Refined China

For 1,300 years East Asia has been evangelised despite cruel persecution, yet today Christians greatly outnumber members of the Chinese Communist Party

Cruel persecution and courageous martyrs has been the recurring theme in bringing the gospel to East Asia over fourteen centuries. Four of the major divisions of Christianity: the Church of the East, Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants have struggled to tell the story of Jesus. Yet today, house churches in China continue to grow.

China – the Syrian Luminous Religion

The Gospel was frst brought to China in 635 AD1 by Syriac-speaking missionaries from the Church of the East, who travelled from Persia, where Christianity was a minority faith under Zoroastrian dominance. The leader of the missionary group was Alopen, who was received by the Emperor at his capital, Chang’an (near modern Xi’an in Shaanxi province). The Christian Scriptures were translated in the Imperial Library and their doctrine examined. The Emperor then gave permission for Christianity to be propagated, and also provided a church in Chang’an.

Over the next two centuries, many communities of Chinese Christians sprang up, from the north-west to the south-east. The frst century and a half is recorded in wonderful detail on a granite slab, carved in 781, headed with a cross and the words “Monument of the Syrian Luminous Religion’s Coming to China.”2 It also records in detail the beliefs of the Christian missionaries, showing clearly their Trinitarian doctrine. For example: There is none but our wondrous Three-One, the true Lord without beginning, Alaha.

Alaha means “God” in Syriac, a language derived from the Aramaic which Christ Himself spoke. Christ’s incarnation, death on the cross for our salvation, resurrection and ascension are covered, as are Christ as the fulflment of Old Testament prophecies and the work of the Holy Spirit. There is also information on the New Testament, baptism, daily worship and weekly Eucharist.

Persecution by Buddhists – and how the Church recovered

Problems began for the Christians in 683 when the Emperor (son of the one who had welcomed Alopen) died and his widow, Wu Hou, seized political control of the country. She used her new power to promote Buddhism, which soon became the state religion. Buddhists attacked and tore down church buildings. Eventually, in 732 more missionary reinforcements came from Persia and before long the Christians were again enjoying the favour of the Emperor.

Persecution by Taoists: 20 months that were fatal to the Church?

In 845 China was ruled by a pro-Taoist Emperor who decided to suppress all non-Chinese religions. His targets included Buddhism – which from a Chinese perspective comes from the West, as it began in India – and, of course, Zoroastrianism (originating further west in Persia) and Christianity (from still further west). The Emperor’s persecution policy lasted only 20 months, after which well-resourced Buddhism soon bounced back. However, it appears that Christianity, a much smaller community, was so damaged by this ordeal that it was unable to rally again.

After the previous bout of persecution in the late 7th and early 8th century, missionaries had come from Persia to strengthen the beleaguered Chinese Church. The weakened Church in China was cut of from its Mother Church. “Faithful is the Lord. Your labours are not rejected, ye martyrs. King Christ has not passed by whom ye have loved in the land of China.” (From a commemoration of “the martyrs of China” in a 13th century Syriac book).

The Christian presence dwindled to such an extent that an expedition sent in 980 from the Middle East to help the Chinese Christians reported that Christianity in China was extinct, the Christians had perished, their church had been destroyed and there was only one Christian left in the land.

The Blessed Person religion

Thankfully, the situation was not quite that bad. A remnant of the East Syriac Church seems to have survived in China, and certainly it grew in neighbouring areas of Central Asia during the next four centuries. Thus, when the Mongols, led by Genghis Khan, conquered China in the 13th century, the Church began to fourish and grow again, enjoying frst acceptance and then favour from the ruling powers. Some of the Mongol leaders became Christians. During the Mongol period, the East Syriac Church in China was called the Religion of Yelikewen, which is a transliteration of the Mongolian expression for “Blessed Person”.

Persecution by Muslims

In the late 13th century, European Catholic missionaries arrived in China and soon won converts. The faith and courage of both the missionaries and the Chinese Christians in the face of persecution were remarkable. Space does not permit mention of more than a few examples, but one must be the massacre in Ili in 1342. Ili was a remote frontier town (now called Yining in Xinjiang province) to which criminals and persecuted Christians were banished. In 1342 a fanatical Muslim became the ruling khan (by poisoning his predecessor) and immediately ordered all Christians to convert to Islam or be killed. Neither the Europeans nor the Chinese took any notice, but continued to live and worship openly as Christians. The seven missionaries were arrested, tortured in front of a mob of angry Muslims and then beheaded. The local Christians, who included Uighurs, Kazakhs, Mongols, Russians and Han Chinese, refusing to fee, were imprisoned and savagely tortured. Many of them died.

Persecution by Chinese

In 1368 the Chinese rose against the Mongol Yuan dynasty who had ruled them for over a century. Hundreds of thousands of Mongols were slaughtered. Yelikewen Christians were targeted in the uprising because of their close association with the Mongols. The victorious Han Chinese established the Ming dynasty, which soon abolished all forms of Christianity in China.

The White Lotus persecution (1616-1617)

The White Lotus Society was a secret Buddhist sect that appears to have begun in the late 13th century and was very active against the hated Mongol rulers, soon moving into what might be called “organised crime.”3 In the 1610s it coordinated uprisings against the government of the day. By this time Christians were increasing in number once more. It was an easy matter for Shen Que, a government ofcial who hated Christians, to order persecution of Christians along with reprisals against the White Lotus as they were all “secret societies”. Chinese Christians tried with enormous courage to defend and help the European missionaries who were tortured ruthlessly.

More missionaries

A Russian Orthodox church was established in Beijing in 1683 and a mission in 1715. The frst Protestant missionary arrived in 1807.

The Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864)

The Taiping Rebellion is better described as a civil war, in which Christians were pitted against the ruling Qing dynasty. It began as a response to the persecution of Christians by the Qing government and was initiated by a Christian called Hong Xiuquan. He hoped to overthrow the government and transform Chinese society spiritually and morally, resulting in a Christian China. Hong established himself in Tianjing (present-day Nanjing) and set up what he called the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. His army gained control of a substantial amount of territory, so that at its height the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had a population of almost 30 million people.

As the rebellion unfolded, Western interests became involved, principally the US, Britain and France. It developed into one of the bloodiest wars ever. Such grave atrocities were committed (by both sides) that the death toll is estimated at anywhere between 20 to 100 million. Hong’s millenarian beliefs and the fact that he claimed to be the younger brother of Jesus have led some to disregard this 14-year confict and downplay its importance in the history of Christian persecution in China.

Persecution by the Boxers

In the late 19th century, a sub-group of the White Lotus Society had developed called the Righteous and Harmonious Fists, better known as the Boxers. At this time, China was humiliated by defeat in various wars. People were desperately poor and natural disasters had made their sufering worse. The Boxers blamed the blue-eyed “foreign devils” and also the Chinese Christians, who had ofended the “gods of happiness and wealth” by deciding to follow Christ – hence the lack of rain, said the Boxers. In 1900 the Boxers rose in rebellion, their aim being to return Chinese culture to Confucian values such as respect for elders, ancestors, family and emperor. They wanted to rid China of all Westerners and their “Western” religion, Christianity. They slaughtered 188 foreign missionaries and around 32,000 Chinese Christians.

Persecution by Communists

When Communists gained control of mainland China in 1949, foreign missionaries left the country. Many Protestant churches, which were already well on the way to being self-supporting and self-governing, only had to add self-propagating to become “Three Self” churches i.e. fully independent of foreign missionary input. Chinese Christians had to choose whether or not to submit to Communist government control. Many Protestant churches did submit and are known as the Three Self Patriotic Movement. Others continued as unofficial churches, operating illegally, often called “house churches”. Catholics divided in a similar way into the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Church, under Chinese government control, and an illegal Catholic Church under the authority of the Pope.

During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) no religious expression was allowed in China, not even the Three Self churches. All Christian activity had to be underground, and as a result the house churches grew. Since then, persecution of Christians has waxed and waned, also varying between diferent parts of the country. The targets are normally Protestants. Arrest, imprisonment and sometimes torture are fairly common, but martyrdoms (e.g. death in custody) are relatively rare. Through it all, the house churches have continued to grow and Christians now greatly outnumber members of the Communist Party of China.

1 There is anecdotal evidence the Gospel may have reached China in the 1st century AD, but 635 is generally accepted as the earliest date for which there is firm evidence.

2 The name for Syriac Christianity at this time in China was Jingjiao, a word with many nuances. It is sometimes translated as “Luminous Religion” indicating the sense of shining with light, or as “Illustrious Religion” indicating the sense of great and glorious.

3 Today’s Triad gangs can be seen as a legacy of the White Lotus Society.