This paper analyses the monthly Chinese Anglican periodical, Sheng Kung Hui Bao (SKHB), from its first issue in January 1908 to 1913, the year after Chung Hua Sheng Kung Hui (CHSKH) was established. These publications are unique primary sources for Chinese Christianity and Anglicanism in the early twentieth century. Few, if any, studies have been devoted to these primary texts. This study was made possible by the access granted by Hong Kong SKH Archives.
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This paper focuses on the Chinese Anglican voices reflected in SKHB in 1908-1913, making three arguments. First, the local Anglicans displayed a cautious confidence in Anglicanism – “confident” of its historical and theological root yet “cautious” of intra-Anglican and inter-denominational conflicts. Second, the Chinese voice for an independent Chinese church was amplified by a shockingly harsh rhetoric against “immature” Chinese Anglicans. Third, the Boxer Uprising and the enthusiasm towards Constitutionalism unmistakably shaped the development of CHSKH.