The Chinese Christianity collection is a comprehensive free online collection of Chinese theology and on Christianity in China, including material in Chinese as well in other languages relating to Chinese theology and Christianity. The online collection is a joint initiative from Globethics, Geneva, and Kingdom Business College, Beijing, China. The collection includes:
-Academic and scientific literature, including commentaries, theses/dissertations, educational documents, curricula etc.

-Collections of sermons, prayers, liturgical and worship material

-Biblical collections (commentaries, theology, handbooks etc.)

-Material from partner institutions, seminaries, universities, publishers, and/or content providers in China, Hong Kong SAR, and the United States, such as the Institute of Sino-Christian Studies, the Hong Kong Baptist University, Yale Divinity School, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI)

-Open access sources, harvested from Chinese open repositories

-Audio-visual materials including sermons, music, worship and Christian art, architecture, manuscripts etc.

Recent Submissions

  • News update on religion and church in China October 13 - December 4, 2023

    Feith, Katharina; Wenzel-Teuber, Katharina (China-Zentrum e.V., 2024-03-08)
  • Wang Weifan (1927–2015) : theologian, intellectual, artist

    Gaenssbauer, Monika (China-Zentrum e.V., 2024-03-08)
  • Eine Einführung in das Religionsverständnis der zeitgenössischen chinesischen Religionswissenschaft

    Jialu Zheng
    Post-colonial studies of religions ask how the concept of religion can be scientifically defined when there is a consensus-based understanding of religion in everyday life. The subsequent investigation examines to which extent the Studies of Religion in contemporary China deal with this issue: namely, how a phenomenon can be scientifically defined or recognized as »religious«. For this purpose, the theories of three contemporary Chinese researchers in Studies of Religion – Zhuo Xinping, Lv Daji, and Mu Zhongjian – will be discussed in detail. The primary concern of these contemporary Chinese researchers is to emphasize the cultural character of religion in society instead of interpreting religion as an instrument of politics or as a psychological poison. To achieve this goal, Zhuo Xinping uses »Xuanzhi« (observing before judging) as the primary method to protect his objective and neutral position in the Studies of Religion. Lv Daji interprets »religion« as a unique system of cultural symbols in resuming the Marxist theory of religion. Mu Zhongjian tries to figure out the particularity of »Chinese religion« by clarifying the relationship between »Chinese religion« and Confucianism. This study claims, that as a result of their efforts, religion is increasingly treated as a normal cultural phenomenon in Chinese society.
  • Introduction:Towards an Economic Anthropology of Catholicism, in the Age of Pope Francis

    Weeks, Samuel; Bayuga, George (CrossWorks, 2024-02-27)
    Introduction to Towards an Economic Anthropology of Catholicism, in the Age of Pope Francis.
  • A Historical Review of the Comparative Study of Mohism and Christianity during the Late Qing and Republican China Periods

    Wing Yin Pang (MDPI AG, 2024-01-01)
    This study provides a fresh understanding of the historical development shaping comparative studies between Christianity and Mohism during the late Qing and Republican China periods. It traces the foundation of these studies to both the idea that ‘Western knowledge originated from Mohism’ and to the Mohism studies by the Qian-Jia School 乾嘉學派 during the Qing Dynasty. This study spotlights the groundbreaking proposition by Zou Boqi 鄒伯奇 in 1844, who first suggested that Western knowledge, including Christianity, originated from Mohism, a widely accepted view among Chinese literati. The article then explores the paradigm shift initiated by Liang Qichao 梁啓超, influenced by Sun Yirang 孫詒讓 and his Mozi Jiangu 墨子閒詁 (The Works of Mozi with Commentaries), which broadened the comparative perspective. The significant influence of the Qian-Jia School’s Mohism studies on both Chinese and non-Chinese scholars is analyzed, along with the diverse approaches and contributions of key figures like Joesph Edkins, James Legge, Ernst Faber, Alexandra David-Néel, Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, Huang Zhiji 黃治基, Wang Zhixin 王治心, Zhang Chunyi 張純一, Mei Yi-Pao 梅貽寶, and Wu Leichuan 吳雷川. The article underscores these scholarly groups’ dynamic interplay and varied objectives, shaping a vibrant and contentious academic landscape.
  • Festas tradicionais de Portugal e da China

    Gama, Manuel; Peixoto, Bruna; Li Jiaqi (2021)
    Dissertação de mestrado em Estudos Interculturais Português / Chinês: Tradução, Formação e Comunicação Empresarial
  • El Tianzhu Shiyi (Verdadero Significado del Señor del Cielo) de Matteo Ricci y su refutación del monismo ontológico

    José Antonio Cervera Jiménez (Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca; Universidad de Extremadura, 2023-12-01)
    Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) es considerado como el fundador de la misión jesuítica en China. La política de acomodación iniciada por Ricci permitió que los jesuitas fueran aceptados por los letrados de la dinastía Ming, iniciando un diálogo intercultural entre el cristianismo y el confucianismo. La obra filosófica más importante de Ricci fue el Tianzhu Shiyi (Verdadero Significado del Señor del Cielo), publicada en 1603. En ella, Ricci intenta mostrar los elementos más importantes del cristianismo, buscando conexiones con la ética confuciana y, al mismo tiempo, refutando algunos aspectos filosóficos budistas y neoconfucianos incompatibles con la fe cristiana. Una de las doctrinas filosóficas que fueron criticadas con mayor firmeza fue el monismo ontológico, presente en la corriente filosófica más influyente en China en tiempos de Ricci: el neoconfucianismo. En este artículo se analizan algunos fragmentos del Tianzhu Shiyi y se introducen los elementos más importantes de la escuela Cheng-Zhu del neoconfucianismo, para poder entender la acomodación filosófica que los jesuitas llevaron a cabo en China.
  • Universalismos en disputa y convergencia: jesuitas, letrados y los primeros relatos en China sobre el “descubrimiento” y la evangelización de América

    Vidal Kunstmann, José Miguel (Historia CríticaUniversidad de los Andes, 2024-02-06)
    Objetivo/Contexto: Este artículo investiga cómo siete letrados de las dinastías Ming (1368-1644) y Qing (1644-1912), cuyas obras versan sobre la geografía e historia mundial, interactuaron y negociaron con las narrativas jesuitas en chino sobre el “descubrimiento” y evangelización de América. El objetivo principal es dilucidar las diferencias y similitudes entre las perspectivas de ambas partes sobre estos eventos, resaltando el papel que el encuentro entre los universalismos del confucianismo y el cristianismo jugó en dichas interpretaciones. Metodología: Se emplea un análisis textual, comparativo e histórico-contextual, enmarcado en las perspectivas teóricas de Nicolas Standaert y Pingyi Chu sobre el encuentro sino-jesuita como un caso de intercambio cultural. En él se negociaron conocimientos mediante la selección de elementos textuales y de la reestructuración de marcos conceptuales. Con ello, se contrastan las narrativas sobre el “descubrimiento” y evangelización de América en obras chinas con la descripción jesuita sobre estos eventos, y se investigan los factores contextuales que determinaron tanto la creación de estas narrativas por parte de la misión jesuita en China como las reacciones de letrados chinos hacia ellas. Originalidad: Este es un estudio pionero en examinar la recepción de los primeros relatos en China sobre contactos euroamericanos. Busca contribuir al campo de la historia intelectual china y global, al poner en discusión cómo un evento fundacional de la cosmovisión europea fue resignificado desde diversas perspectivas por letrados chinos interesados en incorporar los relatos sobre el “descubrimiento” en sus obras y en integrarlos en el camino del universalismo confuciano. Conclusiones: Las narrativas sobre estos eventos fueron espacios discursivos donde tuvieron lugar disputas y convergencias entre los proyectos civilizadores del cristianismo y el confucianismo. El modo en que letrados chinos las integraron en sus trabajos refleja cómo la transmisión de la visión de mundo cristiano se sometió a marcos locales que reforzaron ideas etnocéntricas. Inevitablemente, esto condujo a la emergencia de interpretaciones alternativas a la europea sobre la historia de América en la China imperial tardía. Esto último desafió la mirada etnocéntrica europea, que en buena medida se fundamentó en el “descubrimiento” y evangelización de América, y muestra cómo los letrados chinos usaron sus narrativas para la defensa de su propia civilización.
  • Universalismos en disputa y convergencia: jesuitas, letrados y los primeros relatos en China sobre el “descubrimiento” y la evangelización de América

    Vidal Kunstmann, José Miguel (2024)
    Objective/Context: This article investigates how seven literati of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) dynasties, whose works deal with geography and world history, interacted and negotiated with Jesuit narratives in Chinese on the “discovery” and evangelization of America. The main objective is to elucidate the differences and similarities between the two sides’ perspectives on these events, highlighting the role that the encounter between the universalisms of Confucianism and Christianity played in these interpretations. Methodology: A textual, comparative and historical-contextual analysis is employed, framed by Nicolas Standaert and Pingyi Chu’s theoretical perspectives on the Sino-Jesuit encounter as a case of cultural exchange. In it, knowledge was negotiated through the selection of textual elements and the restructuring of conceptual frameworks. In doing so, narratives about the “discovery” and evangelization of America in Chinese works are contrasted with Jesuit descriptions of these events and the contextual factors that deter-mined both the creation of these narratives by the Jesuit mission in China and the reactions of Chinese scholars to them are investigated. Originality: This pioneering study examines the reception of early Chinese accounts of Euro-American contacts. It seeks to contribute to the field of Chinese and global intellectual history by discussing how a foundational event of the European worldview was re-signified from various perspectives by Chinese scholars interested in incorporating the «discovery» narratives into their works and integrating them into the path of Confucian universalism. Conclusions: The narratives about these events were discursive spaces where disputes and convergences between the civilizing projects of Christianity and Confucianism took place. The way in which Chinese scholars integrated them into their works reflects how the transmission of the Christian worldview was subjected to local frameworks that reinforced ethno-centric ideas. Inevitably, this led to the emergence of alternatives to European interpretations of American history in late imperial China. The latter challenged the European ethnocentric gaze, primarily grounded in the “discovery” and evangelization of America, and shows how Chinese scholars used their narratives to defend their civilization.
  • Deux assemblées protestantes à Tianjin.

    Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine (CECMC-CCJ); Chine, Corée, Japon (CCJ); École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)-École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité); Thireau, Isabelle (HAL CCSDArmand Colin, 2023-06)
    International audience
  • Chinese Christian Theology

    Alexander Chow; Stephanie Wong (St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology, 2023-06-01)
    This article offers an overview of some of the major Christian theological themes that have arisen from the concerns of Chinese Catholic and Protestant Christians since the seventeenth century. It explores contextual factors that have shaped competing categories of loyalty, from differing cultural, religious, and philosophical starting points, to socio-political realities of Western imperialism, and Chinese nationalism and politics. The article examines theological themes that are prioritized by Chinese Christians related to the motif of the ‘family’, understandings of the human condition, and the importance of fostering a spirituality of suffering and an expression of public faith. Whilst in no way comprehensive, this article attempts to offer vignettes of how Chinese Christians, primarily from the Chinese mainland, have wrestled with the faith and offered distinctive expressions of what can be termed Chinese Christian theology.
  • JRFM / The Representation of Rural Christianityin the Films of Gan Xiao’er

    Li, Jing (Universitätsbibliothek Graz, 2023)
    The religious dimension of Chinese cinema is, it has been observed, a “triple lacuna”in contemporary scholarship: in research on religion in China, in research on Chinesecinema, and in interdisciplinary research on film and religion. From 2002 to 2012, independentfilmmaker Gan Xiao’er directed three low-budget features that portrayedrural Christianity in China, a subject almost entirely absent from both Chinese mainstreammedia and independent films. In this article, I analyze Gan’s films by locatingthem in their social, political, and religious contexts, by comparing them with otherChinese films, and by linking them to the tradition of Western films that portray spirituality.I observe a progression in themes and style from Gan’s first feature, 山清水秀(The Only Sons, CN 2002), to his third, 在期待之中 (Waiting for God, CN 2012). I seekto show that Gan developed a restrained directorial style in order to connect withthe spirituality of Chinese peasants. Although he had to grope in the dark on manyaspects, his engagement with Christian themes has greatly expanded the narrativespace of Chinese cinema.
  • Cultural Hybridization in Christian China: The Art of Cloisonné at The Service of God

    Manuel Parada López de Corselas; Alberto A. Vela-Rodrigo (MDPI AG, 2021-12-01)
    The usual conception of traditional Chinese art tends to forget the existence of a rich cultural legacy of Christian origin that has been reflected in the manufacture of ritual objects for the convert communities and European missionaries in China. Among the most used techniques, cloisonné stands out, with important liturgical or decorative pieces treasured by missionaries and collectors, many of them in Western museums today. This work tries to make an approximation to some of those ritual objects used by the Christian Chinese communities that reflect the great influence that the Western artistic models had in the conception of art as a result of the cultural hybridization between both worlds.
  • Natural Theology and Ancient Theology in the Jesuit China Mission

    G. Mori; Giuliano Mori (Routledge : Taylor & Francis Group, 2020)
    This article analyzes the proselytical use of ancient theology that developed in the environment of the Jesuit China Mission in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. This period is roughly coeval with the European diffusion of deistic doctrines based on a secularized interpretation of natural theology. I argue that the threat posed by the spread of such doctrines produced a significant effect on the philosophy that Jesuits developed in order to relate to Confucianism. In particular, in the late seventeenth century, Jesuits belonging to the China Mission gradually abandoned Matteo Ricci’s natural theology and espoused an approach grounded in ancient theology. The situation changed, however, after the turn of the eighteenth century. Deism continued to spread, and even ancient theology came to be perceived as dangerously close the libertinism. The increasing suspicion towards ancient theology was reflected, in the China Mission, by the reception of the doctrines advanced by the so-called “Figurists”, a group of French Jesuits who proposed an interpretation of certain characters of the Chinese Five Classics as figurae of the Bible.
  • The religious question in modern China

    Internet Archive; Goossaert, Vincent (Chicago ; London : University of Chicago Press, 2011-01-01)
    xi, 464 pages ; 24 cm

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