Book Chapters by Marina Wang
Baptists, Gospel, and Culture: Papers from the Eighth International Conference on Baptist Studies, 2021
The University of Shanghai (滬江大學) was founded in 1906 as a co-operative effort between the Southe... more The University of Shanghai (滬江大學) was founded in 1906 as a co-operative effort between the Southern Baptist Convention [SBC] and the American Baptist Missionary Union [ABMU]. Herman C. E. Liu (劉湛恩) was appointed its first Chinese president in 1928 and had been highly esteemed in both Christian and Chinese educational circles. Although this article focuses on the history of the University of Shanghai during the period of 1928-1938, it firstly gives a brief account of the early history of the university, as well as the nationwide Anti-Christian Movement (1922-27), which resulted in the transition of the university leadership from foreign to Chinese. This article then examines how the university, under Liu’s leadership from 1928 to 1938, attempted to achieve the goal of ‘more Christian, more Chinese, and more efficient.’ It aims to explore the complexity of the interaction between a Christian institute and Chinese society, particularly in the face of fierce nationalist tensions. The history of the University of Shanghai reflects the trend of the evolution of a Christian establishment from its denominational (Baptist) background to a more general and diverse character, and from western to Chinese. This article argues that it was a natural step during the course of the growth of the ‘selfhood’ of Christianity in early twentieth-century China; meanwhile, however, it reveals an obliged response to a politically hostile environment. In addition, this paper argues that, while making itself more indigenous and relevant to Chinese society, the university was quite exceptional by keeping and emphasising its Christian essence. This owed much to Herman Liu’s own vision and practice in Christian education in China, which reflects a contextual understanding of the Christian message and its social application.
Ecumenism and Independency in World Christianity: Historical Studies in Honour of Brian Stanley, 2020
This chapter discusses two individuals, Cheng Jingyi (1881–1939) and Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah (... more This chapter discusses two individuals, Cheng Jingyi (1881–1939) and Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah (1874–1945), both of whom were associated with the 1910 Edinburgh World Missionary Conference and were of symbolic and actual significance to the development of the Asian ecumenical movement in the early twentieth century. Through the case study of these two key figures in Asian ecumenism, this chapter explores the application of the concept of ecumenism, which was originally introduced to the mission fields by western Protestant missionaries, to Asian contexts by native Protestants, and how this concept was reshaped by the specific socio-political contexts. This chapter argues that the ecumenical vision of one united indigenous church, which was proclaimed and promoted by both Cheng Jingyi and V. S. Azariah from the 1910 Conference onward, was inspired by native Christians' national and social consciousness and their quests for church independence and Christian unity both at the same time. It was eventually brought into reality through the formation of the Church of Christ in China (1927) and the Church of South India (1947). The cases of Cheng Jingyi and Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah, as well as the efforts towards church union in both lands under their leadership, manifest an indigenous understanding of ecumenicity that distinguished itself from simply a duplicate of a western idea.
Yearbook of Chinese Theology, 2017
This chapter uses the Chinese Home Missionary Society (CHMS) – the first nationwide native evange... more This chapter uses the Chinese Home Missionary Society (CHMS) – the first nationwide native evangelistic missionary society – as a case study. By examining the process in which mainline Chinese Protestant churches and individuals endeavoured to realise native evangelism and an indigenised Christianity through the CHMS and its mission work, this chapter intends to explore how the conviction of Chinese Christians towards an indigenised and interdenominational Christianity was applied in the specific local context, as well as the legacy and lessons of the CHMS, which reflected during the course of its missionary movement and church indigenisation. It argues that the indigenous and interdenominational features of the CHMS revealed what is a two-fold theme throughout the history of Chinese Christianity during the twentieth century, that is, the pursuit of church indigeneity and unity. On the other hand, the case of the CHMS discloses the common challenges that emerged during the cross-cultural process when global Christianity encounters indigenous societies.
更夫志·赤子心——汪維藩思想與事工之研究, 2015
本文聚焦汪維藩早年神學思想的啓蒙與傳承，選題集中於抗戰時期大學生福音運動、學聯會，以及楊紹唐和賈玉銘等保守派/福音派神學家對汪維藩神學思想形成的影響，試圖於歷史發展的脈絡裏探討和梳理汪維藩神學思... more 本文聚焦汪維藩早年神學思想的啓蒙與傳承，選題集中於抗戰時期大學生福音運動、學聯會，以及楊紹唐和賈玉銘等保守派/福音派神學家對汪維藩神學思想形成的影響，試圖於歷史發展的脈絡裏探討和梳理汪維藩神學思想中福音派元素的形成、傳承與發展。首先本文旨在彌補現有研究之不足，探討在學聯會和南京黃泥崗教會的崇拜和生活，對汪維藩神學思想走向的影響究竟表現在哪些方面。其次，就福音派學生佈道運動的研究而言， 過往研究多集中於趙君影、于力工、艾德理等領導角色，本文希望透過汪維藩的個案，從一 個側面考察學生運動對於受者的影響，並由此折射出抗戰時期學生佈道運動在之後半個世紀中國福音事工發展方向上所扮演的角色。再次，本文希望通過對汪維藩早年神學思想形成和發展的研究，引起對歷史發展動態性的注意。既有研究中時常出現的非此即彼式的歸類，特別是在梳理二十世紀新舊神學之爭的歷史脈絡時，容易忽視個體的獨特性及思想形成的複雜性。
Journal Articles by Marina Wang
Revista de História da Sociedade e da Cultura, 2024
Focusing on the dynamics of appointing a 'suitable' Chinese principal, this article examines the ... more Focusing on the dynamics of appointing a 'suitable' Chinese principal, this article examines the multiple interests and loyalties that were implicated and manifested in a British mission school of prestige situated in the treaty port of Tianjin during a series of anti-imperialist and anti-Christian campaigns in the 1920s. The case study of the Tientsin Anglo-Chinese College (TACC) illustrates the intricate and ambiguous nature of the interplay between the British settlers, Christian missions, the Chinese government, and the local community, set against the backdrop of heightened nationalism in Republican China. The article argues that the issue of loyalties in a mission school setting - as exemplified by the TACC - can be far more complex and should not be simplistically reduced to a binary opposition between loyalty to the British and loyalty to the Chinese, even at a time of intensifying Sino-British tensions. Local social networks and pragmatic interests in politics, religion, international relations, trade, and educational administration were inextricably intertwined, exerting a profound impact on the dynamics of Sino-British relations in Tianjin.
International Journal of Sino-Western Studies, 2021
This article takes the National Christian Council of China (NCC) as a case study. By examining th... more This article takes the National Christian Council of China (NCC) as a case study. By examining the responses from various stakeholders – both mainline Chinese Protestants and western missions – within the NCC to the campaigns for the abrogation of the unequal treaties during the period of 1925-1926, it aims to reveal the tension and interaction between Christian missions, Chinese churches and the nationalist discourse. This article argues that although both Protestant missions and Chinese churches were in general the beneficiaries of the 'toleration clauses' of the unequal treaties and were aware of the necessity of drawing a clear borderline with the treaties, the two parties viewed the matter from different standpoints. To the majority of the missionary societies associated with the NCC, it was a diplomatic matter to be solved through formal negotiation between the governments. Whereas to most of the mainline Chinese Protestants, it had developed into a fundamental factor causing not only Christianity's unfavourable position in Chinese society, but also China's backwardness and 'humiliation.' Considerably influenced by the nationalist discourse, they ardently engaged themselves in the campaigns to abrogate the unequal treaties, individually or as a group. Specific Chinese socio-political context and the nationalist discourse contributed significantly to the divergence of views. The NCC, incorporating both sides, was obliged to make a prompt response to the treaty issue and struggled to find common ground among the cooperating bodies.
Studies in Church History, 2019
The 1920s were a vital period for the evolution of Christianity in China, during which the Anti-C... more The 1920s were a vital period for the evolution of Christianity in China, during which the Anti-Christian Movement of 1922–7 brought Christianity under serious attack. A new conception of nationalism, influenced by Lenin's theory of imperialism, dramatically changed the way in which Christianity (and especially mission schools) was regarded, from being viewed as a positive factor in China's modernization to being seen as a hated cultural imperialist invasion. The period from 1924 to 1927 featured the demand for the restoration of educational rights, during which the identity of mission schools was used to stir up nationalist hatred. This article takes Tientsin Anglo-Chinese College (TACC) of the London Missionary Society (LMS) as a case study. It examines how the TACC missionary authorities responded to nationalistic sentiments emerging within the college and in society, and how they reacted towards the compulsory registration and consequent abolition of compulsory school religious education. It explores key issues behind the interaction between mission schools and the socio-political context, such as how TACC reconstructed its identity during the process of school registration, and how it negotiated with the Ministry of Education under the tension between two divergent approaches of Christianizing and nationalizing mission schools, a tension which became acute as a consequence of the application of regulations making school religious education and practice optional.
Sino-Christian Studies: An International Journal of Bible, Theology and Philosophy, 2017
The 1890s saw a rapid expansion of mission schools in China, among which a number of theological ... more The 1890s saw a rapid expansion of mission schools in China, among which a number of theological seminaries were established or enlarged in order to provide Chinese Christian workers with a systematic education, rather than traditional short-term training courses. This article uses the Theological Institute of the London Missionary Society (LMS) in Tianjin 天津養正聖經學院 (which developed into the Tientsin Anglo-Chinese College 天津新學書院 (TACC) in 1902) as a case study, examining the shift in its educational intentions, perspectives and approaches from 1863 to 1902, in order to explore the factors that caused this shift and the possible impact it had on the students and the nature of mission education, as well as on the evolution of Christianity in China during this period.
Studies in World Christianity , 2017
This paper focuses on the Church of Christ in China – a visible fruit of the church unity movemen... more This paper focuses on the Church of Christ in China – a visible fruit of the church unity movement in early twentieth-century China – as a case study. Through examining its formation and development from 1927 to 1937, especially its progress in the advocacy of ecumenism in China, this paper aims to explore how the idea of ecumenism had been transplanted, rooted, accommodated and applied in the Chinese context during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This paper argues that, although the Chinese vision of ecumenism was derived from the West, it had taken a rather different path and reflected an indigenous understanding of ecumenism and ecclesiology. The case of the CCC demonstrated that national requirements played a significant role in reshaping the universal Christian message. The Christian message, in this case the vision of ecumenism, would always have to revise and incarnate itself in the local context which it encountered.
Ching Feng, 2014
This paper examines the ecumenical perspectives of Cheng Jingyi, one of the key figures during th... more This paper examines the ecumenical perspectives of Cheng Jingyi, one of the key figures during the church unity movement in early twentieth-century China, the formation of the Church of Christ in China (CCC) and its legacy, as well as Cheng's role in its development. It aims to explore the continuity between the CCC and the desire of Chinese Christians for a united independent Chinese church, and argues that the church unity movement in early twentieth-century China, with the CCC as an example, was driven by both the native demand for church independence and theological motivations of ecumenism.
Book Reviews by Marina Wang
Studies in World Christianity, 2009
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Book Chapters by Marina Wang
Journal Articles by Marina Wang
Book Reviews by Marina Wang