Calvin history prof writes landmark text on Christianity in China

Calvin history professor Daniel Bays recently released his new book 'A New History of Christianity in China.'

See full story: www.calvin.edu/news/archive/calvin-history-professor-writes-landmark-text-on-christianity-in-china

Until now, the most authoritative book on the subject, the text still used in classrooms, was authored in 1929. According to Bays, that book is a history of missions in China, and though it remains a good source, it is not a comprehensive one.

"The history of missions in China and the history of Chinese Christianity are two different things," Bays said.

Bays' book explores the period before Western countries first established missions in China. He writes about the first-known Christians in China, Nestorians--adherents of the Church of the East--who entered the country in the seventh century.

In his book, Bays corrects many misconceptions that Western Christianity has about the Chinese Christian culture and about the political climate in which Chinese Christians live in the present day.

Bays first became interested in Chinese Christianity as a history professor at the University of Kansas in the 1970s. He earned a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to research in that area. In 1996, he collected 20 essays on the history of Christianity in China in a book titled 'Christianity in China from the 18th Century to the Present.' That text brought a lot of scholars together and a created a field. In 2000, Bays came to Calvin and began building the college's Asian Studies Program.

"Dan Bays is one of the world's leading scholars on the history of Christianity in China," said professor of Chinese and Japanese languages Larry Herzberg. "His latest book on the subject is not only an important contribution but is extremely interesting and readable."

Bays hopes the book will fuel an interest in China: "For Christians, it should be of interest because it's one of the places Christianity is booming in numbers, in self-confidence," he said. "China has a lot to offer the world."

For more info, contact Bays at dbays@calvin.edu

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Received on Fri Oct 28 11:59:59 2011