The People’s Republic of China is the world’s largest country by population and is the third largest country by area. China`s recent rapid development has made it a major force in world affairs.

Population last 50 years. Minority peoples also have was pulled down to the same standard in • Population: 1.3 billion their own languages. economics, intellect and social standing. • Density: 139 per square km Since the late-1970s China has cast off • 90% ethnic Han Chinese its self-imposed isolation from the inter- • 55 ethnic minorities (according to Geography national community and modernized its the government) China covers 6 million square miles. Little industrial and economic structures. Deng Most of the population lives in the east, so of it is suitable for agriculture, and nearly Xiaoping, the country’s leader between density is greater than statistics suggest. 50 percent is mountainous. The country is 1978 and his death in 1997, successfully Population growth has been controlled by losing arable land because of soil erosion transformed the country into a major play- the government’s promotion of later mar- and economic development. er in world affairs. riages and requiring parents to have only Since political changes in 1978, China’s one child. Abortion is legal. has a Climate GDP has skyrocketed. Annual economic population of 16.6 million and , the growth has been running at 8 percent or Temperate climates prevail in much of the capital, 12.4 million. Rapid rural-to-urban more for nearly 20 years. China is now the country, but there are also extremes. The migration has resulted in more than half of world’s second-largest economy after the north averages -0°F (18°C) in January; the the population now living in cities. U.S. (on a purchasing power parity basis) southeast averages 79°F (26°C) over the and is expected to ascend to the top spot year. within the next decade. Religions According to Internet World Stats, there • Non-religious 44.4% were an estimated 513 million Internet us- • Chinese religions 28.5% History ers in China in 2012, double the amount of • Buddhist 12.5% China gave birth to one of the world’s ear- users in any other country. There is some • Christian 5.3% liest civilizations and has a recorded his- government control, often referred to as • Traditional ethnic 4.6%; tory that dates from some 3,500 years ago. the “Great Firewall of China,” over Internet • Muslim 1.9% ZhongGuo, the Chinese name for the coun- use. The Communist party in the 1960s at- try, means “middle kingdom,” a reference tempted to eliminate organized religion. to the Chinese belief that their country was In 1997 Britain handed back the sover- Previously the dominant religions in China the geographical center of the earth and eignty of to China and in 1999 th had been Confucianism, Daoism and Bud- the only true civilization. By the 19 cen- Macau was returned to China by the Por- dhism. Muslim minority peoples such as tury, China had become a politically and tuguese. China is a powerful presence on the Uyghurs, Kazakhs and Kirgiz number economically weak nation, dominated by the international stage. Many have dubbed st 20 million and now practice their religion foreign powers. the 21 century to be the “China Century.” openly. It is illegal to spread the gospel to China underwent many changes in the first anyone under 18. half of the 20th century. The imperial gov- ernment was overthrown, and in the cha- otic years that followed, two groups—the Nestorian Christians first entered China in Language Nationalists and the Communists—strug- 635 AD along the Silk Route via northwest The Chinese have had a written language gled for control of the country. China. The church they established, how- for more than 3,000 years. The Chinese In 1949 the Communists won control of language has more than a dozen major China. The Nationalists fled to , spoken dialects, some of which are mutu- leading to its disputed status today. The ac- ally unintelligible. Mandarin (Putonghua) cession of the Communist government in was declared the official language in 1955. 1949 is one of the most important events It is taught in schools, and knowledge of in China’s history. In a remarkably short pe- Mandarin is required throughout China. riod, radical changes were effected in the Government policies to target literacy have economy and society. resulted in literacy levels increasing from The (1966-1976), a 20 percent to more than 80 percent in the time of political and social turmoil, impov- erished the country significantly. Everyone

OMF INTERNATIONAL • 10 W. Dry Creek Circle • Littleton, CO 80120-4413 303.730.4160 • 800.422.5330 • (f) 303.730.4165 • [email protected] ever, was largely among foreign groups, faithfulness of the Chinese Christians, the cant improvement, reports over the last not the Chinese. prayers of Christians abroad and radio decade reveal that incidents of persecu- Thereafter Christian influence fluctuat- broadcasts. tion are still common. On occasion, pastors ed, often absent for centuries. The Jesuit In 1979 Deng Xiaoping allowed churches to are interrogated, materials are confiscated priest Matteo Ricci obtained permission to re-open under the control of the Three Self and meetings closed down. live in China in 1583 and established Ro- Patriotic Movement. The church then had man Catholic missions. between 700,000 and 1 million members. Opportunities Protestant missions were latecomers to The TSPM has seen a growth in member- • Christian professionals in a wide China, and often arrived on the same ship across China through the last 30-plus range of disciplines including boats that brought Western trade and years. Official reports admit to more than engineering, development work and imperialism. Missions established them- 23 million Christians in China. More than medicine. selves along the east coast in the mid-19th 50 million copies of the Bible have been • English teaching. century. James , founder of printed in China. • Short-term opportunities. the China Inland Mission (CIM, now OMF Many Chinese Christians, however, will not Updated October 2012 International) in 1865, saw the needs of align themselves with the official church, the inland provinces, and he and others seeing it as too much under the authority moved away from the coast establishing of a Communist government and serving churches and hospitals. Work among the the Party first and God second. These meet minority peoples in western China, such as in house churches; some isolated, oth- the Lisu, also began. A significant number ers part of well- of the CIM were women. organized groups By 1949 there were about 6,000 missionar- numbering sev- ies in China and 20,000 Protestant church- eral hundreds es with more than a million members. or thousands. Christianity was established, though not Although figures accepted as an indigenous faith. vary, a realistic estimate for the During the next 30 years the Chinese total number of church was isolated and forced under- Protestant Chris- ground as the missionaries were forced to tians in China leave, church buildings were closed and could be about 70 pastors and congregations were impris- million. oned and persecuted. To the outside world it was difficult to imagine how the church The house-church would survive this oppression. movement is also at present under As China emerged after Mao’s death, evi- pressure to register with government au- dence of a thriving church was revealed, thorities. Although there has been signifi- sustained by God’s grace through the

How to pray • Pray for peaceful, stable and honest attractiveness of secular work and • Radio broadcasts into China government. lifestyle. Pray that more young provide a valuable means of • Ask God to lead Christian people will respond to the needs of training leaders and evangelizing professionals to offer their skills the church. non-believers in some hard-to- for work and witness among • Ask God to end persecution of reach areas. Ask God to make them Chinese intellectuals, the business house churches who refuse to effective. community and in both urban and register with the TSPM, and for the • Pray for the growing rural areas. witness of those in prison. movement within China. Pray for • Pray good Bible-based teaching in • Pray for Hong Kong Christians to wisdom and appropriate training the churches. have a sensitive and significant for the many Christians from rural • Lift up the need for the training influence in churches in southern areas planning to take the gospel to of godly pastors. These men and China. other parts of the world. women are often poorly paid • Pray for witness among Christian • Give thanks for the great growth of and sacrifice much to lead their minority peoples; most have the church in recent decades. churches. As China develops no viable church or no known rapidly, young people see the Christians.