The Image of Jesus in the Writings of Zhang Shizhang (Hottinger S. C. Chang)

Abstract

This article approaches the work of Zhang Shizhang (Hottinger S. C. Chang, 1896–?), a theologian and writer scarcely known in the academy today. Zhang wrote about Jesus’ life and portrayed him in the image of a revolutionary liberator, one in tune with the “Christian Socialism” that he was advocating. This image of a radical Jesus was particularly noteworthy in the context of the China of the time, and his major focus was on creative writing, producing two works connected to the Lives of Jesus genre: Role Model for Young People (1928) and The Revolutionary Carpenter (1938).