Abstract
As the first scholarly analysis of Chinese Christian propaganda, this book is eye-opening since it contributes a creatively new way to look at Chinese mission history during the three decades prior to 1949. The book visibly unfolds the history of Christianity during this period of time in a creative format by observing the Christian posters in association with massive findings in literature research. With ten essays written by Chinese and western scholars from a variety of discipline perspectives, the study on Chinese Christian posters provides a vivid sense of Christianity in the sociocultural and sociopolitical context of the time.
As the most visible manifestation of Chinese Christianity in the first half of the twentieth century, the gospel posters as “visual evangelism” (111) were the most popular visual tool thanks to its symbolic richness and convenience for the message to be delivered. It marked the presence of the Chinese evangelical Christian in the public square, and it marked transitions from control of the western missionaries to that of Chinese pastors. As pedagogical tool, the evangelistic practice of the gospel poster attracted a crowd and opened a dialogue that led to an evangelistic teaching. Setting 1919 as the starting point when the May Fourth Movement opened a new page in China’s history in sociocultural and sociopolitical senses, the book provides “new ways to see the past” (30) as the posters reveal the key challenges in the societal life that the missionary works engaged with. The Christian posters are grouped into three categories: those “typically possess[ing] an explicitly theological message” (73); those primarily focusing on social ethics; and those sharing “significant symbols with secular nationalism” (73). The posters were usually incorporated with the biblical texts and visually presented the message of the Christian campaign targeting social issues on opium addition, idolatry, prostitution, foot binding, illiteracy, poverty, and so on.
Thanks to this creative research methodology, the reading is enriched with eye-catching visuals and comprehension is supported by the accompanying literature information. Relying on secondhand resources including rare historical documents, the authors’ analysis of the posters contributes with tremendous findings about the contextual theology of the Protestants and the Roman Catholics. The authors’ analysis guides the reader into profound theological observations that may imply meaningful opportunities for further research on Chinese theology today. Moreover, the authors’ research also produces historical knowledge of the sociocultural and sociopolitical contexts that is meaningful to missiological studies. This suggests important clues for further missiological research on the missional paradigm in China. Nevertheless, it should be noted that while the analysis of these posters offers a creative and insightful perspective, they are not able to capture the full breadth of theological development during this specific period in China. In this way, the book serves as a valuable addition to the broader narrative.
The book is an open-ended study for those who are interested in Christianity in China. It sets a new stage for the great arena of study on Christianity in China. Believing that much is left untouched and probably still unnoticed, the authors invite the reader to rediscover and find new ways of approaching this area of study: “This volume is just the beginning” (31).