Overview
- Features the oral histories of Protestant Chinese women, a neglected group in the study of Christianity in China
- Highlights the mother-daughter relationship as a lens for understanding socioeconomic change in contemporary China
- Appeals to scholars and students of Chinese Christianity, women and Christianity, global Christianity, gender studies, and Chinese history
Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Oral History (PSOH)
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About this book
Women make up the vast majority of Protestant Christians in China—a largely faceless majority, as their stories too often go untold in scholarly research as well as popular media. This book writes Protestant Chinese women into the history of twenty-first-century China. It features the oral histories of over a dozen women, highlighting themes of spiritual transformation, politicized culture, social mobility, urbanization, and family life. Each subject narrates not only her own story, but that of her mother, as well, revealing a deeply personal dimension to the dramatic social change that has occurred in a matter of decades. By uncovering the stories of Christian women in China, Li Ma offers a unique window onto the interactions between femininity and Christianity, and onto the socioeconomic upheavals that mark recent Chinese history.
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Keywords
Table of contents (16 chapters)
Reviews
“Timely and informative, this book is good for university courses on the methodology of oral history research, the history of Chinese religions, the indigenization of Christianity in East Asia, and religious feminism. Non-specialists will also find this book easily accessible and full of critical insights.” (Christie Chui-Shan Chow, Religious Studies Review, Vol. 46 (2), June, 2020)
“Femininity and Social Change in Contemporary China is a timely and welcome contribution. … this pioneering work surely will be of interest not only to those scholars in the fields of China studies, Chinese Christianity, World Christianity, andgender studies, but also to a more general readership. It should also inspire further and more in-depth documenting and exploring of the stories of a diversified variety of female Christians in contemporary China … .” (Zhixi Wang, Review of Religious Research, Vol. 62, 2020)
“Li Ma has pioneered a very creative approach to understanding not only women’s lives but contemporary Chinese society and the nature of Chinese Christianity. A model of how valuable oral history can be for exploring today’s China from new perspectives.” (Carol Lee Hamrin, Senior Associate, Global China Center, USA)“This book is refreshing and stimulating as it foregrounds Chinese women in the story of Christianity in China. Aided by theological and sociological lenses, Li Ma retells the stories of fourteen women with vivid, humane detail.” (Kooi-Chin Tong, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Purdue University)
“These stories offer personal, often painful glimpses into the lives of ordinary Chinese families in the rough waters of social change.” (Joann Pittman, Vice President, ChinaSource, USA)
“Li Ma’s multifaceted lens of analysis offers keen insight into the sociocultural upheavals in China’s recent history, including the growth of Christianity. The stories themselves are powerful testimonies to the flame of hope that so often sparks light and life in sagas of discouragement and despair.” (Jinny De Joung, Senior Administrator, retired, Calvin Theological Seminary, USA)
“These raw reflections are not for the weak of heart; they reveal webs spun in the lives of many daughters in deeply troubling relationships and expectations. But only when wounds are opened can healing begin. Li Ma’s gift to us is to honor their stories, their pain and their hope.” (Emily R. Brink, Senior Research Fellow, retired, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, USA)
“With outstanding scholarly credentials, Li Ma has presented dozens of lively and touching stories that show how the Christian faith has brought about changes for today's Chinese families. Due to drastic change in socio-political structures, conflicts and tension between two generations of Chinese women are inevitable and sometimes subtly alleviated.” (Grant Chen, Founding President of Blessings Foundation, USA)Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Li Ma is Research Fellow at the Henry Institute, Calvin University, USA. Her other books include Surviving the State, Remaking the Church; The Chinese Exodus; and Religious Entrepreneurism in China's Urban House Churches.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Christianity, Femininity and Social Change in Contemporary China
Authors: Li Ma
Series Title: Palgrave Studies in Oral History
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31802-4
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: History, History (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-31801-7Published: 19 December 2019
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-31804-8Published: 20 December 2020
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-31802-4Published: 11 December 2019
Series ISSN: 2731-5673
Series E-ISSN: 2731-5681
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XII, 205
Topics: Oral History, History of China, Social History, Christianity, Women's Studies