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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.
List of contents
1. Introduction.- 2. Prodigal Daughter.- 3. Lost Sheep.- 4. Little Comfort.- 5. Suicide.- 6. Upward Mobility.- 7. Mustard Seeds.- 8. Negative Emotions.- 9. Looming Tragedy.- 10. "Schizophrenia".- 11. Estranged.- 12. Cautionary Tale.- 13. Familial Harmony.- 14. Impartial Love.- 15. Strong Woman.- 16. Conclusion.
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.
Report
"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)
