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To promote understanding of China and the Christian Church
China News Update
Presbyterian Church (USA)
475 Riverside Drive, Room 1144, New York, NY 10115
MAY 1988
MAY 1988 ............................................................................................................ 1
Rural Churches ................................................................................................. 1
Christian Women of Lai-an - (Excerpts from paper by He Jin-ying and Liu Shu-
xian) .................................................................................................................. 2
Ethnic Minority Christians of NW Guizhou - (Excerpts from a research paper by Li
Ya-ding) ............................................................................................................. 4
A Meeting Point - Wen Bin ................................................................................ 6
T. C. Chou Centennial ....................................................................................... 8
Catholics ........................................................................................................... 8
New Bishop for Shanghai ............................................................................... 8
Bishop Gong Pinmei Reinstated .................................................................... 9
New Bishops in Hunan ................................................................................... 9
Catholic Intelligentia Association of Shanghai ................................................ 9
Catholic Fisherfolk ........................................................................................ 10
Amity ............................................................................................................... 10
From an Amity Teacher's Letter: .................................................................. 11
Education ........................................................................................................ 11
A. Primary Schools B. Secondary Schools ........................................... 13
C. Vocational High Schools .......................................................................... 13
People ............................................................................................................. 14
Book Review ................................................................................................... 15
Chinese Lives ............................................................................................... 15
Hainan Island .................................................................................................. 16
Rural Churches
"Strengthening rural ministry" was identified as a top priority of the church when
leaders met in the August 1987 Joint Meeting of the Standing Committees of the national
Three-Self and China Christian Council held in Chengdu. They recognized that the majority
of Christians in China reside in the rural areas. "Meeting points" or household congregations
have mushroomed in the countryside, many headed by naturally evolved, evangelistic
volunteers who are enthusiastic but with little or no theological education. More then 400 lay
training programs sponsored on provincial and local levels had enrolled 14,891 persons in the
year ending in August 1987. During this joint meeting, it was decided that the Syllabus, a
correspondence course prepared by faculty of Nanjing Seminary and subscribed by some
45,000 church workers, would focus on equipping rural church leaders in their ministry.
Earlier in May the newly formed Committee on Theological Education made a similar
move regarding their "division of labor." Seminaries presently carrying on two-year programs
were encouraged to concentrate their curriculum on the training of rural church workers.
Nanjing Seminary also designed special programs for rural ministry. Sister Jiang Peifen and
her assistant Peng Cui-an, a graduate student, were largely responsible for a program for the
training of rural church workers of Henan Province. The result is a two-way learning
experience for students and teachers alike.
Very few western visitors to China are privileged to have experienced the life of a rural
Christian community. Two articles on the following pages excerpted from research papers
published in Religion (Vol. 11, 1987) by the Center of Religious Studies, Nanjing University,
provide a glimpse of churches in an agricultural area of Anhui Province and in the remote
mountain region of Guizhou Province where most of the population are of ethnic minority
groups. Readers will note that the two papers represent very different perspectives. The first
is a "view from the outside," as He Jin-yang and Liu Shu-xian, two women cadres - one a
reporter for the Anhui Chuzhou Press and the other an officer of the Chu County Women's
Federation - bemoan the rapid growth of the church which they see as a consequence of their
own inability to satisfy the needs of rural women. The second, an "insider's observation," is
by Li Yading, a graduate of Nanjing Theological Seminary. He is presently an exchange
student studying in the United States under the care of the China Christian Council and
sponsored by the National Council of Churches in the USA. His research was conducted in
1984.
A third article, the report on the Tao-Pu Meeting Point, describes a typical home
congregation in a farming village outside of Shanghai. It appeared in the March 1988 issue of
Tian Feng.
Christian Women of Lai-an - (Excerpts from paper by
He Jin-ying and Liu Shu-xian)
At the time of Liberation, there were only 11 Christians in Lai-an. Thirty six years
later in 1976, the number went up to only 77. However, the church in Lai-an had developed
rapidly since 1976. Now there are 989 Christians.
Four characteristics are outstanding among the 989 Christians in Lai-an: 1) Women
are in the majority - 820 of them or 82.9% of the Christian community there. 2) They are
older - 394 (or 39.8%) are over 50 years of age; 192 persons (19.4%) are between 40-50
years old. 3) Most of them are not well educated - only 9 having graduated from senior high
school, 59 having completed junior high school and 105 with only a primary education.
Those who are illiterate number 716 (72.3%). 4) Most of them, 912 persons or 92.2% joined
the church after 1976.
The local Three-Self Movement Committee has seven members. Three of them are
women. They are Wu Lan-ying, 54-year-old leader of the Yangchuan congregation, Yen
Mouhua, 41, leader of the Shiguan congregation and Cheng Yuhua, 31, treasurer of the local
Three-Self. On a drizzling, rainy day we went to the village congregation for observation.
We saw many women carrying umbrellas, having walked more than ten miles to attend the
service. Inside the church more than 200 were enthusiastically singing hymns of praise. At
least 80% were women.
Why is Christianity so attractive to these rural women? Since the implementation of
reform policies of the late 1970s, the villagers have become affluent. Why is the church
growing under these circumstances? What questions have been raised, in view of the
expansion of the church, for us who work with political education of rural women? This
paper is an attempt to explore some of these issues.
The attractiveness of Christianity has its social, historical and gender-specific reasons.
1) Women under centuries of oppression and feudalism have always been religious,
putting their trust and hope in a savior who had been either the Buddha, the god of prosperity
or others. Now Christianity has taken their place to provide protection, to turn evil into good.
As we talk to these simple-minded women Christians about their present good life they all
said, "We depend on the Communist Party. We trust the Lord."
2) The status of women was very low before Liberation. They were bound by old
traditions, subject to male domination and frequently under their mothers-in-law. Now they
are an important work force for socialist construction. As for family relations, many younger
women have become aggressive, some even mistreating their in-laws and neglecting their
parents. Christianity propagates loving ones parents, children and loving everyone. It
encourages harmony and the stability of the family. Many women Christians in the village
told us, "It is good to have this faith that enables your family to live in harmony. It helps
daughters-in-law to respect, and mothers-in-law to love." "Christianity promotes civilization."
3) In the rural area there are very few activities where village women can participate
and feel a part. Some feel oppressed. Their world is very small. They need therapy which is
not available in the poor countryside where medical facilities are extremely limited. Many
have turned to the church and found hymn singing a way to express themselves. They found
peace and a sense of balance as they put their trust in religion.
The development of Christian churches after the Cultural Revolution indicates on the
one hand that the Party has eliminated the "leftist" elements in its policy toward religion. On
the other hand, it also reflects the inadequacy of the political education effort on our part in
the rural area. Under the agricultural and economic reforms, village cadres are too pre-
occupied with food, oil and cotton production, rural industry and family planning. With the
household responsibility system, only one person per family (usually the male head of
household) would attend meetings to promote the goals of the government. For the rest of the
family, there is real indifference to politics. In one village, there was only one old auditorium
with seating capacity of 480, a cultural center with 800 books, a radio station, and an amateur
drama group. The only activities in the village are occasional film shows and some partying
before the Lunar New Year. There is very little to stimulate interest of the people.
As for the local Women's Federation, the officers and members are too busy
promoting family planning in addition to economic reform in the enterprises. Most of them
are illiterate. There is little energy left to work with women in other areas besides family
planning.
The success of rural reforms has raised the standard of living of the people. Yet it
does not necessarily mean fulfillment and well-being spiritually. Where there is failure in
socialist civilization to fill the vacuum in this time of affluence, Christianity has come in to
take its place.
In Yangchen Village, women in the past worked the hardest, laboring in the field by
day and housework in the evening. Today only a few enterprising women are putting their
energy into developing commerce and industry. Most others are already satisfied with the
material life and spend their time seeking after spiritual fulfillment. They said that in the
1950s, the women's organization provided opportunities such as literacy classes, singing and
discussions on freedom and marriage. What activities does the Women's Federation offer
now? On the contrary, the church holds services of worship every week with singing, and
encouragement to do good. In Yangchen Village there are 84 young Christian women all
under the age of 35. They have benefited by religion. Also they believe that after becoming
Christians they have to work harder to exceed in production and to turn in their share due to
the government. They claim that by doing so, they improve the image of Christianity among
their people.
The expansion of churches in Lai-an, especially the involvement of women, is a
lesson for party cadres and the Women's Federation. In the realm of ideology, theism will
have a chance only if atheism does not work harder. At the same time it should be
recognized that Christianity as a religion has its complex, historical, mass, ethnic and
international characteristics, and is protected by the Chinese Constitution. The correct
handling of religion should be to educate cadres to implement religious freedom on one hand,
while on the other hand to improve the work of political education and grassroots women's
work.
The two extremes of attitudes resulting in the lack of understanding for government
policies toward religion are to either avoid relating to the religious sector or to interfere with
its activities. We should train our cadres to safeguard normal religious activities, to respect
the feelings of Christians, and at the same time encourage Christians to love their country as
much as they love their church, and to obey the law. Some teachings of Christianity such as
respecting the elderly, loving the young, being kind to neighbors, turning from evil to good,
are good for community life in the village. The positive elements are constructive to socialist
society. As cadres, it is not our responsibility to eliminate the negative aspects of Christianity.
We should encourage the clergy and church leaders themselves to do so.
On the grassroots level, the Women's Federation should improve the quality of its
work. A specialist should carry on the responsibility of family planning, freeing the Women's
Federation to work with women in other areas to improve their quality of life. When the
Women's Federation succeeds in helping women to strengthen their families, it will then win
the love and trust of women.
Ethnic Minority Christians of NW Guizhou -
(Excerpts from a research paper by Li Ya-ding)
Christianity is spreading widely among minority groups in Guizhou, especially in the
west and northwest autonomous regions. This report will concentrate on the township of Liu
Pan Shui and its surrounding areas populated by the Miao and Yi peoples. The town itself is a
railroad stop between Guiyang and Kunming. Most of the Han population had migrated here
from other provinces when the railroad was built. Few of them are Christians. Among the
Miao and Yi people in the countryside, the number of Christians has grown to 25,000 since
1981. There are more than 200 congregations within the county. For example, in Ping Qing
Brigade there were only 28 Christians at the time of Liberation. Now there are 178. The
brigade is composed of 75 households. Except for one Miao and nine Han families, all others
are Christians. They make up 86% of the brigade population. In neighboring Xin Jie Brigade,
331 of the 636 residents are Christians, while in Ci Ping Commune, 35% of the population
belong to the church. The Miao people in this community are all Christians. Among them
56% are young people under 18. Even some Communist party members and cadres have
joined the church.
According to this study, church membership increased most significantly between the
Cultural Revolution and 1980. Two sociological reasons are suggested:
a) The ethnic minority people in the isolated mountain regions are very mobile.
Families would pack up their belongings in baskets on their backs and uproot themselves
frequently to follow wherever their livelihood would lead them. Marriages often take place
within one's ethnic group with very few cases of intermarriage. At the end of the 19th
Century, western missionaries reached the area to establish medical and educational work as
well as setting up churches. They systematize the Miao language and helped in the translation
of the Miao Bible. In Guizhou, Christianity was sometimes known as the "Miao religion."
The mobility of the people and the close family ties helped the spread of Christianity into
remote areas. In more recent years the Miao regions remain very poor, with very little
entertainment or cultural activities. Some have never seen a movie or television. Within the
Christian community, meetings are held regularly with preaching, singing and music
ensembles. This attracted many young people. In time of illness or crisis, Christians do not
panic or resort to witchcraft. They pray to their God. Often outsiders are moved by what they
see in the Christians and want to join the church.
b) Ultra-leftist persecution during the Cultural Revolution had actually driven many to
Christianity. Some local cadres had misused their authority by withholding food and relief
supplies from Christians in need, or taking away from Christians the rights to attend school or
become teachers. These only led to fear, distrust and dissatisfaction. For example, in some
areas the church activities were banned as early as the 1950s. Services of worship were then
conducted in secret or out in the fields. Attendance at these services range from several
dozens to a thousand people. In 1968 when local cadres heard of a thousand Christians
meeting in the mountains, they organized more than 60 militia, with guns and sticks on hand,
to try to disperse the meeting. They found themselves surrounded by a thousand Christians
who succeeded in disarming, them.
These incidents continued even after the Cultural Revolution ended. In March 1979
over a thousand Miao Christians gathered in a valley to celebrate Christmas. It was reported
as an act of Miao rebellion which called for local cadres and militia to surround the meeting
place. What they saw was a surprise to them. The Christians were not having a riot. Instead
they sat orderly and peacefully, singing hymns and listening to a sermon. Those who came
with arms quietly retreated.
An important reason for the spread of Christianity is the witness of Christians, who
stand in solidarity with one another, sharing joys and pains, helping those in need. During the
Cultural Revolution when church leaders were put on trial, Christians stood by their leaders,
wiping the perspiration from their faces, feeding them rice and water, comforting them with
tenderness and affection. These acts of love won the admiration of many observers who later
joined the church.
Recognizing that these "religious issues" were intertwined with ethnic and racial
questions, a cadre of the Bureau of Religious Affairs once said: "A policy of high pressure
not only failed to diminish religion, it had been helpful to their 'God.' Such a policy is also
damaging to the nation and to our people."
Experiencing Christianity among ethnic minority people first hand led to a better
understanding of the "confusion" which had been a concern of the national church. There
were rumors that the minority Christians practice exorcism, faith-healing, charismatic
speaking in tongues, interpretation of visions and dreams. Suspicion was raised that they have
"spiritual songs and dances." The fact remains that Miao and Yi people are gifted in music,
and they love to sing and dance. For centuries before Christianity reached them it has been a
custom for men and women, young and old to gather and celebrate with singing and dancing.
Now that they have accepted Christ, their songs became hymns of praise and they dance to
express their Christian faith. These expressions are a natural part of their culture and tradition.
Faith healing and exorcism, on the other hand, indicate the desperate reaching out for
help in time of crises when medical facilities are limited or unaffordable. These attempts
should not simply be written off as heresy. During the Cultural Revolution nearly all Bibles
and religious books had been burned. Many church leaders died from persecution. The
absence of Bibles and proper leadership added to the "confusion" when people with no
training took charge. Still there are people who had suffered during the Cultural Revolution
and whose "status" had yet to be cleared by the authorities. Some of them have a large
following. Concern and understanding would win their cooperation, and eliminate the
possibility of further "confusion."
After the Cultural Revolution many cadres were reluctant to be involved with
religious groups either for lack of understanding or fear of again making mistakes. To
implement the post-Cultural Revolution religious policy, the Bureau of Religious Affairs
helped in returning property to the churches and called Christians together to explain
government policies to them. Many cadres joined Christians in the renovation of churches.
They shared in the labor, had meals with the Christians and tried to be their friends. To the
Christians who had been wronged, they made public apologies. By 1984 all those who had
been persecuted during the Cultural Revolution had been reinstated.
With the improvement of relationship between government and the church, there is a
spirit of cooperation shared by ethnic minority Christians and their fellow citizens. Some
churches had offered the use of their space to hold literacy classes. Many Christians had
become model farmers and model workers.
A Meeting Point - Wen Bin
According to statistics given by the national Three-Self and China Christian Council
in 1986, there are over ten thousand meeting points located in all parts of the country. What
is a meeting point like? On a Sunday in December I visited one in Tao Pu Village outside of
Shanghai. After attending the service of worship we sat down with brothers and sisters of
the congregation and talked about the situation there.
The congregation had its beginning about 10 years ago, when an elderly Christian
woman who was confined to her home began a prayer and Bible study group in her home.
Soon others joined her. As the group expanded it became a meeting point with more than 80
members. Presently the service takes place in the home of another elderly woman who lives
alone and makes her house as well as a court yard (about 30 square meters) for the services
of worship.
Predominately women, members of this congregation are largely retired workers and
their families. We also saw a number of young women in the group. In general they are not
well educated. Some of the older women cannot read or write. They have difficulty reading
the Bible. But they are very sincere in their faith. The Lord asks us to worship in spirit and
in truth. This is exactly the way that Tao Pu Christians are. They said that through services
of worship their spiritual needs are met. Participating in Bible study is a way to improve
themselves. Therefore they like to come together. Although they cannot articulate their faith
in any sophisticated way, they have all experienced the grace of God. They said: "God loves
us. We love God and love people."
Many who have believed in God made changes in their lives. This gives the meeting
point a good reputation in the village. One third of the Christians have been awarded as
model families. While there we were told two concrete examples: There was a woman who
used to have a hot temper. She constantly quarreled with her neighbors with the slightest of
reasons. All her neighbors were afraid of her, but she took pride in being aggressive, thinking
that no one would dare to take advantage of her. After she came to the meeting point she
began to understand the Scriptures. She had experienced love and she was able to love others.
One day a neighbor's child, while carrying out the garbage spilled the whole pile on her steps.
Instead of accusing the child the way she would have done in the past, she quietly cleaned up
the garbage. All her neighbors noticed this and were surprised at the change.
Another woman had been a chain-smoker since she was 18. For 54 years had tried to
get rid of the habit without success. After coming to the meeting point, she lost her desire to
smoke. She finally got rid of the habit.
God has been leading in the birth and growth of this meeting point. From the
beginning the growth has been natural. Time has come when the community feels the need
for more organization and leadership by someone who has been trained in theology to nurture
them and to officiate in the sacraments of baptism and holy communion. They need someone
to manage the finance properly. Two years ago they took the initiative to seek help from the
Shanghai municipal Three-Self and Christian Council. After consultation with them, the
church assigned the meeting point to the care of Puan Church.
Presently, the work of the Tao Pu meeting point is carried out by a committee of four
persons who have the responsibilities in preaching, visiting and business matters. On the
fourth Sunday of each month a pastor from the Puan Church would come and lead in worship
as well as moderating the session. The meeting point is completely self-supporting., but they
keep a record at the Puan Church. The sacraments have been celebrated with the help of Puan
clergy. Last year 35 new Christians were accepted into the church after examination and
interview. Thirty of them went to Puan Church to be baptized by immersion, while five older
members in poor health took the baptism by sprinkling officiated by a pastor who came from
the Puan Church. This was the first time in ten years that the meeting point had a service of
baptism.
The half-day visit to Tao Pu meeting point was brief, but left a deep impression on the
visitors. The premise was neat and clean and the service was well conducted. The devotion to
God and the close knit relationship was obvious. In China today, meeting points proliferate
because of many objective reasons. Yet they share much in common in origin and
development. In the rural areas, most Christians have had little education. Many leaders of
meeting points have not had formal training in theology. Many do not understand the Three-
Self principle fully. Some of them do not have proper Christian nurture and they lack
management skills. However, I think that if pastors and church workers show their concern
and reach out to the meeting points in their areas, the linkage between churches and meeting
points can solve many of their problems, just as the meeting point of Tao Pu has done.
T. C. Chou Centennial
In April, Zhao Zi-chen (T.C. Chao, 1888-1979) would have been 100 years old. His
birth was remembered on Easter Sunday at a special service held in Beijing's Zhongshan Park
with 200 attending. Sponsors of the event were the Beijing Municipal Christian Council,
Yanjing (Yen Ching) University Alumni Association and the United Front Department of the
Communist Party.
An outstanding theologian, poet, hymn writer and Confucian scholar, T.C. Chao was
born in Zhejiang Province and became a Christian in 1907. With a Master's degree from
Vanderbilt University, Tennessee, he became principal of Yanjing School of Theology in
Beijing. In 1947 he received an honorary doctorate from Princeton University.
Attending the First Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Amsterdam in
1948, T. C. Chao was elected to be one of its six presidents. However, he resigned from this
post in the early 1950s in protest against American involvement in and the WCC stance on
the Korean War.
Chao was one of the first five religious leaders to be selected as members of the
national Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in 1949. During the
late 1950s campaign against intellectuals and again during the Cultural Revolution in the
mid-1960s he was denounced and severely humiliated. He died in 1979, just at the time when
churches in China began to be reopened. One of his most famous hymns, "Rise to Greet the
Dawn" (Golden Breaks the Dawn), is well loved around the world.
Catholics
New Bishop for Shanghai
On March 3, 1988, Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian became primate of the Diocese of
Shanghai to succeed the Most Reverend Louis Zhang Jiashu who died at the age of 96 on
February 25th.
Bishop Jin was born into a Catholic family in Chuansha County near Shanghai. As a
Jesuit, he studied in France, Germany and Italy and completed a Th.D. degree in 1951. Back
in China, he had spent 18 years in prison. To date he has not joined the Catholic Patriotic
Association as a member.
Since 1982 Bishop Jin has been principal of the Shanghai Institute of Philosophy and
Theology (also known as the She Shan Theological Seminary) which now has 127 students
preparing for the priesthood.
In 1985 Bishop Jin was consecrated as an auxiliary bishop of Shanghai Diocese. He
has traveled to Europe, U.S.A. and other countries in recent years.
Bishop Gong Pinmei Reinstated
One of the last Chinese bishops appointed by the Vatican in 1950 was Gong Pinmei (known
internationally as Ignatius Kung) of Shanghai. In 1955 he was sentenced to life imprisonment
for treason, and spent 28 years in jail. (Maryknoll Bishop James Walsh, who served his
sentence in the same prison, was released in 1970 and expelled from China.) In 1985 Bishop
Gong was released on parole and placed in the care of Bishop Louis Zhang Jiashu, who had
succeeded Gong as Bishop of Shanghai thirty years earlier.
Bishop Gong is now 87. Since January 1988 his political rights have been restored. He is at
present visiting relatives in the United States.
New Bishops in Hunan
Xin Hua News reported that with two new Catholic bishops installed in Changsha last
December, the number of Chinese bishops has increased to 56. Of these, 53 have been
appointed by the Catholic Church in China without Vatican approval. Twenty-two (22) new
bishops were newly ordained since 1979.
In 1980 there was only one Catholic church functioning in the whole country -
Nantang, the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception in Beijing. Now there are more than 2,100
churches reopened, plus many more congregations meeting in the countryside. For Catholics
there are 112 dioceses in China, with 1,700 ordained clergy. The estimated number of
Catholics in China is 3.3 million which includes 220,000 baptized between 1980 and 1987.
Since 1982 the church has reopened seven major and four minor seminaries with 700
men in training for the priesthood. In recent years more than 20 local convents have been
receiving young women as novices for sisterhood.
Catholics in China are proud of their 1,600 church members who were awarded model
workers. Also 960 Catholics are serving as members of people's congresses and political
consultative conferences on national, provincial and local levels.
Catholic Intelligentia Association of Shanghai
When a delegation of Shanghai Catholics visited Hong Kong several years ago, they
were most impressed by the variety of social services sponsored by Hong Kong Catholics.
Upon their return they founded the Catholic Intelligentia Association of Shanghai (CIAS) in
1986. As a service organization, it encourages Catholics with special skills, especially those
who have retired from their professional services, to volunteer their time and make a
contribution to the welfare of society.
A third of CIAS members are trained medical personnel. They provide services such
as in medical teams to visit nearby villages to give free medical treatment. Usually such an
event is co-sponsored by the local Catholic church but the service is for anyone in need,
regardless of their faith.
The association also sponsors a hospice program, and an evening school giving language
instructions in French and German. Director of the language program is Paul Xu Baikang, a
lawyer and llth generation descendent of Paul Xu Guangqi who as a high official of the Ming
Court accepted Christianity from Matteo Ricci in 1583. Xu helped Ricci in the translation of
science texts which aided in China's effort of modernization in the 16th and 17th Century. Xu
Jia Hui District where the present Cathedral of Shanghai is located was once the property
belonging to the Xu family.
Catholic Fisherfolk
In an article published in Maryknoll, April 1988, Donald MacInnis wrote about "Faith
of Fishing Families" in the lower Yangtze region. When Catholicism first went to China,
missionaries were culturally sensitive and understanding. They were willing to make
accommodations to Chinese custom of paying respects to their ancestors. However, the Rites
Controversy which lasted 150 years resulted in a decree by Pope Clement XI in 1704 to
repudiate Chinese "rites." The emperor Kangxi retaliated by expelling all foreign
missionaries from China.
However, some of the missionaries who did not leave were hidden and protected by
fishing families on the rivers and inland waterways of today's Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.
In secret they held mass and led in prayers. The fishing families kept their faith. For
generations they taught the Bible and catechism to their young. Parents gave their babies
"conditional baptism" which was passed on through the centuries. Today 97% of the 10,000
descendents of these faithful fishing people are practicing Catholics.
Amity
In 1988, the Amity Printing Press just outside of Nanjing expects to produce 600,000
copies of the Bible. This is twice as many as the original projection of 300,000 copies. Some
of these will be New Testaments with Psalms in simplified characters which are being taught
in schools and therefore more intelligible to younger people. The increased production goals
for 1988 means that more funding is needed: $486,000 for the purchase and shipping of
special Bible paper to the press. North American Christians can make a contribution through
their denominational channels (for Presbyterians it is the Extra Commitment Fund) which
then release the funds through the American Bible Society to the Amity Press.
* * * * *
An ecumenical Task Force has recruited Amity teachers for the academic year 1988-
89. Candidates selected have been recommended to the Amity Foundation. After final
approval, they will attend a week-long orientation program sponsored by the National
Council of Churches China Program from June 24 to July 1 at the Agape Center in New York
before leaving for China in August. Some of the teachers are:
Erik C. Colberg (Lutheran) Larry N. Martin (American Baptist)
Krystin S. Granberg (Presbyterian) Peter L. Tibbetts (Presbyterian)
John W. Hazewinkel (Lutheran) Peter b. Weatherly (Episcopalian)
Henry M. Huey (U.C.C.) Stewart G. Weaver (Presbyterian)
John E. Ingulsrud (Lutheran) Elizabeth Webster-Schillington & (Presbyterian)
Franklin R. Kuhlman (Methodist) John W. Webster-Schillington (Presbyterian)
Martha R. Kuhlman (Methodist)
* * * * *
From an Amity Teacher's Letter:
"I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience in China. Teaching has been quite demanding but
also a lot of fun. I have kept my 'free time' full with Chinese lessons, calligraphy lessons, Chi
Gong, some Tai Ji and various musical activities. Being a musician I have found the
traditional Chinese instruments and the folk songs fascinating. _So much can be learned
about a culture through the arts.
"At Christmas and Easter I played the piano for a small church nearby. This church hadn't
had the Hallelujah Chorus as part of its Easter celebration since before Liberation so an older
woman who is a dear friend of mine asked me to play it as a postlude. There wasn't a pipe
organ, or a 100-member choir, the piano was out of tune and some of the notes stuck, but
somehow it didn't matter. The congregation was so excited to have such a beautiful piece of
music as part of their celebration of Easter.
"In many ways I feel I have just begun to scratch the surface of learning about China and its
people. ...."
Beth Mattingly
Fuzhou, Fujian Province
Education
While the Seventh National People's Congress and the CPPCC were in session this
spring, eighteen university students and one teacher staged a peaceful demonstration in
Tiananmen Square on April 10th to demand more funding for education and better pay for
teachers.
Though their voices were not actually heard by many delegates to the national bodies,
proposals were already being put forward inside the meeting halls to stress the need for
speeding up education reform. The congress had decided to make an increase of 12.2% in the
national budget for education.
It is obvious that education is the key to modernization which China has set as its top
national priority. However, the state of the education system has been a great concern. One of
the main causes for student demonstrations in December 1986 was the failure of education
reform to keep pace with the rest of the reform efforts. The expansion of higher education is
sometimes seen as sporadic, ignoring social needs and lacking in direction. For example, the
number of universities in China jumped to 1,054 in 1986, nearly twice as many as that of
1978. Often a new university was built at phenomenal cost with little fund left for the library,
qualified teachers or necessary facilities to make it a sound institution of higher learning.
While the building of these tertiary educational enterprises absorbed enormous sums of
money, primary, secondary and vocational education suffered. Teachers on the lower levels
receive not only low salaries, but inferior status as well.
In the United States, a Symposium on Education in China took place at Harvard
University on April 30, 1988. A paper presented by Professor Xie Ding-yu of Brown
University was excerpted for New York's China Daily News on April 19th. It pointed out that
according to the census of 1982, 31.9% of China's population are either illiterate or semi-
illiterate, although this is already a great improvement of the 1950 figure which is 90%
illiteracy. Three of the demographic charts used by Professor Me are reproduced here to give
a general view of primary, secondary and vocational schools in China. Worth noting is the
decrease in the number of students in schools. Population change and economic reasons are
given for the decrease. The two important factors related to economics are: 1) inadequate
state funding for education and 2) material incentives of economic reforms which drive
young people into the labor market instead of seeking more education that might not
necessarily lead to better income in the future. The lack of qualified teachers is a problem
underscored by Xie. At present 64% of the funding for education comes from the State, while
28% is from enterprises and only 8% is from the local community (including student fees).
China spends only $20 a year for each primary student and $50 for a secondary (high school)
student. In the United States $2,600 is spent on every primary or secondary school student.
A recent New York Times front page article on China's "new" policy on sending
college and graduate students abroad had caused China's rebuttal on a number of occasions
when officials of the State Education Commission met with foreign visitors. China insists that
the report of their planning a drastic reduction in their number of students abroad, especially
to the U.S.A. is groundless. Beginning in 1979, three categories of Chinese students have
been going abroad for studies: 1) state-funded, 2) enterprise or institution sponsored and 3)
private students. Since 1980, the policy has been to send 3,000 state-funded students abroad
each year. This number has not changed and will remain the same in 1988. It is true, however,
that more state-funded students by percentage will be sent to European countries, resulting in
a decrease in those going to the U.S.A. It has already been announced that 4,600 students will
come to the U.S.A. this year. Of these, 600 are state-funded and 4,000 are sponsored by
institutions or enterprises.
Since 1980, China has sent 40,000 students to 70 countries. So far 20,000 have returned
to work in China. There is a growing concern that many students presently studying in the
U.S.A. plan to delay their return or not to return
at all. The government has made an appeal to these students to "put the interest of the nation
before personal interest."
Places mentioned in this issue
I Chengdu p. l
2 Lai-an, Anhui p.2
3 N.W. Guizhou p.4
4 Shanghai p.7&9
5 Beijing p.8
6 Changsha p.9
7 Fuzhou, Fujian p.11
8 Longhai, Fujian p.12
9 Hainan p.16
A. Primary Schools B. Secondary Schools
Year No. No. Students % of No. Schools No. Students Jr. High /
Schools children in Sr. High
school
1949 346,800 24,000,000 25.0 4,045 1,039,000
1965 1,681,900 116,000,000 84.7 18,102 9,338,000
1966 103,417,000 12,498,000
1968 13,923,000
1970 26,419,000
1971 112,112,000
1972 125,492,000 35,825,000
1973 135,704,000
1974 144,814,000 36,503,000
1975 150,941,000 44,661,000
1976 1,044,300 150,055,000 95+ 192,152 58,365,000 Jr.: 43,529,000
Sr. : 14,836.000
1977 146,176,000 67,799,000
1978 146,240,000 65,483,000
1979 923,500 146,629,000 93.0 144,233 59,050,000 Jr.; 46,130,000
Sr.: 12,920,000
1980 146,270,000 55,081,000
1981 694,074 143,328,000 106,718 48,595,600 Jr.:41,4445,800
Sr.: 7,149,800
1982 139,710,000 45,285,000 Jr.: 38,880,000
Sr.: 6,405,000
1983 155,790,000 43,977,000
1984 45, 542,000
1985 93,221 47,060,000
1987 131,800,000 96.4
C. Vocational High Schools
Technical/Teachers Agricultural/Others
No. Students No. Students
Schools Schools
1949 1,171 229.000
1957 1,320 778,0o0
1965 1,265 547,000 61,626 4,433,000
1976 2,445 690,000
1979 3,055 1,199.000
1980 3,069 1,243,000 3,314 455,600
390 voca 135,600
2,924 agri 320,000
1981 3,132 1,069,000 2,655 430,900
561 voca 213,100
2,094 agri 267,800
1982 1,039.000 704,000
1983 1,143,000
1984 1,322,000
1985 3,557 1,571,000 8,070 2,295,000
People
Bishop K. H. Ting, President of China Christian Council was awarded a Doctor of
Divinity degree by St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota on April 18, 1988. During his
brief visit to the United States Bishop Ting spoke at Luther Northwestern Theological
Seminary and St. Anthony Park Lutheran Church in the Minneapolis area, met with students
and faculty at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and lectured at Randolph-
Macon College in Ashland, Virginia. He was also a guest at the General Board of Global
Ministries, United Methodist Church meeting in St. Louis in May.
Bishop Ting had just attended the Seventh National People's Congress (NPC) in
Beijing, where he was elected a member of the NPC Standing Committee which is the
Parliament for China. Not all of its 135 members belong to the Communist Party. About 30%
of them represent other organizations, women, the religious, commercial and industrial
sectors. Another Protestant serving in this committee is Zhao Fu-san, a vice chairman of the
national Three-Self. Pu Jie, younger brother of Pu Yi (Last Emperor of China) is also a
member.
Pastor Peter Tsai (Cai Wenhao) and his wife Eleanor (Yang Lufu) have been invited
by the National Council of Churches and the Presbyterian Church (USA) for a two-month
visit to the United States beginning on May 25, 1988. Pastor Tsai, a vice president of the
China Christian Council, will be the first representative of the post-denominational church in
China to attend the Presbyterian (USA) General Assembly which meets in St. Louis from
June 5 to 15 to celebrate its 200th Anniversary. During their stay in the USA the Tsai's are
participating in many other events including Global Village at Stony Point, New York, the
Amity Teachers Orientation, special program sponsored by Pittsburgh area churches, and the
Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women at West Lafayette, Indiana. Peter Tsai will
receive a "Distinguished Alumnus Award" from Princeton Theological Seminary on May
27th.
Earlier in May Pastor Tsai was elected to the Standing Committee of the Chinese
People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), an advisory body to the National
People's Congress. Other Christians serving in the 280-member committee include Luo
Guanzhong a vice chairman of the National Protestant Three-Self Movement, and three
Catholic Bishops: Bishop Michael Fu Tieshan of Beijing, the newly elected Bishop Aloysius
Jin Luxian of Shanghai, and Bishop Zhong Huaide who heads the Catholic Church in China.
In the larger national CPPCC, several other Protestant leaders are also members:
Shen Derong, Secretary General of the National Three-Self; Han Wenzao, Secretary
General of the Amity Foundation; Bishop Wang Shenyin of Shangdong; Rev. Xiong Zhenpei
of Guangzhou; Li Shoubao of the YMCA; Phoebe Shi Ruzhang of the YMCA, Ms. Wang
Juying, a scientist and the Rev. Ms. Wu Ai-en, a Korean minority who serves in Shenyang's
Xita Korean Church. She is also a vice president of the Liaoning Provincial Christian Council.
* * * * *
In April President Corazon Aquino of the Philippines met with top Chinese leaders in
Beijing to affirm Sino-Philippines ties. Li Peng, the newly elected Premier, promised to
deliver 10,000 tons of rice to her country as relief grain to help the victims of drought there.
Before reaching Beijing, Aquino visited Hongzhan Village in Longhai County, Fujian
Province where her grandfather Xu Shangzhi had lived. A thousand villagers waving yellow
banners and flags of the two countries waited for her arrival on April 14th. As she entered the
village, they lit firecrackers and led in a procession of southern Fujian folk dances. Aquino
met with Xu family relatives including an uncle, and greeted them in Chinese. As a "daughter
of Hongzhan Village" she contributed US $15,000 to the building of a children's playground
for young villagers.
Book Review
by Irene Ng
Associate for Women's Program,
PC(USA)
Chinese Lives
an oral history of contemporary China by Zhang Xinxin and Sang Ye. New York: Pantheon
Books, 1987, 367 pp., $18.95
Chinese Lives is a gem. Sixty-four stories thoughtfully selected from well over one
hundred pieces reflect the diversity of the original interviews and the experiences of the
Chinese people in the 1980s. These original monologues collected by two Chinese reporters
were translated into colloquial English which makes reading lively and engaging.
The stories are divided into seventeen topical categories which gives a cohesive
wholeness to the book. The book includes a map of China, an excellent editors' introduction,
a chronology of principal events mentioned in the book, and a note on pronunciation.
Covering such an enormous range of people's lives -- poverty, energy, age, envy,
brutality, change, corruption, honesty -- the book gives the reader an amazing scope of the
Chinese world. You will marvel at how ordinary people dealt with stress and change, how
they did or did not survive. We see a seamier side of urban life in the 1930s in the story of a
woman working in a silk mill, stories of the Japanese occupation of Manchuria, the civil war
that ended with Communist victory and the founding of the People's Republic in October
1949.
From glimpses of life in city and countryside, work and leisure, housework and child
care, parents and grandparents, we also hear of labor saving devices such as modern
convenience appliances beginning to appear, money to spare for leisure activities, young
people finding places to meet to let off energy and help relieve boredom. The stories continue
on education, community life, work, peasant in rural communes, famines, the cost of the
Cultural Revolution with wounds that are taking long to heal. Again and again we see
changing pictures of China. Private enterprises once condemned as capitalist are being
encouraged with economic reform and liberalization.
I laughed over the humorous parts, cried over the disintegration of families.
Sometimes I laid the book aside because the stories were too intimate; I felt like an
eavesdropper.
Chinese Lives is a wonderful way to discover what it is like to live in contemporary
China. It is a great gift book. I received my copy from my oldest son as a Christmas gift. It
means a great deal to me, for in doing this, he is affirming his racial ethnic heritage.
Hainan Island
Hainan, China's second largest island after Taiwan, became a province in April 1988
with approval of the National People's Congress. China has decided to turn the entire island
into the biggest Special Economic Zone (SPZ) to develop its economy and attract foreign
investments. Already doing very well are the other four SEZs: Shen-zhen (north of Hong
Kong), Zhu-hai (next to Macau), Xiamen (Amoy) and Shan-tou (Swatow).
Haiko will be the capital of this new province which up to this spring had been a part
of Guangdong province on the coast of the South China Sea. A significant proportion of its
population of 5.8 million are of ethnic minority groups - the Li and Miao tribes who have
their own autonomous regions within the island.
Sometimes called the "Hawaii of the Orient," Hainan is known for its zig-zag
mountains, white sand beaches and jungle forests with a variety of tropical fruits. Tea and
rubber plantations are already well developed while coffee is being added to the list of its
main productions. It is also expected to be a top tourist attraction.
* * * * *
China News Update is an occasional newsletter for Presbyterians and others interest in
China. Compiler and Translator: Jean Woo
China News Update
Presbyterian Church (USA)
475 Riverside Drive, Room 1144
New York, New York 10115
