The Reverend

T. C. Chao
趙紫宸
Born
Tzu-ch'en Chao

(1888-02-14)February 14, 1888
Xinshi, Huzhou, Zhejiang, China
DiedNovember 21, 1979(1979-11-21) (aged 91)
Beijing, China
Spouse
Tong Dingzhen
​
(m. 1905)​
Academic background
Alma mater
InfluencesBorden Parker Bowne[1]
Academic work
Discipline
  • Philosophy
  • theology
InstitutionsYenching University

Tzu-ch'en Chao (simplified Chinese: 赵紫宸; traditional Chinese: 趙紫宸; pinyin: Zhào Zǐchén; 1888–1979), also known as T. C. Chao, was one of the leading Protestant theological thinkers in China in the early twentieth century.[2]

Life

Chao was born on February 14, 1888, in Xinshi, Deqing County, Zhejiang, China. In 1903, at the age of fifteen, he chose to pursue a Western-style education, and enrolled in a secondary school affiliated with Soochow University. He was admitted to the university a few years later.[3]

In 1905, Chao married Tong Dingzhen (童定珍), who was two years older than him. The couple had four children: Lucy (Chinese: 赵萝蕤; pinyin: Zhao Luorui), Timothy (Chinese: 赵景心; pinyin: Zhao Jingxin), Edward (Chinese: 赵景德; pinyin: Zhao Jingde), and Walter (Chinese: 赵景伦; pinyin: Zhao Jinglun).[3]

In 1907, while attending university, Chao chose to be baptized as a Christian.[3] He graduated from Soochow University in 1910. In 1914, he went to the United States to study at Vanderbilt University. He graduated in 1917 with a Master of Arts degree in sociology and a Bachelor of Divinity degree.[4]

Chao was well known for his academic work as a professor of religious philosophy and dean at Yenching University (1928-1951).[3] In 1948, the first general assembly of the World Council of Churches elected him as one of its six presidents. However, he resigned the post in 1950 in protest against the council's stand on the Korean War.[5]

When the Three-Self Patriotic Movement was launched, Chao was one of the 40 church leaders who signed the "Christian Manifesto". In the 1950s, he began to express anti-American sentiments publicly. However, he was accused of siding with the Americans by the Communist government in 1956 and was only rehabilitated in 1979, a few months before his death.[6]

Chao died on November 21, 1979.

Theology

Chao is regarded by many as the leading Chinese theologian of the twentieth century.[7] According to Gareth Jones, Chao converted from Methodism to Anglicanism on 20 July 1941, when Bishop Ronald Hall confirmed and also ordained him as both a deacon and priest all on the same day. The reason for his commitment to Anglicanism was due to "the deep appreciation of the ecclesial vocation".[8][9]

During the anti-Christian movement of the 1920s, Chao advised Chinese Christians to remove the Western husk from Christianity in order to discover the true essence of the religion. A truly indigenous Christianity, Chao argued, would be a useful basis for social reconstruction in China. In later years, he became more conservative in faith, especially after his imprisonment by the Japanese for several months in 1942. Chao reconciled himself to the new Communist government in Beijing after 1949.[2]

These changes in the sociopolitical context would be reflected in Chao's theology, especially in his view of Christ, which moved from a more liberal starting point to a conservative one that addressed questions of human and societal sin.[7][10]

See also

References

  1. ^ Chen, Yongtao (2017). The Chinese Christology of T. C. Chao. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. p. 62. doi:10.1163/9789004322417. ISBN 978-90-04-32241-7.
  2. ^ a b Glüer, Winfried (1982). "The Legacy of T. C. Chao" (PDF). International Bulletin of Missionary Research. 6 (4): 165–169. doi:10.1177/239693938200600406. S2CID 148575716.
  3. ^ a b c d Doyle, G. Wright; Zhang, Junmin. "Zhao Zichen (1888—1979)". Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  4. ^ "赵紫宸". Beijing Dongcheng District First Library. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  5. ^ Glüer, Winfried (1998). Die Theologische Arbeit T.C. Chao's In Der Zeit Von 1918 Bis 1956 (Chinese translation). Chinese Christian Literature Council Ltd. ISBN 962-294-027-7.
  6. ^ Wickeri, Philip L. (2011). Seeking the Common Ground: Protestant Christianity, the Three-Self Movement, and China's United Front. Wipf and Stock Publishers. pp. 244–249. ISBN 978-1-61097-529-2.
  7. ^ a b Chow, Alexander (2013). Theosis, Sino-Christian Theology and the Second Chinese Enlightenment: Heaven and Humanity in Unity. Palgrave Macmillan US. pp. 65–87. ISBN 978-1-137-31262-4.
  8. ^ Chen, Yongtao (2015). "T. C. Chao and the Sheng Kung Hui". In Wickeri, Philip L. (ed.). Christian Encounters with Chinese Culture: Essays on Anglican and Episcopal History in China. Hong Kong University Press. p. 171. ISBN 978-988-8208-38-8.
  9. ^ Jones, Gareth (Autumn 2016). "The Church in China: R O Hall and the Future of Anglican Ecclesiology" (PDF). Minghua. 15: 16–17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 December 2018.
  10. ^ Yongtao Chen (20 September 2016). The Chinese Christology of T. C. Chao. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-32241-7.

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