On April 27, an online sharing session was held on the book Culture and Christ: From Swallowing to Saving Men.
This book, published in earlier this year, is a magnum opus by Christian playwright Jiang Yuanlai. It is a collection of Jiang’s most popular courses that he has taught in various places for more than two decades—the "Culture and Christ" series.
Jiang Yuanlai, a native of Shanghai, went to the remote villages of Heilongjiang to "settle in the countryside" for more than three years. He became a Christian in the 1980s and entered the field of Christian culture in the early 1990s. Jiang began his drama writing at the end of the 1990s and was recognized as one of the most important folk playwrights on the Chinese mainland by critics. Consisting of eight chapters, the book talks about the relationship between culture and Christ.
Shuai Hao, a non-Christian art history specialist and art critic, believes that in China, few are involved in art as Christian artists, and among those artists, few can express their art as Christian art. This is because China entered the world of contemporary art relatively late. “The United States is at the forefront of contemporary art, but the U.S. tries to prevent Christianity from entering the public arena. Nevertheless, Professor Jiang has made valuable contributions in this field,” he said.
Shuai believes that Jiang has also acted as a channel by interacting directly with the public all these years. “From Mr. Jiang's work, I see a connection between the academic frontier and ordinary people. In the book, while academic avant-garde ideas become a language that common people can understand, the voice of the public is also deeply heard.”
Independent Christian artist Zhang Yu comments that the book is down-to-earth and a great book on theology. He agrees with the book’s description of the current situation of the Chinese church: “In the book, Mr. Jiang points out that the church, which is like an eagle, should have two wings. One is the wing of evangelism, and the other is the wing of cultural and social mission. Unfortunately, churches today only have the evangelistic wing, but not the cultural wing.”
He adds, “Christian education is also going in the direction of ‘liberal arts education,’ as if it has a strong emphasis on elitist education, turning it into a modern training of ‘Shih Ta Fu’ (scholar-official in ancient China). Such a form of education is cut off from the rest of the world, and the preachers, pastors, and Christians so trained will be cut off from reality and become even more elitist. But Professor Jiang raises the direction of ‘liberal education,’ which is a very praiseworthy concept because it can not only revitalize people and their creativity but also increase their motivation for practical action.”
"Although the first missionaries who came to China were only in their early 20s, they went to the most remote mountainous areas and could manage on their own. But our seminary graduates today, who are also in their early 20s, still seem like babies who are unable to adapt to society, let alone go on missions to the ethnic minority regions or the barren mountains and primitive areas.”
Professor Liu Dahong from the Fine Arts College of Shanghai Normal University and a renowned oil painter, said that one thing he likes about Jiang's book is the richness of its contents. “From music to art to poetry to the many Christian communities he came in contact with, ranging from peasants to scholars. It is this richness that caught my interest.”
Ms. Zhang, a Christian who worked as a journalist for many years and is now a teacher, also gave some feedback on the book: “This book contains many interviews and records, all of which are first-hand information that Professor Jiang obtained by traveling to the ends of the earth. These are true records that can help us get the whole picture of this country and society. The Scream of Lu Xun is very famous, and in Professor Jiang’s book, you can see that he is having a dialog with Lu Xun. In this book, I can hear Professor Jiang's cry, it is a cry for this country, a cry for cultural redemption, and a cry for unity.”
Jiang Yuanlai responded: “I would say that this book is a fruit I bear from the Christian community. Everything took place in the Christian community, from the beginning of the idea of this book to the conceptualization and development of its content. It includes my lectures, the discussions with my seminary students, and my ministries. It is a book that has gradually ‘ripened’ over the past 20 years, and it is also a report to the Lord, completed together with many people.”
- Translated by Joyce Leung
4月27日，一场《文化与基督：吃人到救人》读书分享会在网上举行。
《文化与基督：吃人到救人》是基督徒剧作家姜原来在今年3月刚出版的一本巨著，该书是姜老师二十多年来在各地走访教学中，最受学生欢迎的课程——《文化与基督》系列的集合。
艺术史研究大家以及艺术评论家、非基督徒的帅好老师认为中国从基督教的角度进入艺术的人就很少，进来的人很少有人能以基督教的角度将艺术表达出来。因为中国在世界当代艺术中进入艺术的时间比较晚，“美国是当代艺术的前沿，但美国也排斥基督教进入公共领域。但姜老师在这个方面有所建树。”
帅老师认为姜原来老师多年行走在底层与民众对话的做法具有桥梁性的作用，“姜老师的作品，让我看到了一座学术前沿以及民间的桥梁，将学术上前卫的思想变成民间的语言告诉民众。此外，民众的声音也通过该书深刻的表达了出来。”
基督徒独立艺术创作人张羽认为这本书非常接地气，同时这本书可称为一本很好的神学书。他认可此书对中国教会现况的描述：“在书中，姜老师认为：教会像一只鹰，当有两张翅膀。一是传福音的翅膀，另一是文化和社会使命翅膀。遗憾的是今天教会只有传福音的翅膀，完全没有文化性的翅膀。”
他补充道：“基督教也都在提博雅教育，好像只是注重精英化教育，变成了现代版本的士大夫教育，完全脱离人民群众的教育，这样培养出来的传道人、牧师、基督徒，是脱离大地深处的，越来越精英化。但是姜老师提博野，野生的概念非常好，重新激活人的生命力、创作力和实际的行动力。”
“早期来华的宣教士们，20岁出头就来了中国最偏远的山区，但他们可以独当一面。反观我们现在20岁出头的神学毕业生，给人没有断奶的生命状态。没有社会适应能力，更别说到少数民族地区、荒山野岭、原始地带去做宣教。”
上海师范大学美术学院的教授和著名油画家刘大鸿教授分享喜欢姜老师的书的一个原因是书里面的内容非常丰富。“”从音乐、美术、诗歌，到他接触到的许许多多基督徒群体。他接触的人从农民到学者。这种丰富是我喜欢的。”
一位姓张的基督徒姐妹曾做过多年记者，现是一名教师，评价此书：“这本书囊括了姜老师的很多采访和记录，这些都是行走大地深处第一手资料的记录，是帮助我们了解这个国家，这个社会全貌的真实记录……鲁迅的《呐喊》很有名，这本书中可以看到姜老师和鲁迅的对话，我在这本书中听到了姜老师的呐喊，是对这片土地，是对文化救赎的呐喊，是对合一的呐喊。”
姜原来回应：“这本书可以说，是我在基督徒共同体中的收获。这本书从开始的思考、酝酿，都是在基督徒共同体里面展开的。囊括了我的讲课、和神学生的探讨、服事，是在20几年中逐渐‘成熟’的一本书，也是一部和许多人共同完成的给主的汇报。”
姜原来《文化与基督》书友会反响热烈
On April 27, an online sharing session was held on the book Culture and Christ: From Swallowing to Saving Men.
This book, published in earlier this year, is a magnum opus by Christian playwright Jiang Yuanlai. It is a collection of Jiang’s most popular courses that he has taught in various places for more than two decades—the "Culture and Christ" series.
Jiang Yuanlai, a native of Shanghai, went to the remote villages of Heilongjiang to "settle in the countryside" for more than three years. He became a Christian in the 1980s and entered the field of Christian culture in the early 1990s. Jiang began his drama writing at the end of the 1990s and was recognized as one of the most important folk playwrights on the Chinese mainland by critics. Consisting of eight chapters, the book talks about the relationship between culture and Christ.
Shuai Hao, a non-Christian art history specialist and art critic, believes that in China, few are involved in art as Christian artists, and among those artists, few can express their art as Christian art. This is because China entered the world of contemporary art relatively late. “The United States is at the forefront of contemporary art, but the U.S. tries to prevent Christianity from entering the public arena. Nevertheless, Professor Jiang has made valuable contributions in this field,” he said.
Shuai believes that Jiang has also acted as a channel by interacting directly with the public all these years. “From Mr. Jiang's work, I see a connection between the academic frontier and ordinary people. In the book, while academic avant-garde ideas become a language that common people can understand, the voice of the public is also deeply heard.”
Independent Christian artist Zhang Yu comments that the book is down-to-earth and a great book on theology. He agrees with the book’s description of the current situation of the Chinese church: “In the book, Mr. Jiang points out that the church, which is like an eagle, should have two wings. One is the wing of evangelism, and the other is the wing of cultural and social mission. Unfortunately, churches today only have the evangelistic wing, but not the cultural wing.”
He adds, “Christian education is also going in the direction of ‘liberal arts education,’ as if it has a strong emphasis on elitist education, turning it into a modern training of ‘Shih Ta Fu’ (scholar-official in ancient China). Such a form of education is cut off from the rest of the world, and the preachers, pastors, and Christians so trained will be cut off from reality and become even more elitist. But Professor Jiang raises the direction of ‘liberal education,’ which is a very praiseworthy concept because it can not only revitalize people and their creativity but also increase their motivation for practical action.”
"Although the first missionaries who came to China were only in their early 20s, they went to the most remote mountainous areas and could manage on their own. But our seminary graduates today, who are also in their early 20s, still seem like babies who are unable to adapt to society, let alone go on missions to the ethnic minority regions or the barren mountains and primitive areas.”
Professor Liu Dahong from the Fine Arts College of Shanghai Normal University and a renowned oil painter, said that one thing he likes about Jiang's book is the richness of its contents. “From music to art to poetry to the many Christian communities he came in contact with, ranging from peasants to scholars. It is this richness that caught my interest.”
Ms. Zhang, a Christian who worked as a journalist for many years and is now a teacher, also gave some feedback on the book: “This book contains many interviews and records, all of which are first-hand information that Professor Jiang obtained by traveling to the ends of the earth. These are true records that can help us get the whole picture of this country and society. The Scream of Lu Xun is very famous, and in Professor Jiang’s book, you can see that he is having a dialog with Lu Xun. In this book, I can hear Professor Jiang's cry, it is a cry for this country, a cry for cultural redemption, and a cry for unity.”
Jiang Yuanlai responded: “I would say that this book is a fruit I bear from the Christian community. Everything took place in the Christian community, from the beginning of the idea of this book to the conceptualization and development of its content. It includes my lectures, the discussions with my seminary students, and my ministries. It is a book that has gradually ‘ripened’ over the past 20 years, and it is also a report to the Lord, completed together with many people.”
- Translated by Joyce Leung
Christian Playwright's New Book on Culture and Christ Receives Overwhelming Response
