Christian Women in Chinese Society: The Anglican Story

Abstract

This book originates from a conference in 2015 of the same name, and contains eleven of the papers presented. It explores the roles and contribution of women, foreign and Chinese, in the Anglican community and the wider society of modern China, within a context where Christianity could be seen as collaborating with but also liberating from oppressions of colonialism and the patriarchal culture in Asia.The book begins with a section on cross-cultural partnership. Kwok Pui-lan’s broad-sketching conceptual paper sets the scene by suggesting a transnational, cross-cultural approach set against the progressive womanhood emerging in a global modern era. This is followed by two chapters on education enterprises across decades of political and social turbulence: one on the St. Hilda Girls’ School in urban central China, by Judith Liu, which aimed originally at evangelization but eventually emerged as a vanguard of Christian women along the lines of social gospel, and another on Bible Women in rural southern China, by Zhou Yun, in which women missionaries and converts formed intimate personal relationship, facilitating cross-cultural interaction and the forming of a local Christian identity.The second section centers on women and ordained ministry. Peter Cunich traces how three southern dioceses in China (Fukien, Kwangsi-Hunan, and South China) implemented the Lambeth resolution of 1920 and ordained female deaconesses during the 1920s–1930s. Philip Wickeri then provides a historical reconstruction of the life of Florence Li Tim Oi, portraying her not only as a spearhead for female priesthood in the Anglican community, but also as a person, with weaknesses, sufferings and hurts. Angela Wong closes the section by investigating the ordination of the five female priests by invitation of Bishop Hall and Bishop Baker and identifies the unique intercultural position and progressive characteristics of China and Hong Kong that paved the way for such pioneering actions.The third section offers a collection of life stories. Frances Slater and Jennifer Lin, respectively, tell of the Wolfe sisters, single women CMS missionaries and daughters of Archdeacon J. R. Wolfe, and Zhan Aimei, a rural farm girl whose course of life led her to become the matriarch of a prominent Christian family. These two accounts draw on family histories and provide different personal perspectives on the lives and ministries of Christian women in southern China, complementing the scene of previous chapters. Then Ruiwen Chen describes the life of Kuo Siu-may, who worked closely with her husband K. H. Ting (later bishop) and served in education and academia from the early decades of Communist China, through the Cultural Revolution, until the opening of China in 1980s.The last section addresses the community service of Anglican women. Duan Qi’s paper, translated by Janice Wickeri, states the development and ministries of the CHSKH Women’s Missionary Service League from 1921 through to 1947, extending the legacy of the Women’s Auxiliary of the Episcopal Mission Board. The book concludes with Jane Lee’s chapter recounting the women’s work of the church in Hong Kong since 1860, highlighting its efforts in education, significant incidents such as the anti–mui tsai movement, and individuals such as Dr. Judith Hall and Rev. Dorothy Lau.The historical contexts of these narratives are often challenged as being synonymous to imperial, colonial, and patriarchal oppression. And yet, individuals and enterprises narrated in this volume come across with a subtle, egalitarian spirit. It would be interesting to know how this plays out across the social stratum of different classes, and when venturing beyond coastal China (from Shanghai, Fukien province, down to Canton province, Hong Kong, and Kwangsi province) and the inland port of Wuhan, known as “the thoroughfare of nine provinces.”Fourth in the series “Historical Studies of Anglican Christianity in China,” this book contributes both to the religious history of modern China and the history of Christianity in China by providing detailed documentations. As such, it is mainly descriptive, except for Kwok’s paper at the start. While centering on the same theme, the chapters are rather independent, and could be read both separately or in sequence. Seven of the papers also appear in the Chinese edition (聖公會敘事：基督教婦女與華人社會).