This article is based on original research and analysis of multiple manuscript letters written by the Scottish Presbyterian minister Charles Nisbet （1736-1804）, who emigrated to America in 1785 to become the first p...This article is based on original research and analysis of multiple manuscript letters written by the Scottish Presbyterian minister Charles Nisbet （1736-1804）, who emigrated to America in 1785 to become the first principal of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. As an outspoken advocate for the American cause during the War of Independence, and a friend and colleague of John Witherspoon, Nisbet was the favorite choice for Benjamin Rush and the other trustees at Dickinson College. But soon after his arrival in Pennsylvania, Nisbet＇s relationship with Rush and the other trustees deteriorated. The new principal resented the absolute control of the trustees over the college, and quarreled with them for years about the late payments of his salary. Nisbet found America to be an overall distasteful place to live, especially for a man of letters living on the Pennsylvania frontier. Ignored by the trustees and feeling like an exile, Nisbet used his letters to lash out at the sources of his frustrations. This alleviated some of the tensions of living in America while also irritating the trustees at Dickinson College.展开更多
The phenomenal growth of Catholic and Protestant churches--both officially-registered Three-Self patriotic churches and unofficial house churches--in China has drawn attention to the underlying dynamics of Chinese Chr...The phenomenal growth of Catholic and Protestant churches--both officially-registered Three-Self patriotic churches and unofficial house churches--in China has drawn attention to the underlying dynamics of Chinese Christianity. This article draws on archival research and ethnographic findings to investigate the interactions between the officials and Christians in the coastal regions of Shantou （Guangdong province） and Wenzhou （Zhejiang province） during the 1950s and 1960s. The Chaozhou-speaking Catholics, Baptists and Presbyterians in Shantou succeeded in transcending sectarian boundaries and helped each other to cope with political pressure. The Seventh-day Adventists in Wenzhou did likewise by organizing clandestine house gatherings with other Protestants. They held onto their faith, continued their worship activities on Saturday, and maintained a distinct, though not independent, identity under the broad spectrum of Protestantism. These local stories show that as a collective force, Chinese Christians not only employed a variety of tactics to help each other but also reinvented congregational, kinship and cross-regional networks as conduits for pursuing religious goals. Their covert and overt activism highlight the need to combine archival research and fieldwork to assess the revival of Christianity in present-day China.展开更多
In less than fi fty years since 1866,the Scottish missionaries made tens of thousands of Presbyterian converts and established eight churches in Manchuria.The most striking feature of the Scottish mission was the miss...In less than fi fty years since 1866,the Scottish missionaries made tens of thousands of Presbyterian converts and established eight churches in Manchuria.The most striking feature of the Scottish mission was the missionaries’skill in adapting to the incredibly complicated social,political and cultural environment in Manchuria.Their educational mission served as a niche for the Scottish missionaries to adapt to the social environment.Their medical mission and involvement in the famine and plague relief not only increased their popularity among the people but also helped them to establish contacts with the upper classes and power holders,including the Chinese,Russian and Japanese.John Ross,the pioneering Scottish missionary,found common ground between Ch ristianity and Confucianism,and between the Judeo-Christian tradition and the ancient Chinese moral values.Al though Ross had a strong belief in the ability of Chinese people,with the purpose of“making Confucianism the handmaid of Christianity”,his enquiry into Confucianism was tinged with cultural superiority and practicality.展开更多
文摘This article is based on original research and analysis of multiple manuscript letters written by the Scottish Presbyterian minister Charles Nisbet （1736-1804）, who emigrated to America in 1785 to become the first principal of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. As an outspoken advocate for the American cause during the War of Independence, and a friend and colleague of John Witherspoon, Nisbet was the favorite choice for Benjamin Rush and the other trustees at Dickinson College. But soon after his arrival in Pennsylvania, Nisbet＇s relationship with Rush and the other trustees deteriorated. The new principal resented the absolute control of the trustees over the college, and quarreled with them for years about the late payments of his salary. Nisbet found America to be an overall distasteful place to live, especially for a man of letters living on the Pennsylvania frontier. Ignored by the trustees and feeling like an exile, Nisbet used his letters to lash out at the sources of his frustrations. This alleviated some of the tensions of living in America while also irritating the trustees at Dickinson College.
文摘The phenomenal growth of Catholic and Protestant churches--both officially-registered Three-Self patriotic churches and unofficial house churches--in China has drawn attention to the underlying dynamics of Chinese Christianity. This article draws on archival research and ethnographic findings to investigate the interactions between the officials and Christians in the coastal regions of Shantou （Guangdong province） and Wenzhou （Zhejiang province） during the 1950s and 1960s. The Chaozhou-speaking Catholics, Baptists and Presbyterians in Shantou succeeded in transcending sectarian boundaries and helped each other to cope with political pressure. The Seventh-day Adventists in Wenzhou did likewise by organizing clandestine house gatherings with other Protestants. They held onto their faith, continued their worship activities on Saturday, and maintained a distinct, though not independent, identity under the broad spectrum of Protestantism. These local stories show that as a collective force, Chinese Christians not only employed a variety of tactics to help each other but also reinvented congregational, kinship and cross-regional networks as conduits for pursuing religious goals. Their covert and overt activism highlight the need to combine archival research and fieldwork to assess the revival of Christianity in present-day China.
文摘In less than fi fty years since 1866,the Scottish missionaries made tens of thousands of Presbyterian converts and established eight churches in Manchuria.The most striking feature of the Scottish mission was the missionaries’skill in adapting to the incredibly complicated social,political and cultural environment in Manchuria.Their educational mission served as a niche for the Scottish missionaries to adapt to the social environment.Their medical mission and involvement in the famine and plague relief not only increased their popularity among the people but also helped them to establish contacts with the upper classes and power holders,including the Chinese,Russian and Japanese.John Ross,the pioneering Scottish missionary,found common ground between Ch ristianity and Confucianism,and between the Judeo-Christian tradition and the ancient Chinese moral values.Al though Ross had a strong belief in the ability of Chinese people,with the purpose of“making Confucianism the handmaid of Christianity”,his enquiry into Confucianism was tinged with cultural superiority and practicality.
