Reimagining Christian Higher Education in China Today

Abstract

This article focuses on the history of Christian higher education in China as a case study, building upon the work of scholars who have been seeking to better understand the identity and distinguishing marks of Christian higher education in a variety of settings worldwide. Although there had been 13 Christian colleges and universities in China before the Communist rule in 1949, such institutions had totally disappeared from China during the early 1950s, only to be revived to a limited extent three decades later due to a resurgence of the study of the history of Christian colleges in the 1980s. As one manifestation of the renewed interest in Christian higher education, in 2014 Yenching University Alumni Association celebrated the 95th anniversary of the founding of Yenching University in Beijing. This indication of interest reflects a new form of Christian presence in higher education in China that is quite different from elsewhere. In this article, the author describes some of the activities taking place over the past three decades in China that merit scholarly attention more broadly.

Notes

1 It is worthy to note that a newly established Christian college in Hong Kong, Lumina College, began offering courses in 2015. The work and mission of this institution represent another serious venture to pursue the integration of faith and learning, Christian worldview, and global values within the current context of Asia—and especially China.

2 As examples, Shi Jing Huan is now a professor of education at Qinghua University, Beijing; Edward Yihua Xu is a professor at the Center for American Studies, Fudan University, Shanghai; and Wang Lixin is now a professor of history at Peking University in Beijing.

3 The NEACSHC was jointly organized by Church Historians of China, the Society of Historical Studies of Christianity in Japan, and the Korea Academy of Church History.

4 For additional information, see http://www.ccnu.com.cn/xueshu/jiangzuoxinwen/2015/1219/14716.html.

5 Vautrin was so depressed by the Nanjing Massacre that she committed suicide shortly after her return to her home in Illinois, USA. (See, for example, Hu, 2000.)

6 See, for example, http://nanjing.jiangsu.net/attraction/premier.php?name=The_MemorialHall_for_Victims_in_Nanjing_MassacrebyJapanese_Invaders&city = Nanjing&id =76.