Salvation and Revolution
A Twentieth Century Odyssey of the Chinese Protestant Mind

By (author) Zexi Sun,Jesse Zexi Sun

ISBN13: 9780197809884

Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc

Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

Format: Hardback

Published: 08/10/2025

Availability: Not yet available

Description
Salvation and Revolution traces the intricate paths of Chinese Protestant intellectuals as they grappled with their Christian faith amidst the upheavals of modern China. Beginning with the fall of the Qing Dynasty and journeying through the tumultuous Cultural Revolution, this book considers the lives of figures like Zhao Zichen, Wu Yaozong, and Cai Yongchun, who strove to align Christianity with the nation's quest for renewal. Initially championing a "Liberal Synthesis," these intellectuals sought to fuse liberal Christian ideals with patriotic fervor, viewing Christianity as a catalyst for moral progress, social reform, and global solidarity. But as China wrestled with internal strife, the Japanese invasion, and the ascent of the Chinese Communist Party, their theological paths diverged. Wu Yaozong veered toward socialism and embraced the CCP as a vehicle for national salvation and purified Christianity. In contrast, Zhao Zichen and Cai Yongchun adopted more conservative theological positions, emphasizing God's transcendence and pursuing spiritual transformation amid these crises. In this deeply researched book, Jesse Zexi Sun follows these thinkers' struggles to adapt to the demands of the early People's Republic of China, their efforts to sustain religious expression under intensifying state control, and the profound challenges they confronted during the Cultural Revolution. Despite theological rifts, public denunciations, and personal suffering, these intellectuals remained unwavering in their conviction that Christianity deserved a vital place in China's future. Salvation and Revolution illuminates the complex interplay between faith and nationalism, revealing tensions between universal religious claims and China's unique context, and how these thinkers sought to navigate them.
Introduction: Chinese Christian Intellectuals 1: The Liberal Synthesis: Path to National Salvation in Postimperial China 2: From Social Gospel to Socialism: Turning Left to Save China 3: Reclaiming the Supernatural: Resistance and Submission in Wartime China 4: Diverging Visions, Converging Paths: Seeking Salvation in the Chinese Civil War 5: Thwarted Adaptations: Reconstructing Christianity in the Early PRC 6: Surviving the Valley of the Shadow of Death: Protestant Intellectuals in the Cultural Revolution Afterword: Thinking History in the Present
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List Price: £86.00