2016 Chinese Theology: Text and Context

This major new study examines the history of Chinese theologies as they have navigated dynastic change, anti-imperialism, and the heights of Maoist propaganda

In this groundbreaking and authoritative study, Chloë Starr explores key writings of Chinese Christian intellectuals, from philosophical dialogues of the late imperial era to sermons and micro blogs of theological educators and pastors in the twenty-first century. Through a series of close textual readings, she sheds new light on the fraught issues of Chinese Christian identity and the evolving question of how Christianity should relate to Chinese society.

Chloë Starr is associate professor of Asian Christianity and theology at Yale University Divinity School. She is the author of Red-Light Novels of the Late Qing and the coeditor of The Quest for Gentility in China. She lives in New Haven, CT.

“A rare and prized contribution, this book offers penetrating analysis of the literary forms and theological contents of major Chinese texts. Chloe Starr is to be commended for her masterful work.”—John Yueh-Han Yieh, Virginia Theological Seminary

“This brilliant book by Chloe Starr will become a foundational study of both the historical foundations of Christianity in contemporary China and, even more significantly, the Chinese textual histories and patterns upon which those foundations rest.”—David Jasper, author of Literature and Theology as a Grammar of Assent

“This timely book heralds the maturation of a distinctively Chinese theology. It is illuminated by the author’s reading of the Chinese texts in their original literary forms and situated in their social and cultural contexts.”— Fenggang Yang, Purdue University

“This is the most inspiring book on Chinese theology that I have read. In a captivating literary style, Chloë Starr guides the reader through the history of Chinese theological texts, examining their ties to Chinese literary forms.”— Nicolas Standaert, University of Leuven

“Chloë Starr expertly tracks the diverse theological spectrum of China, ranging through twentieth-century texts and beyond to illustrate how Chinese intellectuals and theologians struggled to make scripture relevant to their particular context.”—Fuk-tsang Ying, Chinese University of Hong Kong

http://yalebooks.com/book/9780300204216/chinese-theology