John Zhang

John B. Zhang

John Zhang Shijiang completed his Degree in Pastoral Studies at the EAPI. In 1991, he founded Faith Press, the largest Catholic publishing house in China, which publishes three times a month a newspaper with more than 50,000 subscribers. He is also the Director of China’s first Catholic nongovernmental social services center, Beifang Jinde (www.jinde.org).

WHO IS CHRIST AND WHAT IS THE CHURCH FOR THE CHINESE PEOPLE AND SOCIETY?

A paper presented at a Seminar on Economic Growth and Human Development in East Asia, organized by the Woori Theology Institute, South Korea, 4 November 2006

During the past few years, large groups of University students in China would visit the churches during Christmas and attend the Midnight Masses. Once, in 2000, a group of college students asked the seminarians of Hebei Seminary: "You said that Jesus Christ is a Savior, that He is very good. We have read and also heard many stories about Him. But this Christ, what meaning does he have for us Chinese? You also said that the Church is a very good community. So, what significance has the Church of Christ for our society? In other words, what significance have Christ and the Church for us Chinese and our society today?"

Does Chinese society approve of Christianity and the Church? Indeed, can we even talk about acceptance and appreciation? If we continue to talk to hundreds of millions of East Asians in the same way that we do in Christian countries about original sin, redemption, the Kingdom of heaven, and eternal life, what kind of response would the Church receive from Chinese society? What role and function can the Church perform for a people who are just breaking away from poverty after the disasters of the Cultural Revolution and are now seeking a comparatively comfortable life and trying to build a harmonious society based on freedom, human rights, and democracy?

The late Pope Paul VI’s Populorum progressio [On the Development of Peoples], written 39 years ago, is still relevant to today’s society. Under the onslaught of globalization, new social problems are challenging fiercely the Church and the world. We must really reflect, under such new circumstances and within the Eastern cultural environment, on the new challenges and the roles that the Church can play in China.

Chinese Society in the Transition Period

After 30 years of reform and growing freedom, China is emerging fast from poverty and backwardness. Its economy is developing rapidly and the world is witnessing enormous changes in Chinese society. On the one hand, we see almost unprecedented development. On 24 October 2006, the European Union declared: "China is already the world’s fourth biggest economy and third largest exporter. It is becoming an important political force on the world’s stage."¹ This is the glamorous part. On the other hand, new social and ethical problems are surfacing; new social rifts are becoming more serious each day.² Traditional values are being challenged and society is experiencing a crisis of trust. Corruption has become a very serious problem and the gap between the rich and the poor has reached a critical stage.

In recent years, for instance, courtesy and politeness at home and abroad seem to have deteriorated. The government has even described certain forms of "uncivilized behavior" as "the seven cardinal sins and three vulgar habits of Chinese travelers."³ The lack of courtesy and politeness has damaged the image of China as an ancient civilized country. Because of this, the Central Office of Civility and the National Bureau of Tourism, on 2 October 2006, issued jointly the "Guide for Civilized Behavior for Chinese Tourists Abroad" and the "Pledge of Civilized Behavior for Chinese Tourists within China."

A more shocking problem is the gap between the rich and the poor. Professor Sun Liping, an economist from Qinghua University, pointed out that 20% of the population possess 80% of the wealth and 80% of the population possess only 20% of the wealth.⁴ It is clear that to have a stable and balanced society, wealth needs to be re-distributed.

Medical care and education services are in dire need of reform. Among the 191 members of the World Health Organization (WHO), China is the fourth from the last in terms of fairness in budgeting and disbursing money for medical care.⁵ As of 2005, the population of China has already reached ~1,307,560,000. Yet, only ~67,640,000 (5.17% of the total population) have undergone university-level training.⁶

If we apply the standard of the United Nations that the poorest live on US$1/day, then the number of very poor people in China, as of 2005, is ~200,000,000 (15.29% of the population). In absolute terms, this is second only to India. The Chinese government, however, defines the poverty line as below the average annual income of 630 yuan. Using this standard, in 2006, the poor in China numbered around 48,000,000 (3.67% of the total population).⁷

On 11 October 2006, during the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Central Government reaffirmed that building a harmonious society is at the core of development. They also stated that achieving a higher standard of living and building a harmonious society are the desires of the people. "Harmony" here is principally concerned with the relationships between people, unity among different ethnic groups, and the stable development of the country.⁸

1. Sino-Vatican Relations

For the past half-century, "Sino-Vatican relations" have still not been normalized. The Catholic Church in China cannot avoid being caught in the middle. It is obvious that the Church cannot focus on its task since a lot of time and energy are being used up in various controversies. Sino-Vatican relations must be normalized soon. The Catholic Church in China needs to be reconciled within and without, and the problem of consecrating bishops and the division of dioceses must be settled properly. The key to normalizing Sino-Vatican relations is to find a mutually acceptable way of naming bishops.

2. Chinese Society and Christian Faith:
Indigenizing the Church

Religious freedom is a basic condition for the development of a local church. If one says, however, that there are still problems with religious freedom in China, then what can one say about Hong Kong and Macao? And as for the other countries strongly influenced by Confucianism—Singapore, Japan, and Korea—can one say that they also do not enjoy full religious freedom?

But in the aforementioned countries, the Church has not really expanded much. At present, Korea has ~5,000,000 Catholics (10% of the total population) and 18,000,000 non-Catholic Christians (39%). The Catholic and non-Catholic Christian Churches in Taiwan and Hong Kong each have about 300,000 believers. Macau has 13,000 Catholics; Singapore, about 350,000; and Japan, about 1,000,000, half of whom are foreigners.⁹ The development trends in these East Asian Churches need much consideration and reflection.

In 1949, in China, there were about 3,000,000 Catholics and 700,000 non-Catholic Christians. Today, optimistically put, the number of Catholics is not more than 7,000,000. Apparently, there are about 25,000,000 non-Catholic Christians. However, compared to ~1,307,560,000 people, the Catholic and non-Catholic Christians, even added together, are but a very small flock (2.45%).

One can thus ask what caused the slow development of Christianity in China and its surrounding areas. What does the present situation reveal to us? Apart from politico-economic and geographical-environmental causes, weight must be given to the traditional cultures and value-systems. This is the conflict between western and eastern cultures, the typical problem of indigenization. In other words, the indigenization of the Church has not been successful. No matter how ideal we consider the Christian faith, mainstream Chinese society seems to have no intention of accepting Christianity or approving the Church. Instead, mainstream society maintains a certain distance. In the eyes of many, the Church is a "foreign body," even dangerous. People are worried that having relations with the Church will bring trouble, especially sensitive overseas issues. There is a popular jingle in China which goes this way: "like Buddhism, fear Islam, and loathe Christianity."¹⁰ It does not matter whether such a saying is appropriate or not. This kind of image definitely does not benefit Church-State relations, much less, the development of the Church.

Of course, this delicate and sensitive relationship between the Church and society was not caused by the Church alone. Chinese society, traditional culture, and the government also must take responsibility. Chinese society must reflect on the contributions Christianity has brought to modernity. If Christianity is friend and collaborator of many developed and developing countries, could it not also play an impressive and positive role in China? This ought to be another topic for discussion. All in all, under the present circumstances, the Church herself needs to bear in mind that if Sino-Vatican relations do not improve and if ties between the Church and Chinese society do not advance, very few Chinese will appreciate the Church, the influence of the Church will be insignificant, and the role it plays will likewise be limited. Thus, in order to change this situation and image which have persisted for hundreds of years, all must work hard—the Church and society, the Vatican and the Chinese government.

3. Need for Balanced Development

In the 16^th century, Matteo Ricci brought the Gospel to China and established the Catholic Church. Together with academicians, he translated numerous Church terms into Chinese and wrote many books. After 1840, various Protestant denominations came to China, setting up various Christian Churches.

Interestingly, it is non-Catholic Christianity that is seemingly much more influential now in Chinese society. They have succeeded in playing a part in China’s universities and higher institutions of learning, especially in research. One of their influences is that most of the terms related to Christianity that are being used today are those rooted in the 19^th century Christian tradition, not from the 16^th century Catholic tradition started by Matteo Ricci. The main reason for this is that the Chinese Christian Churches give much importance to and participate in higher education, use the Christian tradition to influence strongly the intelligentsia, and respond timely to the need for development. The Catholic Church in China, on the other hand, because of historical circumstances, did not succeed as well. In other words, the Church did not have a balanced development.¹¹

Conclusions

To revitalize the Catholic Church in China, we need to pay attention to balancing its development. It is not enough to concentrate on evangelization by means of the written or spoken word, using cultural forms or electronic media. We also have to pay attention to rendering service to society, getting involved in works of charity, and giving importance to nurturing gifted people through higher education and academic research.

We need to promote the normalization of Sino-Vatican relations, advocate reconciliation, and build up trust. The Church herself should not put up with mutual confrontation. Overseas organizations and media also need not hover around the issue of religious freedom and live in the past, using foreign standards of judging the Church and the government, insisting on "black and white" categories, dividing persons or communities into those who are "trustworthy or untrustworthy." In fact, everyone should treasure the present balanced and stable social conditions, the relatively harmonious atmosphere, and the adequate space for evangelization. The Church should grasp the opportunities for development in the changing society of China, concentrate its effort in strengthening herself, and, while walking with the Chinese peoples, to share in the worries and help solve the difficulties of the government, to offer assistance to the underprivileged, and to remold the image of and revitalize the Church. Finally, we should demonstrate concretely how Christianity can contribute to the well-being of the Chinese peoples, helping in the development of society and the prosperity of the nation. The Church will prove by her actions that the role she plays is not a threat but a service. The Church in China must develop her social services and the Churches abroad should give their support, especially to the NGOs, who are important players in the redistribution of wealth in Chinese society.¹²

Let us now return to the story cited at the beginning of this paper. The Hebei seminarians gave the University students pamphlets on the Jinde Charities (formerly, Beifang Jinde or Catholic Social Service Center) and said to them: "You see, our Church’s Beifang Jinde gave emergency help to many individuals and families, victims of natural and man-made disasters; awarded scholarships to many poor students; participated in disaster relief works in many parts of the country; rebuilt schools …" The University students were very happy and left satisfied. Later, some of them became volunteers of Jinde Charities and came to know about the Catholic faith.

May this small story enable us to think and reflect more on the Church’s role in China.

NOTES

1. Wu Liming, "The European Union Thinks that to Develop a Strategic Relationship with China is a Must." See Policy Book of the European Union, issued on 24 October 2006: "The European Union and China: Closer Partners, More Responsibilities." Available at http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2006-10/24/content_5244855.htm.

2. See my paper, "The Challenge of the Catholic Church in China in a Changing Society," Quest Vol. 4, No. 2 (Hong Kong, November 2005), pp. 13–28; or the Chinese version published in Tripod, No. 140 (Hong Kong, 2006).

3. The seven major sins of Chinese tourists are: "filth, noise, competition, rudeness, roughness, awkwardness, impoliteness"; the three bad habits of Chinese tourists are: "improper dress code with shoulders exposed, spitting and coughing everywhere, exposing feet publicly." Available at http://www.godpp.gov.cn and http://society.people.com.cn/GB/8217/70049/70063/4748707.html.

4. Live Report in the "News Forum" of China News Weekly. Available at http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2005-03-17/12246111762.shtml.

5. "The Reform of the Chinese Medical System is Looking for a Breakthrough in the Midst of Labor Pains." Available at http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2006-03/18/content_4317180.htm.

6. Jiang Xueli, "National Statistics Bureau: The Population of China Reaches 1.30756 Billion by the End of 2005." Available at http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2006-03/16/content_4309602.htm.

7. "The Population under Poverty in China is the Second Largest in the World," see http://www.china.com.cn/economic/txt/2006-10/09/content_7223457.htm. Ding Zhaowen, "Nearly Half of the Population under Poverty in China is in Urban Areas," Beijing Evening Newspaper (28 October 2006), available at http://www.bjd.com.cn/jryw/200610/t20061027_109474.htm.

8. The structural meaning of 和谐 (hexie, harmony) is very deep: 和 (he) is composed of 禾 (crops) and 口 (mouth), which means that a person needs to eat. 谐 (xie) is composed of 言 (words) and 皆 (everyone), which means that everybody wants to have a chance to talk. 和谐 thus means that when everybody has food to eat and has words to engage in conversations, society will be harmonious. On 26 October 2006, the President of the National Political Consultative Commission, Jia Qinglin, made an appeal in Great Britain to "establish a harmonious world." The President of China, Hu Jintao, thinks that a harmonious society should have six characteristics: "law and democracy; fairness and justice; trust and friendship; full of vigor; order and stability; harmony between human beings and nature." See Hu Jintao’s "Six Characteristics of a Harmonious Society," New and Fast Newspaper (20 February 2005), A1.

9. The three Christian countries in Asia are East Timor (95%), the Philippines (90%), and South Korea (55%). Most of the Christians in East Timor and in the Philippines are Catholics.

10. The common opinion is like this: Buddhism was "invited into China" and Islam was "talked into China" through business exchanges, but Christianity "forced its way in" under the protection of warships and gunpowder, not to mention the unequal treaties. The Church in China needs to change this impression.

11. See my paper, "A Reflection on the Mission of the Chinese Catholic Church," Publications of the Verbiest Cultural Association of Louvain University in Belgium (2006), pp. 200-203. In 1900, the Catholic Church and the Protestant Churches together had 2,000 schools with 40,000 students, 90% of whom were at the elementary level. By 1914, the Protestants had 4,100 schools; the Catholics, 8,034, almost twice as many. However, the Protestants put greater emphasis on higher education, which was not the case with the Catholic Church. In 1898, the Qing Dynasty invited the Bishop of Beijing, Joseph Martial Mouly (孟振生), to take charge of the newly established Beijing Grand Learning Institute. However, Bishop Mouly had to decline because of lack of personnel. As a result, the Qing Dynasty invited a Protestant missionary, William Alexander Parsons Martin (丁韪良), to be the President of the said Institute. In the 1920s, China had only three state universities: Beijing, Shanxi, and Beiyang. The Catholic Church ran three: Aurora (震旦大学, Shanghai, 1903), Tsinku (津沽大学, Tianjin, 1922), and Fujen (辅仁大学, Beijing, 1927). The Protestants, meanwhile, had established fourteen, though some were rather small in scale.

12. The current system of wealth distribution in China has three stages: (1) market distribution, (2) government distribution, and (3) redistribution through charitable organizations. This third stage is guided by moral strength. Through the donations of charitable organizations, the poor and the underprivileged get help; thus, wealth gets more evenly distributed. See Wang Shujun, "The Time for the Third Distribution is Mature," originally from The People’s Daily, available at http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2005-12/29/content_3982701.htm.