Chinese Christian communism in the early twentieth century. Issue 2 (2nd April 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Boer, Roland; Chin, Kenpa
• Is Part Of: Religion, state & society. Volume 44:Issue 2(2016)
• Page Start: 96
• Page End: 110
• Publication Date: 2016-04-02
• Subjects: China -- Christian theology -- communism -- Jesus Christ; Communism and religion -- Periodicals; Europe, Eastern -- Religion -- Periodicals; Former Soviet republics -- Religion -- Periodicals; 306.6
• DOI: 10.1080/09637494.2016.1169752
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0963-7494

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This article deals with a unique period in Chinese Christianity in the early twentieth century. During this period a number of Christian theologians engaged actively with communism and Marxist theory. We focus on the work of Wu Leichuan (1870–1944), Wu Yaozong (1893–1979) and Zhu Weizhi (1905–1999), who creatively sought engagements between Christianity and historical materialism and thereby articulated a unique Chinese development, albeit engaged with international currents of thought. The article analyses their varying methods of doing so, their reconstructions of the figure of Jesus and early Christianity, and the efforts to see both the links and differences between Christianity and communism.