Taiping movement has strong religious overtones, then, as its main source of Christian faith in China's development and what is it? Christianity was first introduced to China can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty Zhenguan years, "Nestorian" in China, and then after the Yuan Dynasty and the Ming and Qing Dynasties have been the climax of the spread formation, but its real foothold in China and a certain mass base, the It is when China suffered aggression in modern times. "Beijing Treaty" formalized missionaries to enter China as a missionary. Christian widespread in China for the development of modern China caused widespread impact.
One. The basic situation of the spread of Christianity in China.
Christianity into China very early time, there is clear information for the first time recorded between Schedule of years. It is based on the real virtue of the unequal treaties signed after the Opium War. During this period, various Catholic religious orders such as the Jesuits, Austin will, Dominicans, Paris Foreign Missions, Lazarists, CICM, Word will wait would have been missionaries in China, to the late 19th century it has been built five missionary area in China, the development of more than 70 million followers. Christian Missionaries such as London Missionary Society, Congregational, Episcopal, Baptist, Presbyterian, Reformed, Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal Church, Methodist Church, Quakers, Seventh-day Adventist Church, are also successively China missionary, in various parts of China founding church building. To the late 19th century, its missionaries in China has reached more than 1,500 people, the development of more than 80,000 followers. The spread of Christianity in China on the development of modern China had an impact can not be ignored, the following will be selected typical example for analysis.
two. Taiping Rebellion and development of Christianity.
Strictly speaking, the guiding ideology of the Taiping Rebellion of the Pacific to teach is not the orthodox Christian thought, the heresy of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is reflected in the wrong "trinity" of theological understanding, the Taiping Rebellion just wore religious garb of the peasant movement, the Pacific to teach in some Hong Xiuquan, who is a tool to win over people extent, can not be counted Taiping Christian movement in Modern China. This can be proved from the words of foreign Christian missionaries. Missionary Robert wrote, "Hung was a crazy man, entirely unfit to rule without any organized government ... He is violent in his temper, and let his wrath fall heavily upon his people, making a man or woman" an offender for a word ", and Ordering BE SUCH Instantly to the without Murdered Judge or Jury.
His-Religious toleration, and the multiplicity of Chapels, turns to BE OUT A Farce, of NO in Avail The Spread of Christianity Within last-Useless worse."
Orthodox visible foreign missionaries and their offensive philosophy of Hong Xiuquan.
But it is undeniable, Hong Xiuquan himself to Christianity is a deeper understanding of Hong religious ideas from the "good words to persuade the world." The book was written by Liang, revision print line by the British missionary Robert Morrison. It is understood that Liang is the first Chinese nationality Protestant missionary who worked in Guangzhou privately engraved characters Bible Morrison. "To persuade the world good word" can be condensed version of the Bible, the more complete retained the core essence of Christianity. Rengan Swedish missionary Hanshan Wen wrote the "Hong history," said Hung had "every a different person, with big sleeves of clothing, hair done, a pass book, called" good words to persuade the World. "The book said teach people faithful to God, Jesus, keep the Ten commandments, do not worship the devil. "that" different people "is Liang Afa.
Hong borrowed from the "good words to persuade the World," an authoritative, that is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God, and gave him dressed in robes covered with "Heaven, Earth, the original creator of all things great master of" the name, to the overriding authority of the existing society, including Confucius and Qing emperors. Hong took advantage of Christian doctrine concerning the kingdom come on earth, with Chinese farmers to pursue peace and prosperity combined with the desire to construct without exploitation and oppression, "We Are the World, sharing peace" vision.
However, in practice the communication process, the so-called "God Worship", it can only be said to be a few elements of Christianity and the simple desire to combine farmers, and has been with some of the components of the cult. With the development of the struggle, superstitious features of the harm caused by religion is gradually revealed, and ultimately led to the failure of the Taiping Rebellion. But where we can see a wide range of Chinese Christianity spread. Even some extent, the spread of Christian thought, of ignorance against cannibalistic feudal culture, breaking the Confucian idea of idolatry has a certain role.
three. Christian contribution to the development of education in modern China;
Lift the modern education, we have to mention the Church University. According to Wikipedia, in 1818, Morrison founded the inferior Malacca Ying Wa College. In 1844, Ningbo female private school, the first single female missionary to China's Sui Eddie created in Ningbo, China is the first girls' school. St. John's Anglican Church founded the University of Shanghai, Soochow University, founder of the Methodist University of Nanking, South China Women's University, founded the University of Shanghai Baptist, Presbyterian created Zhijiang University and Lingnan University, London will create the Concorde Medical School; there are several Protestant denominations worked together to create the Jinling Women's University, Yenching University, Qilu University, Huazhong University of Science, University of Concord Fujian. Until 1914, American missionary elementary school opened nearly two thousand, two hundred colleges and universities in 80 more such; British missionaries started elementary school has more than fourteen hundred that, in two hundred colleges and universities forty. Our predecessor of Shandong University Department of Medicine of the University is the Church.
In addition, China missionaries in the dissemination of culture also made a contribution. Translated some classic Western books, although most of the class or religious books, but there are also "Aesop's Fables," "virtual Robinson Crusoe", as well as Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Dickens, who works to a certain extent the promotion of Chinese and Western cultural exchange. They also spread the advanced Western democracy, freedom of thought, but the effect is not obvious.
four. Impact on the livelihood improvement of the development of Christianity.
Prior to 1900, Protestant missionaries in Guangdong, Guangxi, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and other places opened more than forty clinics, most notably Guangzhou Boji Hospital, in addition there Shanghai Jiren Hospital, Fuzhou well Chai Hospital, Hankou & Poor's love hospital, Shantou Yi Shi hospital, Tongzhou hospital, Baoding Hudson Taylor Memorial hospital, Shanghai Tongren hospital, Nanjing Gulou hospital, and so on. 1937 only, in China there are three hundred Protestant church-run hospitals, small clinics and another six hundred. Missionaries of Western medicine and Chinese medicine to introduce, translated works of Western medicine, Western medicine founded the publication presents, for the Chinese train a lot of doctors and nurses, promote the development of China's health objective. Missionary who also opposed opium, foot binding oppose actively engaged in philanthropy, establishing orphanages, schools for the deaf and other charities, relief to victims, the introduction of advanced printing technology.
During the Nanjing Massacre, missionaries, professors Jinling Women's College of Arts and the University of Nanking, doctors, businessmen and other jointly build 3.88 square kilometers of "Nanjing Safety Zone", German businessman John Rabe served as the first President of the Security Zone Commission. Reverend John Magee was a member of the security zone committee. Magee priest has been involved in rescue Chinese refugees, and took Japanese soldiers massacred Chinese people in the documentary. American female missionary Minnie Vautrin also actively rescue Chinese refugees, the use of Jinling Women's College of Arts and protection of tens of thousands of Chinese women and children refugees. She From 1937 to 12th April 1940 diary in August, detailed records of the case in the Japanese occupation of Nanjing, and mailed to alumni of the college in New York of the Council.
Fives. to sum up;
In the development of modern China, the spread of Christianity and missionary activities or the development of China has played a certain role in. We recognize the blindness of religious backwardness and development, but we should not ignore their contribution. We want to see the contents of religion behind Christianity spread to bring a positive impact on modern China.
References:
- Wikipedia - Protestant Missionaries and Modern China. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%96%B0%E6%95%99%E4%BC%A0%E6%95%99%E5%A3%AB%E4%B8%8E%E8 % BF% 91% E4% BB % A3% E4% B8% AD% E5% 9B% BD% EF% BC% 881807-1953% EF% BC% 89 # 1807-1842% E5% B9% B4% E4% BC % A0% E6% 95% 99 % E5% A3% AB% E6% B4% BB% E5% 8A% A8
- Liaocheng Wei "Taiping Essays"
- "Influence of Christianity on China's" public home Legal Network.
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