New Christian books about China

OPERATION CHINA – Introducing All the Peoples of China
Paul Hattaway, William Carey Library, Pasadena. 2000. 706pp

This book has aptly been published at the start of the new millennium as it opens up exciting new vistas for the evangelism of China’s many people. It is an astonishing tour de force describing nearly 500 distinct people groups in China, 300 of which have never been classified before by Christian researchers.

Each people group is given a page of detailed information with a map showing location and a graph showing the status of evangelization. Let us take the Lakkia people as an example. LOCATION: We are told there were 11,068 Lakkia in 1987 living along both banks of the Jinxiu River in Guangxi. IDENTITY: The Lakkia have been officially classified as part of the Yao nationality. Although culturally similar to the Yao their language is actually a branch of Dong-Shui. LANGUAGE: The Lakkia language is unique among the various Yao groups in China. HISTORY: They arrived in their present area from Guangdong and may have been a Tai group which became assimilated to Yao culture. CUSTOMS: Lakkia houses are long and deep, approached through three or four successive gates. Inside the front gate are cattle and pigs. RELIGION: Most are animists with fewer traces of Daoism than those of other Yao groups. CHRISTIANITY: No known believers. (I have greatly summarized and omitted much other fascinating information.)

This book is lavishly illustrated with color photos of each ethnic group. The careful research is based on specialist books and articles in both Chinese and English which are listed in a 20-page bibliography. However, this scholarship has been combined with much direct field research and a concern to reach the lost with the gospel which makes this book an essential tool for all those burdened to evangelize and pray for China’s many people groups.

For decades, specialists have been used to using the Chinese government’s artificial classification of 56 “national minorities” in China. Hattaway authoritatively shows that this system does not do justice to the rich reality of nearly 500 separate groupings. For instance the “Miao” are shown to consist of 43 different people groups and the “Yi” no less than 119! In many cases the official classification joins together groups who speak mutually unintelligible languages and who should be considered as definite peoples in terms of reaching them with the gospel. The Han Chinese themselves have been broken down into 33 distinct people groups and this reflects the vast differences between, say, Chinese living in Fujian, Shanghai and Beijing. The overriding concern of the government for national unity and the imposition of putonghua as the national language has tended to ignore or downplay these very real differences.

Some of the statistics published have already been outdated, and the author modestly admits that many more new people groups will be discovered within China. However, this magnificent book will remain a key reference work for all Christians concerned for China for years to come.

WITNESSES TO POWER – Stories of God’s Quiet Work in a Changing China
Yamamori & Chan. Paternoster Press (UK & USA), 2000. 110pp.

Tongchuan is a largely mining community in north China, 75 miles north of Xi’an. When the Communists took power in 1949, the church had 20 members. Today there are over 15,000. The main church has a congregation of 2,000 every Sunday and there are 30 registered meeting points as well as many unregistered ones.

The moving story of the persecution and subsequent growth of the church in Tongchuan is just one of twelve stories contained in this book. The testimonies include: that of 95-year-old Granny Jie in Hebei who from her tiny hut helps shepherd a 1,000-strong church near Shijiazhuang… The diary of a Lisu evangelist to the unreached Dulong people in remote villages in northern Yunnan cut off from the outside world for six months of the year by thick snow… The Lahu model Christian villages encouraged by local Party cadres to preach the gospel to drug addicts who are successfully weaned from their destructive habit… The evangelism of Yangshan County in Gansu where ten years ago there was not a single believer — now there are over 1,000 baptized Christians… And many more…

This book gives a good overview of the sheer variety of God’s working in China among peasants, intellectuals, tribal people and even Party members. The appendices give valuable information on the astounding growth of the gospel among the Lisu along the Salween value. Also, the statement issued in 1999 by three theological students expelled from Nanjing Seminary, which is important evidence concerning the current campaign being waged by Bishop Ting to impose a politicized liberal theology on TSPM churches and seminaries.

The well-qualified authors conclude: “This church has humbled missiologists. It has grown between 10 and 20 times during the past few decades — an accomplishment that challenges most contemporary mission and church growth theories. It seems that the Chinese church can manage without many current missions requirements — funding, trained experts, paid staff, social services, outreach stations, sophisticated programs and strategies, favorable social and political conditions, political influence, international support, concentrated media exposure, coordinated activities and public evangelistic rallies. It seems to come down on the most fundamental question in missiology — mission of God or mission of man, power of God or strength of man — firmly on the side of the former.” Much food for thought and prayer here.

BIBLE WOMEN OF CHINA – Stories of Dynamic Faith under Persecution
Paul Estabrooks, Sovereign World. PO Box 777, Tonbridge, Kent TN11 OZS, UK.

It is rare that a booklet warrants a review. This one does — in fact I would go so far as to say every Christian with an interest and a heart for China should read it. The Bible women of China kept the faith alive through the horrendous persecutions of the fifties and sixties. Today these elderly saints continue to exert an amazing influence. Here in the space of 48 moving pages we are introduced to Sister Alice, Aunty Esther, Aunty Mary , Sister Lucy and Sister Ruth.

Ruth’s four children were brutally beaten by the Red Guards. “Peter was lying on the floor, dying. There was none to help me. All I could do was keep my eyes on Jesus.”

The sufferings these women endured were unspeakable, but the grace of God triumphed in them. As the Scriptures state, they were called to testify before rulers — police, Party cadres — and did so fearlessly.

Having had the privilege of meeting a couple of the ladies whose testimonies are included, I can confirm that the stories are true. Today they continue their evangelism — whether witnessing openly on city buses or traveling by gruelling long-distance coach all the way to Lhasa. This booklet at the modest price of £2.99 (US price not availble) can be given away — or sold at ladies’ meetings (and men’s, too!)

A THOUSAND MILES OF MIRACLE (Shenji Qianli)
Archibald Glover. OMF, Hong Kong, PO Box 70505, Kowloon Central, Hong Kong.

This is a new Chinese translation of the classic story of the Glovers’ (who were CIM missionaries) escape from the Boxers in 1900. 208pp. Illustrated. A fine hardback edition.

CHINA’S CHRISTIAN MILLIONS – The Costly Revival

Tony Lambert. Monarch Publications/OMF. ISBN 1 85424 431 0. 256pp.

This book is into its second printing and is now available from Christian outlets in the United States as well as the UK.

CHINA SOURCE

Editor, Brent Fulton, PO Box 4343, Fullerton CA 92834-4343, USA.

Not a book — but a quarterly magazine. Its purpose is “to provide up-to-date and accurate analysis of the issues and opportunities facing Christians involved in China service and to provide a forum for exchanging viewpoints and discussing strategies.”

Recent issues have examined the role of Western Christian professionals in China, the urban explosion, and the role of Chinese intellectuals. Highly recommended. Subscription: $20 US per year.