Philip
Jenkins
Institute for Studies of Religion
Baylor
University
READING HENRIETTA HARRISON, THE
MISSIONARYÕS CURSE
We have already
touched on Christian expansion in China in several earlier classes, and listed
several themes in that story, several of the perennial conflicts. These
include, for instance, the faithÕs association with foreign influences; its
challenge to traditional Chinese society and values; its possibly subversive
role; and its difficulty in establishing a grass roots presence among ordinary
Chinese people. Nevertheless, Christianity kept on surviving through repeated
purges and persecutions, and returned even after it seemed to have been
altogether rooted up.
Based on The MissionaryÕs Curse, I will be
focusing on one major question: Why do you think Chinese Christianity has
survived and flourished under such seemingly impossible circumstances?
You can find a
review of the book here.
Just by way of
background, you might like to look up material on historical events like the Boxer Rebellion
and the Cultural Revolution.
Writing The Book
From its title
and subtitle, it is obvious that the author is not presenting a straight
academic history. In what way? How does her account differ from, say, a
standard history of Catholicism in one province or village in a particular
period?
And why ÒTalesÓ?
What is she referring to here? What does she mean by Òjust-soÓ stories (p.2)?
What older author does she have in mind?
What is her
methodology? How does this differ from standard archival or documentary
research? What are the advantages or drawbacks of the oral history approach she
adopts?
What do we learn
about how she went about her research?
This is an
example of microhistory, defined as Òasking large questions in
small places.Ó What are the pluses and minuses of this
kind of work?
How does she use
folk-tales and legends? What can such tales reveal, even if they are not
literally or precisely true? Can they legitimately be used as historical
sources? How can a seemingly simple tale reveal larger historical truths, often
without the story-teller meaning to do so?
If you were able
to speak to these believers, are there any questions that you would want to ask
them yourself, over and above what Harrison asks? Are there issues of belief or
practice that might not strike an observer even to ask about?
The Theme
Harrison tells
the story of Catholicism in ÒCave Gully,Ó a village in Shanxi Province. She shows how Catholic Christianity
became so embedded in the village that it was able to survive and continue
despite repeated waves of repression.
She explicitly
focuses on Catholicism, which is of course only one component of the Christian
spectrum. Do you think her findings would apply to other denominations? What
would or would not translate to other Christian traditions?
Harrison shows
that while China certainly did not convert overnight to Christianity, many
Chinese not only accepted the faith but imported it wholly into their lives and
made it Chinese, often in ways that horrified Euro-Americans. What aspects of
the religion did they take on board most enthusiastically?
How do
HarrisonÕs findings relate to SannehÕs arguments about translation and the
vernacular principle?
What does the
book tell us about processes of acculturation?
What does the
book suggest about the ways of writing Christian history, from the top down or
the bottom up? How do we see the picture differently when we use a bottom-up
approach? What do we learn that we would not see just by going through official
documents and church statements?
Which of the
stories that we hear in the book particularly impressed or horrified you? Which
made the strongest impression?
How have trends
in global trade and communication resonated even in this remote village? What
have been the religious implications?
People
Focusing on
individuals is always a good way to get into the story and its twists and
turns. Harrison particularly highlights some crucial figures, including Bishop
Grioglio, Francesco Fazzini, Barnaba Nanetti, Zhao Yuquian, Duan Runcheng, and
the ÒFour Fragrances.Ó What other memorable characters do we encounter, and
what do their stories tell us?
Conflicts
Why do so many
of her stories focus on conflicts, especially between local believers and the
wider church?
What were the
sources of conflict and controversy with missionaries and with the established
mainstream church? How far did this result from particular Catholic attitudes
to orthodoxy and uniformity?
Why did local
Catholics themselves try to counteract missionary endeavors?
What were
relations like between Chinese and foreign clergy? What does this tell us about
the churchÕs attitude to promoting local leadership?
How far were
conflicts driven by practical matters like money?
Christianity and China
What do we learn
about the appeal of Christianity in China? How has it differed in various eras
and generations? What is the appeal today?
Why did people
become Christian? How did the forces making for religious change differ in
various eras?
When Chinese
people became Christian, how much did they retain or borrow from older
religious ways? How did the missionaries feel about such borrowings or
survivals?
Over time,
Catholic missionaries varied in the kind of faith they were trying to bring to
China. How did they change? Was any package of ideas and practices more or less
effective than any other?
How easy was it
for ordinary Christians to retain practices from older faiths?
Was Catholic
Christianity particularly appealing because its religious practices meshed with
traditional religion? What aspects of it were most important in that process?
How might
Protestant missionaries have criticized the kind of Christianity that the
Chinese were adopting?
What, if
anything, do we learn about Chinese ChristiansÕ use of the Bible?
What do we learn
about the ways in which Christians presented their religion to outsiders, or
defended it from critics?
What do we learn
about Chinese ChristiansÕ attitude to their ancestors?
What do we learn
about Chinese ChristiansÕ attitude to the Virgin Mary?
What do we learn
about the role of women in these Chinese churches?
What are the
main differences that strike us between Catholic Christianity in China and the
West? How have changes in the West itself made these differences larger over
time?
What do we learn
about the role of healing, visions and miracles in creating and sustaining
faith in Chinese Christianity?
Tell me about
the role of famine and hunger in creating and sustaining faith in Chinese
Christianity.
What do we learn
about ideas of martyrdom in Chinese Christianity?
What analogies
can we see between Christianity in modern China and the way the religion
established itself in the ancient or medieval West?
How do Christians
interact with other faiths?
Missionaries
What does HarrisonÕs
book teach us about the Euro-American missionaries of bygone years? How far did
they succeed in their efforts? What do we learn about how they are remembered?
What were the
bad stereotypes that Chinese often had of missionaries? Do we find cases where
these scandalous images really reflected reality?
Revolution
Much of
HarrisonÕs book concerns the so-called Boxer Rebellion,
a vast and lethal movement with a potent anti-Christian element.
Why does she
devote so much attention to it? Why is it so relevant to her case-study?
What do her
findings tell us about the larger movement, and attitudes to Christianity in China?
Christians and the State
What do we learn
about the modern-day governmentÕs control over remote areas of the country?
How did the
Communist regime try to control Christianity?
Tell me about
the Cultural Revolution and what that meant for religion?
Repeatedly,
Chinese Christians have had to go underground to maintain their faith in times
of persecution. How have they done this? What tactics have they used to remain
hidden from official view? How successful have they been?
What problems do
ordinary Christians face today in co-existing with the Chinese state? What
compromises do they have to make in order to survive?
Is Harrison
optimistic about the continued health of the Catholic church in China?
And hereÕs a
tough one: assume for the sake of argument that you represented the Chinese
authorities. Put yourself in their position for a moment. WHY do you think they
felt so strongly about suppressing Christianity in the past, and only barely
tolerate it today? Why do Chinese authorities, past and present, so detest the
Christians?