A highly successful survey by the founder of the China Inland Mission, revealing the motivations of Victorian Protestant missionaries.

In God is Red, Chinese dissident journalist and poet Liao Yiwu—once lauded, later imprisoned, and now celebrated author of For a Song and a Hundred Songs and The Corpse Walker—profiles the extraordinary lives of dozens of Chinese Christians, providing a rare glimpse into the underground world of belief that is taking hold within the officially atheistic state of Communist China. Liao felt a kinship with Chinese Christians in their unwavering commitment to the freedom of expression and to finding meaning in a tumultuous society, even though he is not a Christian himself. This is a fascinating tale of otherwise unknown personalities thriving against all odds. God is Red will resonate with readers of Phillip Jenkins' The Lost History of Christianity and Peter Hessler's Country Driving.

Excerpt from China's Millions NE thousand eight hundred and ninety! Thoughtless indeed should we be if we could enter upon the last ten years of this century without a solemn feeling Of awe. It has been a wonderful century, the most wonderful on record. Progress in many ways has been very rapid, and the world seems going on at an almost maddening rate. Steam has superseded the slow and cumbrous posting system but even steam is not quick enough for our correspondence, for which the telegraph and the telephone are increasingly in request. Parts Of the world that were unknown at the beginning Of the century are now linked to us by the electric cable. Roman Catholic countries Of Europe and long closed heathen empires, like India and China, have been marvellously opened to the missionary. But Satan still reigns the god of this world is not dethroned. Increasing knowledge of science has increased the fearful power of our weapons Of destruction, and the armed millions Of Continental Europe indicate but too plainly that man fears man no less, and loves man no more, than when the century commenced. Who can foresee the events and the changes which a few years may now bring should our lord delay His coming We truly live in perilous times, whether we look at things political or things religious. Never was there a time in which it was more important to walk with god and to abide in the secret place Of the most hrch, nor in which it was so urgent to be up and doing; for our master is at the door, while the Church is only now beginning to wake up to the realisation that the work of evangelisation for which she was left in the world is yet but barely commenced. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

From the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist: a revelatory portrait of religion in China today, its history, the spiritual traditions of its Eastern and Western faiths, and the ways in which it is influencing China's future. Following a century of violent antireligious campaigns, China is now awash with new temples, churches, and mosques as well as cults, sects, and politicians trying to harness religion for their own ends. Driving this explosion of faith is uncertainty over what it means to be Chinese, and how to live an ethical life in a country that discarded traditional morality a century ago and is still searching for new guideposts. Ian Johnson lived for extended periods with underground church members, rural Daoists, and Buddhist pilgrims. He has distilled these experiences into a cycle of festivals, births, deaths, detentions, and struggle a great awakening of faith that is shaping the soul of the world s newest superpower. (With black-and-white illustrations throughout).

The Battle for China’s Spirit is the first comprehensive analysis of its kind, focusing on seven major religious groups in China that together account for over 350 million believers: Chinese Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, Tibetan Buddhism, and Falun Gong. The study examines the evolution of the Communist Party’s policies of religious control, how they are applied differently to diverse faith communities, and how citizens are responding to these policies. The study—which draws on hundreds of official documents and interviews with religious leaders, lay believers, and scholars—finds that Chinese government controls over religion have intensified since November 2012, seeping into new areas of daily life. Yet millions of religious believers defy official restrictions or engage in some form of direct protest, at times scoring significant victories. The report explores how these dynamics affect China’s overall social, political, and economic environment, while offering recommendations to both the Chinese government and international actors for how to increase the space for peaceful religious practice in a country where spirituality has been deeply embedded in its culture for millennia.