward in the development of unity within the Protestant groups in China, it was only a be­ginning, and was recognized as such. Differences within the mission community did not evaporate. A League of Chris­tian Churches was founded to express the views of the fun­damentalists.^ The organization of the church itself was unresolved; it had been founded with as loose an organiza­tion as possible in order to avoid alienating members at­tached to a particular organizational system and in order to allow the Chinese to evolve the system with which they felt the most comfortable. One area which had not been resolved was the relationship of the new unified church with the denominational boards at home. Some of the member churches wished to retain the right of direct access to their sponsoring boards. The problem then could be ex­pressed as one of unification and independence: for ifthirty synods of the Church of Christ.in China had direct access to fifteen boards of foreign missions in six coun­tries, each having five to seven missions in China, how

2possibly could a unified policy be developed? One191

192suggestion was to organize national boards at home. The need for a resolution of differences among six national boards was not addressed. This suggestion also returned much of the decision making process or, at least control of financial policy, to the Western mission boards, rather than reposing it in the Chinese church leaders. For this reason several boards sent evaluation teams in 1926 and 1927 to review policies and procedures. Some boards devolved all finances, planning, and some schools to the Chinese church­es, retaining control only over the paying of missionary salaries, their language tuition costs, and their furloughs. Others agreed to have their missionaries return to China from furlough only at the invitation of the Chinese church. Some churches were assisted in developing five year plans for their own support, and the sticky issue of property own­ership was discussed. Some property was turned over di­rectly to the Chinese; other groups, fearing the unstable political climate, loaned or leased the property to the church until such time as stability returned. Boards whose missions had sustained property losses did not file in­demnity claims for them, as they understood that the burden would fall on the local populace, thereby postponing their ability to become contributing members of the Chinese church.^

There was a noticeable hesitation in the movement toward unity on other grounds. There was noted some loss

193of interest as local problems claimed attention. There was movement in some denominations to separate federation (Baptists) or worldwide integration within the denomina­tions (Methodists).^ Many Christians moved together func­tionally, but ecclesiastical efforts were parallel or di­vergent. There were comments also on the general disillu­sionment with the idea of unity, paralleling some of the apathy which characterized the post war period. There was also the example of the debacle of the inter-church move­ment in the United States. These feelings were exacerbated by a "potent outburst of the spirit of intolerance" among groups within the church, which one critic expressed as the doubt as to whether evangelism could ever be "unionized."^

Anti-Foreignism and the Unequal Treaties Then, too, events outside the church sphere were to

influence church affairs. Among these was the May 30th incident (1925) , where foreign concession troops opened fire on demonstrating students wounding or killing several. Apparently the rising tide of nationalism had remained un­detected among much of the foreign community; they were un­prepared for the scope of the Chinese response. The intense hostility caused something of a split within the Western community. Missionaries became more sympathetic than pre­viously to the demands of Chinese nationalism.^ The church itself was in the process of organizing a united front to meet the challenges which it faced, and it was unprepared

194for the intense pressure for a quick solution to the problems of church management and identity. Once again such issues as the suitability of Western church organiza­tion for China, of artificial religious demarcations, of the ideas of the Western creeds and their applicability in Chinese thought, of Western influence on the home, on the place of women, and relationships with parents were raised. Additionally, there arose the issue of how the church could take a stand on political issues such as militarism, which it opposed, without losing its spiritual autonomy and be­coming a government or party organ. The answer for some Chinese was to form Chinese Christian Unions in several cities which were for Chinese only. Here, it was felt,

nopinions could be expressed without missionary influence.Another outcome of the May 30th incident was in in­

creased pressure for revision of the unequal treaties. In September of 1925, the Christian Century began a series of articles which attempted to push the mission boards togexert their influence to end extraterritoriality. This was but one provision of the treaties from which the mis­sionaries had benefited, but one of the most visible.There were those who advocated its abolition in that it set Christians apart in China, a status undesirable for a group seeking assimilation. Others feared for their legal status if the treaty provisions were abolished. The original ar­ticles which placed religious issues into the treaties had

195been in response to the attempts of the Empire to suppress or severely limit all foreign activity. The treaties had given the missionaries leverage which they had used to the fullest in order to take advantage of and increase their

9rights. The legality of some of the churches' interpre­tation of their rights was one issue of comment during the debates in the 1920's, as well as a basis of attack from those opposed to church presence. One document cited for support of mission rights was an Imperial Rescript issued December 28, 1844, in which tolerance was granted to Roman Catholics in the practice of their religion. Later the Imperial Commissioner [Ck'Xn-c.k'cu. Ta-ck'&nj Kiying (Ch'l-i/Xng}, the Governor-General at Canton, who handled all foreign relations (until the establishment of the Tsungli Yamen in 1861) gave all Western nations the same privilege in the exercise of their r e l i g i o n . I n the Sino-British Treaty of 1858, the right to preach their religion was granted andthe Westerners were guaranteed protection by the Chinese

11authorities. Further, there was a provision for extra­territoriality, and in Article XIII, a church was describedas one category of building permitted in ports open to

12trade. The Treaty of Peking, 1860, reiterated the tol­eration clause. In the Chinese version of the French treaty, free exercise of Christianity all over China was permitted with the additional privilege that Christians

19613might buy or construct houses in any province. In

Article 29 of the (American) treaty,the principles of the Christian religion as professed by the Protestant and Roman Catho­lic churches, are recognized as teaching men to do good, and to do to others as they would have done to them. Hereafter those who quiet­ly profess and teach these doctrines shall not be harassed or persecuted on account of their faith. Any person whether a. citizen of the United States or a Chinese convert, who, according to these tenets, shall peaceably teach and practice the principles of Christian­ity shall in no case be interfered with or molested.14

Since there was also a Most Favored Nation clause in the treaty, the matter should have been settled. That it was not can be shown in a petition in 1895 by leading mission­aries for greater protection, especially those residing in the interior. Since, they said, there was no specific guarantee of the right of residence in the treaties, the missionaries found it oppressive to hold land only in the name of the native church. Therefore, they requested a treaty revision to Article 29 which added "...and such persons shall be permitted to rent and purchase buildings or lands in all parts of the Empire and erect such build­ings as may be required for carrying out their good work. The Chinese wished for a guarantee of the "suitability" of foreign buildings and a lease in perpetuity rather than to sell the land.^^ In the American Treaty signed October 8, 1903, Article 14 states that mission societies not

197individuals were permitted to purchase and hold property

17for mission work. (See Appendix C)It is of interest to note that one year previously in

the Sino-British Mackay Treaty (1902) a promise was madeto make an early end to the extraterritoriality privilege.The United States and Japan included similar clauses in

18their versions of the treaty. It was argued that proper­ty rights did not truly belong in the category of extra­territoriality, but the privileges of both seemed linked

19in the minds of both Chinese and Westerners. That the missionaries had achieved an advantageous position in Chi­nese society was undeniable; Japan tried to get similarrights for Japanese Buddhist missionaries in 1905 and

20again in 1915, but these privileges set the church apart. In order to achieve a Sinification of church identity, any relationship with such special status would have to be severed.

The linking of the privileges of Christian people to militarily imposed treaties was difficult for some mis­sionaries to accept in the 1920's. It was hoped that theGreat Power Conference in Washington would set up a "ter-

21minus ad quem" on extraterritoriality. The Powers, however, failed to deal with the abolition of the privilege, merely modifying it to some degree. Thus Christianity con­tinued to be regarded questionably as its status was upheld by military force, a situation which to the Chinese was a

198confession of the failure of moral force.^2 This attitudewas expressed in an article by Hsu Pao-ch'ien, "Chris-

23tianity, a Religion of Love Spread by Force."Missionary and Chinese Response

Missionary opinion on this issue was not unanimous.In general, it was discovered that those with more than twenty years in China, those who were strongly evangelical, and those who resided in the interior, were opposed to the abolition of the treaty privileges. On the other hand, those who had recently arrived, who were engaged primarily in education, and resided in the coastal provinces were in f a v o r . I t was argued by those opposed that they came into contact with more of the poor than their brethren and were better able to gauge the Chinese mood. They also ar­gued that many Western Christians gave support to mission endeavors knowing that their investment was safe from cor­rupt Chinese officials. What would happen, they asked, to

25title deeds without the treaties? The property was regis­tered with the Western consuls, yet it had been given in the spirit of promoting Christian worship. This argument over property and its protection by the treaties became

26one of the most divisive issues in the treaty controversy.Many missionaries were unaware of the political sig­

nificance of their activities. Though by the mid-1920'sthey began to be made aware of the impediment to their

27work caused by the policies of their governments. The

199National Christian Council, therefore, began a sixteen month study of the treaties and their advantages and dis­advantages relative to the Christian effort in China.Their recommendations included the provisions that there should be no special protection or treaty for the mis­sionaries; that the treaties should be revised on the basis of equality; that Christians should support government ef­forts to revise the treaties along these lines; and thatthe remedy for the problem was the joint responsiblity of

28Chinese and foreigners. As a result, some missions beganto advise that the Chinese be loaned the property of thechurch until such time as the Chinese judicial system wasreformed in a manner consistent with the protection ofproperty rights. At such time all titles would be trans-

29ferred to the Chinese. Others feared that this rights recovery program would lead to a prohibition against the propagation of religion by foreigners. The loss of treaty rights might mean excessive taxation of church property and loss of its protection by government officials was another possibility which was brought forward.

The Chinese leaders were almost unanimous in their con­tention that Christianity would have a better chance of ac­ceptance if the treaty provisions were abolished. P.M. Kuo stated that to omit the guarantee for missionaries in therevised treaties would help give them greater Chinese ac-

31ceptance. Some Chinese charged that the mention of

200converts in the treaties gave them a foreign status. TheCommunists asked why Christianity needed special statusand protection when freedom of religion was guaranteed in

32the Chinese constitution. To them the presence of Chris­tian missions in China violated Chinese territorial in­tegrity and constituted cultural imperialism.

This issue of special privilege, a stand on which was seen as crucial by most Chinese, remained basically unre­solved among the missionaries. It did lead to some re­examination of policies and procedures, and to a study ofthe question of the presence of gunboats and military

33force. As Ch'eng Ching-yi commented, "The Christian movement of today is a large concern, involving a great deal of wealth, property, organization, scheme, power, not unmixed with a good deal of politics and d i p l o m a c y I t was no longer, if it ever had been, a simple matter of preaching the Gospel.

Complicating Factors It was to be issues of wealth, diplomacy, property and

politics which would hamper the forward momentum of the unification process. This unexpected combination of events included the Northern Expedition of the Kuomintang and the policies established by the Nationalist government; the Communist challenge in the city and the countryside; the great depression, which naturally affected the ability of mission boards to support either personnel or mission

201enterprises; and the incursion of the Japanese into China,which was to further exacerbate the situation in theChristian community.

It was ironic that Chinese domestic politics shouldplay such a major role in the evolution of self-awarenesson the part of the Chinese Christians. Politics challengedChristian beliefs, rights, leaders, institutions, in shortthe entire spectrum of Christian existence in China. Theirony lay in that Christianity proclaimed itself divorcedfrom politics; the 1910 Edinburgh Conference had arguedthat missionaries should stay clear of all factions and

35parties. By the nineteen twenties, it was agreed that the missionaries should try to save China within her politi­cal framework, and would abstain from organizing a mass movement for social revolution and political c h a n g e . F o r Americans in China, and their numbers were sizeable, there was a tradition of separation of church and state. Thusthe church had no mission to reform the state, except pos-

37sibly by example. There were those who thought that the church should train the Chinese for citizenship, the con­text suggesting an honest, open leadership role which

38would replace the corrupt warlord system. In this way the religion would serve the great mass of the population. The Kuomintang: Party and Government

There were basically two problems with the "stay out of politics" approach. The first was that the church.

202by remaining "neutral" could be labeled as unpatriotic,and as such of little importance. The second occured whenelements of the institutionalized church became the targetof or came into conflict with the government, particularlyin a period when the government was seeking justification

39for its establishment in nationalistic appeals. Such problems were at the root of the disagreements between the Kuomintang government and the Christian institutions in China, particularly in the years of the Northern Expedition and the establishment of the Nanking government.

The Christians were the beneficiaries if not the pro­ponents of special privilege under the unequal treaties which the Kuomintang were committed to ending. Though many in the mission organizations had pushed for an aboli­tion of the treaties prior to the Northern Expedition, the more conservative among the missionaries were basically satisfied with the status quo and were not overly amenable to ideas of drastic change.Missionary enterprises were criticized as agents of cultural imperialism, therefore harmful to the modernization efforts which the government intended to p u r s u e . T h e influence, or perhaps the poten­tial foreign influence, among the Christians and Christian educated was a possible source of competition for the Kuomintang ideas of national revolution. After all, one factor which brought the KMT to power was the anti-foreign riots from 1925 on.^^

203The May 30th incident had led to an increase in anti-

foreignism and violence. China and Chinese awareness hadchanged drastically in the preceding decade, but the basic

43Western attitude toward China had not. Thus in manyways the incidents in 1925 led to a heightened sense ofnational identity, and government ideology was phrased in

44terms of demands instead of requests. Under these cir­cumstances, it was natural that the Kuomintang attempt toend the perceived "domination of the Christian missionary

45over her spiritual life." The party also emphasized that the unequal treaties were instituted by Christian nations. Thus romantic nationalism took on some of the aspects of secular r e l i g i o n . F r o m their perspective. Nationalist aspirations had to compete with an extra-national influ­ence. Therefore, it could be said that both the Kuomintang and the church were attempting to establish their national integrity in this period.

The Northern Expedition of 1926-8 consisted of a cam­paign to unite the country by defeating militarily or uniting diplomatically the various warlord factions. Having achieved success on a large scale, a unified country was proclaimed. Although the KMT party still consisted of a variety of interests, more consistency in policy had been achieved with the expulsion of the communist members who had been allowed to join the party as individuals. To facilitate consolidation of support with the area of their

204greatest loyalty, the KMT moved the seat of government from Peking to Nanking, thus giving to the era of the National­ist domination of China the designation "the Nanking Decade" (1927-1937).

The three major goals of the new government were rights recovery, economic stability, and the quest for a unifying ideology. To this end they had adopted the loose philosophical precepts of the San-min Chu--t. Those aspects of society which were viewed as helpful in achieving these goals were to be permitted, but all others were to be sup­pressed. Therefore, as a religion, Christianity was ac­ceptable to the government. Christianity promoted indi­vidual initiative and responsibility, not only as regards the individual, but for society's problems as well. It was only in its institutionalized form that it ran counter to the Nationalist' goals. Thus many missionaries began to support the movement to end extraterritoriality privi­leges as a means of ensuring, at the least, freedom from government harassment. The Nationalist Party, however, was hardly monolithic in structure or makeup. Within its loose organization, the old gentry were basically conser­vative and anti-Christian; the Japanese group, those given a modern education in Japan, were basically anti-Western; the Young China Party were ardent patriots and occasional anti-Christians; and the Communists (before their expul­sion) , whose members were drawn predominantly from students.

205military, and industrial workers, were opposed to religion

47in general. With this makeup, and given their platform, the policies of the church in China would have to change merely to be tolerated. The problem lay in that there was no single voice which represented "The Church" in China. Although this problem was recognized, the response to it and others was fragmented and therefore weak.

This lack of clarification of identity was acute for the Chinese Christians especially. Their desire to demon­strate their patriotism occasionally clashed with the gov­ernment's anti-foreign propaganda campaigns which were aimed at religion. It also exacerbated conflicts with mis­sionaries when they were reluctant to allow the Chinese a determinative role in the future of their organization.Many Christians joined the Kuomintang in an attempt to re­solve their questioned loyalties; others helped collectmoney to support anti-foreign strikes such as those at

48Hong Kong and Shameen. Basically, they tried to beChinese and Christian, assuring others that Christianitydid not challenge the political process, and as long asthat statement was true, Christianity did not serve as anexcuse for foreign aggression. To them there was no con-

49flict between nationalism and religion.The impact of the government's attitude began to be

apparent as the Kuomintang forces moved north in order to achieve national unification (the Northern Expedition).

206From 1925-1927 the armies spread throughout the Chinese countryside inciting anti-foreign in c i d e n t s . T h e s e be­came especially severe in 1926.^^ The Kuomintang attitude toward the church was not made clear. The anti-Christian movement seemed centered in the radical left wing. Never­theless, as a precaution, missionaries in the Canton areawere evacuated to Shanghai as the armies gathered in prepa-

52ration for the campaign northward. That this was a pru­dent precaution soon became evident. The most striking example of anti-foreign attacks by Kuomintang armies oc­cured in Nanking, March 24, 1927. Property was occupied and looted; shooting incidents occured. In order to evacu­ate the Western missionaries in the area. Western gunboats

53had to fire on the city. These attacks shocked the Wes­terners involved. Prior to these incidents, when the war­lord armies fought, the people sought shelter in the Chris­tian institutions, which all combatants avoided so as not to offend the Western powers (and incidentally safeguard their supply of arms). The Kuomintang, in contrast, re­frained from ravaging the people, but did not respect Christian institutions or property. Indeed the National­ists seem to target Christian property specifically as though to demonstrate that its status was no different from any other in China.

In response to this threat Western consuls ordered, or if American, advised, the missionaries to evacuate to

207Shanghai. People were evacuated in 1927 from Kwangtung, Fukien, Hunan, Szechuan, and the Yangtse River ports; even in Shansi, Shensi, and Chihli, Westerners were advised to go. It was estimated that out of eight thousand mission­aries and dependents, less than five hundred remained in

55the field. Some Westerners felt that to remain wouldendanger their Chinese congregations. So they departed to

5SShanghai, Japan, the Philippines, India, or home. Manyof those who left reexamined their role in China and didnot return. Several boards sent advisers in 1926 and 1927to survey conditions and were reluctant to recommend that

57all missionaries return. Statistics showed that while many Westerners had returned by September of 1927 and after, there was a significant loss in the number of mission per­sonnel. Statistics dealing with mission population are not always reliable. The Yearbook for 1928 states that out of the 4,313 missionaries who were listed as present inChina, they had definite information on 3,521 located in

58313 cities. That loss occured, however, was uncontested. Prior to 1927, missionaries had been active in 729 cities. The 1928 figure shows roughly half that number with a mis­sionary presence. Later studies (1932-1933) indicate that in 1928 the number of missionaries in the field was thirty- eight percent of what it had been in 1926. Specifically, in 1926 there had been 8,325 persons in the field; in 1928 the number was 3,133. By 1933 it had returned to 5,749, or

20859sixty-nine percent of 1926. As one missionary observed,

mission participation in the Chinese church had clearly peaked in 1926. Missionary activities had been decimated by the May 30th reactions, communist kidnapping, and the Northern Expedition, especially the incidents in Nanking, the battles in Honan, the breakdown of the Wuhan govern­ment, and the resulting Red and White Terror campaigns. Soldiers of the Kuomintang had occupied churches and mis­sionary compounds, closed or destroyed schools and hospit­als. Radical students associated with the Nationalist movement had interrupted those classes in session and harassed teachers and Christian students. These incidents occured in particular at those institutions set up to train Christian leaders.

In the absence of the missionaries, the Chinese had been given, or had assumed control of, the churches and other institutions which they had run capably. When the missionaries returned, control reverted to its accustomed hands, but the situation was never quite the same. There were fewer missionaries, less funding, and a new sense of national unity with which the Chinese Christians felt they must be identified. Where missionaries cooperated in pro­moting their Chinese counterparts and shared or turned over responsibility to them, little friction occured. But in the areas where the Westerners tried to revive the 6taXLU>

ao ante, b&ilwn, some Chinese became discouraged and left the

209church, joining the Kuomintang or the Communists. Others tried to achieve devolution of control by patience and persistence.

Having established the government in Nanking, the par­ty began to effect changes in the status of Western in­stitutions in China concomitant with its focus on national­ism. The Kuomintang were attempting to revise the treaty system or at least curtail as much as possible the privi­leges granted under it. One of the major targets of at­tack became the Christian schools. The choice of this particular area upon which to focus was supported by sev­eral party concerns. One aspect was the success enjoyed by Christian educational establishments; many of these in the professions and the government were graduates of Chris­tian schools. Thus a charge of attempted cultural domi­nation could be levelled against the foreign controlledsystem where Chinese traditions, literature, language, and

6 2culture were neither emphasized nor well taught. Yet the admission that the Christian educational system com­prised a significant proportion of the Chinese organization

63and was needed, was a source of shame. Perhaps also the fact that Christian colleges and universities tended to produce social critics in far greater proportion than gov­ernment schools was also a factor emphasizing the need for regulation in a time of attempted unification.^^ To the government, a successful system under foreign control.

210dominated by alien ideas and teachings, staffed by teachers lacking proper patriotic motives, was perceived as a prob­lem. Mission schools flew a foreign flag (along with the Chinese), used foreign languages, taught foreign history, and isolated their students from their own s o c i e t y . A s the Chinese critics of this situation pointed out, most nations had state school systems with uniform regulations; there could be no reasonable objection to the Chinese doing the same.

Requirements for the registration of all schools were promulgated by the government in Canton on November 16,1925. There had been four influential educational confer­ences at which petitions had been presented to require registration of schools and to exclude religious teach­ings.^^ Most Chinese did not believe that religious in­struction should be required. The 1925 provisions stated that an educational institution could not have as its pur­pose the propagation of religion nor could it require re­ligious courses. A rider was added to the effect that re­ligious services could not be m a n d a t o r y . A s a result, some Christian schools registered with the appropriate gov­ernment agency; many did not. The problem posed in the registration requirement was not taken seriously by the mis­sionaries in 1925. Thus the following two years were filled with discussions and arguments on this issue. Religious liberty was the issue raised by the missionaries in school

2116 8registration debates. But there was no unified policy.

Other provisions were enunciated to try to bring the Chris­tian schools under government supervision and to require them to include more courses in Chinese language and cul­t u r e . A s one critic of the Christian schools put the issue, in order to produce profound Chinese scholarship, the Chinese needed to stop "feeding on bread and butter and not on rice."^^ The basic anti-Christian, anti-religion arguments were brought forward once again, but the more popular arguments for registration dealt with the rights of a sovereign nation to control its internal institutions.

Not all schools were required to register at this time, but from 1926 on a military training program was required.In addition, compulsory courses were required along with a

71weekly memorial service for Sun Yat-sen. The Kuomintangposition was that Christianity was a positive religion andwas therefore to be allowed to develop, but not as a toolof imperialism, nor in education which was a function of

72the state. For these reasons a requirement that the principal of a school be Chinese was promulgated. Other more radical demands were also brought forth. One critic demanded that ten percent of all school income be used to teach the Three People's Principles, and that this money should logically be deposited in Chinese banks. Further, it was suggested that any government official had the right to remove any teacher, but that no student could be

212dismissed by a teacher. Students should have the right todetermine the right time to leave or enter any institution,

7 3at will. ' Additional proposals were to require that all teachers be graduates of Kuomintang schools, trained in party principles, and that the Christian schools be "re­turned" to the government— not just the jurisdiction

74but the property as well.In 1928 government regulations were enforced. The cur-

iculum, teacher qualifications, school equipment, and gen­eral standards of education were centrally controlled. Most schools were headed by Chinese and the governing boards were composed of Chinese members. Neither Bible study nor religious services could be required at a registered school,and more Chinese subjects were to be offered with less use

75of English in the middle schools. Further, unregisterednon-Chinese schools or those which required religion were

7 6to register. The Minister of Education forbade Christian literature in school libraries except when used for philo­sophy courses at senior middle schools and at universities. Also, regulations required that no person who was not Chi­nese, nor any group not entirely Chinese, would be per­mitted to establish a primary school. All teachers and

77administrators of primary schools would be Chinese.Other organizations were similarly restricted. The

government planned to investigate all religious societies7 8and property and register them for the good of the people.

213The purpose of the registration was to turn all propertynot actively used or needed by the missionaries over to

79government control. The registration rules for the church were the same as for other organizations: (a) noword or act against the San-min Cha.-l would be permitted;(b) the organization would receive guidance from the Kuo­mintang; (c) the organization would observe the laws of the nation and obey the mandates of the government; (d)mem­bership would be permitted to those allowed by law; (e) anti-revolutionaries who had been found guilty and those deprived of the rights of citizenship were not permitted to be members; (f) apart from regular meetings of the or­ganization, any extraordinary meeting had first to secure the consent of the highest local party and government of­ficial; (g) in case the organization disobeyed the aboveregulations, the same should be punished according to pre-

80scribed law. The Church of Christ in China registeredwith the government and paid taxes on its land. It was astrong advocate for the registration of schools with the

81Ministry of Education.Some Christians viewed the registration requirements

as steps in the anti-Christian movement. The status ofthe church was confused, and within it there was no con-

82sensus. It seemed as though there were increasing re­strictions, at least until the early 1930's, particularly in the area of primary education. Other regulations

214enjoined Christians from instructing those not yet thirteenyears old, as religious instruction was considered to be the

83duty of the parents. There was some threat of total re-84striction on street preaching. By 1929 the government

had forbidden voluntary religious exercises in primary and junior middle schools. Several churches petitioned in order to have the regulation rescinded, but their efforts f a i l e d . T h i s diminution of their ability to evangelize upset many within the Christian community. Some mission­aries found it difficult to accept the idea of military training at their institutions, in that they feared it would engender a warlike spirit among the students. Such a spirit would be contradictory to that which '-hey were trying to instill.

Complicating this problem for the missionaries was their need for home board approval for registration. If the government set the curriculum and other requirements, then the buildings were not being used in the manner for which funds had been donated. How could this practice be justified at home or further support obtained for missions in China? That this problem was insoluble for some can be seen in the more than two-thirds of the 339 Christian middleschools existing in 1924 being closed in the period from

8 61927 on. If the regulations were not followed, however, Christian primary school graduates would not have their diplomas stamped, thus rendering them ineligible for

215government university, scholarships, schooling abroad, or

87public service jobs. Some government officials refused to validate passports for those travelling abroad for edu­cation unless the holder would guarantee that he was not

O pabout to undertake religious study. In addition govern­ment regulation required that all Christian publications

89be censored by the party. The missionaries hoped thatteachers of good moral character would serve to offset, to

90a degree, the effect of government regulations. But, under the circumstances, this was a fairly weak evangeliza­tion.

Religious liberty was guaranteed in the Chinese con­stitution. In the Provisional Constitution for the Period of Political Tutelage (1931), Article 6 (which was essen­tially the same as Article 5 of the Provisional Constitu­tion of 1912) stated that there was to be no distinction in law due to race, class, or religion. Article 11 (the former Article 6) guaranteed liberty of religious belief. These provisions were unqualified, though other libertieswere subject to restrictions in law. The Draft Constitu-

91tion of 1936 did include restrictions on these articles. However, the attitude of the Nanking government did not always reflect the principles expounded in the constitu­tion. Some of the prohibitions and restrictions reflected the idea that religion was superstitious and that a modern state did not need religion. Religious festivals had also

216been swept away. The Kuomintang recognized that man wasnot normally areligious; they hoped that the regular SunYat-sen ceremony could fulfill the social function of re-

92ligion. Some of the officials felt that to allow unre­stricted religious liberty would increase the potential for the success of Communist propaganda. The apparent simi­larity of ideas of some aspects of Christianity and Com­munism made many officials wary as to the results of Chris-

93tianity in the social system. As some members of thegovernment had noted, only Communists and Christians werewilling to work in rural areas for reconstruction or to

94tend wounded soldiers.The results of these attempts to end the privileged

position of the missionary community in China were many and unpredictable. In establishing his government, Chiang Kai-shek attacked the most visible symbol of the unequal treaty system as part of the rights recovery program. After 1927, however, the hostility against the Christian communi­ty seemed to lessen, though restrictions on what the gov-

95ernment viewed as extra-national influence remained.After the establishment of the government, many missionar­ies were openly cooperative with it either because they welcomed the stability which a centralized organ promised, or they considered cooperation the only means of survival for their institutions. With the conversion of Chiang in 1930, the situation seemed to become calmer and many

217Westerners remained optimistic as to their continuedservice in China. It even appeared to some that the KMTwas attempting to organize church support for their pro-

96grams.The conversion of Chiang Kai-shek could be reckoned

as a missionary success; obviously becoming a Christian did not preclude intense patriotism or involvement in national affairs, but his identification with Christian ideas and affairs was limited. He did try to organize missionary backing and/or involvement in his social action programs since missionaries had the most experience and training in this field. However, one is left with the im­pression that it was their expertise which the KMT wished to utilize, not necessarily their Christian beliefs. Little substantial evidence exists of an attempt on Chiang's part to appeal to Chinese Christians as a group. Perhaps the lack of Christian cohesiveness precluded its perception as an organized force, thus concomitantly precluding its in­corporation in the Nationalist scheme en masse. The fact remains that, though Chiang (and his wife) were practicing Christians, this aspect of their lives remained private, influencing or affecting national policies in only minor ways. Thus the conversion of this leading figure in the Kuomintang party remained symbolic, at least as far as real advantage accruing to other Christians in China was concerned.

218Many Chinese Christians found the times to be

propitious. It seemed as though Christianity had attained a recognizable, if regulated, status under the Nanking gov­ernment. They felt that the times of stress had purifiedthe church, shaking free those who had used church member-

9 7ship for social or economic purposes. Membership had de­clined, it was true, but those who remained were those who truly believed, making the church organization stronger and more spiritually based. Many schools had been closed, personnel reduced— the Westerners going elsewhere, the Chi­nese into other fields. Yet the core of the institutions remained and the Chinese had greater control over property and policy than ever before. Problems also remained. Since theological seminaries could not meet government require­ments for public service, they had to register as private schools. Enrollment in these institutions had declinedand the church was forced to rely on volunteers, many of

9 8them poorly trained. Then, too, taxation of registered church property tended to undermine the fragile financial foundation of the Chinese church. For these reasons the Christian movement as a whole had lost some of its momentum and, compared to ten years previously, some of its pres­tige. It was hoped that since cooperation with governmentregistration requirements had been widely accepted, medi­

anfications in the statutes might be introduced in time.Most Christian schools were open though there were fewer

219teachers. It was found that after an initial lapse, when religion was not required, an intelligent interest in re­ligion was being shown on the part of numerous students. There were areas, though, where organization had not re­paired the gaps left by the disruptions of the last several years. One missionary said that "the foreign staff found that their Chinese colleagues could get along perfectly well without them, and the Chinese found that they could not, which was about as true as most paradoxes. There was obviously some confusion over rules within the various Christian groups which had not yet been settled.

The government attitude à. the Christians wasunsettled. After 1927 (and until the 1930's) there werefewer anti-Western diatribes published, as accommodationhaving been undertaken by the KMT with Western governmentrepresentatives in Shanghai. Party attitude seemed tovacillate. After 1930 Chiang himself was a Christian and,in the statement of one Western observer, this eased the

102position of church members somewhat. Additionally, many members of the government were Western educated, or Christian. In 1929, for example, the Cabinet was composed of ten ministers, six of whom had been educated in America and seven of whom were C h r i s t i a n . C e r t a i n l y Mme. Chiang was a Wellesley graduate, and her brother-in-law H.H. Kung, the Minister of Finance, was an alumnus of Oberlin and Yale. The Minister of Foreign Affairs was also a Yale graduate;

220the Minister of Education had attended the University ofPittsburgh. The President of the Legislative Ytlan was agraduate of Columbia and the University of California, theMinister of Information graduated from the Missouri Schoolof Journalism, and the Head of the Bank of China was edu-

104cated from Harvard. It was estimated that there wereover two hundred Christian officials in Nanking, especially in the opium commission, and other social issue agencies This gave a very Western surface to the government, but not necessarily a Christian one. The surface, too, was just that, as some missionaries were to find; in organiza­tion and execution of its duties, it was unquestionably Chinese. Some Western educated officials regarded the pres­ence of Western missionaries in China as due to the lack of respect in which Christian ministers were held in the West. This attitude tended to make relations somewhat more frus­trating for the missionaries since their perception of gov­ernment was based on a false estimate of sympathy and under­standing of mission goals in China. Under the proposed constitution, for example, pastors could neither vote nor hold o f f i c e . Y e t the fact that so many Western trained individuals were in positions of power seemed to the mis­sionaries to indicate that a change for the better would occur.

Paradoxically, there was a position for Christianity and its values at this time. Much of China's weakness was

221ascribed to a weakness of national character. Christianity'srole was to help "make the Chinese race a strong and re-

107spected equal...." Religion was regarded as somethingof a creative process able to bring forth a revitalized

108people, a new caring, and a new society. This was to bethe time for the expression of Christian social values andthe stability and discipline which they helped create.Some of the credit for new factory laws went to Christianstudies of measures needed to ensure the well-being of the

109work force. Severe flooding of the Yangtse Valley pre­disposed the government to approve the work of the North­ern Christian Rural Service Union, made up of personnel from six missions and church groups plus three provincial i n s t i t u t i o n s . O t h e r institutions which dealt with so­cial problems received some government support and approval as well.

The Church's attitude to the state was to cooperatewhere possible, and to challenge such policies as seemedwithin the church's realm, such as social injustice, opium

111addiction, gambling, and militarism. The government in turn sought some accommodation with the church, particular­ly in its campaign against the Communists and for public morality. Many Christians sympathized with the government'sstand against Communism. A few had been kidnapped and held

112for ransom by Communist groups. Others were put off bythe element of enforced secularism in Soviet Communism.

222On these matters, many missionaries and their Chinesecolleagues were willing to identify with the Kuomintangand to urge support for many of its programs and ideas.Some Chinese Christians felt that the philosophies of Suncould be reconciled with Christianity, though such at-

113tempts were superficial at best. The government wished to make use of Christian personnel and their experience in the rural areas, in particular in the areas liberated from the Communists. Cooperative village programs were begun in Kiangsi using church workers and government mon­ey. This undertaking led to some misunderstandings,as when Christian students entering villages for mass lit­eracy or public health education campaigns were arrestedby government forces, since those were the kinds of pro-

115grams which the Communists usually undertook.Another area where Christian influence was solicited

and established was the New Life Movement. This campaign was the party's attempt to instill and reinforce useful virtues in the population. It was designed to cope with the "spiritualessness of the c o u n t r y . P a r t of the problem was the attempt to reconcile ideas of modernism with the need for traditional virtues, which had been discred­ited in the intellectual turmoil of the 1920's. Occasion­ally with the breakdown of traditional values and social structure without immediate replacement by other systems, a militant and fundamentalist reassertion on the part of

223traditional forces occurs, which has the capacity to

117endanger the smooth transition to modernization.Chiang's emphasis on neo-traditional virtues was such a defense of identity: in order to regenerate China, a re­turn to the ancient virtues, which in the past were China's

118strength, was necessary.Many Christians identified with the goals of the New

Life Movement. The most well known missionary supporterwas George Sheppard, who identified strongly with Chiangand his policies. As he wrote in the Chinese Recorder,many Christians felt that the New Life Movement was theright direction and that Chiang had officially invited thechurch to cooperate. The N.L.M. was not in the hands ofa party or clique, and was not a rival church. Further,good character could be built by following its precepts.

119For these reasons cooperation was desirable. Personnelfrom the Chinese Y.M.C.A. were also borrowed to help or-

120ganize and staff the movement. The N.L.M. representedan attempt to develop an all inclusive ideology which themajority of the people could find attractive. Christianelements in the movement were the emphasis on simplicityand frugality, and the concentration on social work. Therewas an attempt to arouse social consciousness and to stressproductivity and self-reliance, a sort of blend of Confu-

121cian values and those of social gospel activism.

224Unfortunately this ideology was not well thought out

and had little or no appeal for Chinese intellectuals.Israel describes it as "a potpourri of warlord politics,treaty port economics, hybridized Western education, ruralconservatism, neo-Confucian morality, and ossified Sun

122Yat-senism." Students who found little of appeal in this system were not harassed by the government, though the institutions which harbored them sometimes were. From the point of view of the government, Christian schools which produced social critics had to be controlled; but as they produced those with understanding of rural problems, they could also be used. A dichotomy of attitudes developed which led to a confusion in perception as to government attitudes towards Christian establishments and people.Most Christians, given a choice between the two politic­ally viable extremes, preferred to be identified with the KMT. The government seemed the only means whereby reforms could be accomplished in an orderly manner. The 1935 party platform, for example, pledged to uphold traditional vir­tues, promote scientific education, extend popular educa­tion, especially to the poor, develop an efficient govern­ment and respect for the law, supervise the administrative

123bureaucracy, and develop the frontier provinces.In its relationship with Christianity, there had been

four distinct periods which characterized the Nationalist' attitudes; that of the Canton government (1925): in this

225period the leaders were too busy with military matters to formulate a policy; that of the Hankow government (1927); this was a time which was very destructive to religious property and disruptive of religious activity. It greatly affected the Christian church particularly in the Yangtse region; that of the time of the Nanking incident (1927) ; this was the climax of the destruction. Division in the party and growing expediency in policy to protect mis­sionaries and their property occured; that after the fall of Peking (1928): this was the beginning of national re­unification and a period where all institutions were ex­amined in the light of Kuomintang g o a l s . T h e effects of these policies were the destruction of property and the dismissal of missionaries, an increasingly patriotic atti­tude on the part of the Chinese, and an increasing impetus for Chinese Christian leaders to study the survival of their faith.

The missionaries and KMT had mutual, if limited, re­spect for each other; respect for what each ought to stand for, but some disillusionment with the reality. Yet in both camps a need was ascertained for mutual cooperation for China's good, and the accomplishment of their respec­tive goals. The interdenominational North China Christian Rural Services Union provided animal and seed selection, public health measures, improved farm methods and erosion control, all by means of 1,000 character texts, for example.

226The government supported this kind of program in areas recovered from the Communists. However when some landlords, the backbone of rural KMT support, objected to their peas­ants being taught to read on the grounds that literacymight lead them to assume positions of influence, the party

X26supported the landlords' view. One missionary comment­ing on the pro-KMT view of a colleague disclosed that the typical party supporter had always lived in the city andworked with the wealthy and educated. Naturally, he found

127few faults with the party. It was in the rural areas where KMT and Christian policies most often clashed.

Some missionaries expressed concern that the new nationalist registration regulations would curtail further building in China. Others writing home described the situ­ation in moral terms, rather than in those dealing with concrete problems in the field. A few "Teddy Roosevelttype ordained generals" explained the nationalist struggle

128as good— not anti-foreign, but anti-injustice. Problemssuch as there were, according to these analysts, werecaused by Russian controlled Chinese. There was a need,

129then, to save the gallant Chinese Christians. For these missionaries a new, moral crusade took precedence over almost all other problems. Others worried over too close an identification of the Christians with the Kuomintang.

227The Communist Challenge

Another group which posed a challenge to theChristians in this period, though hardly on such a broadinstitutional scale, was the Chinese Communist Party. Theyhad organized some of the anti-Christian campaigns in the1920's and urged the limitation of religious privilegesby arguing that, to the Chinese, freedom of religion also

131constituted freedom from religion. To the Communistsreligion was superstition which science and the economic determinism of history made undesirable and unnecessary. Thus as individuals in the Kuomintang, they had urged the occupation of mission property as a means of expressing the changed status of mission organizations in China. After their split with the Kuomintang in 1927, Communists often kidnapped and held for ransom itinerant missionaries whose countries or communities would buy their freedom. Many of the missionary incidents were caused by bandits. The branding of Communist irregular forces as "bandits" by the government often confused the identity of the kidnap­pers. However, the Communists, or at least some of theiradherents, were guilty of such incidents, at least for a

132limited period of time. Occasionally a missionary was killed. But it was the Communist ideological attacks, not their personal ones, which posed the major problem for the church.

228One tactic which was frequently used was the placing

of an older boy in a lower grade to become the naturalleader of the class. He would then organize others todisrupt classes, religious exercises, and other gatherings

133with questions, demonstrations, and the like. One missionary admitted that the mail of suspected Communist students was opened. Often they were given failing grades in academic subjects in order to encourage them to with­draw. The attitude expressed was that the mission schools

134were for the loyal students. Mission attitudes were notentirely consistent. Loyalty in students was encouragedat least in so far as academic and religious matters wereconcerned. Yet the same missionary who opened student mailtaught a course in Civic Welfare which took students aroundthe country to learn of actual conditions and what might

135be done to alleviate them. Students were encouraged toquestion political and social matters. This confusion of attitudes on the part of those at some mission schools did little to counter the Communist argument that religion strengthens the conservative forces in society, that minis­ters were representatives of and disseminators of capital­ism, and that the entire system of Christian institutions

136was that of an imperialist agency.At the same time, the Chinese Communist Party found

itself cut off from national power. It tended therefore to moderate its more violent rhetoric in order to attract

229members from among the less radical elements of society.It announced that while Communists do not believe in re­ligion, if it served the people, it should be regarded as

137part of the effort to build a new China. Even in theYenan period, freedom of religion was proclaimed. Part of the rationale for this policy lay in the need for as much support as was possible, as a united front mentality dic­tated. As long as the Communists were regarded as anti-imperialistic, they felt little need to attack other

. 138groups in society.For students. Communism proved to be very attractive,

particularly as the KMT policy began to become more re­strictive in regard to student rights and activities. Many students found the role for the educated in social theories attractive, as was the emphasis on materialism which the Communists p r o p o u n d e d . T h e CCP charged that the ideali­zation of Sun Yat-sen was not fulfilling the Three Prin­ciples. The Communists appealed to the students using a mixture of facts and emotional issues. They offered solu­tion to the problems of the country by claiming that they could correct such problems as maldistribution of goods.The party also exerted strong discipline, a force clearly needed to bring order to Chinese life. Additionally, it possessed all the glamour which a secret organization al­ways engendered. These attributes added to the fact that

230the party was of a revolutionary nature, appealed to the adventurous spirit of the students.

Despite the emphasis on the scientific method in the 1920's, many Chinese thinkers could not "distinguish be­tween the critical attitude and methodological authority, between scientific objectivity and absolute rationality, between scientific laws and irrefutable d o g m a . T h i s

failure opened a contest of ideas between incompletely assimilated ideas. In this contest Communism had a clear advantage since it seemed to fulfill much of the scientific criteria. To some of the students Christianity and Com­munism worked for the same goals, but Christianity had been at it longer with fewer re s u l t s . A c t u a l l y , in the 1920's there had arisen a kind of Christian socialism out of the social gospel idea. There was some appreciation of the relationship possible between Communism and Christian be­liefs and the obvious need for radical social and economic change. But as the KMT had hardened its attitude toward the Communists and begun to isolate them, the Communists had been cut off from much contact with Christian ideas.Thus the concepts of Christian socialism were not a lasting influence in the development of CCP policy.

Where issues became confused for some Christians was in the seeming similarity of goals which the two philoso­phies proclaimed such as social justice, caring for the poor, self-reliance, and the dignity of labor. This concern

231seemed to be the essence of the social gospel and of socialism, which is one translation of the People's Livli- hood, one of the Three Principles. Socialism seemed, therefore, to have a nationalist stamp of approval, an historic inevitability, and a religious sanction. Little wonder that many Christians found socialism attractive. Further the Communists began a program similar in scope to those run by the Christians. There was in effect a kind of competition in many of the areas which the missionaries had pioneered. The fact that many missionaries were anti­communist and many Communists anti-missionary seemed to some Chinese to be the nature of nothing more serious than a sectarian d i s p u t e . M a n y Chinese found Communism a more practical means of service to the state. "Marxism took hold in ways liberal Christians could not because itprovided the framework for translating the patriotic awak-

144enging into powerful organizations."The issue became, in part, to what degree Christianity

could accept social doctrines and whether meaningful social reforms could be accomplished without religion. There was also the need for reconciliation between capitalism and im­perialistic abuses with Christian doctrine and the apparentacceptance of these abuses by many Christians without pro-

145test. It seemed to some that to find an answer to the former and to offset the impression of the latter objec­tion, Christianity was engaged in a race to outshine

232Coiranunism. Since "Conununism is a social philosophy inwhich society is organized into passionate action tobring about the millenium without God," the church founditself in the position of trying to prove that God also

146was needed.This was a direct challenge for which the church,

and in particular the Christian educators, should have been prepared. At this time student reasoning was suffi­ciently muddled that the following syllogism seemed to pass unchallenged; "God is truth; truth is found incommunism; therefore, by joining Communism, one worships

147God." Some students argued that many of the communists'ideas were products of Christian thought. As the task oftrying to improve the social order began to bind the churchin further government red tape, some Christians began toexamine the Communist alternative. They found that thegoals were admirable, if not the methods, yet these methodswere not altogether different from some employed by the

148government. The Communists appeared to be more organ­ized and articulate; the government seemed little inclined to support many of the social concerns with more than words. This led some students to join the Communists inthe belief that the Western governments would not allow

149radical reform in the interests of China. It seemed as though only a non-Western force could accomplish the re­form which would lead to modernization.

233Christians clearly seemed to be less positive or

aggressive than the CCP. They appeared to lag behind in the ability to offer radical formulas for social recon­struction.^^*^ The basic difference perhaps can be illus­trated by their respective programs to improve rural con­ditions. The Christians called theirs rural reconstruction, implying an improvement, but within the system. The Com­munists called their plans agrarian reform and preached so­cial change and revolution. As Timothy Lew pointed out,Christians agitated for change in laws and social condi-

151tiens, but short of revolution.The church had identified with Kuomintang goals.

Though much verbal attention had been paid by the govern­ment to rural problems, delays in programs and funding made

152accomplishments few. The landlords in the rural areaswere greatly upset by any threat of land reform and the government identified any push for change in land policy with the Communists. Therefore, the church was left with a narrow scope in which to pursue its reforms. Indeed, the church was in an unenviable position since the KMT propa­ganda was directed at the rejection of the church as foreignwhile at the same time Communists criticized them as middle

153class. Yet the church felt that it was in a unique posi­tion to fulfill the Three Principles, which was the pro­claimed goal of both antagonists.

234It was suggested that the church needed to create

loyalty among its followers akin to that demanded by theCCP.^^^ Unlike Borodin and his successors, the Christians

155had no monolithic source of funds or directives. Strong leadership in the church was needed without which Communism would win over many of those who had not been fully per­suaded. The problem lay in keeping the active reformers in the c h u r c h . T h e church attempted to point out that So­viet Communism was against the church and religion, that it was in itself imperialistic and would tolerate no rival in­fluences. Christians also demonstrated that Communism preached materialism and used violence to attain its goals.It additionally attempted to produce a mass attitude which

157interfered with individual freedom. Both had good and bad attributes from the church's standpoint, but neither wished to allow the church much room to maneuver outside its own programs. Since the church itself was not united, this made its position difficult to identify, which only exacerbated its problems. It was caught, it appeared, in between not wishing to identify with either party and being attacked by both. The Communists saw the church as part of the KMT relationship with the West; the government saw the church as involved in Communist issues of land reform and mass education. The church's separate identity was lost or distorted. It could neither compete intellectually with Marxism-Leninism, nor nationalistically with the government.

235Perhaps one aspect of the church's problem can be summedup as follows: "...preaching without teaching was nolonger taken seriously [Christianity]; teaching withoutpreaching would move no one to action [KMT]; but preaching

158in the guise of teaching [CCP] proved irresistible." Worldwide Depression

A further dimension to the problems of the period was added when the depression of the 1930's had a major impact on Christian organizations and activities in China. Few people could be trained or sent out. Funding for support of missionaries and institutions was cut. It became a struggle to maintain what had already been established. Expansion, for the most part, was out of the question. The effect, of course, was cumulative rather than immediate, but its ripple effect on a worldwide basis meant that short­falls in funding could not be recovered in other areas.Schools were occasionally closed if there were too many job-

159less graduates in a particular area. This meant dislo­cation both for the community and for school personnel.More Chinese control of institutions was one side effect, but without adequate staffing and support, the new Chinese administrators had a declining situation with which to cope. After the emergency in 1927 and the cuts in funding in 1928 and 1929, the depression's effect in the 1930's proved to be profoundly discouraging to many.^^^ The financial crisis in fact forced the church to look for a

236significant amount of indigenous s u p p o r t . B u t , with the floods and other problems of the 1930's, not to mention the need for financial recovery from the previous civil dis­turbances, indigenous support, even where developed, was often insufficient.

As support from the boards decreased, few qualifiedpeople entered Christian service. The Chinese church wasunable to support theological students, therefore, the

162churches tended to rely more on volunteers. The nation­alist movement lessened interest in Christianity and there was, for this reason, also,a loss of support. Subsidiza­tion was no longer sufficient; indigenous support was not adequate for the church to manage on its own. Unemployment, estimated at 39%, was a major problem for China. Another was the low price of silver which had a depressing effect on the e c o n o m y . T h o u g h the missionaries suffered from frequent cuts in funding, the high rate of exchange was in their favor. The reduction of their moneys, for them, was not as drastic as might have been e x p e c t e d . C h r i s t i a n i ­ty's role was quiescent; there was a loss in membership, especially in Southern and Central China and much of the ag­gressive spirit of the late 1920's had been quenched.In short, conditions in the 1930's compounded all previous problems. On a positive note, the charge that the church appeared to be an institution for the advancement of certain Chinese classes was no longer heard.

237Many Chinese saw the depression in the West as proof

of the decay of Western societies. Thus Marxism seemed even more attractive in contrast to the problems which the capitalist economies experienced. If, as some missionar­ies had claimed, Christianity was the basis of expanding capitalism, then in the 1930's both were viewed as equally bankrupt. For the Chinese pastorate, already poorly paid, the results were serious. Not only was the pay discrepancy exaggerated when the nominal exchange rate of $1 gold: $2 Chinese inflated to 1:4.5, but claims for "equal pay for equal work" exacerbated relations between the Chinese and Westerners. Many of the better educated found work outside the church.Japanese Aggression

Last, but not least, of the unforeseen and unexpected areas of concern for the church were those raised by the Japanese incursion into Manchuria in 1931. Not only were the Chinese in Manchuria itself affected, though they naturally bore the immediate effects, but all Christians were faced with a new problem which directly contradicted Christian internationalism and the proclamation of the brotherhood of man. The Japanese invasion led to outraged nationalism, which forced searching self-examination on the part of all Christians, creating another area of dis­agreement and disunity. These disputes would not occur

238only among Christians in China, but more particularly between Western and Chinese Christians.

One immediate effect was the deflection of the bulk of anti-foreign sentiment from the West to J a p a n . M a n y

Christians, individually and as part of organizations, took part in protests, boycotts, and other expressions of dis­approval. The Y.M.C.A. was a strong supporter of the anti- Japanese m o v e m e n t , B u t this increase in national aware­ness posed some hard questions for those associated with Western institutions. The aggression by Japan contravened the Nine Power Treaty, whose signatories were the countries from which most missionaries came. Yet little was done by the missionaries or their countries. Further the Japanese advance was aided by war matériels from the West. Students in particular began to ask why Christians did so little to help China. If Christianity makes nations righteous, then why did Christian nations supply Japan? Why was the Soviet Union the only country which did not aid Japan? Further,why in Japan were Communist protests against militarism

170more vigorous than those of the Christians?These were hard questions to answer, but the fact re­

mained that there was no consensus on these questions, thus no unified church stance. Individuals protested publically and to their government representatives, but a unified Christian voice was not in evidence. Missionaries who re­mained in Manchuria offset by their actions some of the

239charges inherent in these questions, particularly whenJapanese police kept Christian bodies under close sur-

171veillance. Several Christian groups in Manchuria urgedJapanese Christian groups to press their government for an

172end to the military campaign. The inclination on the part of the Chinese to answer with military force under­mined that part of the church which insisted on a pacifis- tic solution. One missionary suggested that what was needed was a linkage of all anti-war groups around theworld, particularly among the supporters of the Kellogg

173Pact which had been breached by Japanese action.Contact was established between Chinese and Japanese

Christians. The National Christian Council suggested joint meetings and retreats be held with the J a p a n e s e . T h e Japanese social reformer Kagawa Toyohiko was most respected in China. It was hoped that he could help modify his gov­ernment's policy in regard to C h i n a . O t h e r Japanese Christians were contacted to form a possible peace move­ment. China wished to employ peaceful and diplomaticmeans, but her protests had little result. As the nation­al crisis deepened, with increasing antagonism to Japan,the national conception of the rights and wrongs of the

177situation became increasingly clear. Japan was not satisfied with the exploitation of Manchuria; she wished annexation. The treaties which were supposed to protec- China were weak and not enforced. In the interests of

240national security, then, China must protect herself and resist Japanese forces. Most Christians approved of this stand. They proclaimed that war should be avoided by us­ing Christian principles of reconciliation in internationaldisputes, but they feared that the Japanese people did not

178know of the actions of their army and could not stop them.Christians should, therefore, take a stand against evil.They should not take part in a war of aggression, but they

179must help resist what was morally wrong. Even one Wes­terner, who was a pacifist in World War I, changed his

180views when Japan invaded China.The diverse forces which the church in China faced

further unsettled the far from united church. Should the church work for peace, but not fight, or was self defense on a national scale morally justified? Questions from the general public and from students were less than adequately answered. Missionary policies or those of their home countries did not fulfill that which they preached. This led to an increase in skepticism as to the role of out­siders in a national crisis.

Because the church had not yet established a secure and well defined identity for itself within Chinese society, these further strains only made its accomplishment that much more difficult. They also increased the necessity for such an agreement. National concerns focused major atten­tion on any element which could be labeled alien. Unless

241the Christian church was able to be accepted as Chinese, the likelihood of its survival of the challenges of the post-1927 period was poor.

Notes Chapter V

1. Outerbridge, Lost Churches, p. 168.2. CCYB, 1928, p. 261; Rev. C. Douglas Kepler, "Movements

for Christian Unity," CCYB, 1928, p. 75.3. A.L. Warnshuis, "Changes in Missionary Policies and

Methods in China," IRM (April, 1928), p. 309-10.4. Kepler, CCYB, 1931, p. 143; "Exploring Christian Unity,"

CR (December, 1928), p. 740-1.5. CMYB, 1919, p. 77.6. Dorothy Borg, American Policy and the Chinese Revolution

1925-1928, American Institute of Pacific Relations, The MacMillan Co., New York, 1947, p. 25-6.

7. H.T. Hodgkin, "The Church in China at the Crossroads," IRM (October, 1925), p. 556.

8. Borg, American Policy, p. 63; Varg, "The Missionary Re­sponse to the Nationalist Revolution," Fairbank, Mis­sionary Enterprise, p. 311.

9. Hsu Pao-chien, "Christianity, A Religion of Love Spread by Force," Lutz, Christian Missions, p. 61.

10. "Christianity Settles Down in China— New Rights of the New Era," editorial, ÇR (September, 1937), p. 542; Masataka Banno, China and the West 1858-1861, The Orig­ins of the Tsungli Yamen, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1964, p. 5-6.

11. T'ang, New Social Order, p. 57.12. Ibid., p. 116.13. Smythe, Changes in the Christian Message, p. 5.14. H.H. Kung, "How Does the Modernization of China Affect

Christianity?," CR (January, 1929), p. 15. For the full text which appears in the 1903 treaty, see Appendix C.

242

24315. N.J. Padelford, "The Negotiations Leading to the Mis­

sionary Rights Clause in the Sino-American Treaty of 1903," CR (July, 1930), p. 441.

16. Idem.17. Outerbridge, Lost Churches, p. 116; "Religious Liberty/

Jeopardized," CR (July, 1930) , p. 403-4.18. T'ang, China in Revolt, p. 147; Article XIII of the

Mackay Treaty states: The missionary question in China,being in the opinion of the Chinese government, one re­quiring careful consideration, so that, if possible, troubles such as have occured in the past may be avert­ed in the future. Great Britain agrees to join in a Commission to investigate this question, and, if pos­sible, to devise means for securing permanent peace between converts and non-converts, should such a com­mission be formed by China and the Treaty Powers in­terested. John V.A. MacMurray, Treaties and Agree­ments With and Concerning China 1894-1919, 2 vol.,Howard Fertig, New York, 1973, vol. 1, p. 342.

19. Varg, "Missionary Response to the Nationalist Revolu­tion," Fairbank, Missionary Enterprise, p. 313; Rawlin- son. Naturalization, p. 7.

20. T'ang, China in Revolt, p. 63; "Japanese subjects may... rent or lease land, and (to) build churches...hospitals, enjoying in all respects the same privileges and immuni­ties as are now, or may hereafter be, granted to the subjects of the most favored nation." Article IV of 1896 Treaty of Commerce and Navigation. In Group V Article VII of the Twenty-One Demands (Chinese version), "China agrees that Japanese subjects shall have the right of missionary propaganda in China." MacMurray, Treaties, vol. 1, p. 68-9; vol. 2, p. 1234.

21. "The 'Pacific Conference'", CR (October, 1921), p. 659.22. Monroe, Nation in Evolution, p. 399; CCYB, 1928, p. 117.23. Hsu Pao-chien, "Christianity, A Religion of Love Spread

by Force," Lutz, Christian Missions, p. 6024. E.P.F. Scholes, "Changing China's Status Amongst the

Nations and the Missionary Status in China: A Plea forDelay," CR (May, 1926), p. 323; Monroe, Nation in Evo­lution, p. 316; Report on the Conference of the Church in China Today, p. 95.

24425. Scholes, Ibid., p. 324.26. Yui, "Cooperation from the West," China Her Own Inter­

preter, p. 137; Monroe, Nation in Evolution, p. 331.27. Bishop J. Baker, Biographical Sketch, Claremont Oral

History Project, p. v; Rosenbaum, "Summary," Ibid., p. 34.

28. "Chinese Churches Seek Treaty Revisions," CC (January 13, 1927), p. 58.

29. G.H. McNeur, "Chinese Christian Autonomy," CR (Janu­ary, 1926) , p. 19.

30. Monroe, Nation in Evolution, p. 316; Report on the Con­ference on the Church in China Today, p. 95; Frank Millican, "Dr. Hu Suh on 'The Difficulties Confronting Christian Education in China'", CR (March, 1926), p.197.

31. P.W. Kuo, "The Present Situation in China and Its Sig­nificance for Missionaries," IRM (January, 1926) p. 55; Rawlinson, Naturalization, p. 7.

32. Frank Lee, "Communism and the Anti-Christian Movement," CR (April, 1925), p. 233; T.L. Shen, "Christian Move­ments in A Revolutionary China," CR (August, 1928),p. 479.

33. CCYB, 1928, p. 117; Report on the Conference on the Church in China Today, p. 97.

34. C.Y. Cheng, "Spiritual Preparedness of the Christian Church to Meet the Present Situation," speech delivered to and published in the Conference on the Church in China Today, p. 15.

35. Outerbridge, Lost Churches, p. 117.36. Fairbank, "The Many Faces of Protestant Missions,"

Fairbank, Missionary Enterprise, p. 1137. Fairbank, Chinese-American Interactions, p. 51; Smythe,

Changes in the Christian Message, p. 249.38. J.S. Burgess, "Wanted— A Christian Program for the Pres­

ent Crisis in China," CR (September, 1920), p. 604.39. "The Christian Church and National Movements," CR (July,

1919) , p. 436.

24540. Varg, "The Missionary Response to the Nationalist

Revolution," Fairbank, Missionary Enterprise, p. 311; Chow, May Fourth, p. 323.

41. Varg, Ibid., p. 312; Kepler, "The Kuomintang and Re­ligion— The Place of Religion in the Program of Nation­alist Reconstruction in China," CR (October, 1930),p. 617.

42. Thomson, While China Faced West, p. 35.43. T'ang, China in Revolt, p. 155.44. Ibid., p. 149.45. Ibid., p. 153.46. Bellah, "Epilogue," Bellah, Religion and Progress, p.199.47. McNeur, "Chinese Christian Autonomy," CR (January,

1936) , p. 16.48. Ibid., p. 17.49. P.C. Hsu, "Nationalism and Religion," CCYB, 1929, p.142.50. Rosenbaum, "Summary," Claremont Oral.History Project,

p. 34; Djang Fang, "New Christian movement in China,"CR (September, 1928), p. 547-8; McNeur, "Chinese Chris­tian Autonomy," CR (January, 1926), p. 14-21.

51. Shirley Stone Garrett, "Why They Stayed: American Church Politics and Chinese Nationalism in the 20"s," Fairbank, Missionary Enterprise, p. 283.

52. CCYB, 1928, p. 155.53. "Some Aspects of the End of One Era of Christian Effort

in China," CR (April, 1927), p. 227-9; Cary-Elwes,China and the Cross, p. 252; Rosenbaum, "Summary," Claremont Oral History Project, p. 34.

54. "Some Aspects," Ibid., p. 232; CCYB, 1928, p. 116; 1929, p. 176.

55. Cary-Elwes, China and the Cross, p. 252; CCYB, 1928, p. 114, 155.

56. CCYB, 1928, p. 114; "Some Aspects of the End of One Era," CR (April, 1927), p. 230.

24657. Warnshuis, "Changes in Missionaries Policies and

Methods in China," IRM (April, 1928), p. 306.58. CCYB, 1928, p. 160.59. C.L. Bornton, "The Five Year Movement," CCYB, 1932-3,

p. 215; Thomson, While China Faced West, p. 37; Break­down of numbers of mission personnel in this period are as follows;

Missionary Arrivals:Prior to 1890 1441891-1900 4681901-1910 9831911-1920 13971921-1929 1521

CCYB, 1929, p. 248. Average Number of Missionaries:

1919 66361926 83251928 31331929 47281931 61121933 5743

CCYB, 1932-3, p. 214,60. CCYB, 1928, p. Ill; Before the Long March, the Chinese

Communists had seized and held as captives a number of American missionaries. Dorothy Borg, The United States and the Far Eastern Crisis of 1933-1938, Harvard Univer­sity Press, Cambridge, 1964, p. 596, n. A8.

61. Yui, "Cooperation from the West," China Her Own Inter­preter, p. 116; "The Present Situation," CR (September, 1927) , p. 597.

62. The only good Chinese studies program was at Yenching. Stuart, Fifty Years in China, p. xiv; Kepler, "The Kuo­mintang and Religion," CR (October, 1930), p. 616-7; Smythe, Changes in the Christian Message, p. 75.

63. M.C. Wright, "Modern China in Transition 1900-1950," Levenson, Anthology, p. 206. It was reported that there were more Christian adherents among the students than of any other religion. Herman C.E. Liu, "Chinese Students and Religion Today," CCYB, 1925, p. 48; Sta­tistically there were 3,500 students in the Christian Colleges (1926) or approximately 6% of all students.This number would double by 1936. Lutz, Christian Colleges, p. 494.

24764. R. Scott, Claremont Oral History Project, p. 21.65. Monroe, Nation in Evolution, p. 306; The KMT emphasis

on control of educational institutions reflects their concentration on national salvation through education. Lutz, Christian Colleges, p. 208; John Israel and Donald W. Klein, Rebels and Bureaucrats, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1976, p. 20.

66. Smythe, Changes in the Christian Message, p. 74.67. Ibid.; The Chinese government had issued guidelines for

registration from 1911 through 1921, but they had not been enforced. Lutz, Christian Colleges, p. 207.

68. Smythe, Ibid., p. 249.69. E.E. Ballou, "National Christian Council of China

1935-7," CCYB, 1936-7, p. 209; Treadgold, The West in China, p. 71; Smythe, Ibid., p. 75.

70. Yui, "The Needs of the Christian Movement in China," China Today (2nd), p. 141.

71. West, Yenching University, p. 95; CCYB, 1929, p. 281.72. Monroe, Nation in Evolution, p. 306; Kepler, "The Kuo­

mintang and Evolution," CR (October, 1930), p. 616-7.73. Monroe, Ibid., p. 327; In 1925 not one Christian uni­

versity had a Chinese president. Lutz, Christian Col­leges, p. 252.

74. Ballou, "National Christian Council of China," CCYB,1936-7, p. 187-8.

75. Ibid., p. 209; T.Z. Koo, "Educational Conditions and Student Life in China Today," China To-Day (2nd),p. 114; Kepler, "The Kuomintang and Religion," CR (Octo­ber,. 1930) , p. 618.

76. Conference on the Church in China Today, p. 117; CCYB, 1931, p. 242; "Religious Liberty Jeopardized," CR (July, 1930), p. 403-4.

77. CCYB, 1936-7, p. 209; Paton, Judgment, p. 43.78. T.C. Chao, "The Religious Situation in 1930," CCYB, 1931,

p. 88; "Christianity Settles Down in China— New Rights of the New Era," CR (September, 1937), p. 543; The

248Nanking government prohibited Christian meetings in order to suppress superstition. "Religious Liberty Jeopardized," CR (July, 1930), p. 403-4.

79. Monroe, Nation in Evolution, p. 327; Kepler, "The Kuo­mintang and Religion," CR (October, 1930), p. 626.

80. CCYB, 1936-7, p. 186-7.81. CCYB, 1929, p. 9, 251; 1931, p. 246; 1936-7, p. 187.82. Chao, "Religious Situation in 1930," CCYB, 1931, p. 63;

CCYB, 1929, p. 251; Conference on the Church in China Today, p. 26; "The State of the Church— A Symposium," CR (May, 1929), p. 319.

83. Kepler, "The Kuomintang and Religion," CR (October, 1930), p. 622; Chao, Ibid., p. 63.

84. Chao, Ibid.85. Ibid.; CCYB, 1931, p. 247; Kepler, "The Kuomintang and

Religion," CR (October, 1930), p. 618.86. Cary-Elwes, China and the Cross, p. 260.87. Conference on Church in China Today, p. 117.88. Kepler, "The Kuomintang and Religion," CR (October,

1930), p. 620.89. "Religious Liberty Jeopardized," CR (July, 1930),

p. 403-4.90. Conference on the Church in China Today, p. 164.91. M.S. Bates, "Religious Liberty in China," IRM (April,

1946), p. 167.92. Chao, "The Religious Situation in China," CR (November,

1930), p. 681.93. Rosenbaum, "Summary," Claremont Oral History Project,

p. 37; D.W. Lyon, "A Few Urgent Problems Which the Chi­nese Church must Solve," CR (September, 1925), p. 592; Bates, "Religious Liberty in China," IRM (April, 1946), p. 172.

94. Rosenbaum, "Summary," Claremont Oral History Project, p. 27.

24995. Ibid., p. 35; CCYB, 1928, p. 4; 1929, p. 8.96. Chao, "Religious Situation in China," CCYB, 1931, p.72;

Fairbank, "Many Paces of Protestant Missions," Fair­bank, Missionary Enterprise, p. 11.

97. CCYB, 1928, p. 3; Cheng, "Problems and Needs of the Church," CCYB, 1931, p. 92.

98. Cary-Elwes, China and the Cross, p. 257-8; CCYB, 1929, p. 251; "The Present Situation," CR (September, 1927), p. 597.

99. CCYB, 1929, p. 251, 168.100. Ibid., 1928, p. 189.101. Ibid., 1929, p. 256.102. E.P. Hayes, Claremont Oral History Project, p, 22.103. West, Yenching University, p. 21; Fairbank, Chinese-

American Interactions, p. 68.104. Theodore H. White, In Search of History, Warner Books,

New York., 1978, p. 73; Cheng, "Prayer and Coopera­tion," MRW (April, 1931), p. 259. Unfortunately it was noted that Christians in public life were no dif­ferent than other people. E.S. Jones, "What I Saw in China," CC (February, 1933), p. 220-1.

105. "Lingering Shadows," CR (January, 1929), p. 4.106. Chao, "Religious Situation in 1930," CCYB, 1931, p. 87;

L. Smythe, Claremont Oral History Project, p. 5.107. Outerbridge, Lost Churches, p. 127; Thomson, While

China Faced West, p. 161; Bellah, "Epilogue," Bellah, Religion and Progress, p. 196; Cheng, "Spiritual Pre­paredness of the Church to Face the Present Situation in China," Conference on the Church in China Today, p. 15.

108. CCYB, 1931, p. 40; 1929, p. 187; Varg, "Missionary Re­sponse to the Nationalist Revolution," Fairbank, Missionary Enterprise, p. 311.

109. CCYB, 1929, p. lOA.110. R.M. Cross, Claremont Oral History Project, p. 90;

Thomson, While China Faced West, p. 54-5.

250111. "Church and State in China," CR (August, 1935), p.

45506.112. Borg, Far Eastern Crisis, p. 596, n. 18. In December,

1934, two American missionaries were taken by the com­munists in S. Anhwei and brutally killed.

113. Djang Fang, "New Christian Movement in China," CR (September, 1928), p. 552; Chao, "Present Situation," CR (January, 1928) , p. 121-3; Lee Hou-fu, "Chris­tianity and China's Changing Order," CR (January,1931), p. 12.

114. Rawlinson, "Present State of the Chinese Christian Movement," IRM, XXIV (no. 3), p. 319; Thomson, While China Faced West, p. 49; G.W. Shepard, "The Church and the New Life Movement," CR (May, 1937), p. 280.

115. F. Clin Stockwell, Claremont Oral History Project, p.35.

116. Thomson, While China Faced West, p. 154; S.C. Chu,"The New Life Movement Before the Sino-Japanese Con­flict: A Reflection of Kuomintang Limitations inThought and Action," F. Gilbert Chan, China at the Crossroads: Nationalists and Communists, 1927-1949,Westview Press, Boulder, Colo., 1980, p. 38.

117. Bellah, Religion and Progress, p. xii.118. Bellah, "Epilogue," Ibid., p. 210, 222; Shepard, "New

Life Movement," CCYB 1936-7, p. 67; Treadgold, The West in China, p. 158; T'ang, New Social Order, p. ix.

119. Shapard, Ibid., p. 67; Thomson, While China Faced West, p. 152.

120. Thomson, Ibid., p. 227.121. Chu, "New Life Movement," Chan, China at the Cross­

roads , p. 62.122. Israel, Student Nationalism, quoted in Treadgold, The

West in China, p. 158.123. T'ang, New Social Order, p. ix.124. Djang Fang, "New Christian Movement in China," CR

(September, 1928), p. 547.125. Ibid., p. 548.

251126. R.M. Cross, Claremont Oral History Project, p. 112;

Paton, Christian Missions, p. 40.127. A.C. Reed, Claremont Oral History Project, p. 60.128. Garrett, "Why They Stayed," Fairbank, Missionary En­

terprise, p. 288-9.129. Ibid., p. 302.130. Thomson, While China Faced West, p. 67; Rosenbaum,

"Summary," Claremont Oral History Project, p. 37.131. Rosenbaum, Ibid., p. 39; T.L. Shen, "Christian Move­

ments in a Revolutionary China," CR (August, 1928), p. 476.

132. CCYB for 1931 reports eleven missionaries captured, four killed, p. 6; Rosenbaum, "Summary," Claremont Oral History Project, p. 39; C.H. Hollman reported that he was held by Mao and Chu. Ibid., p. 28; "Chris­tians Look Forward," CR (January, 1932), p. 1-2.

133. L. Jones, Claremont Oral History Project, p. 10; "The Present Situation," CR (September, 1927) P. 597-602.

134. R. Scott, Claremont, Ibid., p. 37.135. Ibid., p. 40.136. Varg, "Missionary Response to the Nationalist Revolu­

tion," Fairbank, Missionary Enterprise, p. 312; CCYB, 1928, p. 55; Helen Ferris, The Christian Church in Communist China to 1952, Air Force Personnel and Training Research Center, Lackland A.F.B., Texas,1956, p. 3.

137. K. Ward, Claremont Oral History Project, p. 88; Ferris, Ibid., p. 30.

138. John H. Kautsky, Communism and the Politics of Develop­ment, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1968, p. 44;The Communists began to alter their policy so as to re­lease foreign missionaries they had captured and cease their attacks on foreigners in general. Borg, Far Eastern Crisis, p. 599, n. 48.

139. "The Chinese Student Mind., CR (November, 1922), p. 681.140. CCYB, 1928, p. 225

252141. Daniel W.Y. Kwok, Scientism in Chinese Thought 1900-

1953, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1965, p. 200.142. R.M. Cross, Claremont Oral History Project, p. 72.143. West, Yenching University, p. 6.144. Ibid., p. 246.145. CCYB, 1931, p. 40.146. Outerbridge, Lost Churches, p. 188; David Yui in Kep­

ler, "Christianity as a Social Gospel," Lutz, Chris­tian Missions, p. 18.

147. Outerbridge, Ibid., p. 195.148. Y.T. Wu, "China's Challenge to Christianity— Make

Christianity Socially Dynamic," CR (January, 1934),p. 11.

149. Paton, Christian Missions, p. 38.150. Y.C. Yang, "Crisis in the Christian Movement," CCYB,

1932-3, p. 69.151. West, Yenching University, p. 84.152. The government offered the church five or six hôXen in

which to bring about rural reconstruction. The church was able to establish its rural model in only one ch'u. Thomson, While China Faced West, p. 209.

153. Fairbank, Chinese-American Interactions, p. 32.154. Thomson, While China Faced West, p. 231.155. Ibid., p. 239; Most missionaries had heard of the ac­

tivities of Borodin in China. He is most often men­tioned in relation to the effectiveness of communist appeal.

156. "Lingering Shadows," CR (January, 1929), p. 1-4; "Christians Look Forward," CR (January, 1932), p. 5; Cary-Elwes, China and the Cross, p. 257-8.

157. "The New Communism and How to Meet It," CR (September,1932), p. 535-6.

158. Treadgold, The West in China, p. 189.

253159. A.C. Reed, Claremont Oral History Project, p. 6; John

Israel, Student Nationalism in China 1927-1937, Stan­ford University Press, Stanford, 1966, p. 1.

160. Paton, Christian Missions, p. 43; Garrett, "Why They Stayed," Fairbank, Missionary Enterprise, p. 303.

161. Thomson, While China Faced West, p. 37-8.162. Cary-Elwes, China and the Cross, p. 328; "The Present

Situation," CR (September, 1927), p. 599, When funding was available for students, few problems in attracting them were encountered. C. Stanley Smith, "The Chris­tian Ministry," CCYB, 1932-3, p. 193.

163. CCYB, 1931, p. 1164. Ibid., p. 6.165. Cheng, "Problems and Needs of the Church," Ibid., p. 104.166. T.L. Shen, "Christian Movements in a Revolutionary

China," CR (August, 1928), p. 479; Israel, Student Nationalism, p. 5; CCYB, 1929, p. 266.

167. "Salary Problem Disturbs China," CC (March 11, 1931), p. 354-5.

168. Rosenbaum, "Summary," Claremont Oral History Project, p. 37.

169. Chow, May Fourth, p. 323.170. Workman, The Chinese Mind, p. 242.171. Cheng Jun-lin, "Christian Schools and National Crisis,"

CCYB, 1932-3, p. 248.172. S. Lautenschlager, "The Chinese Church and Militarism,"

CR (January, 1932), p. 35.173. Ibid., p. 37; Outerbridge, Lost Churches, p. 137; Many

peace societies in the U.S. were amalgamating. The Carnegie Endowment for Peace and the Women's Inter­national League for Peace and Freedom were two such organizations. Borg, Far Eastern Crisis, p. 342.

174. Ballou, "National Christian Council in China," CCYB,1936-7, p. 177.

254175. Y.T. Wu, "Movements Among the Chinese Students," CCYB,

1931, p. 270; Kagawa was invited to speak in a Chi­nese Church in Shanghai after its pastor had been killed in a Japanese attack. I.L. Main, "Kagawa Wins Chinese Trust," CC (May 2, 1930), p. 609-10.

176. R.M. Cross, Claremont Oral History Project, p. 43; Cheng Jun-lin, "Christian Schools and National Crisis," CCYB, 1932-3, p. 257. Ah attempt was made to organize a fellowship of reconciliation between the Chinese and Japanese Christians after the invasion, but patriotism was a stronger force. Cross, Ibid.

177. West, Yenching University, p. 177; Hsu Pao-ch'ien, "AsChinese Christians Think— Christianity and China's Naitonal Crisis," CR (September, 1933), p. 555.

178. Hsu, Ibid., p. 556.179. Ibid., p. 555; Yinger, Religion in the Struggle for

Power, p . 183.180. R.M. Cross, Claremont Oral History Project, p. 3.

THE CHURCH 1927-1937;NATIONAL REALITIES, INTERNATIONAL ASPIRATIONS

In order to survive the Nanking Decade, the church needed to emphasize its service to China. Service alone was insufficient to guarantee continued toleration; there­fore concrete demonstration of acculturation or Sinifica- tion was also necessary.^ Christian institutions had con­tributed to China; they had not Christianized China, nor

2had they Sinified Christianity. Such accomplishments could only be effectively undertaken by the Chinese Chris­tians. The period after 1927 was fraught with events over which the church had little or no control. Most crises were external, affecting the church only because it was in China. While undeniably influenced by these outside forces, the church attempted to fulfill the promise begun in 1927 with the establishment of the Church of Christ in China. Difficulties which had not been settled in the 1920's con­tinued to plague the Christians and their organization. Additionally, there were internal adjustments which the new political and economic situations necessitated. Never­theless, the church continued a measured growth. Coopera­tion with other organizations progressed, if not in quitethe same spirit as the 1920's. Those issues which prevented

255

256the church from being regarded as an unquestionably Chinese institution were addressed with variable success.

In order to accomplish its goals, the church was faced with the necessity of establishing its place in society, or at least of establishing the place to which it aspired. The church wanted the status of a recognized national institu­tion in accord with the revolutionary goals of the Chinese people, while maintaining a recognized place in the inter­national Christian organization. In order to accomplish these goals, the church had first to establish concretely its own identity. That is, the concept had to exist not only in the prayers, hopes, and plans of a few extraordin­ary leaders, but also in the minds of the local populace, and most importantly, in that of the non-Christian sector. With the achievement of a recognized identity, and a con­comitant role in Chinese society, the church could begin to fulfill its place in the development of a new moral concern in society, one which would be in accord with the goals the revolution had enunciated.

One obstacle was that the Christian religion was tol­erated by most Chinese. It was the church as an institu­tion to which most objections were raised. The argument that the faith in China was tolerated but the church was not may be sustained by simple observation. Even those Chinese who found little to admire in Christian theology were tolerant towards its adherents. Chinese philosophy

257was inclusive, not exclusive. Heterodoxy was only proscribed when its doctrines intruded in the political and economic spheres. It was in these areas that Chris­tian institutions, identified in the popular mind with the church, intruded. The church owned property and had been exempt from paying taxes. It enjoyed extraterritorial privilege which brought it unfavorable status and advan­tage. Even when these intrusions into Chinese national integrity were rectified, the church was still unacceptable. Although devolution of control, support and propagation had occured, the church continued to be identified as Western; it had not yet achieved Sinification.

In order to achieve an institutional acceptance, the church would have to be regarded as Chinese. The acute factor was time. The constitution of the church had es­tablished no creed, no theological standards, and only a loose organization. These devlopments were intended to create a place from which further growth could be encour­aged, which would establish a permanent conceptualization of a Chinese church. The premise, widely and correctly established, was that a distinct Chinese expression of Christianity had not yet emerged. The process had definite­ly begun, but as yet there were too many Western influences which were both non-essential and distracting to the Chi­nese. For these reasons time was needed. Evolution was a slow process, but beginning in 1931, when the Japanese

258occupied Manchuria, attention was distracted from the problems of the church to the problems of the nation. In­deed these were substantially increased by the international implications of the failure of the primary Christian signa­tories of the Kellogg-Briand and Nine Power Pacts to fulfill their stated obligations to China.

Developments after 1927Still the momentum which had given force to the es­

tablishment of the church did not come to a halt, even if the movement had begun to slow. Gains were made: in recog­nition, in new members, in new programs, and in the contin­uation of projects previously begun. If new problems arose there was still a modicum of confidence and a great faith that these, too, could be successfully met. In many ways the newer problems were dealt with with some dispatch; it was the old unsettled arguments of the previous decade which were to remain areas of contention in the 1930's.

Of necessity, control of many mission schools had passed into the hands of Chinese teachers and administra­tors. Additionally, with the lessened number of mission­aries, leadership in the church as well as in the inter­church councils, was more and more a matter of Chinese par­ticipants and missionary guests. There still remained a strong missionary presence which, cut off by government degree from participation in their former occupations, began to concentrate the missionaries in the church and

259church-sponsored societies. Along with their continued presence, their dominance of financial matters, due to con­tinuing support from the West, perpetuated missionary in­fluence in church related matters. Some handled this gracefully, becoming members of the Chinese churches or serving as assistants and advisors to Chinese pastors and administrators. Others however retained their initial posi­tions of control and relinquished them reluctantly, if at all.

The late 1920's and early 1930's witnessed a resur­gence in evangelism. The old unsettled question as to whether evangelism per se or through social action was the proper expression of Christian ministry reappeared. Wes­terners had traditionally enjoyed popularity as evangelists. In the nineteen thirties Chinese evangelists such as Wang Ming-tao and Dr. John Sung became widely known for the suc-

3cess of their evangelistic efforts. One difficulty was that the atmosphere of these evangelistic meetings, often revivalist in nature, led to excesses, at least in the view of the established churches. These excesses took the form of speaking in tongues, ecstatic swooning, and other emotional evidence of the movement of the Spirit. While these appealed to a certain segment of Chinese society.perhaps remnants of the old Taoist sects, they appalled others, including most Chinese Christians.^ These manii tations were intense, but they were also short-lived,

260therefore attracting few new members to the Christian community.

The direction of church service, in the social area of evangelism, remained unfocused, each side continuing to be unconvinced by the other. This division was exag­gerated by financial problems experienced during the de­pression years. Quite frequently the availability of specific funding drove the two points of view further apart. In fact, many of the denominations which remained indepen­dent of the Church of Christ in China were closer in many ways to their denominational brethren in the West than to their Christian countrymen.^ Still, it was recognized that many people who neither accepted nor rejected Chris­tian teachings would join social projects, the Red Cross, or the Y.M.C.A.^ The difficulty which was perceived was that the individual was overlooked in the need for national reconstruction.^ The conflict centered on the role of the church: to convert individuals or to bring them to a fel­lowship which had a moral responsibility in the development of Chinese society. In this manner a dichotomy existed in Christian philosophy which dealt with individual salvation in order to redeem society. Yet in a group-conscious so­cial organization, the actions of the group were of more

8significance than those of many individuals. For this reason arguments persisted whether personal example, per­sonal conversion, family outreach, village reconstruction.

261or education was the proper and most effective means for establishing Christianity as a major concern in Chinese life.

Leadership for the Chinese church was also a great concern. Part of the issue was the old argument over whe­ther efforts should be concentrated in the middle and up­per classes, who could afford tuition to Christian schools, to develop a Christian leadership, or whether the Gospelimpetus was to the masses so that all might hear the

gword. There were recognized Chinese church leaders who were increasingly active in this period. Others began to receive recognition for their work in related institutions outside the church. But, there were never enough leaders; missionary personnel were still necessary in order to main­tain the efforts already established. Too many Christians, for reasons already discussed, worked outside the Christian organizations. The church lost their efforts and their capacity for organization and planning. Indeed, many of these people were not members of a church nor even at­tended services regularly. Educated leaders were needed.A complex theology could not be left in the hands of the uneducated.

The approach to the masses had its problems also.If, as some critics charged, the evangelists were only in­terested in numbers of converts, then obviously the mass approach had its merits, but it was not altogether

262effective. Success was evident in the areas of literacy and agrarian union, but these areas did not translate into vast numbers of converts. In rural reconstruction, great plans were discussed for farmers' cooperatives, farmers' banks, advice publications, land and rent reform, and so forth. But, by and large, these areas were within the province of the government which occasionally sought the advice of the Christians, or employed them, so that it was the government not the church which received credit for any progress.

The greatest need was for an educated Chinese pastor­ate at a local level, who could lead, instruct, and take part in the direction of local affairs. Such a pastorate had always been the mission goal. Yet, fewer and fewer candidates were being enrolled in seminaries and Bible schools. Of those who did graduate, 33.2% took jobs out­side the m i n i s t r y . T h e shortage was partially filled with graduates of middle schools; even graduates of junior mid­dle schools were asking to be ordained after a minimum course of s t u d y . Q u a l i t y in the ministry at the national level was being maintained by those who did complete semi­nary training, but at the local level leadership suffered from an inadequately grounded pastorate who were unable to meet the criticisms leveled at the church. This poorly pre­pared pastorate failed to counteract the secular challenges at a time most critical in church development.

263Another continuing problem was church support. Few

Chinese could afford or were willing to sacrifice finan­cially in order to support the church. Floods and civil war had had their effect on the economy; the dislocation which resulted naturally influenced the ability of the local membership to support a church. Also it was not part of the cultural tradition to pay regularly for the support of a priest and very little headway had been made in the face of entrenched tradition. It was suggested that a self-study group with a literate leader should be organ­ized rather than a formal church with a paid pastor for the poorer regions. Then if each new member had two sponsors to help, counsel, and train them for a period of two years,with Christian worship at home, membership could be stimu-

12lated with very little expense. A church could befounded when the local economy could support it. Somechurches began to adopt programs to become self sufficient

13in four to five years. As Ch'eng Ching-yi reported in the Missionary Review of the World, in 1931 fully one- quarter of the churches in the Church of Christ in Chinawere self-supporting, though the figure for the Protestant

14church as a whole was five percent. This meant in num­bers that of 1,118 larger churches, 218, or 12.6%, were self-supporting, and 200 smaller , self-supporting, except for rent.self-supporting, and 200 smaller churches, or 11.6%, were

15

264Two additional problems which the Christians

encountered were first, the church did not fit into the policital revolution. For this reason it could not cap­ture the spirit of nationalism nor use this momentum to ensure its place in the social changes occuring at this time.^^ Second, the church had adopted from the mission an emphasis on the tools and image of salesmanship, i.e.,measuring growth and achievement in terms of graphs and

17charts. This approach was much too mechanical and did not allow for adequate human contact and relationships.The church had inherited many of its problems from its mission founders.

In the period from 1927 on, many Christians in China, though admitting they had not solved the problems which confronted them, were sanguine towards the future. They felt that the difficulties and criticisms which they en­countered would strengthen the commitment of the strong in faith. Although many articles appeared in publications of this period which expressed concern about the effects of the depression on mission efforts, other writers still managed to express a sense of optimism. Most of the ques­tions of the legal status for Christian institutions had been resolved. The Communist threat seemed to be in abey­ance and the Nationalist government had recognized that Christians could contribute to the effort for reform. The period gave indication of being one of "transitional

26518semi-stability." It was hoped that Christian forces

could regroup, reassess their needs, learn from the mis­takes of the past, and build toward their future goal.

Ongoing Co-operation The National Christian Council continued its leader­

ship and coordinating role. It was considered that the19Chinese church held the central place in the N.C.C. Under

its aegis, and with the cooperation of other members, newcampaigns in the areas of evangelization and industrial and

20rural reconstruction were begun. One such effort was the establishing of fifty farmers' cooperative and literacy so­cieties in which only those with good reputations were al­lowed to hold office. These groups helped increase econom­ic output, literacy, and self-government. The only objec­tion such groups encountered was from the middlemen whowere afraid that their positions would be eliminated by the

21cooperatives. Other areas in which such efforts were con­sidered appropriate were explored, including a "to the people" movement, which consisted of students travelling toa series of villages to explain their ideas, and attract

22people to Christianity. Some leaders pointed out that the challenges presented by the existing economic systemwere ones with which neither the government nor the church

23had learned to cope effectively. In conjunction with the rural cooperative effort, a publication was begun called

266T^&n-cliùx Pan-yuz pao or the "Christian Farmer" whosecirculation reached 26,000.^^

The N.C.C. was concerned with promoting closer tiesthan simple cooperation. Under Chinese leadership at the1927 meeting, possibilities for increasing church union

25were discussed. Statistics showed that by 1935, however, the N.C.C. represented only 58% of the Protestant organiza­tions in China; when first organized the comparable figure

26had been 75%. Or, put another way, in 1922 the N.C.C.was composed of twenty-two bodies, in 1935 the members rep-

27resented only sixteen. Still, integration was progres­sing; there were a smaller number of distinct churches. Additionally, by 1935 it was apparent that great stability prevailed within the organization, and it was ready to pass into the hands of a second generation of Chinese leaders,among them a new General Secretary, Dr. Y.W. Chen, Dean of

28Fukien University,To answer the critics who averred that the Chinese

church lacked spiritual depth, a five year movement todeepen spiritual life and to intensify the evangelisticspirit of all Christians was initiated in 1930 by Ch'eng

29Ching-yi. The idea was to move the church forward outof flux and to urge cooperation especially at the locall e v e l . T h e South China Council planned an evangelistic

31campaign to double its membership in five years. This campaign brought forth the criticism that the movement was

267self-centered since the benefits would accrue to the church

32and not to society as a whole. No dramatic gains in membership were reported.

As for the Church of Christ in China, it had both positive and negative reports to make. Under its consti­tution the General Assembly was to meet no less than once every four years. The first assembly was held from October 1-11, 1927; the second from October 26-November 8, 1930; the third in October of 1933; and the fourth in 1937.^^ These figures included the addition of the North China L.M.S. Churches, the Independent Churches of Peking, the Canadian Methodist Churches, and the Mei-dao Hui of Szechuan to the original units making up the Church.These meetings generally dealt with questions such as those encompassing standard terminology, church administration,educational standards for pastors, pensions, requirements

37for church membership, and the like. No creed was for­mally adopted, the feeling expressed was that when and asit should evolve, it should represent the spiritual out-

38growth of Chinese members. Figures vary on further growth, or lack thereof. An article in the Chinese Re­corder (1935) reported that the largest Protestant Groups were the China Inland Mission, the Bible Union, the Leagueof Chinese Churches, and the Church of Christ in China,

39whose membership was reported as 125,000. The Chinese

268Christian Yearbook of 1936-7 gives church membership as 123,043 or 24% of all Protestants.

The Divisional Councils of the church were given the responsiblity of assigning missionaries to the various churches as members, and of administering property and funds assigned to the churches under their control. In addition, they worked with the inter-mission committee, one which was appointed by the missionaries cooperating with the church, in order to make it seem less f o r e i g n . W i t h the Bible having been translated into several dialects as well as pac hua, and many Christian centers available to instruct people in its meaning, there was hope that in­creased membership and influence might be attained. A simultaneous effort was being made to express the faith in terms of traditional Chinese culture in order to give itelements which would make it more understandable and at-

41tractive.The Chinese and the Church

As the church developed, Chinese Christians began to acquire a deeper understanding of their own culture; this understanding developed from a real need to adapt Chris­tianity to fit into its pattern. By developing this under­standing Chinese Christians realized how much they still had to adjust. Christianity was still associated with ugly foreign buildings which were an affront to Chinese aesthet­ics.^^ Steps had been taken to remedy this fault and to

269make the services and symbolism meaningful and more inkeeping with Chinese sensitivities, but the need remainedfor a true expression of Christianity in China, not just

43an adaptation of Western church forms. Criticism con­tinued to the effect that the church was offering loud

44words but few deeds. There seemed to be a lack of vi­tality, a powerlessness within the church. If in truth the church wished to play a significant role in the nation­al revolution, more than the progress apparent by the mid­dle of the Nanking Decade was needed.

There had been a slowing in the campaign for ecumenic­al unity; there had been a loss of status for the church in the government of Christian institutions; there were fewer funds with which to accomplish the goals which the church had set herself; yet there still remained a strong commitment on the part of most people to persevere. A few missionaries began to question their place in China and their contribution, which seemed to fall short of their hopes. Most comforted themselves with the belief that Christianity fluorished in adversity and welcomed the chal­lenges which the decade brought.

It was reported in 1928 that "progress on unity hesi­tates."^^ Observers noted a loss of interest in ecumenic­al union; it seemed to have become a secondary considera­tion, with little being done on any level to foster unity.^ Many Christians were puzzled that issues raised previously

270had not been settled. The basic institutional strength ofthe Christian movement had been little diluted, but itlacked focus, seemed overly concerned with minor matterssuch as numbers of converts and money, and its leadership

4 8was in a critical state. T.C. Chao thought that 1930 was Christianity's lowest ebb. His analysis of the weak­nesses of the Chinese church led him to concentrate on those he considered to be the three most serious. These were: first, the division between fundamentalists andmodernists, the first characterized as intolerant and in­sistent on creeds, and the second as service oriented; second, the lack of a program of up-to-date service and propaganda with which to face the challenges of the times. The question to be addressed was should Christianity to be offered merely as a palliative for China's ills, or as aconcrete program for the future? Third was the lack of

4 9intimate contact between the church and youth. Many young people were attracted to fellowship programs, usu­ally run parallel to the church, or in special programs designed to appeal to their questions and interests.But, in the general services of and to the church, they were indifferent. Others found that the church failed to attract people because its range was too narrow, its pace too se­date, and because of its concentration on self- perpetuation.^^ Many churches had a weak relationship with the community. Their concern with community problems

271and their ability to help with the solution were neither apparent nor appreciated because of this. Christianity had to find a means of presenting itself as more than a way out of a personal dilemma; it required an identifica­tion with the efforts to help on a broader scale. This perceived division between the church and society pre­sented a false juxtaposition and an unnecessary choice to potential members of the Christian fellowship. Either a change had to be instituted or the church's place in soci­ety would no longer remain tenable.

Protestantism seemed to be travelling in circles. Its labor movement had been suppressed or hampered by the law. Its rural reconstruction programs were hedged about by the government and hampered by lack of people and funds. While there seemed to be a lessening in concentration on creedal and theological emphasis, unity was not increased thereby. Indeed, the spiritual basis of the faith appeared very weak. The division in religious emphasis, neither branch of which was a result of the church per se, found that individual religious experience too often resulted in emotional ex­cess, while pragmatism failed to impress its religious base.

As a result, some Christians decided that the church was unprepared to meet modern conditions, indeed began to associate it with institutions attempting to maintain the status quo. Chinese youth wished for a new vision of China, not the reinstatement of old ways. A new image for the

272church was neededj that of an institution willing and able to carry out a planned program dealing with the problems of the present. If the church did not change its image, those who were potential members would find other outlets for their dedication and talents.

Yet by 1937, the reports on the church movement were once more expressing optimism. It was suggested that Chris­tianity was encountering a friendlier atmosphere than had previously been the case. Wider contact with people throughsocial programs was beginning to make the church part of

52the community. There were increased opportunities for cooperative efforts among the agencies engaged in this work. With the challenges which required a rethinking of the Christian programs had come a new permanency. Chris­tianity was both rooted in China and grafted on to other movements and organizations. It was no longer merely tol­erated, but recognized as a force to be used for China's good. With many of its foreign features pruned, it could readily adapt itself to China's needs. With its acceptance of registration and the acquisition of legal status, the anti-foreign charge which kept some Chinese from active participation in church affairs was negated.

As Rawlinson noted in an article in the I.R.M. in 1935, thirty years previously there had been no general agreement as to the evangelical work of the missionaries and the role of the church. Since the church was protected

273by treaty right, it worked to enlarge itself and its role in China. It also entered actively into such social issues as the suppression of opium and the campaign against foot- binding. Since then Christianity had entered all areas of social reconstruction. With an active role in Chinese so­ciety and led by Chinese members, Christianity had developed its resources and place within China. Therefore, it couldbe described in 1935 as a Chinese Christian movement, rather

53than as previously a Christian movement in China.Ongoing Problems

Although the role of the Christian educational insti­tutions was still unclear, medical facilities were still in advance of the government's effort in the f i e l d . C h r i s ­tian literature was still a problem, much of the writing continuing to be done in the traditional style. The con­tinuing emphasis in these areas drew potential church lead­ers into extra-church activities, leaving the central in­stitution weak. For these reasons, it was suggested that the primary need was for a broad in-depth religious pro­gram centered on worship and service which would emphasize the spiritual and intellectual vitality in the Christian religion. If these ideas were not adopted, it was warned,the religion would become a system of ethics like Confu-

55cianism, and like it, rejected as irrelevant. Christi­anity's ability to be a cohesive factor in society needed emphasis, its intellectual appeal broadened, defined and

274deepened. In this manner it might demonstrate its effectiveness in the modern world, rather than, as in the past, concern itself with fending off criticism and attacks.

For the ministers there were additional consideration. There was, for example, the problem of non-Christian faiths and Christianity's relation and attitude to them. Greater toleration toward other religions had been a continuing is­sue in this period. • There seemed to be no easily con­structed relationship between exclusive but tolerant Chris­tianity and the inclusive and tolerant indigenous faiths. There was also a growing secularization of society. The emphasis was on science and its advocacy in opposition to religion, rather complementary to it. Many people regarded skeptically the missionary attempt to prove compatibility between science and religion, since many of the unanswered attacks of the 1920's had revolved around this issue. Cou­pled to the emphasis on secularism was that of materialism. The latter concern might seem normal in a country which had suffered great material loss due to natural and man-made disasters, but rather than preparing for arguments which should have been apparent in the intellectual community, the ministers concentrated on internal concerns.

Missionaries had to deal with their loss of status; for many this was a welcome sign of devolution of control, for others a time of severe stress. The church had become

275less mission centered; yet there still remained a vast difference in conception of what the church ought to be. Most missionaries remained optimistic as to their col­eagues' ability to deal with these issues. One positive factor which encouraged optimism was the report that the China Mission Society had 15,000 subscribing members, all Chinese, in twenty provinces, an increase in members and funding since its founding.Chinese instituted Chris­tian concerns were growing and with indigenous support.

The chief concerns would then appear to be in the areas of leadership, of presenting a modern scientific approach to religion, of acquiring a strong spiritual base on which to construct a religious institutional struc­ture, of acquiring recognition for contributions to Chi­nese society, and of maintaining the church's place within it. In order to deal effectively with the establishing of a conceptual framework within which these issues could be placed, some new paths of thought needed to be explored. There was the suggestion that a transcendent and judge­like deity needed to be transformed into an immanent and

57loving Father. Also that the emphasis on doctrine and creed as central be abandoned, to a concentration on Christ's life, character, and ethical teachings. Emphasis on love and sacrifice would be more amenable to Chinese needs than miraculous happenings of V qaA lAao., Religion had to be made part of every day's concern rather than a

276ritualistic practice to be performed on Sundays. Using these ideas, emphasis was to be placed on a meaningful Christian exegesis of Biblical ideas, on Christian publi­cations, fellowships and discussion groups. Encouragement was also to be given to Christian members of government topractice the tenets of their faith in office, and not be

58just like everyone else. If in these ways leaders could be attracted to or held within the institutional church structure, rather than extra-church organs, many of the church's problems would become manageable. These new con­cerns led to a new definition of religion; "Religion is identified with life, with the meeting of the practicalneeds of the time, and with deeds which embody in a con-

59Crete way the religious spirit." If this definition could have been implemented, most of the criticisms lev­eled at Christianity could have been silenced.

In order to identify areas of concern which might not have been previously considered, the home boards launched a Laymen's Mission Inquiry in 1932. It was to survey and report on the state of the church mission and evaluate its status in s o c i e t y . W h i l e enumerating areas of concern, the Inquiry Report in essence said that having established the church, the missionaries should allow it to carve foritself a place in the culture and leave the rest to the Holy Spirit.Although criticized later for a very one­sided theological approach to the problems of religion in

277China, the Inquiry Report was valuable in its supplementalarticles on various aspects of Christian work prepared by

6 2Chinese Christians. A theologically liberal volume of appraisal of this study, Rethinking Missions (1932) pro­voked the anger of the European "crisis theology" advo­cates. These belonged to a neo-orthodox group popular in

6 3the 1920's. The Report discussed Christianity's relation­ship to secular and non-Christian religions which was a major concern to the world mission organizations.

International Recognition China's church had to discover for itself its place

in the international Christian community. Recognition of China's delegates to international mission conferences had begun early in the century, but these delegates had repre­sented Western mission organizations. At the International Mission Conferences held in 1928 and 1938, the Chinese delegation represented the Chinese church. The concern in remaining part of the international organization was that it tended to be dominated by Western institutions and the "mother churches" of the younger churches which attended. Nationalistic concerns and the desire to appear free of foreign domination and control led some Chinese to suggest withdrawal from the international organizations. Their concern focused on the mission aspect of the international community, as aspect which implied a measure of control by those countries sending missionaries. The Chinese Church

278could share in a modest way these concerns. It had established a Home Mission Society. While the complexi­ties of a foreign mission are much greater than those of a home mission, yet some of the concerns were similar. Additionally, recognition of the status of the Chinese church and its leaders could only be an advantage when deal­ing internally with some mission based problem. Perhaps it gained for the Chinese some psychological leverage. The issues which had to be agreed upon could be posed as a question: is national loyalty incompatible with interna­tional goodwill, or racial pride incompatible with the con-

64cept of the brotherhood of man.Prior to that of the 1928 International Mission Con­

ference, a meeting was held on the subject of Faith and Order at Lausanne, Switzerland, in August of 1927. Timothy Lew represented the Chinese church and spoke of the neces­sity of Christian unity for the missionary enterprise. The necessity arose in that it reflected the fundamental nation­al unity which the surge in nationalism was creating among the Chinese p eople.A n y t h i n g which seemed to hinder or challenge this unity was suspect; Christianity was per­ceived to be such a divisive influence. The issue was dealt with at length by the Lambeth Conference of the Anglican communion (1930) which basically approved of the idea of organic u n i o n . B u t , the major issues of the missionary

279movement as a whole were scheduled to be considered at theConferences in 1928 and 1938.

The Jerusalem meeting, held March 28, 1928, was calledin order to study the problems which were occuring in the

6 7new world movements. There was greater participation by the younger churches at this and subsequent meetings.

6 8Among the younger churches the Chinese "were outstanding." In recognition of their stature, Ch'eng Ching-yi was one of two vice-presidents elected at the m e e t i n g . B y 1928, then, there was a discernible shift from West to East, not only geographically, but in concern as well. One other difference occured at this meeting in the manner of repre­sentation; that is, the delegates did not as usual repre­sent their home churches, but their respective National Christian C o u n c i l s . W h i l e this meeting was character­ized as deeply spiritual, issues dealt with the relation­ship of Christianity to other faiths, to secularism, and to the social, political and economic questions which moreand more challenged the Christian claim to concern for

71people and society. It also emphasized the necessity of the indigenous churches taking a central place in the ecumenical history of Asia. In order to accomplish this last aspiration, national leaders prominent internationally would be required. Moreover, in order that they attain this stature, it would be necessary that such leaders

280belonged neither to the evangelistic fringes, nor were lost in the church bureaucracy.

To further emphasize the importance of the Asian churches, the meeting of the I.M.C. which was planned for 1938 was originally scheduled to be held in Kowloon. The Chinese National Christian Council protested the holding of a meeting dealing with independent churches in the British concession. They suggested that instead the meet­ing be moved to Hangchow. Japanese troop movement neces­sitated that the meeting be moved out of China. It was

72held instead at Tanbarum outside of Madras. In prepara­tion for this council meeting, studies were conducted in the areas of the churches' social and economic environment,of evangelism in its various forms, and on relations be-

73tween Christian and other faiths. The reports emphasized the difficulties of continuous Western missionary subsid­ies as being divisive, the problem of Western structured churches in non-Western areas, and the goals of increased evangelical effort in the 1930's to deepen the spiritual life and the increase the membership in the younger church­es. As can be seen, the concerns of the Chinese churches were shared by their sister churches, especially in Asia.At this meeting also, the Asian churches passionately pro­moted church u n i o n . T h e y pointed out that denominations had considerably accented the foreignness of the church

281in their societies; a strong indigenous church and a

75unified church were intimately linked.These meetings emphasized the importance of the Asian

churches in the international movement, and the promise inAsia of the Chinese church. Her leaders played prominentroles in the meetings and her experiment in church unioninspired others to push their own efforts to fruition (the

7 AChurch of South India was one example). It seemed asthough the churches in Asia had in many ways come of agein the international community. Edinburgh in 1910 had hadsome Asian participants in what was essentially a Westernmeeting; at Tanbarum twenty plus years later. Westernerscomprised only half the delegates at what was essentially

77an Asian conference. Aside from this recognition, lit­tle new activity began in the Chinese church which can belinked to her participation in these meetings. In fact,

78a growing sectarian movement was noted. This phenomenonwas accompanied by a lessening in meaningful cooperation

79among the missionaries. An apparent gain in internation­al stature was offset by a perceived loss in the national attempt toward achieving unity.

The Church in 1937 By 1937 there had been a loss and a gain in the status

of the Protestant church in China. In many areas the losses were more apparent than real; that is, they were temporary losses in personnel, sources of funds, and other

282elements which were replaceable over time and did not in themselves alter greatly the stature of the church. Many areas of gain as well had an insubstantial quality to them. The fact that a government had emerged which was trying to stabilize China was a situation certainly to be pre­ferred to the constant raids and depredations and the un­certainty to which they contributed in long term planning. But, in a sense, this was a negative gain. An unhealthy political climate for the Chinese, though privileged for the church, was exchanged for one of improved stability but which led to greater regulation of the church. This difference solved few of the church's problems. An atmos­phere conducive to new growth appeared imminent with the establishment of the Nanking regime; reality was otherwise. Most of the problems which plagued the church in 1924-5 still remained to trouble it in 1934-5. New complications were introduced by forces which came into being from 1927 on.

The perception of the church was the root of thedifficulty. Not only was its perception by outside forcesepitomized by the fact that the legal status of the churchwas not expressly defined in the law, difficulties also

80arose in its perception of itself. Since the Church of Christ in China was in the process of evolution, of find­ing out and adapting itself within a Chinese cultural con­text, a clearly defined identity was difficult to enunciate.

283Chinese culture was itself unsettled, thus the parameters for the church by which it would judge its place within the culture were also unsettled. It was agreed that it was a Protestant Christian organization made up of those sharing a few basic beliefs, but its institutional struc­ture and conceptualization had been left vague. In its attempts to encourage maximum flexibility in accord with Chinese needs, its rather amorphous character left its identity in limbo. The Church needed to begin to define itself; yet it was forced to cope, in whatever ways it could, with unsolved problems of long standing tenure as well as those of more recent origin. The church was ex­pected to respond as a functioning institution to these challenges and to simultaneously discover its organiza­tional identity. Such demands are difficult in the best of times; they become almost insurmountable in times of stress.

Although the missionary presence continued to be very real and their contributions important, the mission cen­tered community of the 1920's had evolved into a church centered organization by the late 1930's. Missionaries no longer dominated in the church or its related facilities. The Chinese Christians had entered into their own and it was for them to determine their future path. Missionaries served, guided, advised; but they no longer controlled.It was estimated that there were over 4,000 missionaries

284in China in 1937 (including wives); at the same time therewere 2,000 ordained Chinese pastors with the same numberof non-ordained staff, and an approximately equal number

81of women church workers. These church employed people8 2served a communion of 211,379. At meetings more Chinese

were delegates and more reports were given in Chinese.Within the Christian community, the Chinese had begun to own the ground on which they stood, both literally and figuratively.

With all the advances which the Chinese church had made in the areas of leadership, support, control, and recog­nition, they had not yet managed to eliminate denomination- alism. Their goal was a unified church, yet they were try­ing to contain variety within unity. Everyone agreed that unity did not necessitate uniformity. Cooperation and vari­ous approaches to theological questions were expected to bring forth a richer hybrid which still maintained the cen­tral character of the faith; but financial dependence, sat­isfaction with the status quo, strong ties to the parent church, along with other factors, had hampered the movement toward unity. Of itself, this ecumenical drive gained no further momentum. Perhaps expectations that it would were unrealistic, given the difficulties of this effort. Or, perhaps the historical roots of denominationalism are in­grained in the institutions in which they fluorished.Still, the attempt was considered incomplete. "If we cannot

285achieve more unity than had already been achieved, we shall have to acknowledge in great sorrow that this great prom­ise of practical church unity had been impossible of re­alization.

There still remained the intellectual challenges from the anti-Christian forces, the political and economic situ­ations in which the church was involved, the need to at­tract the young Chinese to the church, and the necessity to overcome the complacency which many in the church felt when they reviewed their accomplishments. In short, what was needed was the spirit which could create the momentum able to deal with these factors. Much was written of the need, the problems were identified and defined, but little effective concerted action was taken. The status of theorganized church was described by the editor of the Chinese

84Recorder as "disquieting."There was a lack of definite position on various is­

sues and policies of concern to the average person. It appeared as though complacency existed in the church in the face of injustice, in China and abroad. This appear­ance was said to characterize a lack of position and to represent a loss of spiritual depth, perhaps due to con­cern with narrow and immediate projects rather than compre-

85hensive programs. Still, it was Christianity's concern with public service oriented morality which was for many its primary contribution to Chinese t h i n k i n g . A s one

286Chinese phrased this attitude, "Personally I do not mindwhat creeds or doctrines the church has, so long as it aimsat the promoting of human conduct and welfare and utilizesits creeds and doctrines as the means towards the realiza-

87tion of its aims." With this aspect most people were satisfied; but there was disagreement on whether the church should take a stand on political issues and policies in a time of increasing government suspicion and repression of critical elements. Yet the church did not wish to be di­rectly identified with the government or its policies. The image projected by such an identification would be an in­effectual one at best. That the government did not hesi­tate to use Christian personnel for its projects can be il­lustrated by the practice of having a Bible class from agovernment university build roads, make bandages, and study_. . ., 88 first aid.

Since the basis of support of the Chinese church was too narrow for an institutional edifice, organizational ex­pansion and plans for increased social activism were be­yond its scope. There was a continuing dependence on out­side resources and for this reason an image persisted that

8 9the church was manipulated by foreigners. To counter this image, the church cooperated in many government proj­ects, served on the National Economic Council, and dealt with famine relief. The church was aware that there was an element of danger in this close cooperation with the

287government in that church energy and momentum would be redirected by the concerns of nationalism into areas which were not the proper province of, or of immediate concern to, the church. As the Chinese revolution seemed to be absorbing all energies, the Chinese church needed to keep church identity and interests distinct. Cooperation was to be pursued, but not to the point of being assimilated and absorbed.

There was among the Chinese an impatience with the de­lay caused by carefully coordinated planning and by Wes-

90tern caution. Organizations which promised prompt ac­tion were popular. Those people who were attracted by the faster paced campaigns were those who had been "touchedneither by adequate thought, nor by depth of feeling, nor

91by thoroughly cultivated (religious) habits."Part of the reason for the ease with which the nation­

al revolution, the new government, or for that matter the Communists, could absorb Chinese Christians into their or­ganizations was the lack of adequate theological ground­ing which formed the basis of the social activism of the Christians. Without this theological underpinning, there seemed to be little distinction between Christian social activism and that of secular groups.

There was insufficient theological writing by Chinese in easily accessible form and insufficient emphasis on theology in that available. Some standard Protestant

28892concepts had not taken root well in China. It was fairly

easy to divorce some of the newer, less well educated Chris­tians from the church. Separation was accelerated whenpeople assumed that Christianity had not been successful

93in the West. The difficulties which the church had in explaining its role in social consciousness and economic achievements based on scriptural injunction were height­ened for this reason. Most Chinese came in contact with the church in its social role; much of the criteria for judging the effectiveness of the institution was centered in its concerns with peoples' problems. "The individual's faith in Christianity's efficiency for his personal sal­vation is often determined by what he finds in Christiani-

94ty's contributions to social reconstruction." The tenacity with which social forces resisted change seemed to negate much of the church's efforts.

To offset the Communist appeal, some laymen's move­ments stressed family worship and commitment rather than that of an individual or an individual within the church. These families often prayed, worked, and shared problems and profits with other Christian families, especially when they lived on neighboring f a r m s . W h i l e these farms might be said to represent an experiment in Christian communal living, their numbers were quite small. For many people the situation after 1930 was so shattering that much of Christianity's previous contribution tended to be

289overshadowed. When its contributions were overlooked and its foreign taints stressed, Christianity's role in modern China was obscured and distorted.

According to T.C. Chao, in the crisis which the church faced by 1937, it would either become a nationally influ­ential moral and spiritual force or risk destruction."Thus it is, our national crisis is the crisis of Chris­tianity in C h i n a . T h e church needed a dogma originating in the East yet tied to the major streams of Western theo­logical thought. The organization should stress the prac­tical ways in which it could help China meet her crisis,such as individuality and the idea that religion had to do

97with human welfare in the mass. In this manner perhaps the church could create among its numbers a loyalty and willingness to sacrifice comparable to that demanded by other organizations. In this they could complement or off­set outside influences. If the church attained a recog­nized place in society, then those government members who were Christian might openly practice their religion there­by reinforcing Christianity's place in China.

The overriding issue was the establishment of an in­digenous church. The definition of an indigenous church as originally established was one which was self-supporting, self-propagating, self-governing. Gains in all these fields had been made since the 1920's. But some essential element needed to be added in order to accomplish true

290indigenization. This three-self definition was too structured and artificial to be capable of fulfilling its goal. It defined an organization, but not necessarily a Chinese organization. Indigenization implied a Chinese centered church, identifiably Chinese. Although the three-self definition had encompassed the enunciated goals of the church, the essential accomplishments of these condi­tions had neither indigenized the character of the church nor solved its problems. Sinification played a larger rolethan the missionaries had expected and nationalism was a

98greater factor than had been allowed for. The identity of the church was still unresolved, and other problems remained.

In assessing Chinese Christian attitudes toward vari­ous aspects of Christianity, one long term advocate of the Sinification process suggested that changes necessary to the continued development of Christianity in China should take into consideration the following observations: Chi­nese do not relate to a sectarian psychology; they do, however, respond to some of the millenial aspects of Chris­tian theology; they do not seem concerned with the idea of salvation; their intense interest in Christianity cen­ters chiefly in its ethical and spiritual aspects; theirmost significant response is to the ethical significance

99of the personality of Christ. If attempts at evolving theological concepts within the church evangelical campaigns

291had been based on the foregoing assessment, a concept more intelligible to Chinese society might have been real­ized. Chinese Christians would no longer lament that the church was still so foreign, "so variously and rigidly or­ganized that it does not fit in with the Chinese genius"; thought and form were so foreign that the spirit of Chris­tianity reached Chinese hearts only with difficulty.

Notes Chapter VI

1. Lutz, Christian Colleges, p. 318.2. Ibid., p. 529.3. Paul Abbott, "Revival Movements," CCYB, 1932-3, p. 176.4. Ibid., p. 177; Rawlinson, "Where Is Chinese Protestant­

ism Going?", CC (June, 1935), p. 821-41.5. Weber, Asia, p. 277.6. F.H. Throop, "The Institutional Church in China," CR

(April, 1919), p. 227; Rawlinson, "Present Status of the Chinese Christian Movement," IRM, XXIV (no. 3), p. 322.

7. "The Evangelization of China— A symposium by Chinese Christian Workers," CR (July, 1919), p. 444.

8. Weber, Asia, p. 169; Y.C. Yang, "Crisis in the Christian Movement," CCYB, 1932-3, p. 72.

9. Tuition began to be charged by most church related schools in the 1920's. Although scholarships were available, this financial requirement limited the class background of those attending such schools. Rawlinson, "Present Status", IRM, XXIV (no. 3), p. 316; James M. Yard, "What Is the Matter with China?", CR (July, 1920), p. 501.

10. Rawlinson, "Where Is Chinese Protestantism Going?", CC (June, 1935), p. 821-4: There were 2,196 ordinations in 1936. Latourette, History of the Expansion of Chris­tianity, vol. vii, p. 349.

11. Figures given are for 1941, but they illustrate a prob­lem which was experienced in the 1930's. Of new can­didates for ordination, 20 held college degrees (includ­ing three women), 241 had graduated from senior middle school (31 women), and 268 were graduates of junior middle schools (4 women). Cary-Elwes, China and the Cross, p. 257; As the missionaries were well aware, an

292

293ignorant ministry would rely on stale platitudes for its propaganda. China Centenary Mission Conference, p. 447.

12. "What Is Possible for the Chinese Church?," CR (Janu­ary, 1926) , p. 43-6.

13. A.L. Warnshuis, "Changes in Missionary Policies and Methods in China," IRM (April, 1928), p. 309-10; "Starting the Five Year Movement," CR (July, 1929), p. 409-10.

14. C.Y. Cheng, "Prayer and Cooperation in China," MRW (April, 1931), p. 260.

15. "The Church of Christ in China Examines Itself and Looks Forward," CR (April, 1932), p. 260.

16. Fairbank, Chinese-American Interactions, p. 51.17. Outerbridge, Lost Churches, p. 199.18. Thomson, While China Faced West, p. 8.19. "The National Voice of the Chinese Church," CR (June,

1929), p. 342.20. "Christians Look Forward, CR (January, 1932), p. 5;

CCYB, 1932-3, p. 4.21. C.F. Johannaber, "The Church, The Cooperative, and the

Social Order," CR (December, 1936), p. 749-51.22. CCYB, 1932-3, p. 257; Cheng, "The Christian Movement in

China in 1931," MRW, (August, 1931), p. 574.23. CCYB, 1932-3, p. 4.24. Ballou, "National Christian Council of China 1935-7,"

CCYB, 1936-7, p. 246.25. Weber, Asia, p. 141.26. "Church and State in China," CR (August, 1935), p. 453-5.27. Cary-Elwes, China and the Cross, p. 254.28. Ballou, "National Christian Council," CCYB, 1936-7,

p. 158.

29429. Cheng, "The Christian Movement in China in 1931," MRW

(August, 1931), p. 574; Weber, Asia, p. 181.30. "Starting the Five Year Movement," CR (July, 1929)

p. 409-10.31. Cheng, "The State of the Church," CCYB, 1929, p. 152;

Weber, Asia, p. 181.32. Y.T. Wu, "How One Christian Looks at the Five Year

Movement," CR (March, 1930), p. 146.33. "The Present Situation— The Church of Christ in China,"

CR (September, 1937), p. 596; A.J. Fisher, "The Church of Christ in China," CCYB, 1932-3, p. 124-6.

34. "Present Situation," Ibid, p. 598.35. Fisher, "The Church of Christ in China," CCYB, 1932-3,

p. 130.36. "The Church of Christ in China Examines Itself and Looks

Forward," CR (April, 1932), p. 260; Kepler, "What Is the Church of Christ in China?," CR (January, 1927),p. 28.

37. "The Present Situation— The Church of Christ in China," CR (September, 1937), p. 599.

38. Cary-Elwes, China and the Cross, p. 258.39. "Church and State in China," CR (August, 1935), p. 453-5.40. NcNeur, "Chinese Christian Autonomy," CR (January, 1926)

p. 17, 19.41. "Will Christianity Survive," editorial, CR (May/June,

1927) , p. 360-1.42. T'ang, China in Revolt, p. 61; Chao, "The Church in

China— Its Future in Social and Economic Thought and Action," IRM (October, 1938), p. 583.

43. T.L. Shen, "Christian Movements in a Revolutionary China," CR (August, 1928), p. 479.

44. Ibid.45. E.H. Hume, "The Future of Christianity in China," IRM

(July, 1927), p. 321.

29546. "Exploring Christian Unity," CR (December, 1928),

p. 740-1.47. CCYB, 1932-3, p. 2; Rawlinson, "Where Is Chinese Prot­

estantism Going?," CC (June, 1935), p. 821-4; E.R. Yu, "Church Unity: Its Obstacles and Opportunities," CR(January, 1937) , p. 27-

48. "The State of the Church— A Symposium," CR (April,1929), p. 319; Wu, "How One Christian Looks at the Five Year Movement," CR (March, 1930), p. 147; L. Tomkinson, "Chinese Christian Leaders and the Church," CR (July,1934), p. 342; Rawlinson, "China Opens the Door," CC (August, 1937), p. 1031-3; Rawlinson, "Present Status," IRM, XXIV (no. 3), p. 322.

49. Chao, "The Religious Situation in China," CR (November,1930) , p. 685.

50. Y.Y. Tsu, "Chinese Church Organizes in the Future,"CR (February, 1927), p. 85; Rawlinson, "Present Status," IRM, XXIV (no. 3), p. 323; Y.T. Wu, "The Orient Recon­siders Christianity," CC (June, 1937), p. 837; "Fail­ing Leadership of the Organized Church," CR (January,1935), p. 4-6.

51. Rawlinson, Ibid., p. 32252. Ibid., p. 524-5; Pei Yu-li, "Christian Influence on

Chinese Life," CR (March, 1932), p. 142.53. Rawlinson, Ibid., p. 315; G.F.S. Gray, "Chinese Church—

World-Wide Church," CR (June, 1935), p. 369.54. Warnshuis, "Changes in Missionaries Policies and Methods

in China," IRM (April, 1928), p. 308; Rawlinson, Ibid., p. 315.

55. Chao, "The Church in China," IRM (October, 1938), p. 585; Rawlinson, "China Opens the Door," CC (August, 1937), p. 1041-3; "What 1926 Means to Chinese Christian Move­ment," CR (January, 1927), p. 8.

56. "The Chinese Mission Society," CR (July, 1937), p. 457.57. Smythe, Changes in the Christian Message, p. 115; Stuart

in West, Yenching University, p. 40.

29658. E.S. Jones, "China and the Laymen's Report," CC (Febru­

ary, 1933) , p. 220-1; In contrast graduates of Chris­tian colleges who rose to prominence in the 1930's did not list their undergraduate colleges in reference books. Lutz, Christian Colleges, p. 506-7.

59. CCYB, 1929, p. 303.60. Clifton J. Phillips, "The Student Volunteer Movement,"

Fairbank, Missionary Enterprise, p. 119; Cheng, "The Christian Movement in China in 1931," MRW (August,1931) , p. 574.

61. Phillips, Ibid.62. Weber, Asia, p. 180.63. Ibid., p. 182.64. E.R.M. Brecken, "China's Place in the Church Universal,"

CR (July, 1923), p. 391-7.65. Lew, "Christian Unity and Chinese Christianity," CR

(October, 1927), p. 644-6.66. Kepler, "The Church and Unity," CCYB, 1931, p. 152.67. CCYB, 1929, p. 223.68. M.S. Bates, "The Theology of American Missionaries

in China," Fairbank, Missionary Enterprise, p. 140; Weber, Asia p. 186.

69. Weber, Ibid., p. 179; C.Y. Ch'eng was the only Chinese to attend the Edinburgh, Jerusalem and Tanbarum meet­ings. C.L. Boynton, "Cheng Ching-yi," CR (December, 1939), p. 691-6.

70. Weber, Ibid., p. 154.71. Ibid., p. 155.72. Ibid., p. 181.73. Ibid.74. Ibid., p. 184.75. Ibid., p. 145; NcNeur, "Chinese Christian Autonomy,"

CR (January, 1926), p. 17.

29776. Weber, Ibid.77. Ibid., p. 154.78. Rawlinson, "Present State of the Chinese Christian

Movement," IRM, XXIV (no. 3), p. 321; Gray, "Chinese Church-World-Wide Church," CR (June, 1933), p. 369;Y.C. Yang, "Crisis in the Christian Movement," CCYB, 1932-3, p. 80.

79. CCYB, 1931, p. 8.80. "Christianity Settles Down in China," CR (September,

1937), p. 545; Kepler, "The Kuomintang and Religion,"CR (October, 1930), p. 618.

81. Cary-Elwes, China and the Cross, p. 256-7.82. CCYB, 1937, Appendix IV, p. 294-5.83. T.C. Chao in Kepler, "The Church and Unity," CCYB, 1931,

p. 146.84. Rawlinson, "Present Status," IRM, XXIV (no. 3), p. 321.85. Chao, "Christianity and the National Crisis," CR (Janu­

ary, 1937), p. 11; A.P. Lansdown, "The Worship of the Chinese Church," CR (March, 1927), p. 183; Wu, "The Orient Reconsiders Chrisitanity," CC (June, 1937), p. 10.

86. W.B. Djang, "Christianity and the Life of the Chinese," CR (January, 1936), p. 10-11; Pei Yu-li, "Christian Influences on Chinese Life," CR (March, 1932), p. 142-3.

87. Pei, Ibid., p. 141.88. Israel, Student Nationalism, p. 106.89. T.L. Shen, "Christian Dilemma in China," CR (July,

1934), p. 418; Chao, "The Chinese Church Realizes It­self," CR (May/June, 1927), p. 302.

90. "Lingering Shadows," CR January, 1929), p. 1-4; E.S. Yu, "Church Unity: Its Obstacles and Opportunities," CR(January, 1937), p. 27; Wu, "The Orient Reconsiders Christianity," CC (June, 1937) p. 837; Warnshuis, "Changes in Missionary Policies," IRM (April, 1928),p. 308; Chao, Ibid., p. 299.

91. Chao, "Christianity and the National Crisis," CR (January, 1937), p. 7.

29892. Y.C. Yang, "Crisis in the Christian Movement," CCYB,

1932-3, p. 81; Treadgold, The West in China, p. 35; Lansdown, "The Worship of the Chinese Church," CR (March, 1927), p. 184.

93. Yang, Ibid. p. 67; Iriye, "Toward a New Cultural Order," Iriye, The Chinese and the Japanese, p. 255.

94. Yang, Ibid,, p. 74.95. Chan, Wing-tsit, Religious Trends in Modern China,

Columbia University Press, New York, 1953, p. 177.96. Chao, "Christianity and the National Crisis," CR

(January, 1937), p. 8.97. Lee Hou-fu, "Christianity and China's Changing Order,"

CR (January, 1931), p. 12; Y.T. Wu, "Whither the Chi­nese Church?," CR (February, 1936), p. 71-4.

98. Weber, Asia, p. 124.99. Ibid., p. 161; Lew, "Christian Unity and Chinese Chris­

tianity," CR (October, 1927), p. 544.100. National Christian Conference, p. 207.

A CHURCH FOR CHINA CONCLUSION

A church for China had been established. Its roots were as yet weak, but it was supported by its Western counterparts. It had achieved agreement on organization, a strong network of cooperative projects, and a vision of the future. These characteristics did not, however, define it institutionally. The church knew what it wished to be in a general sense, but not what it was. It was in a state of evolution in a time when events and conditions which affected its development moved all too quickly and the church's responses were not sufficiently assimilated. As a result, the church found itself pulled in many direc­tions, challenged on many fronts, and insufficiently or­ganized conceptually to be able to respond adequately. In­deed, it often appeared as though the church spent more time in debating internal matters than in coping with chal­lenges to its /utcion d'ztfLQ.,

It had achieved to a remarkable degree, given the cir­cumstances, its early goals of self-government, self­propagation, and self-support. This definition for an in­digenous church was Western in origin and perhaps too

299

300highly structured for success in China. In achieving these goals over not inconsiderable obstacles, the church devolved to Chinese control, but it was not a Chinese church. Its links with and acceptance by Chinese society at large were minimal. It had not yet achieved a Chinese identity.

Christianity as a faith had been accepted by many Chinese who rejected the church. Therefore, in their minds at least, there was a separation of belief and the institution which was to embody and nurture that belief. This disparity of perception of a separate faith and church only made more immediate the need for the church to be ac­cepted as Chinese. Outward changes in form, style, and service were not sufficient. There was required an inward sense of fellowship centered in the church , which was not then apparent.

This problem was also found in the West; it was not peculiar to China. According to Latourette, most Protes- tans lack a clear conception of a " c h u r c h , T h i s is par­ticularly so in the less liturgical churches which were those incorporated in the Church of Christ in China. This lack of a recognizable framework was exacerbated by the problem of congregational worship which on the one hand is necessary to the development and reinforcement of Christiancommunity, but, on the other, foreign to Chinese ideas of

2religious practice. In the congregational churches, the

301emphasis is on community worship. Perhaps more attention to an individualized approach within the church framework would have been appropriate had the church had adequate personnel. Perhaps the missionaries in China were too quick to build their churches. Perhaps they should have concentrated on home and community religious development until such time as their converts felt the need for such a church. On the other hand, the fact that many Chinese failed to find a religious home in the existing Christian churches might only argue that they could not find spiritu­al peace in such a symbol of Western presence there. What­ever the cause, the church found itself but shallowly rooted institutionally in China.

Part of the problem with church evolution was that of the manner in which the church should adapt itself to China. Some adaptation was obviously necessary, and much that was tried was obviously artificial. The church, it seemed, could not loose its ties to the West historically. The Chinese church did not wish to be cut off from the main­stream of the international community which gave it much needed recognition and support. Yet there were those who argued that it was Chinese culture which had to be adapted to be able to appreciate the inner spirit of Christianity.^It was China, then, which should adapt, not Christianity. Since China was attempting to cope with the problems of modernization, using scientific criteria to judge the

302viability of any approach, it was felt that she could easily adapt to the requirements of Christianity as well. For many Chinese the scientific method and Christianity were irreconcilable. Christianity was rejected along with much of her own past, in favor of a rational, modern, even Marxist approach. Christianity had already failed in the West, why then should China adopt it?

Too, in adapting itself to the needs of China, the church found itself faced with its perpetual dilemma: tohold uncompromisingly to its ethical ideas and alienate possible support, or to modify its position to broaden its base of influence and abandon part of its ideal.^ Compli­cating this question for the Chinese church was the rejec­tion of much which they claimed was historically Western, but not necessarily Christian. Was this an abandonment of the ethical position which the church claimed to represent or a statement of reality? How far could the church cooper­ate with government policies without being identified with these policies? In fact, the need to be part of the cul­ture and yet its moral critic had always been a dilemma for the church.

It is in times of stress that religion can be judged to be successful, if in Yinger's words it achieves an or­ganizational principle.^ By writing a constitution and attempting to implement it over time, the Church of Christ in China seemed to meet this requirement, but in the opinion

303of some within and without the country, church consciousnessgdid not appear to have been achieved. For this reason it may be stated that the movement for church union was of far greater importance to the church in China than to its counterparts in the West. The Chinese church could not come to fruition without Western support since it was de­pendent for a measure of spiritual guidance and financial aid on the Western churches. Though ecumenism was sup­ported in the West, the idea was not a vital concern. For the church in China, it was, almost literally, a matter of survival.

For these reasons T.C. Chao's appraisal published in 1938 was most pertinent. The Church in China, he stated, had not yet become a church at all. It had failed to ac­quire a world vision of fellowship, was divided by denomi­nationalism, and was beset by foreign and ugly institu­tions and traditions. Until such time as a Chinese churchemerged, the Christian church would have no place in Chi-

7nese society. Perhaps, then, it should have been said that the Christian church was a church for Chinese, but not yet a church for China.

According to the editor of Chi Nan, a periodical criti­cal of Christianity, if the church would do away with the mythological and purely traditional aspects of Christianity, together with meaningless ceremonies, it would produce a church and creed in keeping with human reason and modern

3048scientific thought. It would develop a modern religion

for modern times with the social dynamic for change which the Chinese system of ethics lacked. In the process, it was hoped that the church could discard some of the Greek and Hebrew theological webs which had little relevance

Qfor most Chinese. Yet after 1920 this potential for change could not of itself organize a mass movement for revolution; it was forced to work within the existing framework and on a smaller scale. Under these circum­stances, it was led into making the two mistakes which would lessen any religion's influence on society: excesscompromise with it and excess withdrawal from it.^^ In the spirit of compromise, the church worked with the gov­ernment on projects to help the poor; but the government restricted church activity with labor, and the church did not have sufficient funds and people to implement agricul­tural reconstruction on its own. These failures meant that little was done to attract the educated classes with­out which Christianity would not truly be rooted in China. Then, too, Christians in China accomplished little to im­press a society which had always revered books and writing. This was a lost opportunity and a withdrawal from the influ­ential elements in society. In a sense, Christianity failed to fulfill its role in society along the lines that "re­ligion becomes a power in ordinary life only by taking up civilization into itself and giving it a special direction.

305But it always remains distinct from this civilization; it is always a more formative than creative force.

Christianity could not direct the shape of modern Chinese civilization. It was too small a force and lacked coherence. It lacked a significant base within the social infrastructure. It also lacked a clear concept of the shape which it wished the civilization to attain or the extent to which it would be responsible for this shape. Yet it had attempted to sell itself as the religion of Western success, therefore able to attain the same ends in China, but China had begun to question the desirability of those ends and the process by which they could be attained. The West was in economic depression, the idea of the brotherhood of all people had foundered against the reality of Japanese in­vasion, and the missionaries represented nations in which

12Christianity had to battle secular ideologies. The criti­cisms leveled equally by the traditionalists who rejected Christianity as foreign, and the Marxists who regarded it as superstition (and competition), assaulted a position which was all too vulnerable. Christians in China spent several years fending off such attacks, but had done little to strengthen their foundations in the vulnerable areas.Thus the unsettled areas in their foundations were continu­ously exposed.

It was in this period in particular that Marxist social­ism made gains. It appealed to many Chinese who had found

306the church an attractive but alien institution, by- presenting itself as a program of "realism and action de­signed to implement the new social order that the Chris-

13tians had so long talked about." In this way Christi­anity appeared to be caught in a competition to outdo communism. Unfortunately, Christianity seemed much less positive or aggressive or able to appeal to the ideas of sacrifice for the national well-being as readily as com­munism. For many, the utopian vision of Marx was in­finitely more appealing than the reality of Christianity.^^ At the same time communists in China recognized the force of Christianity in society and tried to encompass it in the form of Christian socialism in order to use its lead­ers, institutions, and organizations.^^ Christian leaders similarly recognized the implicit challenge in socialism and tried to Christianize it lest it shake Christianity to its foundations precisely because it appealed to the higher instincts of man.^^

Christianity had sold itself in China as a means of modernization akin to that achieved in the West. The situ­ation arose in the 1930's that the system of Western capitalism had collapsed in ignominy. Therefore, the Marxists were able to argue effectively against capitalism and Christianity simultaneously: if the time of the onewas past, then, it followed, so was the time of the other.

307Once the old traditions had been assaulted, with

Christians in the forefront of the assault, Marxism steppedin to heal the social fabric, in part a rehabilitation

17of the Chinese "self." This identity was concerned with18self-awareness, self-image, and identifiable values. The

nation, and the church as part of it, faced a time in which definition of values and image— in order to promote aware­ness of self— played a major social, political and economic role.

Such self identity emerges from the way a nation oran institution perceives its history and is shaped by the

19ideals, aspirations, and purposes which it pursues. Thispreoccupation with self in search of identity was a phaseof adjustment to a changed environment. Until a clearimage emerged, it would be difficult to undertake any major

20projects. This search and the problems identified with it occupied the Church of Christ in China in the decade after its founding. Outside forces had proved to be dis­ruptive; the inner values in many cases proved to be weak.It was the lack of a concept of self which made Christi­anity ill-prepared to meet the challenges of communism in China. Only a revolutionary effort could bring about a new equilibrium in Chinese society, and the church had be­come sufficiently institutionalized to deplore revolutionary

21effort. It would instead compromise in order to maintain its position.

308"The fundamental explanation why one doctrine rather

than another triumphed during moments of creative struggleis that is served better than the other the needs begottenby the continuously developing and dominant social experi-

22ence." The fact that for Chinese society Christianity failed to meet its needs during this period of struggle had been explained in various ways. Some apologists cite the small number of Christians in the total Chinese popu­lation; but the communists began also as a small group. Others cite the "alien" image of Christianity rejected as foreign in the revolution against Western imperialism; yet Marxism was not native to China, and even Borodin expressedhis discouragement in the face of entrenched Chinese tra-

23ditionalism. Dissenters cite the scientific revolution in China which rejected religion as outdated superstition; yet the converts to scientific principles were few, and often found Marxism, a secular religion, attractive. The crux of the problem was the church's lack of self-definition as a church, as an institution in Chinese society, and as a part of the worldwide Christian movement. A church for China was established with leaders, growing financial sup­port, and developed institutional outposts in Chinese so­ciety; what it lacked to effectively face the challenge it encountered was a consensus as to its identity.

Part of the explanation for this lack of clear iden­tity undoubtedly arose from the complexity of enterprise

309with which the West brought Christianity to China, but part of the reason lay with the Chinese. Their characteristic attitude toward religion was one of toleration. This does not lead to an insistence on an identifiable set of beliefs. An institution lacking definition does not respond effec­tively to a situation of stress. It was from this concep­tual weakness that almost all other problems encountered by the Chinese Christians derived. It was in this area that the expectant plans for a unified church came to grief. Little growth or change occured in the decade following its inception (1927-1937).

That Sinification had not occured was explained. Mis­sionaries were still serving in China, if not in control, still in positions of influence. Most Chinese pastors had been trained in the West or in institutions staffed by Westerners. For those with sufficient theological train­ing to separate the essence of the religion from its his­torical accretions would be a slow and difficult process. Events in China had not allowed sufficient time for such reflection and evolution. There was not yet a national church. A tentative blueprint for a foundation had been drawn, but the building process was slow, and agreement as to the shape which the church would in time assume was lack­ing. Christianity as a faith had many adherents and sup­porters in China; its roots were well established and strong. But, the church, the institutional aspect which projected a

310definition of the faith for society as a whole, was as yet unaccepted. The potential to overcome these disabili­ties was present, it was simply inadequate for immediate achievement. There was a church in China with the ability to become a church for China, but it was not yet Chinese.

Notes Conclusion

1. Cary-Elwes, China and the Cross, p. 254.2. Rawlinson, Naturalization, p. 36-8.3. Y.T. Wu, "The Orient Reconsiders Christianity," CC

(June, 1937), p. 835; Treadgold, The West in China, p. 35.

4. Yinger, Religion in the Struggle for Power, p. viii.5. Ibid., p. 136-7.6. Chao, "The Church in China," IRM (October, 1938), p.583.7. Ibid.8. CCYB, 1929, p. 139.9. Porter, China's Challenge to Christianity, p. 68.10. Yinger, Religion in the Struggle for Power, p. 227.11. Troeltsch, Protestantism and Progress, p. 176.12. West, Yenching University, p. 131, 177.13. Outerbridge, Lost Churches, p. 154.14. Wu, "The Orient Reconsiders Christianity," CC (June,

1937), p. 837.15. White/Hopkins, Social Gospel, p. 28.16. Ibid., Outerbridge, Lost Churches, p. 195.17. Levenson, Confucian China, p. 106.18. Soedjatmoko, "Cultural Motivations to Progress," Bellah,

Religion and Progress, p. 3.19. Ibid.

311

31220. Ibid., p. 4.21. Levenson, Confucian China, p. 145.22. Shailer Matthews quoted in Rawlinson, Naturalization,

p. vi.23. "I came to China to fight for an idea...But China, it­

self, with its age old history, its countless millions, its vast social problems, its infinite capacities, astounded and overwhelmed me." Michael Borodin in Schlesinger, "The Missionary Enterprise and Theories of Imperialism," Fairbank, Missionary Enterprise, p. 372.

POST-SCRIPT

For their sakes we wish that the good they did could have been lasting. But it is not in the nature of things that anything— except the nature of things— should last. Saints and wise statesmen can do much. Their reward is in the doing of it. They are lucky if they do not live long enough to see the undoing.

Max BeerbohmThe Church of Christ in China survived World War II,

its forces scattered, its institutions destroyed or dis­mantled, but it survived. Indeed it was estimated thatby 1950 it contained approximately one-third of all Prot-

1estants in China. In the same year the fourteenth bi-enniel meeting of the N.C.C. was held in Shanghai, its

2membership entirely Chinese. It was in fact the Church of Christ in China with which the Communist government tried to come to terms. It was this organization with which they tried to associate all other Christian bodies in China, in-

3eluding the Catholics. In this attempt they failed. The government wished to use the leaders, and the organization­al apparatus, with or without their cooperation, in a united front attempt to coalesce all positive forces in society.In a Christian Manifesto issued in 1950, the government con­cluded that Christianity had made some positive contributions

313

314to Chinese society. They stated that there had been some relationship between Christianity and imperialism since the missionaries had come from imperialist countries. Therefore, the church was cautioned, it should be sure that it was not being used for counter-revolutionary purposes.If the Chinese church would work for a new China, with its goals of independence, democracy, peace, unity and prosperi-

4ty, there was a place for it in the new China.Some Christian leaders, notably Chao Tzu-ch'en, tried

to find some common ground between the two ideologies.

Missionaries, too, those who remained, tried to reach an accommodation with the local authorities. Where this was possible, they remained, but where they felt that they might be an embarrassment to their Chinese colleagues,they de­parted. In 1952, due to the Korean conflict, all mission­aries were expelled from China. Feelings against Chris­tianity were high; institutions which were in nature char­itable were discredited in the anti-imperialist campaign.®

The churches suffered badly in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Buildings were converted to other uses, books were destroyed, and personnel were imprisoned or reassigned. But, lately, some word on the reopening of churches has been reported in the Western press. House churches are reported to exist in some of the communes. Though the estimates of Protestants in China is still less than one percent, it seems as though the figures equate

3157roughly with those for 1949. The faith, then, remains in

China; its institutional vitality and form must be the sub­ject for subsequent study.

Notes Post-Script

1. M.S. Bates, "The Theology of American Missionaries in China," Fairbank, Missionary Enterprise, p. 141.

2. Ferris, The Christian Church in Communist China, p. 5.3. Cary-Elwes, China and the Cross, p. 255.4. Ferris, The Christian Church in Communist China, p. 2.5. Ibid., p. 31.6 . Ibid., p. 39.7. Richard Ostling, "Let a Hundred Churches Bloom," Time

(May 4, 1981), p. 54-5; R.R. Covell, "The Church andChina: Building New Barriers?," CC (January, 1980),p. 16-18.

316

APPENDIX AMEMORIAL AND RESCRIPT CONCERNING INTERCOURSE BETWEEN LOCAL

OFFICIALS AND MISSIONARIES, MARCH 16, 1899.

China has long ago given her consent to the establishment of mission stations of the Roman Catholic religion in the various provinces. With the desire of maintaining peaceful relations between ordinary Chinese subjects and the converts, and of facilitating protective measures, the following proposals as to the reception of the missionaries by local officials are submitted:

(1) To define the various ranks of missionaries. Bishops rank with Governors-General and Governors. They may ask for interviews with these officers. If a Bishop returns to his country or vacates his post on account of sickness, the priest who acts for him can also ask for in­terviews with the Governor-General and Governor.

Provicars and Head Priests can ask for interviews with Treasurers, Judges, and Taotais. Other priests can ask for interviews with Prefects and Magistrates.

The Chinese officials of all ranks above mentioned will return the courtesy in accord with the rank of the priest.

317

318(2) Bishops must furnish the provincial authorities

with a list giving the names of priests deputed to trans­act international business with the Chinese officials, and of the places where the missions are established, so that the provincial authorities can instruct their subordinates to treat with such priests according to these regulations.

All those priests who ask for interviews, and those specially deputed to transact such business, must be Wes­terners, but in cases in which the Western priest cannot speak Chinese, a Chinese priest may interpret.

(3) In cases in which the Bishop lives away from the provincial capital, he need not naturally go to the said capital to ask for an interview with the Governor-General or Governor without cause. On occasions of change of Gov­ernors or Bishops, or of New Year's congratulations, the Bishop may write to the provincial authorities or, send his card as a matter of courtesy, and the provincial au­thorities will reciprocate.

In cases of change of priests, the newcomer must have a letter from the Bishop, before he can ask for interviews with Chinese officials as above.

(4) In grave cases connected with the mission. Bishops and priests must request the Minister of the nation spe­cially entrusted by the Pope with the protection of Roman Catholic missionaries or the Consul of that nation to ar­range the affairs with the Tsung-li Yamen or the local

319officials. They may also discuss and arrange the matter in the first instance with the local officials, so as to avoid complications. The local officials, when applied to in such cases, must at once discuss and arrange the affair in an equitable and friendly manner.

(5) The local officials must, as occasion arises, exhort and restrain the ordinary Chinese to look upon the converts as comrades, and not pick quarrels with them.

The Bishops and priests on their side must instruct their converts to lead blameless lives, and so preserve the good name of the religion and the respect and goodwill of the non-converts.

Should lawsuits arise between converts and others, the local authorities must decide the same with impartiality. The priests must not interfere or favor their people. Thus it may be hoped that converts and people will live together on friendly terms.

The same day the assent was given.

MacMurray, Treaties,vol. I, p. 718.

APPENDIX BMEMORIAL OF THE MINISTRY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS, AND IMPERIAL RESCRIPT, IN REGARD TO THE REVISION OF THE PROCEDURE GOV­ERNING INTERCOURSE BETWEEN THE LOCAL OFFICIALS AND MISSION­ARIES . MARCH 12, 1908.

A memorial was presented by the former Tsung Li Yamen, enclosing five articles on the subject of intercourse be­tween the local officials and missionaries, which was ap­proved by an imperial rescript, dated Kuang Hsu, 25th Year, 2nd Month, 5th day (March 16, 1899).

We would note that in the memorial it stated that when the Archbishops or Bishops apply for an interview with the Viceroys, Governors, Provincial Judges, Taotais, Prefects, or District Magistrates, the said officials will treat with them according to their respective ranks.

At the time the memorial was presented the Tsung Li Yamen hoped that the procedure which they drew up to govern intercourse between the local officials and missionaries would be of benefit to the church. But the Bishops and others who are preaching the Gospel in China can not be said to have official rank, and they certainly can not hold the same rank as Viceroys, Governors, and other officials.

320

321Of late the practice of local officials, based on

treaty, in their relations with the missionaries, does not agree with the conditions which were prevalent at the time the last regulations were drawn up. Furthermore, since the regulations in question were put into effect, the mission­aries and others have constantly made use of the ceremonial customs and insignia of the local officials, thereby cast­ing misunderstandings among the stupid people. Such was certainly not the original intent of the regulations, and it is urgently necessary to draw up a procedure more in ac­cord with the present conditions.

We accordingly petition the Throne to cancel the peti­tion of the Tsung Li Yamen. In future the intercourse be­tween the local officials and missionaries should be carried on as before, in accordance with the treaties.

When the Throne has approved this memorial, the board will communicate with the different provinces that they may issue instructions to have the memorial observed.

Approved,Kuang Hstl, 34th Year,2nd Month, 10th day

(March 12, 1908) .

MacMurray, Treaties,vol. I, p. 717-8.

APPENDIX CTREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CHINA FOR THE EXTENSION OF COMMERCIAL RELATIONS BETWEEN THEM, OCTOBER 8, 1903. Article XIV; Christianity; Its Teachers and Followers Not To Be Discriminated Against. Rights and Duties of Mission­aries .

The principles of the Christian religion as professed by the Protestant and Roman Catholic Churches, are recog­nized as teaching men to do good and to do to others as they would have others do to them. Those who quietly pro­fess and teach these doctrines shall not be harassed or per­secuted on account of their faith. Any person, whether citizen of the United States or Chinese convert, who, ac­cording to these tenets, peaceably preaches and practices the principles of Christianity shall in no case be inter­fered with or molested therefore. No restrictions shall be placed on Chinese joining Christian churches. Converts and non-converts, being Chinese subjects, shall alike conform to the laws of China; and shall pay due respect to those in authority, living together in peace and amnity; and the fact of being converts shall not protect them from the con­sequences of any offense they may have committed before or

322

323may commit after their admission to the church, or exempt them from paying legal taxes levied on Chinese subjects generally, except taxes levied and contributions for the support of religious customs and practices contrary to their faith. Missionaries shall not interfere with the exercise by the native authorities of their jurisdiction over Chinese subjects; nor shall the native authorities make any distinction between converts and non-converts, but shall administer the laws without partiality so that both classes can live together in peace.Property; Land Purchased by Missionary Societies.

Missionary societies of the United States shall be per­mitted to rent and to lease in perpetuity, as the property of such societies, buildings or lands in all parts of the Empire for missionary purposes and, after the title deeds have been found in order and duly stamped by the local au­thorities, to erect such suitable buildings as may be re­quired for carrying on their good work.

MacMurray, Treaties,vol. I, p. 430-1.

APPENDIX DPRESIDENTIAL MANDATE DECLARING AT AN END THE STATE OF WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND GERMANY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1919.

With the object of upholding International Law as well as the principles of humanity and actuated by a desire to mitigate the horrors of war and to hasten the conclusion of the peace, the Republic of China declared war on Germany on August 14th, in the Sixth Year. Since this country be­came one of the belligerents, we have been following the same policy as the other Associated Powers. Now hostilities in Europe have ceased and the Peace Treaty with Germany was signed by the delegates of the different Associated Powers on June 28 this year at Paris. By virtue of this, the state of war which has hitherto existed between Germany and the Associated Powers was brought to an end on that day. Dissatisfied with the conditions embodied in three clauses relating to Shantung, this country refused to sign the Treaty, but it must be remembered that the other terms in the document are as acceptable to us as to other Associated Powers. As the state of war between Germany and other Associated Powers is at an end, it naturally follows that we are now standing in the same relationship with Germany

324

325as the other Associated Powers. A resolution to this effect has been passed at a meeting of the Parliament, and we hereby declare that the state of war between Germany and the Republic is at an end. Let us all take note of this.

China signed without reservation the Treaty of Peace with Austria, concluded at Saint Germain, September 10,1919, thereby becoming a party to the Covenant of the League of Nations as incorporated in that treaty.

MacMurray, Treaties, vol. ii, p. 1381.

APPENDIX EPLAN OF UNION OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN CHINA

Doctrinal Basis and Plan of Union as adopted by the Provisional General Assembly of the Church of Christ in China, held at Shanghai, April 27-29, 1922.

DOCTRINAL BASIS OF UNION Note a. The Church of Christ in China being auto­

nomous will have the prerogative of formulating its own doctrinal statements, but these will, we believe, in the providence of God, and under the teachings of his spirit, be in essential harmony with the beliefs of the Christian church in other lands. As such a declaration of beliefs had not yet been formulated, the united Church formulates this statement of fundamentals.

Note b. Every office bearer in the District Associa­tions and Local Churches of the Church of Christ in China shall declare his sincere acceptance and observance of this creedal statement.

Our bond of union consists:(1) In our faith in Jesus Christ as our Redeemer and

Lord on whom the Christian Church is founded; and in our earnest desire for the establishment of His Kingdom through­out the whole earth. 32g

327(2) On our acceptance of the Holy Scriptures of the

Old and New Testaments as the divinely inspired word of God, and the supreme authority in matters of faith and duty.

(3) In our acknowledgement of the Apostles' Creed as expressing the fundamental doctrines of our common evangel­ical faith.

Believing in the unity of the body of Christ, we de­clare that everyone who from the heart accepts the above statement of faith is sincerely welcomed by us, and recog­nized as united with us in the one communion.

PLAN OF UNIONI. Name. In Chinese: c|3 Ckung-kua

CkZ-tu ChLa.0 ha-i. In English: The Church of Christ in China.

II. Object. The object of the union shall be to bind the churches together in one body with a view to developing a self-supporting, self-governing, and self-propagating Chinese Church, which shall present a united living testi­mony to Christ and worthily represent to the world the Christian ideal.

III. Government. The Church of Christ in China shall administer its affairs through (1) the Local Church (Parish),(2) the District Association (Presbytery), (3) the Divi­sional Council (Synod), and (4) the General Assembly.

(1) A Local Church is a company of believers regularly organized and assemblying statedly for public worship in one

328or more places, and recognized by the District Association in whose bounds it is located. The method of the organiza­tion of the local church is to be decided by the District Association.

(2) A District Association is composed of all minis­ters, evangelists and licentiates and the lay representa­tives of the churches within a defined district.

(a) The representative appointed by the local church shall be chosen from among the church officers and in pro­portion to the number of communicants. Each local church shall appoint at least one representative, churches with 200 or more communicant members shall appoint two represen­tatives; churches with 500 or more shall appoint three rep­resentatives. With the permission of a District Associa­tion, the representation of the churches within the dis­trict may be increased. Each mission having missionary women working within the bounds of the District Association, may appoint one woman representative.

(b) To the District Association belongs the oversight and care of the churches within its bounds. It organizes, disbands, and recognizes churches; licenses, ordains, in­stalls , dismisses and disciplines ministers and evangelists ; gives counsel and aid to churches and unorganized companies of believers; decides references and appeals regularly pre­sented; maintains order; carries on evangelistic work and

329other forms of Christian activity; and appoints representatives to the Divisional Council.

(3) A Divisional Council is composed of delegates appointed by the District Associations within a given area.

(a) Each District Association shall appoint repre­sentatives according to the number of communicant members in the district. For each 500 in active membership it shall appoint two representatives; one of whom shall be a layman. With the permission of the Divisional Council the representation of the District Association may be increased. In addition to the Chinese representatives to the Divisional Council, the District Associations may appoint missionaries in proportion of one to every three missionaries in its membership. Where there is only one missionary, he may be appointed.

(b) The Divisional Council organizes, fixes the rules and determines the boundaries of the District Association; decides all appeals and other matters referred to it by the District Association within its bounds; organizes and con­trols boards for evangelistic and other Christian work; and devises ways and means for strengthening and advancing the interests of the whole church.

(c) To the Divisional Council belongs the Power to decide all controversies respecting doctrine and Church gov­ernment. Should there be error in doctrine or wrong prac­tice in any local church or District Association, the

330Divisional Council had the right to point this out and if necessary to give reproof. The Divisional Council controls all grades of education under the control of the Church, especially is this the case with the curricula of theo­logical institutions. It controls the appointments of pas­tors and decides their stipends. It regulates the recep­tion of ministers from other denominations and regulates official correspondence with other churches. The Divi­sional Council has authority to inaugurate missionary en­terprises and to advance the same, and to further evangel­istic work, to appoint committees, commissions, and offic­ers for all branches of work, and give them instructions and suitable authority and receive their reports.

The question of the powers of the General Assembly was referred to the Executive Committee of the Provisional General Assembly for examination and report. The state­ment as it stands at present is as follows:

(4) The General Assembly(a) Delegates. It shall be composed of delegates

nominated by the District Associations (Presbyteries) and elected by the Divisional Councils (Synods). In case the number of church members in the District Association (Pres­bytery) is under 3,000 it shall appoint one minister and one layman. In case the membership is over 3,000, for every 3,000 or fraction thereof it shall appoint an addi­tional minister and layman. In addition, every District

331Association (Presbytery) which had foreign missionaries enrolled as regular members may also appoint one mission­ary representative.

(b) Quorem. Twenty delegates assembled at the time and place appointed shall constitute a quorem for the transaction of business, but these twenty delegates must represent at least two thirds of the Divisional Councils (Synods) and at least one-half of them must be ministers.

(c) The Power of the General Assembly. The General Assembly shall have the power to receive and issue all ap­peals, memorials, references, and complaints, affecting the doctrine, government, and constitution of the church, that are brought before it in regular order from the inferi­or judicatories, but the appeals in cases originating in the session may not be carried beyond the Divisional Council.

The General Assembly shall also have power of review and control, reviewing the records of each Divisional Coun­cil, approving or censuring the same, and it shall consti­tute a bond of union, peace, correspondence, and mutual confidence among all the judicatories of the church.

To the General Assembly also belongs the power to de­cide all controversies respecting doctrine and church gov­ernment; to point out and, if necessary, reprove cases of error in doctrine or in practice in any Local Church. Dis­trict Association (Presbytery), or Divisional Council

332(Synod); to consider all petitions for the division of existing Divisional Councils (Synods) or the erection of new ones; to superintend all grades of education in schools under the control of the church, especially the curricula of its theological institutions; to decide upon the quali­fications for the ordination to the ministry, and to regu­late the reception of ministers from other denominations; to regulate official correspondence with other denomina­tions; to inaugurate missionary enterprises and advance the same and to further evangelistic work; to appoint com­missions, committees, and officers for all branches of work, give them instructions, delegate them needed authori­ty and receive their reports; to repress schismatical con­tentions and disputations, and in general, as respects its lower judicatories, to endeavor by exhortation and instruc­tion to correct conduct, broaden the spirit of charity, and confirm them in truth and holiness.

(d) Meetings and Officers. The General Assembly shall meet once every three years. Its officers shall be a Moderator, a Vice-Moderator, a Stated Clerk, a Temporary Clerk, and a Treasurer. The Moderator, Vice-Moderator, and Temporary Clerk shall be elected at each regular meeting of the General Assembly and shall be chosen from among the delegates present. The Stated Clerk and Treasurer need not be necessarily elected from the delegates and their terms of office shall be determined by the General Assembly.

333IV. Amendments. If the General Assembly shall

propose to alter, increase or diminish any of the constitu­tional powers of District Associations or Divisional Coun­cils, or if it shall propose to alter, increase or diminish the credal statement, it shall be necessary to transmit the proposed action to all the District Associations. If by the time the General Assembly shall meet again, at least two- thirds of the District Associations have reported in writ­ing approving the proposed action, the Assembly may declare the sections approved to be part of the constitution of the church.

The Chinese Christian Yearbook 1928, Appendix II, p. 334-7.

APPENDIX FDOCTRINAL BASIS OF UNION AND CONSTITUTION OF THE

CHURCH OF CHRIST IN CHINA

Doctrinal Basis of UnionThe Church of Christ in China being autonomous will

have the prerogative of formulating its own doctrinal state­ments, but these will, we believe, in the providence of God and under the teachings of His Spirit, be in essential har­mony with the beliefs of the Christian Church in other lands. As such a declaration of belief had not yet been formulated, the United Church formulates this statement of fundamentals.

1. Our bond of union consists:(1) In our faith in Jesus Christ as our Redeemer and

Lord on whom the Christian Church is founded; and in earnest desire for the establishment of His Kingdom throughout the whole earth.

(2) In our acceptance of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the divinely inspired word of God, and the supreme authority in matters of faith and duty.

(3) In our acknowledgment of the Apostles' Creed as expressing the fundamental doctrines of our common evangel­ical faith.

334

3352. Every office bearer in the District Associations

and Local Churches of the Church of Christ in China shall declare his sincere acceptance and observance of this Doc­trinal Basis of Union.

3. Believing in the unity of the body of Christ, we declare that every one who from the heart accepts the above statement of faith, is sincerely welcomed by us, and recog­nized as united with us in the one communion.

4. Any Divisional Council, in addition to the Doc­trinal Basis of Union held in common by the whole Church, may retain its original standards of faith.

The ConstitutionPreamble.

1. The Church of Christ in China, recognizing that variety in the operations of the Spirit is as essential to the true welfare of the Church as oneness of spirit, ac­cepts the principle that the powers of the General Assembly shall be confined to such matters only as are essential for the promotion and conservation of true unity and that each Divisional Council, District Association, and Local Church shall have the greatest freedom of self-expression in or­ganization, worship, and service consistent with such unity.

2. We recognize that the missionary is a temporary factor in the Church of Christ and under its authority to assist in the establishment of God's Kingdom. The degree of self-support, independence, and self-propagation is not

336uniform and it is therefore impossible to determine on a relationship between missionary and church uniform for the whole church. Each Divisional Council and District Asso­ciation had the liberty to define for itself what this re­lationship shall be.

I. Name. Chinese: cjl {Chang-haa

Cki.-ta ChLao-hal] . In English: The Church of Christ inChina.

II. Object. Our object is to bind the churches of The Church of Christ in China with united strength to plan and promote the spirit of self-support, self-governance and self-propagation and to unite the Christian believers to practice Christ's Way of Life, extend His principles and spread the Kingdom of God throughout the world.

III. Government. The Church of Christ in China shall administer its affairs through (1) the Local Church (Parish),(2) the District Association (Presbytery), (3) the Divi­sional Council (Synod), and (4) the General Assembly.

1. A Local Church is a company of believers regularly organized and assemblying statedly for worship in one or more places, and recognized by the District Association in whose bounds it is located. The method of organization of the local church is to be decided by the District Associa­tion.

3372. A District Association is composed of all the

ministers, evangelists and licentiates and the lay repre­sentatives of the churches within a defined district.

a. The representatives appointed by the Local Church shall be chosen from among the church officers and in pro­portion to the number of communicants. Each Local Church shall appoint at least one representative ; churches with 200 or more communicant members shall appoint two repre­sentatives; churches with 500 or more shall appoint three representatives. With the permission of a District Asso­ciation, the representation from the Local Churches within the district may be increased.

b. To the District Association belongs the oversight and care of the churches within its bounds. It organizes, disbands, and recognizes churches; by the consent of its Divisional Council, licenses, ordains, installs, dismisses and disciplines ministers and evangelists; gives counsel and aid to churches and unorganized companies of believers; de­cides references and appeals regularly presented; reviews the minutes of the Local Churches; maintains order; carries on evangelistic work and other forms of Christian activity within its bounds; and appoints representatives to the Divi­sional Council. Each District Association shall adopt its own By-Laws and Rules of Order but these shall be in har­mony with the Constitution of the Divisional Council.

338c. As the degree of self-support, self-governance,

and self-propagation is not uniform throughout the Church, the General Assembly is unable to fix an invariable stan­dard for the powers of the District Association; hence, each Divisional Council had authority to increase or de­crease the powers of the District Associations as defined in this article.

3. A Divisional Council is composed of delegates appointed by the District Associations within a given area.

a. Each District Association shall appoint represen­tatives according to the number of communicant members in the district. For each 500 in active membership, it shall appoint two representatives; one of whom shall be a layman. With the permission of the Divisional Council, the represen­tation of the District Associations may be increased. The Divisional Council may provide for its delegates to be ap­pointed by its Local Churches direct, instead of by its District Associations— one ordained man and one lay repre­sentative from each Local Church.

b. The Divisional Council organizes and determines the boundaries of the District Associations; decides all ap­peals and other matters referred to it by the District As­sociations within its bounds; organizes and controls boards for evangelistic and other Christian work within its bounds; devises ways and means for strengthening and advancing the

339whole Church; and elects commissioners to the General Assembly as provided by the General Assembly.

c. To the Divisional Council belongs the power to to decide all controversies respecting doctrine and church government. Should there be error in doctrine or wrong practice in any Local Church or District Association, the Divisional Council has the right to point this out and if necessary to give reproof. It reviews the minutes of the District Associations. It controls theological education and all forms of education and medical work under the charge of the Church within its bounds. It controls (or may delegate this control to large District Associations) the examination, licensure, ordination, appointment, dis­missal and discipline of all ministers and evangelists.The Divisional Council had the authority to inaugurate mis­sionary enterprises and to advance the same, and to further evangelistic work, to appoint commissions, committees, and officers for all branches of work within its bounds and give them instruction and suitable authority and receive their reports.

Each Divisional Council shall adopt its own By-Laws and Rules of Order which shall be in harmony with the Con­stitution of the Church.

4. The General Assembly.a. Commissioners. The Commissioners to the General

Assembly shall be elected by the Divisional Councils

340(Synods). The number from each Divisional Council shall be according to its communicant membership. There shall be three commissioners— at least one minister and one layman— for every 5,000 (or fraction thereof) communicants. An alternate shall also be elected for each one of the com­missioners. The Statistical Report for the Divisional Council for the previous year shall be taken as the basis for determining the number of its commissioners. In the election of commissioners there shall be no distinction be­tween Chinese and missionaries, men and women.

b. Quorem. Twenty Commissioners assembled at the time and place appointed, shall constitute a quorem for the transaction of business; but the twenty delegates must rep­resent at least two-thirds of the Divisional Councils andat least one-half of them must be ministers.

c. The Functions of the General Assembly.(i) The General Assembly as representing the whole

body of the Church, shall constitute a bond of union, cor­respondence, mutual confidence and love among all grades of its Church Councils.

(ii) The relation of the General Assembly to the Divisional Councils is the same as the relation of the Divisional Councils to the District Associations. If ques­tions arise concerning church government or doctrine, the General Assembly should consider and settle them in view of the circumstances of the time.

341(iii) Except in special circumstances the General

Assembly should not receive representations directly from local churches, or district associations.

(iv) It shall determine the standards - for the ministry and regulate the reception of ministers from other denomi­nations .

(v) Its powers in relation to all inter-synodical institutions, boards and activities shall be the same as each Divisional Council sustains towards such institutions, boards and activities within the Divisional Council.

(vi) The preparation, revision or amendment of the Directory of Worship, Form of Government, Book of Disci­pline, etc., shall be by the General Assembly subject to approval by the District Associations.

(vii) It shall draw up its own rules and regulations in accordance with the Constitution.

d. Meetings and officers.(i) The General Assembly shall meet once every three

years. (The time and the place to be determined by the General Council one year previous to the meeting.)

(ii) Its officers shall be a Moderator, a Vice- Moderator, a Stated Clerk and Associate Stated Clerk (these two officers shall be filled by the General Secretary and Associate General Secretary of the General Council), two Temporary Clerks and a Treasurer.

342(iii) The Moderator, Vice-Moderator and Temporary

Clerks shall be elected at each regular meeting of the General Assembly and shall be chosen from among the dele­gates present. The Stated Clerks and Treasurer need not necessarily be elected from the delegates and their terms of office shall be determined by the General Assembly.

e. The General Council.(i) The General Council shall consist of the Moderator

of the General Assembly and one representative from each Divisional Council who is elected to this office by the respective Divisional Councils at the time they elect the Commissioners to the General Assembly and from among its Commissioners. The representatives of the Divisional Coun­cils shall be reported to the General Assembly for ratifi­cation.

(ii) The General Assembly shall in addition elect from the Church-at-large,as members of the Council, one for each four (or fraction thereof) representing the Divi­sional Councils.

(iii) The officers of the General Council shall be a Chairman (The Moderator of the General Assembly), a General Secretary and an Associate General Secretary whose responsi­bilities shall be defined by the General Council. The Gen­eral and Associate General Secretary shall be nominated by the General Council and elected by the General Assembly for a term of six years, subject to re-election at the pleasure

343of the General Assembly. Their term of office shall begin with January 1st, after their election by the Assembly. They shall also serve as Stated Clerk and Associated Stated Clerk of the General Assembly.

(iv) Functions of the General Council.The General Council shall exercise all the functions

of the General Assembly, necessary between assemblies. Its actions shall be operative where power has been conferred but the same may be reviewed or reversed by the General Assembly or by a vote of the majority of the Divisional Councils.

(v) The actions of the General Council shall be transmitted to the Divisional Councils immediately after each meeting. If a Divisional Council takes no action on the minutes of the General Council within one year, the Divisional Council will be considered as having approved said minutes.

(vi) The General Council shall pass on the budget of the General Council Office and all Boards and Commissions authorized by the General Assembly.

(vii) It shall prepare a digest of its actions to be submitted to the subsequent meeting of the General Assembly.

(viii) It shall prepare the docket for the General Assembly, and during the Assembly's Meeting, serve in

344conjunction with the Moderator and Vice-Moderator as the Nominating and Business Committee of the General Assembly.

(ix) The term of the General Council shall begin on the adjournment of the General Assembly and continue until the adjournment of the succeeding General Assembly. Any vacancies among the General Council among the representa­tives at large, shall be filled by appointment by the Council. Vacancies from among the divisional Council re­presentatives shall be temporarily filled by the General Council until a successor is elected by the Divisional Council concerned.

(IV) Amendments; 1. If the General Assembly shall propose to alter, increase or diminish any of the constitu­tional powers of the District Associations or Divisional Councils, or if it shall propose to alter, increase or diminish the Creedal Statement, it shall be necessary to transmit the proposed action to all the District Associa­tions. If by the time the General Assembly shall meet again, at least two-thirds of the District Associations have reported in writing approving the proposed action, the Assembly shall declare the sections approved to be part of the Constitution or Creedal Statement.

2. The District Associations in voting on Creedal or Constitutional Amendments shall have their number of votes determined by the number of communicants. They shall

345have one vote for every 500 of its communicants or fraction thereof.

3. Votes by the District Associations on such over­tures or enactments shall be categorically "yes" or "no". They may in separate overtures propose amendments or changes but such must in no wise limit or affect that "yes" or "no" vote on the overture transmitted to them for approval.

The Chinese Christian Yearbook 1928, Appendix B, p. 405-12.

APPENDIX GBREAKDOWN OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH OF

CHRIST IN CHINA-1927

DivisionalCouncils

DistrictAssociations

BaptisedMembers

ManchuriaHopeiLianghuN . ChinaHwatungMinpehMinchungMinnanLingtungKwangtungHainanYunan

32

896336

2

8

1

21,1295,3879,123

18,50720,2311.6522.653

10,2156,792

20,0004,075

411

346The Chinese Christian Yearbook, 1928, p. 85.

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Fairbank, John K., ed.. The Missionary Enterprise in Chinaand America, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1974.

Ferris, Helen, The Christian Church in Communist China to1952, Air Force Personnel and Training Research Center, Lackland Air Force Base, Tex., 1956.

Gamewell, Mary N., New Life Currents in China, Methodist Book Concern, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1919.

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Hay, Malcolm, Failure In The Ear East. Dufour Editions, Phila­delphia, Pa,, 1957.

Hsu, Immanuel C.Y., The Rise of Modem China, second edition, Oxford University Press, New York, 1957.

Hyatt, Irwin T., Jr., Our Ordered lives Confess, Harvard Univ­ersity Press, Cambridge, 1976,

Iriye, Akira, edit,. The Chinese and the Japanese, Essays in Political and Cultural Interaction. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N,J,, 1980,

Israel, John,^Student Nationalism in China. 1927-1937. Stanford University Press, Stanford, Ca,, 1966,

Israel, John and Donald W, Klein, Rebels and Bureaucrats. Univ- sity of California Press, Berkeley, 1976,

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Kwok, Daniel W.Y.. Scientism in Chinese Thought. 1900-1953.Yale University Press, New Haven, 1965.

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Latourette, Kenneth.S.. A Historv of the Expansion of Christ­ianity. vols, vi, vii. Harper and Bros., New York, 1944,1945.

Levenson, Joseph R., Revolution and Cosmopolitanism. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1971.

Levenson, Joseph R,, Confucian China and Its Modern Fate. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1968,

Levenson, Joseph R,, Modem China; An Interpretative Anthology. The MacMillan Co., London, 1971.

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Liu Kwang-ching, edit,, Americans and Chinese; A HistoricalEssay and Bibliography. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1963.

350Liu Kwang-ching, éd., American Missionaries in China—

Papers from Harvard Seminars, East Asian Research Cen­ter, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1966.

Lutz, Jessie G., Christian Missions in China; Evangelists of What?, D.C. Heath and Co., Boston, 1965.

Lutz, Jessie G., China and the Christian Colleges, 1850- 1950, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, N.Y., 1971.

MacMurray, John V.A., Treaties and Agreements With and Con­cerning China 1894-1919, 2 vol., Howard Fertig, New York, 1973.

Monroe, Paul, China— A Nation in Evolution, The Chautauqua Press, Chautauqua, N.Y., 1927.

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Outerbridge, Loenard M., The Lost Churches of China, The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, Pa., 1952.

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351Spence, Jonathan, The China Helpers, The Bodley Head,

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Varg, Paul A., Missionaries, Chinese and Diplomats, Prince­ton University Press, Princeton, N.J., 1958.

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MICROFILM"China Missionaries Oral History Project," a two-volume

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353PERIODICALS

Periodical AbbreviationsOR The Chinese RecorderIRM The International Review of MissionsMRW The Missionary Review of the WorldCC The Christian CenturyAM The Atlantic MonthlyLD Literary Digest

"Annual Meeting of the Kwangtung Divisional Council of the Church of Christ in China," CR (July, 1926), p. 463.

"Are These Things True of China?," CR (July, 1937), p. 435-9."As the Chinese Christian Sees China," CR (July, 1926,

p. 458-9.Baird, F.R., "What Sectarianism Does in China," CC (July 12,

1933), p. 905-6.Baker, J.E., "Christianity and the Material Advance of

China," CR (December, 1920), p. 826-37.Baker, J.E., "The Christian Attitude Under Present Political

Circumstances in China," CR (February, 1924), p. 104-5.Bates, M.S., "Religious Liberty in China," IRM (April, 1946),

p. 165-73.Bennett, Moore, "Christianity in China," M (August, 1928),

p. 273-80.Bitton, Nelson, "Cheng Ching-yi: A Christian Statesman,"

IRM (October, 1941), p. 513-20.Blain, J.M., "Christian Clubs in Hangchow," CR (September,

1920) , p. 663-4.Bompa, J.G.G., "Chinese and Western Christianity," CR

(August, 1926), p. 561-4.Boynton, C.L., "The National Christian Council and Famine

Relief," CR (July, 1930), p. 349-50.Boynton, C.L., "Cheng Ching-yi," CR (December, 1939),

p. 691-6.Brecken, E.R.M. , "China's Place in the Church Uni^/ersal,"CR (August, 1926), p. 541-7.

354Buck, J.L., "The Chinese Church and Country Life," CR

(July, 1923), p. 319-26."Bulletin of the Church of Christ in China," CR (January,

1936) , p. 54.Burgess, J.S., "The Christianization of Life in China," CR

(April, 1919), p. 221-6.Burgess, J.S., "Wanted— A Christian Program for th- Present

Crisis in China," CR (September, 1920), p. 603-7.Burgess, J.S., "Is the Church Really Becoming Indigenous?,"

CR (January, 1924), p. 38-9."Call to the Chinese Ministry," CR (April, 1920), p. 225-6."Can We Go Forward in Christian Cooperation?," CR (August,

1935) , p. 453-5."A Challenge and an Opportunity, : " CR (Oct., 292 4), p. 626."Champions of Social Justice," CR (January, 1935), p. 3-4.Champness, C.S., "Conversions or Culture," CR (January,

1921), p. 9-14."Chang Chien Sees Peril in the Student Movement," CR (Sep­

tember, 1925), p. 596-8.Chang, C.S., "The Anti-Religious Movement," CR (August,

1923), p. 459-68.Chao, K.C., "The Ideals of New China," CR (January, 1919),

p. 11—19.Chao, T.C., "The Problem of Securing College Graduates for

the Christian Ministry," CR (May, 1920), p. 325-30, (June, 1920), p. 377-94.

Chao, T.C., "Christian Cooperative Organizations," CR (July,1921), p. 493-5.

Chao, T.C., "Can Christianity Be the Basis of Social Recon­struction in China?," CR (May, 1922), p. 312-28,

Chao, T.C., "The Chinese Church Realizes Itself," CR (May- June, 1927), p. 299-309.

Chao, T.C., "The Present Situation," CR (January, 1928),p. 121-2.

355Chao, T.C., "The Religious Situation in China," CR (Nov­

ember, 1930), p. 677-87.Chao, T.C., "Christianity and the National Crisis," CR

(January, 1937), p. 5-1,2.Chao, T.C., "The Church in Action— Its Future in Social and

Economic Thought and Action," IRM (October, 1938), p. 581-600.

Ch'en Tu-hsiu, "Christianity and the Chinese People," CR (July, 1920), p. 453-8.

Cheng Ching-yi, "The Chinese Church in Relation to Its Im­mediate Task," IRM (July, 1919), p. 381-92.

Cheng Ching-yi, "The Chinese Christian Church and National Movements," CR (July, 1919) p. 456-60.

Cheng Ching-yi, "China's Need of Christ," MRW (September, 1920), p. 799-804.

Cheng Ching-yi, "Chinese Christian Independence and Western Christian Cooperation," CR (June, 1922), p. 384-91.

Cheng Ching-yi, "The Development of an Indigenous Church in China," i m (July, 1923), p. 368-88.

Cheng Ching-yi, "Prayer and Cooperation in China," MRW (April, 1931), p. 259-61.

Cheng Ching-yi, "The Christian Movement in China in 1931," MRW (August, 1931), p. 573-8.

Cheng Ching-yi, "China Grows by Tribulations," MRW (April,1933), p. 173.

"Dr. Cheng Ching-yi," CR (December, 1939), p. 689.Cheng Mong-san, "Spiritual Fruits of the Revolution," CR

(November, 1929), p. 704-5.Cheng Ting-wang, "Making Christianity Indigenous in China,"

ÇR (May, 1921), p. 323-9.Chiang Liu, "Chinese Attitudes Toward Christianity," CR

(March, 1927), p. 175-81."China's Open Door to Christian Cooperation," CR (April,

1937), p. 199-204.

356"China and a 'United Christendom'," CR (April, 1919),

p . 216—7."China for Christ," CR (July, 1920), p. 512-3."China for Christ Movement," CR (April, 1920), p. 276-8."'The China for Christ' Conference," CR (January, 1920),

p. 3-4."A Chinese Journalist Looks at Missions," CR (March, 1933),

p. 201-2."China's Present Attitude to Christianity," CR (November,

1934) , p. 674-5."China Showing the Way to Church Unity," M (October, 1927)

p. 30-1."Chinese Christians Answer the Missionaries Questions," CR

(January, 1927) , p. 23-7.Chinese Christian Students, "Reconstruction of the Chinese

Church," CR (September, 1929), p. 580-4."Chinese Christians Form New Church," CC (October 20, 1927),

p. 1242."The Chinese Church and the Missionaries," CR (January,

1938) , p. 59."Chinese Churches Seek Treaty Revisions," CC (January 13,

1927), p. 58."The Chinese Home Mission Movement," CR (September, 1919),

p. 581-2."Chinese Intellectuals in Crisis," CR (April, 1936),

p. 581-2."The Chinese Mission Society," CR (July, 1937), p. 457."The Chinese Student Mind," CR (November, 1922), p. 681-2."Christianity and Government Students— A Symposium," CR

(July, 1919), p. 436."Christian Cooperation," CR (June, 1920), p. 433."Christians Look Forward," CR (January, 1932), p. 1-6.

357"The Christian Message," CR (February, 1921), p. 79-80."The Christian Message to China," CR (February, 1921),

p. 85-93."Christian Minds as Seen Through the Eighth Meeting of the

National Christian Council," CR (May, 1931), p. 267-8."The Christian Occupation of China— The Status of the

Christian Movement in China," CR (May, 1922), p. 326- 30.

"The Christian Opportunity in China," CR (November, 1919), p. 719-720.

"Christianity Settles Down in China— New Rights of the New Era," CR (September, 1937), p. 542-7.

"Christian Unity— The Starting Point," CR (June, 1920), p. 374-5.

Chu, Samuel C., "Protestant Christian Literature in Early Twentieth Century China; The Role of the Chinese Writers," ms.

Chung, K.T., "The Yearnings of the Chinese Church," CR (August, 1924), p. 493-5.

"Church and State in China," CR (August, 1935), p. 455-6."The Church in China Begins to be Chinese," CR (June, 1924),

p. 387-93."The Church of Christ in China," CR (October, 1922), p. 669-

70."The Church of Christ in China," CR (August, 1932), p. 470."The Church of Christ in China Examines Itself and Looks

Forward," CR (April, 1932), p. 260."Conference on Church Unity," CR (March, 1935), p. 182-4."Contemporary Chinese Christian Leaders— David Z.T. Yui,"

CR (January, 1927) , p. 9-12.Covell, R.R., "The Church and China: Building New Barri­

ers?," CC (January 25, 1980), p. 16-18."C.Y. Cheng, Great Chinese Leader," MRW (October, 1930),

p. 780.

358"Dr. C.Y. Cheng Elected Life Member of American. Bible So­

ciety," CR (July, 1935), p. 383.Davies, H. "Church Union in Kwangtung," CR (September,

1920), p. 641-6.Djang Fang, "New Christian Movement in China," CR (Sep­

tember, 1928), p. 547-5,4.Djang, W.B., "Christianity and the Life of the Chinese,"

CR (January, 1936), p. 7-12."Do College Graduate Church Members Lapse?," CR (July,

1923) , p. 379-80.Drake, Durant, "Shall We Unite the Churches?," CR (June,

1920), p. 441."Editor's Outlook on the Christian Movement in China During

1922," CR (January, 1923), p. 3-4."The Evangelization of China— A Symposium by Chinese Chris­

tian Workers," CR (July, 1919), p. 443-8.Evans, R.K., "The Church of Christ in China," CR (June,

1922), p. 392-8.Evans, R.K., "The Church of Christ in China," ^ (October,

1925) , p. 665-71."Exploring Christian Unity," CR (December, 1928), p. 740-1"Failing Leadership of the Organized Church," CR (January,

1935), p. 4-6.Fisher, A.J., "The Outstanding Problem Before the Christian

Movement in China," CR (June, 1926), p. 389-93.Fitch, R.F., "New Methods and Possibilities in City Evan­

gelism," CR (August, 1920), p. 191-5.Gelwicks, G.L., "Outline of a Program for Christian Service,"

CR (March, 1920), p. 191-5.Gibson, T.C., "Denominationalsim and Chinese Union," CR

(October, 1929), p. 629-34.Gray, G.F.S., "Chinese Church-World-Wide Church," CR (June,

1933), p. 369-72.

359Greene, M.T., "China and the 'Immoralities of Chris­

tianity'," ÇÇ (April, 29, 1931), p. 573-5.Hartenstein, "Evaluating Jerusalem, 1928," CR (November,

1929), p. 708-13.Hen Tai-ping, "The Christian Church and Rural Reconstruc­

tion," CR (October, 1921), p. 697-703.Hodgkin, H.T., "The Church in China at the Crossroads,"

IRM (October, 1925), p. 454-59.Hodgkin, H.T., "My Hope for the Chinese Church," CR (Decem­

ber, 1928), p. 745-53.Hsu Pao-ch'ien, "The Christian Renaissance," CR (July,

1920, pi 459-67.Hsu Pao-ch'ien, "The Chinese Church Comes of Age," CR

(January, 1931), p. 14-20.Hsu Pao-ch-ien, "As Chinese Christians Think— Christianity

and China's National Crisis," CR (September, 1933), p. 555-7.

Hughes, F.S., "Indictment of Us Christians," CR (May,1919), p. 319-21.

Hume, E.H., "The Future of Christianity in China," IRM (July, 1927), p. 321-7.

"Is the Chinese Church a Child?," CR (June, 1926), p. 382-3.James, T.W.D., "The Christian Movement and the Chinese

Church," CR (July, 1929), p. 356-60.Johannaber, C.F., "The Church, the Cooperative and the So­

cial Order," CR (December, 1936), p. 749-51.Jones, E.S., "China and the Laymen's Report," CC (February

15, 1933), p. 220-1.Jones, E.S., "What I Saw in China," CC (February 8, 1933),

p. 187-88.Jones, MM., "A Missionary Audit," M (December, 1927) ,

p. 750-6.Kepler, A.R., "What Is the Church of Christ in China?," CR

(January, 1927), p. 27-32.

360Kepler, A.R., "The General Workers Conference of the Church

of Christ in China," CR (September, 1930), p. 545-50Kepler, A.R., "The Kuomintang and Religion— The Place of

Religion in the Program of National Reconstruction in China," CR (October, 1930), p. 616-30.

Kingman, Harry, "An outstanding Problem of the Christian Movement in China," CR (May, 1926), p. 328-32.

Kulp. D.H. II, "A Sociological Apologetic for ChristianPropaganda in China," CR (February, 1919), p. 88-94.

Kung, H.H., "How Does the Modernization of China Affect Christianity?," CR (January, 1929), p. 114-8.

Kuo, P.W., "The Present Situation in China and Its Signifi­cance for Missionaries," IRM (January, 1926), p. 43-55.

Lansdown, A.P., "The Worship of the Chinese Church," CR (March, 1927), p. 181-8.

Lautenschlager, S., "The Chinese Church and Militarism,"CR (January, 1932), p. 35-7.

Lee, Frank, "Communism and the Anti-Christian Movement,"CR (April, 1925), p. 232-5.

Lee Hou-fu, "Christianity and China's Changing Order," CR (January, 1931), p. 7-14.

Lee Howson, "Christianity's Challenge to Chinese Leader­ship," CR (July, 1934), p. 419-20.

Lew, T.T., "China's Renaissance— The Christian Opportunity," ÇR (May, 1921), p. 301-23.

Lew, T.T., "Making the Christian Church in China Indige­nous," CR (May, 1922), p. 297-312.

Lew, T.T., "Christian Unity and Chinese Christianity,"ÇR (October, 1927), p. 644-52.

Lew, T.T., "Christian Ethics in China," CR (September,1933), p. 557-69.

Lew, T.T., "Christian Religious Education Must Help Find a Way Out," CR (January, 1934), p. 19-27

Lew, T.T., "Problems of Chinese Christian Leadership," IRÎ4 (April, 1922), p. 212-25.

361"Lingering Shadows," ÇR (January, 1929), p. 1-4.Lo, R.Y., "Christian Leadership," CR (April, 1922),

p. 253-6.Lyon, D.W., "A Few Urgent Problems Which the Chinese Church

Must Solve," CR (September, 1925), p. 591-5.Lyon, D.W., "Dr. C.Y. Cheng's Thoughts on the Indigeniza-

tion of the Chinese Church," CR (December, 1925), p. 814-20.

Ma, W.H., "Christian Attitudes in China's Crisis," CR (September, 1936), p. 535-8.

Macdonald, D.A., "Behind the Anti-Christian Movement," CC (October 11, 1928) , p. 1126-8.

Macrae, J.D., "Christianity, The Answer to China's Need for Religion," CR (February, 1924), p. 77-87.

Main, I.L., "Kagawa Wins Chinese Trust," CC (May 2, 1930), p. 609-10.

Mason, Isaac, "What the Chinese Are Thinking About Chris­tianity— The Independent Church," CR (October, 1920), p. 704-9.

McNeur, G.H., "Chinese Christian Autonomy," CR (January, 1926) , p. 14-21.

Millican, Frank, "Dr. Hu Suh on 'The Difficulties Confront­ing Christian Education in China'," CR (March, 1926), p. 194-7.

Mei, Y.P., "Christianity and China's Rural Reconstruction," CR (March, 1935), p. 137-46.

"More Facts About the 'United Church of China'," CR (Nov­ember, 1927), p. 734-5.

Mott, J.R., "The Continuation Committee," IRM (January, 1912), p. 62-78.

"The National Christian Council of China," IRM (January, 1912), p. 90-100.

"The National Voice of the Chinese Church," CR (June, 1929) , p. 341-6.

362"The New Communism and How to Meet It," CR (September,

1932), p. 535-6.Ostling, Richard, "Let a Hundred Churches Bloom," Time

(May 4, 1981), p. 54-5."The 'Pacific' Conference," ^ (October, 1921), p. 659-60.Padelford, N.J., "The Negotiations Leading to the Mission­

ary Rights Clause in the Sino-American Treaty of 1903," CR (July, 1930), p. 441-7.

Pao Shih-jih, "What the Chinese Are Thinking About Chris­tianity— The Problem of Christianity in China," CR (September, 1920), p. 623-30.

Patton, C.H., "Christian Cooperation in China— The Impres­sions of a Traveller," CR (January, 1920), p. 15-8.

Pei Yu-li, "Christian Influence on Chinese Life," CR (March, 1932) , p. 141-6.

"Present Aims of the Christian Missions in China— A Sym­posium," CR (December, 1920), p. 821-5.

"The Present Situation," CR (September, 1927), p. 597-602."The Present Situation— Conference on Church Unity," CR

(March, 1937) , p. 184-7."The Present Situation— The Church of Christ in China," CR

(September, 1937), p. 596-600."President Chiang Meets Missionaries," CR (January, 1931),

p. 59.Price, P.P., "Church Union in China," CR (April, 1923),

p. 195-207.Rawlinson, Frank, "Notes on Some Recent Conferences in

China," ^ (October, 1919), p. 683-91.Rawlinson, Frank, "Christian Cooperation for Nationwide

Task," CR (October, 1920), p. 419-25.Rawlinson, Frank, "Breaking Ground for a Larger Christian

Movement in China," CR (June, 1921), p. 424-8.Rawlinson, Frank, "Some Christian Offerings to China," CR

(December, 1926), p. 883-97.

363Rawlinson, Prank, "China As An Equal," CR (August, 1926),

p. 575-90.Rawlinson, Frank, "The Social Heart of China," CR (July,

1926), p. 498-513.Rawlinson, Frank, "Some of Chinese Life-Sets," CR (May,

1926), p. 344-57.Rawlinson, Frank, "China's Answer to Christianity," CR

(January, 1927), p. 40-51.Rawlinson, Frank, "Breaking China's Church Fences," CC

(April, 19, 1928), p. 505-8.Rawlinson, Frank, "Present Status of the Chinese Christian

Movement," IRM, XXIV (no. 3), p. 314-27.Rawlinson, Frank, "Where Is Chinese Protestantism Going?,"

CC (June 19, 1935), p. 821-4.Rawlinson, Frank, "China Opens the Door," CC (August 25,

1937), p. 1041-3."The Relation of the Chinese Church to the Church Universal,"

CR (June, 1923), p. 350-6."Religious Liberty Jeopardized," CR (July, 1930), p. 403-4."Religious Restrictions Tightening in China," CC (July 23,

1930), p. 908.Roots, L.H., "What the Chinese Continuation Committee Has

Done." CR (June, 1919), p. 367-71."Salary Problem Disturbs China," CC (March 11, 1931),

p. 354-5.Scholes, E.F.P., "Changing China's Status Amongst the Na­

tions and the Missionary Status in China: A Plea forDelay," CR (May, 1926), p. 322-8.

Senger, N.M., "Principles Involved in Founding an Indigenous Church," CR (September, 1924), p. 578-81.

Senger, N.M., "A Christian Contribution to China," CR (July, 1928), p. 432-5.

Shen, T.K., "The Problem of Christian Unity," CR (August,1934), p. 488-94,(September, 1934), p. 560-8.

364Shen, T.L., "A Study of the Anti-Christian Movement," CR

(April, 1925), p. 227-32.Shen, T.L., "Christian Movements in a Revolutionary China,"

ÇR (August, 1928), p. 475-82.Shen, T.L., "Christian Dilemma in China," CR (July, 1934),

p. 417-9.Sheppard, G.W., "The Mind of Modern China," CR (September,

1930), p. 550-5.Sheppard, G.W., "The Church and the New Life Movement," CR

(May, 1937), p. 280-2.Sokolsky, G.E., "What Matters in Missions?," CC (January 11,

1933) , p. 52-4 ."Some Conditions Confronting Christianity," CR (January,

1921) , p. 3-4,."Starting the Five Year Movement," CR (July, 1929), p. 409-

10."The State of the Church— A Symposium," CR (April, 1929),

p. 209-24; (May, 1929), p. 318-23.Stuart, J.L., "Where Should the Emphasis Be Put On the

Christian Message?," CR (May, 1920), p. 349-50.Stuart, J.L., "The Christian Dynamic for China," CR (Feb­

ruary, 1923), p. 71-7.Stuart, J.L., "How Can Missionaries Help the Chinese Church

Toward Independence?," CR (February, 1922), p. 113-8.Thomson, Andrew, "Christianity and Nationalism," CR (March,

1932), p. 133-40.Throop, F.H., "The Institutional Church in China," CR (Aprib

1919), p. 226-9.Toitikinson, L., "Chinese Christian Leaders and the Church,"

CR (July, 1934), p. 423-5., Tong, Hollington K., "New Opportunities for Chinese Leaders,"

CR (January, 1920), p. 12-15.Tsu, Y.Y., "Chinese Church Organizes in the Future," CR

(February, 1927), p. 85-8.

365Tsui, H.H., "Reminiscenses of Dr. Cheng Ching-yi," CR

(December, 1939), p. 697-8.de Vargas, P.H., "The Religious Problem in the Chinese

Renaissance," IRM (January, 1926), p. 3-20.Warnshuis, A.L., "The Christian Ministry in China," CR

(October, 1921), p. 677-83.Warnshuis, A.L., "Changes in Missionaries Policies and

Methods in China," IRM (April, 1928), p. 306-14.Wei, F.C.M., "The Four Centre Church in China," IRM (July,

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