Jiang Linjing, a Chinese Christian intellectual, shared how the Christian faith ignited her passion for art and culture.
Jiang, associate professor of the German Language and Literature Department at Fudan University holding a doctor's degree in German Literature from Heidelberg University, Germany, delivered an online lecture titled “Culture and Faith” on November 30.
Organized by the Reformed Evangelical Ministries in Hong Kong, the lecture was hosted by Dr. Shao Kai Tseng, a researcher at the Institute of Religion in the Department of Philosophy of Zhejiang University and a former assistant professor of systematic theology in China Evangelical Theological Seminary.
The passion for art and underpainting of life inherited from her Christian family members
In the lecture, Professor Jiang Linjing started by stating that her passion for art and music came from her Christian family members, joking that she was the third generation of “Christians of art and literature”.
The scholar's grandmother was the first in her family to come to Christ. When she was a child, she went to church with her grandmother who also influenced her father, Jiang Yuanlai, who was baptized in the late 1990s. Due to the divergence between her parents, when she was seven, she was raised by her mother alone, but she also had some time to be together with her father and grandmother. During the short time spent with her father, Jiang would spend half a day with her father buying music cassettes in a music store in Shanghai. When she brought them home, she would listen to them repeatedly. When Jiang got together with her father and grandmother, she would talk about her favorites from the cassettes.
At that time, domestic music resources were scarce. When she got her favorite classical music cassettes, Jiang would cherish the scarce ‘manna’ in her hands like the Israelites in the wilderness and she listened and listened. Then, when a radio station played classical music tracks, she would quickly record them on empty tapes and chew on them over and over again.
Meanwhile, her Christian grandmother would often teach her to rely on God if she became sad. In her little mind, God was an existence of being, an imaginary friend. When she missed her grandmother and father, she would imagine holding hands with God and singing hymns next to them. The grandmother had always told her to always pray for her mother who had worked hard to raise her. Therefore, since she was a child, she developed a habit of recording what was to be prayed on a tape, and even when she was a graduate student, she would put her daily prayers in a notebook. In her view, God was a true and intimate friend.
Until she went to study abroad in Heidelberg, Germany, she met like-minded Chinese Christian friends with whom she read scriptures, prayed, and sang hymns together. So, then the “private” God gradually changed into “our” God and His image became much richer.
Choosing the German language and literature major to understand German music
Professor Jiang introduced the fact that she majored in physics in high school but was the only student in the science class to choose to study literature in the university. Since she began to learn English, she would secretly recite Emily Dickinson’s poems because the language was simple, and the content connected the poet with God.
Moreover, her grandmother particularly liked the works of Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, while her father preferred Fyodor Dostoevsky. On every winter and summer vacation from junior to senior high school, she would read a novel written by these two Russian literary giants. Eager to read the Russian original novels, she once was planning to apply for the Russian major. Unfortunately, Fudan University at that time only recruited Russian major students every other year, and it happened that its Russian major department didn’t enroll students in that year when she sat gaokao, China's national college entrance examination. She went to Shanghai International Studies University to study German, for at least she could use German to understand what German composer Richard Wagner’s operas or Franz Schubert’s song circles were conveying. She even wanted to understand the instructions printed in German on cassette covers.
The influence of faith on the study of German culture
When Professor Jiang was a student, she experienced great confusion: the poems written by German poet Friedrich Hölderlin and the biographies written by Austrian writer Stefan Zweig did not reflect many Christian elements, but Holderling’s works showed a mixture of non-Christian elements and polytheism.
Although Holderlin studied Christian theology, she would not directly judge whether he was a pantheist first, but first face directly his writings, because his works included thinking about God in the world. She would think about how his writings became a bridge between me, nature, and God; she would regard him as a “reconciler”. When the bridge of communication or the power of life was established between the reader and the poet, she went on to see whether the power belonged to the gods or to Christ. There might be the possibility of misreading and misjudgment in the process, so she would make the process of judgment as slow as possible and would not enter the theological dimension too soon.
It was like in a church service where everyone yelled “Halleluiah, praise the Lord”. While praising, everyone might have their own schemes or invisible abysses in their hearts. The difference between theology and literature was the individuals who embodied in the community. When dealing with literature, there would be a variety of noises in joint praise, and God would not reject the praise because of the different noises.
Dr. Shao Kai Tseng responded with the idea that when theologians evaluated literature, music, or theology, the first attitude they should hold was to “listen quickly and respond slowly”. Otherwise, they would easily be in a position of overstepping God. When there was something in the poem that touched you, we could not deny that there was divine brilliance in me, there was also the created and fallen humanity as part of me. We should feel for the author’s situation and sympathize with and appreciate the literary works.
The role of music in the Reformation deserving attention
In her book The Art of German Music-Poetry, in which she analyzes 19 German songs (Kunstlied) and poems, the first poem is “Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Thy Word" written by Martin Luther, the father of the Reformation.
It is not commonly known that when Luther translated the Latin Bible into German, he wrote more than 40 hymns at the same time, and then asked excellent composers to compose music for them. Therefore, he was also called “The Nightingale of Wittenburg”. Luther once said that if he didn’t become a theologian, he would have become a musician. Luther’s theology attached great importance to freedom, and his poem “Ms. Music” ("Frau Musika") mentioned that King David used the harp to exorcise Saul’s demons, admiring that music could help people enjoy freedom and joy.
Later, Hans Sachs, a follower of Luther, wrote a long doggerel “The Nightingale of Wittenburg”, which made people familiar with Luther’s contribution to the religious reform. Richard Wagner, a famous German composer, based on his poem, created “The Famous Singer of Nuremberg”, making him a German song master. Therefore, the role of music deserved attention during the Reformation period.
- Translated by Charlie Li
2021年11月30日，复旦大学德语语言文学系副教授、德国海德堡大学德语文学博士姜林静做客归正福音事工REM，主讲《漫谈文化与信仰》。
此次讲座由香港归正福音事工（Reformed Evangelical Ministries）主办，浙江大学哲学系宗教所研究员、前中华福音神学院系统神学助理教授曾劭恺博士主持。
对于艺术的激情和生命的底色从信主的家人而来
在讲座中，姜林静教授首先分享她对于艺术和音乐的激情是从信主的家人而来，并且笑称她是第三代“文艺基督徒”。姜林静的奶奶是家里最早信主的，在小时候，她就跟着奶奶去教堂。信主的奶奶也影响了她的父亲姜原来，继而在上世纪的90年末受洗。由于父母之间的分歧，7岁的时候，她由妈妈单独抚养，也会有与父亲和奶奶一起相聚的时间。在与父亲相处的不多时间内，姜林静会跟着父亲花上半天时间去上海的一家音乐书店买音乐卡带，带回家后会反复聆听，等到与父亲和奶奶相聚的时候会聊起自己喜欢的片段。
而那时候国内的音乐资源比较匮乏，当拿到喜欢的古典音乐卡带时，姜林静就会像处在旷野的以色列人一样非常珍惜这手中不多的吗哪，反复聆听。当时的电台播放古典音乐的曲目时，她就赶紧用空盘的磁带录制下来，之后反复咀嚼。
与此同时，信主的奶奶也会常常教导她，在伤心难过的时候要去依靠上帝。在年幼的她心中，神像是一种实存性的存在，假想中的朋友。当她想念奶奶和父亲的时候，她会假想跟神手拉着手，在奶奶和父亲旁边一起唱着赞美诗。奶奶也一直告诉她，要常常为辛苦抚养自己的母亲祷告。所以，她从小养成了一个习惯，就是把自己想要祷告的内容录制到磁带上，直到读研究生的时候，还会把每天的祷告在小本子上。在她看来，神是既真实又亲密的朋友。
直到她去了德国的海德堡留学时，她遇到了志同道合的主内华人朋友，一起读经祷告和唱诗歌，这样“私人化”的神慢慢转变成为了“我们”的神，形象变得丰满不少。
选择德语语言文学专业是期待读懂德国音乐
姜教授介绍，自己高中时主修物理，但是却是在理科班中唯一一个选择读文学的学生。自从她开始学英文后，她会开始偷偷背艾米莉·狄金森（Emily Dickinson）的诗歌，因为语言非常简单，内容中也蕴含诗人与神个人之间的连接。
此外，她的奶奶喜爱俄罗斯小说家托尔斯泰的作品，父亲则喜欢陀思妥耶夫斯基。她从初中到高中之间每年寒暑假，她都会读这两位俄罗斯文学巨擘的一本小说。因为她特别想读懂小说的俄文原文，所以大学曾打算报考俄文系。而不巧的是，当时的复旦大学隔一年才招俄文等的小语种专业，恰巧她高考的那一年俄文系刚好不招生。她转而到了上海外国语大学修读德文系，至少她以后可以用德文去看看德国作曲家瓦格纳的歌剧或者舒伯特的艺术歌曲究竟在讲什么，甚至想看懂音乐磁带上的德文说明。
信仰对于研究德国文化的影响
当姜林静教授还是学生的时候，她曾经经历过很大的困惑：德国诗人弗里德里希·荷尔德林所写的诗歌以及奥地利作家斯蒂芬·茨威格为之所撰写的传记中，并没有体现出太多基督教的元素，反而荷尔德林的作品展现出了非基督教元素和多神主义的混合。
虽然荷尔德林修读过基督教神学，姜林静不会先直接去判定他是否是泛神论者，而是先去直面他的文字，因为他的著作有包含对于世界当中的上帝的思考。她会去思考他的文字如何成为我、自然和上帝之间的桥梁，会把荷尔德林看作是“和解者”。当读者和诗人之间建立起沟通的桥梁或者说是生命的力量时，她再去察看这股力量是属于众神还是属于基督。这个过程可能会存在误读和误判的可能性，所以她会将这个做判断的过程尽可能变得缓慢，不会太快去进入到神学的维度中。
这就像是在教堂中，当每个人都在呼喊“主，我赞美你”，在赞美的同时可能每个人心里都有自己的盘算或者不可见的深渊。文学与神学不同的是，体现的是身处共同体的人。阅读文学时会有共同赞美中存在的杂音，而上帝并不会因为存在不同的杂音而不去悦纳这样的赞美。
曾劭恺博士回应道，当神学家去评价文学、音乐或者神学时，首先该持有的态度是“快快地听，慢慢地说”，不然容易站在僭越上帝的位置上。当诗歌中有触及与自己内心的部分，我们无法去否认，我里面有神性光辉的同时，也有作为受造又堕落的人的一部分。我们应该带着道成肉身的同理心，体会作者的处境，去同情和欣赏文学作品。
宗教改革中音乐所扮演的角色值得关注
姜林静教授著有《德语"音乐诗歌"的艺术》一书，书中她选择了19首诗歌讲述德国的艺术歌曲（Kunstlied）与诗歌。第一首诗歌则是由宗教改革之父马丁·路德所创作的《用你的话语保守我们》。
鲜为人知的是，路德在翻译拉丁文圣经到德文时，同时创作了40多首圣诗歌，之后他让优秀的作曲家为它们谱曲，因此，他也被称为“维滕堡的夜莺”（The Nightingale of Wittenburg）。路德曾经说过，如果他没有成为一位神学家，他想成为一位音乐家。路德的神学十分注重自由，他创作的诗歌《音乐女士》就提及当年大卫王用竖琴演奏为扫罗驱魔，赞叹音乐可以帮助人得享自由和喜悦。
之后，路德的追随者汉斯·萨克斯(Hans Sachs)就写了一篇长篇打油诗《维滕堡的夜莺》（The Nightingale of Wittenburg），让人们耳熟能详地记住路德在宗教改革之中的贡献。德国著名作曲家理查德·瓦格纳根据这首诗歌，创作了《纽伦堡的名歌手》，使之成为德意志的歌唱大师。因此，在当时的宗教改革中，音乐的角色值得关注。
学术| 德语语言文学学者姜林静博士讲座分享：《漫谈文化与信仰》
Jiang Linjing, a Chinese Christian intellectual, shared how the Christian faith ignited her passion for art and culture.
Jiang, associate professor of the German Language and Literature Department at Fudan University holding a doctor's degree in German Literature from Heidelberg University, Germany, delivered an online lecture titled “Culture and Faith” on November 30.
Organized by the Reformed Evangelical Ministries in Hong Kong, the lecture was hosted by Dr. Shao Kai Tseng, a researcher at the Institute of Religion in the Department of Philosophy of Zhejiang University and a former assistant professor of systematic theology in China Evangelical Theological Seminary.
The passion for art and underpainting of life inherited from her Christian family members
In the lecture, Professor Jiang Linjing started by stating that her passion for art and music came from her Christian family members, joking that she was the third generation of “Christians of art and literature”.
The scholar's grandmother was the first in her family to come to Christ. When she was a child, she went to church with her grandmother who also influenced her father, Jiang Yuanlai, who was baptized in the late 1990s. Due to the divergence between her parents, when she was seven, she was raised by her mother alone, but she also had some time to be together with her father and grandmother. During the short time spent with her father, Jiang would spend half a day with her father buying music cassettes in a music store in Shanghai. When she brought them home, she would listen to them repeatedly. When Jiang got together with her father and grandmother, she would talk about her favorites from the cassettes.
At that time, domestic music resources were scarce. When she got her favorite classical music cassettes, Jiang would cherish the scarce ‘manna’ in her hands like the Israelites in the wilderness and she listened and listened. Then, when a radio station played classical music tracks, she would quickly record them on empty tapes and chew on them over and over again.
Meanwhile, her Christian grandmother would often teach her to rely on God if she became sad. In her little mind, God was an existence of being, an imaginary friend. When she missed her grandmother and father, she would imagine holding hands with God and singing hymns next to them. The grandmother had always told her to always pray for her mother who had worked hard to raise her. Therefore, since she was a child, she developed a habit of recording what was to be prayed on a tape, and even when she was a graduate student, she would put her daily prayers in a notebook. In her view, God was a true and intimate friend.
Until she went to study abroad in Heidelberg, Germany, she met like-minded Chinese Christian friends with whom she read scriptures, prayed, and sang hymns together. So, then the “private” God gradually changed into “our” God and His image became much richer.
Choosing the German language and literature major to understand German music
Professor Jiang introduced the fact that she majored in physics in high school but was the only student in the science class to choose to study literature in the university. Since she began to learn English, she would secretly recite Emily Dickinson’s poems because the language was simple, and the content connected the poet with God.
Moreover, her grandmother particularly liked the works of Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, while her father preferred Fyodor Dostoevsky. On every winter and summer vacation from junior to senior high school, she would read a novel written by these two Russian literary giants. Eager to read the Russian original novels, she once was planning to apply for the Russian major. Unfortunately, Fudan University at that time only recruited Russian major students every other year, and it happened that its Russian major department didn’t enroll students in that year when she sat gaokao, China's national college entrance examination. She went to Shanghai International Studies University to study German, for at least she could use German to understand what German composer Richard Wagner’s operas or Franz Schubert’s song circles were conveying. She even wanted to understand the instructions printed in German on cassette covers.
The influence of faith on the study of German culture
When Professor Jiang was a student, she experienced great confusion: the poems written by German poet Friedrich Hölderlin and the biographies written by Austrian writer Stefan Zweig did not reflect many Christian elements, but Holderling’s works showed a mixture of non-Christian elements and polytheism.
Although Holderlin studied Christian theology, she would not directly judge whether he was a pantheist first, but first face directly his writings, because his works included thinking about God in the world. She would think about how his writings became a bridge between me, nature, and God; she would regard him as a “reconciler”. When the bridge of communication or the power of life was established between the reader and the poet, she went on to see whether the power belonged to the gods or to Christ. There might be the possibility of misreading and misjudgment in the process, so she would make the process of judgment as slow as possible and would not enter the theological dimension too soon.
It was like in a church service where everyone yelled “Halleluiah, praise the Lord”. While praising, everyone might have their own schemes or invisible abysses in their hearts. The difference between theology and literature was the individuals who embodied in the community. When dealing with literature, there would be a variety of noises in joint praise, and God would not reject the praise because of the different noises.
Dr. Shao Kai Tseng responded with the idea that when theologians evaluated literature, music, or theology, the first attitude they should hold was to “listen quickly and respond slowly”. Otherwise, they would easily be in a position of overstepping God. When there was something in the poem that touched you, we could not deny that there was divine brilliance in me, there was also the created and fallen humanity as part of me. We should feel for the author’s situation and sympathize with and appreciate the literary works.
The role of music in the Reformation deserving attention
In her book The Art of German Music-Poetry, in which she analyzes 19 German songs (Kunstlied) and poems, the first poem is “Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Thy Word" written by Martin Luther, the father of the Reformation.
It is not commonly known that when Luther translated the Latin Bible into German, he wrote more than 40 hymns at the same time, and then asked excellent composers to compose music for them. Therefore, he was also called “The Nightingale of Wittenburg”. Luther once said that if he didn’t become a theologian, he would have become a musician. Luther’s theology attached great importance to freedom, and his poem “Ms. Music” ("Frau Musika") mentioned that King David used the harp to exorcise Saul’s demons, admiring that music could help people enjoy freedom and joy.
Later, Hans Sachs, a follower of Luther, wrote a long doggerel “The Nightingale of Wittenburg”, which made people familiar with Luther’s contribution to the religious reform. Richard Wagner, a famous German composer, based on his poem, created “The Famous Singer of Nuremberg”, making him a German song master. Therefore, the role of music deserved attention during the Reformation period.
- Translated by Charlie Li
Christian Language Scholar Shares How Christian Faith Inspires Her Passion for Culture
