First, rich and colorful Buddhism
Buddhist factions contend. Ouyang Jian is a giant who only learns knowledge. Based on Indian Yoga Buddhism, he advocated illusory rationalism. But there are also in-depth studies on Hua Yan, Prajna and Nirvana. Twenty-six kinds of "no learning inside and outside" are his representative works. Taixu is the leader of a new Buddhist school. His basic ideas were integrated into Manabu Nakanishi, and he advocated the system of truth and idealism. He is the author of Buddhist books such as Taoist Lun Heng, Lun Yan, Lun Yan Research, Lun Xin Research, Jueshe Series, Lun Buddhism and Buddhism, Xin Shi Xin Lun, and Vimalakīrti Classic Lectures. Xia Yue is a representative of Hua Yan School. She has studied the traditional Hua Yanzong, such as Du Shun's Buddhism and Cheng Guan's works. She often goes to various places to teach Shurangama Sutra, Vimala Sutra and Huayan Sutra. There are books such as Vimalakīrti Classics and Lectures. Hongyi carried forward the Nanshan method and studied Buddhist precepts best. At home, he wrote four Buddhist books, such as Notes on Four Buddhist Methods for Monks and Notes on Nanshan Method. I organized Guanzong Society and Buddhist Research Society to spread the teachings of Tiantai Sect, and wrote Lectures on Jue Yuan Sutra, Notes on Mahayana, Guanzong Lecture and New Notes on Diamond Sutra. Disciples Xu Xian, Dao Jie and Mo An also actively promoted Tiantai Sect. Yin Guang is the thirteenth ancestor of Pure Land Sect. Under his vigorous spread, this Sect has a great influence in Buddhism, and its disciples are all over the world. He is the author of "Pure Land Doubt Cloud" and "Printing Master Paper Money". Xu Ling, a representative of Zen Buddhism, actively presided over the South China and Yunmen Dojo and preached Zen Buddhism, trying to maintain the influence of the Sect. Scholars of various schools have set up their own publications to publicize their own theories and ideas.
At that time, the famous Buddhist publication was Run Sheng (note: it was the most famous Buddhist publication in the Republic of China, founded in 1920 1 month, edited by Taixu, Tang Dayuan and others. The magazine is rich in content, introducing the old and new Buddhism at home and abroad, and especially advocating Buddhist innovation. 1April, 949, it stopped publishing in Chinese mainland, and * * * published ten local volumes. ) Buddhist New Youth, Buddhist Monthly, Buddhist Series, Juequn Weekly, China Buddhist Quarterly, Modern Buddhism, Zheng Xin, Secular Interpretation, Perception, Buddhist Lantern, Buddhist Weekly, and Human Harmony Monthly.
The formation of modern Buddhist groups. 19 12, Jing' an, Daojie and other monks initiated the establishment of the Chinese Buddhist Association. 1929, the Chinese Buddhist Association was established with Taixu as its president, which not only attracted Buddhists, but also attracted people who did not believe in Buddhism but studied Buddhism. The association holds regular Buddhist studies and seminars. 1930, Taixu, Yuan Ying, Xian Di and others held a national Buddhist conference in Shanghai and established the Chinese Buddhist Association as the highest institution of Buddhism in China. However, the old and new factions soon fell out of harmony and the association existed in name only. Generally speaking, during the Republic of China, all provinces and regions in China established modern organizations such as Buddhist associations, which played some roles, but failed to play a big role.
Modernization of Buddhist education. Influenced by the new education in the west and Japan, the Buddhist community in the Republic of China began to provide modern college-style education to Buddhists. Throughout the country, there are many Buddhist colleges founded by monks and laymen. The most famous ones are the Imperial Palace in zhina founded by Ouyang Jian and the Wuchang Buddhist College founded by Taixu. 1922: The Zhina Inner Hospital was established in Nanjing with the aim of "promoting Buddhism, educating all living beings and benefiting the world". Teaching, research, interpretation and translation, testing and other disciplines, as well as classics engraving, publicity, book collection and other disciplines. In the first five years of its establishment, the model focused on teaching students the rules and only knew the essentials; It is argued that lay people have the right to use the abbot's Buddhism to lay the foundation of Buddhist Dojo. Compile and publish the works of only knowledge in Tang Dynasty. From 1928 to 1937, he devoted himself to sorting out Buddhist scriptures and compiled three series of Tibetan Essentials, totaling more than 300 volumes, and collected more than 50 kinds of Buddhist scriptures. 1940, he published the "Carved Tripitaka", which was closed in 1952. * * * Training hundreds of students. Wuchang Buddhist College was founded in 1920. 1922 offered courses on legal consciousness, traditional Buddhism, China philosophy and western philosophy. 1932, the College established the World Buddhist College Library with 22,428 kinds of books. Students in the college can freely learn all kinds of Buddhist teachings and new knowledge such as science, philosophy and foreign languages, and integrate them to cultivate a new generation of Buddhist talents who are proficient in Chinese and Western cultures and full of innovative spirit. Because of its unique school-running style, Wuchang Buddhist College quickly became famous all over the country, became a place for monks and students, and created a new situation in monk education. Under the impetus of Taixu, Ouyang Jian and others, Buddhist colleges have been established in various places, among which the most influential ones are Minnan Buddhist College, Jiangnan Buddhist College, Fayuansi Buddhist College, Henan Buddhist College, Sino-Tibetan Buddhist College, South China Buddhist College, Huayan University and Gokurakuji Buddhist College. Some were founded and presided over by reformists, while others were founded by Xia Yue and other conservatives.
The Buddhist community also sent people to Germany, Japan, India, Sri Lanka and other countries to study ancient Indian Buddhism, tantric Buddhism, Hinayana Buddhism, Sanskrit and Pali. There are many returnees, such as Shousong, Xianyin and Wang Hongyuan.
Shanghai has also set up a Buddhist bookstore to publish Buddhist books. Buddhism craze also prompted other non-professional publishing houses to publish works related to Buddhism, such as Ding's Buddhist Dictionary.
The prosperity of Buddhist studies. Let's talk about the study of Buddhism by the old school of Buddhism. Specifically, it refers to the study of traditional Buddhism by Zen, Tiantai, Huayan, Pure Land, Legalists and others and their groups. The results are quite fruitful, and some monographs have been published. The research scope covers the Mahayana Lotus Sutra, Shurangama Sutra, Diamond Sutra, Vimalakīrti Sutra, Amitabha Sutra, Tibetan Sutra, Sanskrit Sutra, Heart Sutra, Forty-two Chapters Sutra and Mahayana Belief Theory.
A study of taixu new school buddhism. Among Daxu's disciples, France studied Hinayana Buddhism, while Dayong studied Tantric Buddhism. As for Yinshun, few people can keep pace with Hinayana Buddhism in India in terms of clarification and reconciliation. He divided Mahayana Buddhism into three schools, namely, emptiness and nominalism, truth and idealism. He thinks that sexual emptiness and nominalism are the most authoritative and ultimate, which is essentially different from his view that teachers are too vain. Yin Shun's viewpoint has been recognized by the world Buddhist research community. Yinshun has more than 40 books on Buddhism and Buddhist history, such as Notes on Prajna Sutra, Notes on Mahayana Belief and Introduction to Buddhism.
Buddhist studies of laity. Represented by Lu Cheng, Wang, Han and others. Lv Cheng is proficient in Japanese, English, Vatican, Tibetan, French, German and other foreign languages, and has in-depth research on ancient Indian Buddhism, China traditional Buddhism and Tibetan studies. He is the author of The Origin and Development of Buddhism in China, A Brief Introduction to the Origin and Development of Indian Buddhism, The Outline of Inming, Principles of Tibetan Buddhism, A New Catalogue of China Tripitaka, etc. Wang studied epistemology, and wrote books such as Introduction to Buddhism, Ode, and Interpretation of Eight-knowledge Rules. Han is the host of Beijing Society, and also a master of only knowing, and he is the author of A Collection of Notes on Yoga Teachers' Sentences. In addition, Liang Shuming believed in Buddhism when he was young and studied Buddhism as a layman.
Liang Shuming has done a lot of pioneering work for the study of Buddhism. In his research, he insisted on the methods of historical textual research and falsification: attaching importance to the relationship between geography and Buddhism; Pay attention to sorting out and developing Buddhist scriptures, especially primitive Buddhist scriptures; Bibliography introduces Buddhist studies and emphasizes the value of Buddhist scriptures. His research results are quite rich, including "Buddha in the Ice Room".
Chen Yuan's study of Buddhism is mainly in the history of Buddhism. His works include An Introduction to Buddhist Historical Records in China, A Study of Yunnan-Guizhou Buddhism in Ming Dynasty, Notes of Monks in Early Qing Dynasty, etc., which are highly respected in academic circles.
Tang Yongtong is the author of Buddhist History of Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Draft of Buddhist History of Sui and Tang Dynasties, A Brief History of Indian Philosophy and other books, which enjoys a high position in the study of Buddhist history.
Hu Shi studied Zen by using the methods of western learning and Ganjia historiography, and had a good understanding of Zen history, Zen characters and classics, and verified that the Six Ancestors Tanjing was a false scripture. But I don't have my own macro understanding of the meaning and overall characteristics of Buddhism, and I'm afraid so. In Geng's words, "his focus and efforts are not on a thorough understanding of Buddhist teachings and Zen methods, but on revealing history." Hu Shi himself later said simply: "I must admit that I have no affection for Buddhism in terms of religion or philosophy ... 90% or even 95% of Zen is nonsense, forgery, fraud, affectation and posturing (Note: quoted from Geng's" Hu Shi Shuo Chan ",Oriental Publishing House 1993 Betty Wong Edition. )。 "
Another manifestation of the prosperity of Buddhism in the Republic of China was the negotiation and blending of Buddhism and Western learning. On this issue, all parties concerned are also contending. In the relationship between Buddhism and science, there are both "scientific standard theory" and "Buddhism transcends science" and "Buddhism dominates science". On the relationship between Buddhism and the new trend of thought of democracy, freedom, equality and fraternity, on the one hand, Buddhists affirmed the value of the latter, on the other hand, they also pointed out its shortcomings, and after comparing the views of Buddhism and the world on democracy, freedom, equality and fraternity, they came to the conclusion that what Buddhists said was much better than what the world said. The world says that "it is rooted in rights, so those who make promises may not succeed, but they are called chaos first", while Buddhism says that "it is rooted in the heart, so it is rewarded and nirvana is great; And its Chinese newspaper is also good, and the world is auspicious. " Therefore, if human beings want to obtain real modern political civilization and spiritual civilization, they can only "preach Buddhism and follow the heart of Buddhism" (Note: Xing Dingyun's New Youth of Buddhism, Volume I, No.1,1February 923. )。
In the relationship between Buddhism and Christianity, there are similar problems, such as uneven quality of believers, lack of teaching because of people, and similar tasks, such as adapting to the times, reforming survival and rejuvenating themselves, so there are also exchanges and even disputes. Some people from each of the two religions write articles to compare and comment on the doctrines and ideas of both sides. To sum up, * * * has four representative arguments, namely, "Buddha is the same as leaf", "Buddha is different from leaf", "Buddha is different from leaf" and "Buddha and leaf learn from each other". Although everyone has different opinions, one thing is recognized by most people in the Buddhist community, that is, Christianity has three advantages that are worth learning in the Buddhist community: it cannot be separated from the world, it establishes human religion, and it expounds its teachings with revolutionary spirit; Implement social charity and public welfare undertakings. We will discuss these in detail later.
Folk Buddhism. At that time, Zen Buddhism and Jingtu Temple were the most popular among the people, because the method of preaching and becoming a Buddha was the simplest. Guanyin Bodhisattva, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, Amitabha and Maitreya are the most trusted Buddhist figures among the general public.
People's worship of Buddhism mainly includes burning incense, kowtowing, vegetarianism, chanting Buddha, offering sacrifices, giving alms, making wishes and voluntarily participating in various Buddhist festivals, such as the Buddha's Birthday Festival on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, the Buddha's Nie Festival on February 15th, and the Yulanben Festival on July 15th. These activities vary from person to person and from place to place. If you are a vegetarian, some people eat it all year round and some people eat it in stages. Some people eat "Guanyin Su", "from the first day of February to the first month (19th ... June, September to 19th, and so on. ) "(Note: Ji Pu 'an's" China Folk Customs "Volume III, page 45. )
Vegetarianism, chanting Buddhism and offering sacrifices are mostly carried out in believers' homes, while major Buddhist activities such as burning incense, kowtowing, giving alms and making wishes are mostly carried out in temples. At that time, temples divided these laymen into three or six classes. For officials and the rich, most of them are welcomed by the abbot, eating well, living well, entertaining well, accompanying incense and receiving alms. And every time these people go to the temple, they deliberately talk about ostentation and extravagance. In order to show themselves, they often give money generously to temples, especially when they wish to make a wish. For ordinary believers, "it is to let them walk back and forth, which is called a' happy crowd', and only ordinary deacons entertain them in the temple" (note: Selected Works of Literature and History, 20th edition, page 207, China Literature and History Publishing House, 1990). )。
When believers go to temples to kowtow, burn incense and worship Buddha, they usually encounter great events and difficulties. They think Guanyin Bodhisattva has the softest heart and the best, so they focus on visiting Guanyin. Believers "flock to (temples) to burn incense and pay homage, especially women." There are many Guanyin meetings, and money is given as a gift to the gods, which is very lively. (Note: Hu Pu 'an's Folklore of China People, Volume 7, Page 14. )。
Buddhist activities of social nature that monks and monks in temples engage in are mainly land and water Buddhist activities, auspicious Dojo or memorial Dojo for believers, collectively referred to as land and water Dojo. The location can be a temple or a believer's home. The water and land Dojo spends a lot of money and employs many people. An operation lasts seven days. "When God asks ghosts, it's really unique. It's full of ghosts and ghosts, and it's day and night, with the sound of Buddha numbers and the sound of bells and drums." (Note: Selected Works of Literature and History, 20th Series, p. 203. Some believers hold this kind of Buddhist activity to mourn their deceased relatives and let * * * ascend to heaven; Some are for their own longevity, seeking happiness and avoiding difficulties.
The most lively Buddhist activities take place in Buddhist festivals. In addition to the grand commemorative activities, there will be activities such as flag-waving, Buddha chanting, chanting, confession, and making wishes. Because it is a Buddhist festival, believers are particularly devout, donating money and materials to temples and holding ceremonies. The most solemn ceremony is called "ten offerings", also known as "ten offerings", that is, offering incense, flowers, lamps, paints, tea, treasures, wishes and clothes. Among them, "offering treasures" is the most sincere. The treasures provided include Jinbao, gold rings, gold bracelets, Petraeus ornaments, jade ornaments, silverware, pearls and agates. As for giving money, there is more.
Second, the China trend of Christianity
After the founding of the Republic of China, the China government has repeatedly declared that it treats all famous religions equally, and Christianity has made amazing progress in China. Take Protestantism as an example. In 1906, there were 82 religious groups, 3,833 missionaries and100000 followers in China. 19 13, the number of Xuan teachers increased to 5,394, and the number of believers reached 2,459. By 1935, there were 728 1 Christian churches in China, with more than one million followers (note: Shao's Christianity in China in the 20th century, page 7, Bookstore,1September, 980). )。 1936, there were about 2.8 million Catholics (Note: Gu Changsheng's Missionaries and Modern China, p. 320, Shanghai People's Publishing House 198 1 April). )。 In addition to actively preaching, Catholic and Protestant religious groups are also committed to various social undertakings, such as running universities, middle schools, primary schools, kindergartens, orphanages, hospitals, bookstores, soup kitchens and so on.
According to the statistics of 1937, there are 100 missionary boys' middle schools, 95 girls' middle schools, 54 co-educational middle schools and 259 schools with more than 50,000 students. There are fifteen missionary universities, namely St. John's University in Shanghai, Aurora University, Hujiang University, yenching university and Fu Jen Catholic University in Beijing, cheeloo university in Jinan, Jinling University and Jinling Women's College in Nanjing, Soochow University in Suzhou, Xizang Autonomous Region, United University in Chengdu, Zhijiang University in Hangzhou, Huazhong University in Wuchang, Fujian Christian University in Fuzhou, South China Women's College of Arts and Sciences and Lingnan University in Guangdong. There is a 130 tutor bookstore. In 1935 alone, more than 4,000 Christian books were published, as well as many church periodicals. Before the Anti-Japanese War, there were 238 kinds of historical magazines 2 1 1 and 27 kinds of English magazines. 1937, there were 27 1 missionary hospitals and clinics. On the one hand, although the number of autonomous churches in China gradually increased and developed, they eventually spread all over China and overseas, making Christianity in China more and more "China-oriented".
The constant "China-ization" of Christianity in the Republic of China is indeed a major feature of this religion. Due to the semi-colonial status of China and other unfavorable factors, this process was not completed until 1949. When it comes to the factors leading to this historical phenomenon, many scholars believe that this is the inevitable result of the anti-imperialist patriotic movement. In fact, the "China-ization" of Christianity is the dual result of the people's struggle in China, and it is also the result of foreign and China missionaries and their leading institutions changing their strategies to adapt to the changes in the situation in China. The speed, scale and depth of this process are all influenced by the concrete situation that two factors both compromise and struggle. In the early 1950s, Christianity was finally completely China-oriented, which was the result that the first factor backed by strength completely overwhelmed the latter factor.
Besides, Catholic China.
After the founding of the Republic of China, China people's national consciousness has been rising day by day, and modern concepts such as democracy, equality and freedom have also been deeply rooted in people's hearts. Faced with this situation, the Roman Catholic Church decided to localize the Catholic diocese of China, in order to seek the survival and development of Catholicism in China. 19 19, Benedict XV clearly stated that "since Catholicism is not foreign to any country, every country should cultivate its own clergy" (Note: De Zuxian's Catholic Church in China, page 65, Commercial Press, 1934). ), Catholic places in China must use China as a clergyman as soon as possible. 1922, shortly after the new Pope Pope Pius XI ascended the throne, he sent Gang Hengyi to China as the Pope's special envoy to carry out the "China" plan of Catholicism.
1924, gang hengyi presided over the first bishops' meeting of China diocese, and proposed that Catholicism must be rapidly China. The Congress decided to rename China Diocese as seventeen large dioceses, namely, Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi, Hebei, Northeast China, Mongolia, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangsu, Anhui, Guizhou, Guangxi, Yunnan and Gansu. The congress also emphasized the necessity of speeding up the training and promotion of Chinese bishops.
1926, in St. Peter's Cathedral in Vatican, Pope Pope Pius XI held a "consecration" ceremony for six priests from China and promoted them to bishops. These six people are Hu Ruoshan, Zhu Kaimin, Zhao Huaiyi, Sun Dezhen, Cheng Hede and Chen Guodi. 1933, the Pope once again "consecrated" three China priests, Cui Shouxun, Li and Fan Heng 'an, and appointed them bishops. By 1936, 23 Catholics were bishops in China.
At the same time, with the persistence and intentional cultivation and promotion of the Vatican, the number of priests and nuns in China parish has also greatly increased. There were only a few hundred people in the early years of the Republic of China, and by 1933 it had reached more than 5,000 people.
In the process of China Catholicism, the Pope paid great attention to getting the support of the China government. During the period of Beiyang Warlords, the Pope's special envoy Heng Yi had close contacts with Cao Kun and others, and expressed support for him in exchange for his protection of the interests and actions of the church in China. After Chiang Kai-shek took over the Chang regime and converted to Christianity under the influence of Song Meiling, Pope Pope Pius XI was still very happy, although Chiang Kai-shek was not a Catholic but a Protestant. 1928 In August, Pope Pope Pius XI issued an Oracle to the diocese of China:
..... The Holy Father's will is: I hope the Catholic Church will contribute to peace, happiness and progress in China. According to the document I published earlier on June 5, 1926/kloc-0, I reiterate that Catholicism declares, teaches and persuades its followers to respect and obey the legally constituted government of China, and demands that Catholic missionaries and believers enjoy freedom and security under the protection of the law.
As a missionary undertaking, the Holy Father of the Commune ordered that bishops in various parishes in China should organize and develop Catholic activities, so that male and female Catholics, especially lovely young Christians, can make due contributions to peace and social happiness through prayer, good language and work, so that people can know the sacred and beneficial principles of the Gospel, make China even greater, and assist bishops and priests to spread the grace of Christ and enhance personal and social welfare through their charity. (Note: Journal of Education Management, 1929 1 month. )
The Catholic Church's support for Chiang Kai-shek and its "China-oriented" policy really brought Chiang Kai-shek's attention and protection to the church. Considering the reality of constant wars in the Republic of China, the significance of this protection is self-evident. At that time, it was very common for the army to occupy monasteries and Taoist temples. Because the national government explicitly prohibited garrison troops and military harassment, the property and daily educational activities of the church were guaranteed.
Protestantism and its "true color church" are introduced below.
The change of teaching strategies of Protestant churches in China has always been 1922 "National Christian Congress" convened by the Protestant churches in Shanghai. The congress put forward the concept of "real church" and explained its meaning and the declaration of the congress. "If we don't criticize the ancient traditions, rituals and organizations from the West, but only specialize in general plagiarism and despicable imitation, it is really not conducive to the construction of the permanent reality of Christianity in China ... This shows that China believers should study it carefully. So that everything can be transformed into the present church and become the real church in China "(Note: Report of the National Congress of Christianity, 1922. )。
Under the guidance of this strategy, advocates of "true colors church" such as Cheng Jingyi of the All-China Council of Churches advocated that Christianity should be "self-supporting", "self-learning" and "autobiography" by China people, which made China Christianity gradually China in form, personnel and thought. On the one hand, it played the role of China believers and made them shoulder more responsibilities, on the other hand, it eliminated the stigma that Christianity was a foreign religion. They suggested building churches with China architectural style, celebrating traditional festivals in China, singing hymns with China national tunes, adopting wedding and funeral etiquette suitable for China's national conditions, and training bishops and priests from China. Their efforts have achieved certain results. Nationalized church buildings, religious paintings, religious music and religious ceremonies have appeared in China. The president of the mission university was also changed from China. Christian scholars Zhao, Wu Leichuan, Wei Zhuomin and others also selected works on the relationship between Christianity and another culture, trying to communicate Christian culture and Confucian culture and make them merge. However, because the interests of the church are closely linked with the overall interests of foreign countries in China, the interests of foreign powers in China cannot be "owned" by China people, and its church cannot make China people truly independent. Therefore, during the whole period of the Republic of China, the church in China never achieved the goal of "three selves", and Christianity never got rid of the name of foreign religions.
The implementation of the "China" strategy of Catholicism and Christianity is closely related to the growing patriotic and democratic struggle of the people of China. In addition to the May 4th Movement, the May 30th Movement, the Non-Christian League Movement and other well-known patriotic struggles that have great influence on foreign churches in China, the struggle of Christians in China has also played a certain role.
Then it introduces the Christian "self-reliance" movement in China.
As early as 1970s, Guangdong Christian Chen advocated other Christians to preach independently and take care of themselves, and initiated the establishment of the China Missionary Association, which was the beginning of the Christian self-reliance movement in China. After the founding of the Republic of China, more and more independent churches were established by Christians in China, including more than 80 in 1920, more than 300 in 1924, more than 600 in 1940, and more than 1000 after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War. Not only in Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Fujian, Guangdong, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Shanxi and other provinces, but also in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan and the United States. Among them, the most famous ones are Church House, Chinese Christian Church, Evangelical Society and true jesus church (Note: Shao's Christian Issues in China in the Twentieth Century, pp. 82-84, Bookstore,1September, 980). )
During the Republic of China, the Christian independence movement was full of patriotism, aiming at the unequal treaties imposed on China by various countries and demanding the abolition of these unequal treaties. For example, in 1925, Wang Zhixin initiated the establishment of the China Christian Association for Abolition of Unequal Treaties, and launched the campaign for Abolition of Treaties, which was widely supported by their respective churches. They insist that the church in China, controlled by foreigners, "is not to love Christ, let alone China people", so they insist that the church in China parish should be truly independent. They also put forward the idea of "three selves", but the content is really "own", "self-protection" and "self-entertainment", which is far more thorough than the "three selves" of the "natural church", which does not involve the ownership of the church at all, but only seeks equality and peace rights with foreign churches in China. The latter rightfully put forward that China Church belongs to China people and put it into practice.
China's Christian self-reliance did not develop smoothly at that time; On the contrary, in semi-colonial China, its experience was full of twists and turns. After Chiang Kai-shek came to power, he was not enthusiastic about religious autonomy because of his relationship with Britain and the United States. He was afraid of being suspected of revolution and took precautions, which had a negative impact on Christian self-reliance. 1927, there were more than 600 self-supporting churches in China. 1935, only more than 200 churches remained. It was only during the period of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression that the national sentiment rose and developed again.
Finally, talk about China of Christian culture.
Due to the influence of the above factors, the Christian culture in the Republic of China showed more and more characteristics of blending and combining with the localization of China, which was first reflected in the addition of the words "China" and "China" in the name of the church. Such as Presbyterian Church, Methodist Church, London Church, etc. It was merged and collectively called "China Christian Federation", Lutheran Church was renamed "China Lutheran Church", Baptist Church was renamed "China Baptist Church", and Methodist Church, Methodist Church and Methodist Church were merged and collectively called "China Methodist Church".
In terms of doctrine, it tries to fit in with Confucian preaching and Buddhist thought. In the aspect of blending with Confucianism, the most obvious example is that the new version of the Bible not only refers to the founder of Christianity by quoting "God" and "God" in Confucian classics, but also can often refer to the ethical teachings in the Bible. For example, "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you", "Love your enemy", "Repay evil with good", "He who seeks wealth with a deceitful tongue takes his own life, and the wealth he gets is blown to the clouds around him", "Being unjust and rich is like a cloud to me" and "We know that God does not listen to sinners, but only respects God and follows them. Lin Wuzhen, a scholar in the Republic of China, discussed the relationship between Christianity and Confucianism in Comparative Studies of Religions and Christianity and China by Zhou Yifu. Believer Nie Yuntai simply advocated "Confucianism of Christianity" and completely explained Christianity with Confucianism.
Christian rituals in China are more or less influenced by Buddhism and Taoism, and some of them have China characteristics. For example, the Baoxing Road Church in Shanghai used to pray with Buddha, burn incense and kneel down to recite scriptures during worship. At that time, some rituals similar to those in China after the reform were like this: Catholics adopted the "seven sacraments", namely baptism, confirmation ceremony, confession, communion, final transmission, sacred products and marriage. Protestants, Christians in a narrow sense, mainly engage in two kinds of sacraments: baptism and communion.