Anglicans in China: A History ofthe Chung Hua Sheng Kung Hui G. Francis S. Gray "1"'he present writer has prepared a general account of An­ Chinese places and persons, and much effort has been given to • glican mission work in China, culminating in 1947 with finding these-not always successfully with regard to persons. the election of one of the Chinese bishops as chairman of the The record is basically factual, based on extremely scanty House of Bishops in an autonomous church of the Anglican Com­ sources, including notes of conversations with a number of munion. The study is to be published under the proposed title, A Chinese Christian leaders in the late 194Os, of opinions they ex­ History of theChung Hua ShengKung Hui [The Anglican Church of pressed to me about the church, and of information they gave me China]. about it. They include Dr. Francis Wei Tso-min, under whom I It is primarily a record of Christian devotion (never without worked for my last period in China, Bishops Addison Hsu Ki­ its critics), which, with all its many weaknesses and failings, the song, Lindel Tsen Ho-p'u, Y. Y. Tsu, T. K. Shen, and many oth­ writer would like not to be forgotten, which could easily happen, ers, as well as Western missionaries from various countries in­ and is too much ignored. It is recognized that the Anglicans were volved in this effort. I should like to feel that this account is in its only a very small part of the total Christian mission in China. The modest way a tribute of respect, admiration, and affection to those record surveys in succession the various periods: each chapter who worked in this part of the church's world mission. opens with general remarks about the period, and then mentions The writer was in China from 1930to 1951, mostly engaged in in tum the areas where there came to be an Anglican diocese. theological teaching, in succession on the list of the Church Mis­ My aim in this book is not a socioeconomic study or criticism sionary Society, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, and of a part of the Christian mission, nor a psychiatric study of the the American Church Mission. Friends said that such a record motives and impulses of missionaries and local church people. would be useful, and should be done while someone is still alive Rather, it is a record, factual not judgmental, of a small part of the who took part in it. It continues, in the writer's retirement, a proj­ Christian mission, in what can well be regarded as the greatest ect begun while he was teaching church history at Huachung single country in the world. Univeristy, Wuchang, after World War II. He is fully conscious of The index-subdivided into (1) Places, (2) Persons, non­ the drawbacks of a Westerner, rather than a Chinese, in writing Chinese, (3) Persons, Chinese, (4) Miscellaneous-is felt to be im­ such an account, and hopes that the inadequacies of his work may portant. It is hoped to include the Chinese characters for both provoke Chinese, or others, to do better. Since no publisher could be found for what would be of in­ terest to only a limited number of people, this manuscript of about G.Francis S. Grayserved theAnglicanChurch in China from 1930to1951, living 125,000words (excluding index) will be privately published, prob­ successively in Guilin, Nanjing, Beijing, and Wuchang, and servingfor most of ably in early 1985, by I.C.T., 66 Barnsbury Road, London N1 DES, thistimeasa professor of theology. England. Efforts ofthe Imperial German Government to Establish a Protectorate over the German Catholic Missions in South Shantung" I " Karl Josef Rivinius, s. V.D. The Thesis and Nature of the Problem round 1850 France accepted in China a protectorate over thus guaranteeing freedom of religious practice. Moreover, China A the Catholic missionaries, together with their institutions during this period of the Middle Kingdom agreed not to prevent irrespective of their nationality. With great skill France used the any missionary activity and included in its agreements the protec­ foreign mission endeavors for its own national political interests. tion of Chinese converts under its sovereignty. Since the recent recruits to the missions came in large part from The Roman Congregration Propaganda Fide, the missionary Germany, Italy, Belgium, and Spain, France 'had to learn how to headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church, and the Western employ its energy and intelligence to serve its own national inter­ powers interested in China acknowledged without any question ests. This religious protectorate of France became based on bilat­ the right of France for a rather long period of time. But in the last eral contracts, conventions and agreements accepted by China, third of the nineteenth century Germany, which carried on trade with China and was attempting to develop markets for exports and natural resources for its home industry and other states as Karl Josef Rivinius, S.V.D., is a missiologist and historian on the faculty of the Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule S.V.D., Sankt Augustin, in West Ger­ fIUlny. "Transiaied from theGerman original by theRev. Charles T. Huegelmeyer, M.M. April1985 71 .