Explorations in Chinese Christian Historiographies: Missions, Inculturations, Nationalisms

The term “Sino-Foreign Protestant Establishment,” defined by noted Chinese historian Daniel H. Bays, is central to understanding the evolution of Christianity in early twentieth-century China. Flourishing during the Republican era and unraveling in the mid-20th century with the rise of the Chinese Communist regime, this roughly four-decade-long Establishment underwent a significant shift. This paper explores, by introducing the concept of “Sino-Foreign Protestant Estrangement,” how the religio-political mechanisms catalyzed the shift from Sino-Foreign Protestant collaboration to estrangement. It focuses on Y. T. Wu, a pivotal Protestant leader in post-1949 church-state relations. The study argues that the transition from the Establishment to the Estrangement was orchestrated through three key strategies: ideological reconstruction, institutional rebuilding, and individual decoupling, all aimed at removing foreign influences from the initial Establishment. These tactics culminated in what is termed “Cold War Christian Chineseness,” a new phase of Chinese Christian self-identity shaped by these transformative processes.