Christianity, politics, and the “century of humiliation”

This chapter offers a survey of Christian responses to the changing political situation in China during the “century of humiliation” (bainian chiru)-that is, from the start of the Opium Wars in 1839 until the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. The chapter demonstrates how the political context was a significant active agent in this tumultuous period, bringing about complex ways Christians negotiated their various allegiances, to God and to nation(s). We find that Chinese Christians-Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant-offer paralleling responses to the changing political situation of this period, despite, but also mindful of, their theological differences. Furthermore, the questions raised during this period would continue to reverberate after the end of this “century” in 1949, and extending well into the twenty-first century. © 2024 selection and editorial matter, Joshua Mauldin individual chapters, the contributors.