National Deliverance through Culture or of Culture? T. C. Chao on Christianity and Chinese Culture

Abstract

This article traces the theological evolution in the thought of T. C. Chao regarding national deliverance as it related to Chinese culture. Although Chao never wavered on the significance of Christianity in national reconstruction, his position on the relationship between Chinese culture and Christianity shows significant theological reorientation. In his earlier works Chao tried to clothe Christianity with a Chinese fabric, emphasizing the immanence of the faith by making it culturally relevant to his compatriots. Later, “caught by truth” in a Japanese prison, Chao instead turned to Christian transcendence as the necessary corrective for the challenges and crises in Chinese culture and society.