Salvation and Revolution: A Twentieth Century Odyssey of the Chinese Protestant Mind

Salvation and Revolution traces the intricate paths of Chinese Protestant intellectuals as they grappled with their Christian faith amidst the upheavals of modern China. Beginning with the fall of the Qing Dynasty and journeying through the tumultuous Cultural Revolution, this book considers the lives of figures like Zhao Zichen, Wu Yaozong, and Cai Yongchun, who strove to align Christianity with the nation’s quest for renewal.

Initially championing a ＂Liberal Synthesis,＂ these intellectuals sought to fuse liberal Christian ideals with patriotic fervor, viewing Christianity as a catalyst for moral progress, social reform, and global solidarity. But as China wrestled with internal strife, the Japanese invasion, and the ascent of the Chinese Communist Party, their theological paths diverged. Wu Yaozong veered toward socialism and embraced the CCP as a vehicle for national salvation and purified Christianity. In contrast, Zhao Zichen and Cai Yongchun adopted more conservative theological positions, emphasizing God’s transcendence and pursuing spiritual transformation amid these crises.

In this deeply researched book, Jesse Zexi Sun follows these thinkers’ struggles to adapt to the demands of the early People’s Republic of China, their efforts to sustain religious expression under intensifying state control, and the profound challenges they confronted during the Cultural Revolution. Despite theological rifts, public denunciations, and personal suffering, these intellectuals remained unwavering in their conviction that Christianity deserved a vital place in China’s future.

Salvation and Revolution illuminates the complex interplay between faith and nationalism, revealing tensions between universal religious claims and China’s unique context, and how these thinkers sought to navigate them.

Jesse Zexi Sun is Assistant Professor of History of Christianity at Belmont University. Specializing in the history of Chinese Christianity and its intersections with nationalism and revolutionary movements, he has authored chapters in Visions of Salvation: Chinese Christian Posters in an Age of Revolution (Baylor University Press, 2022) and Modern Chinese Theologies, Vol. 1: Heritage and Prospect (Fortress Press, 2023). His work has also been published in Church History, Studies in World Christianity, International Bulletin of Mission Research, and the Journal of Religious History.