Dancing in the square, a popular exercise routine among the middle-aged and retired Chinese women, has nothing to do with Christianity. Although they seem completely unrelated, perhaps there are ways that they could be found to have some similarities
First of all, let's look at two examples. In this way, we will begin to see that square dancing has a close relationship with Christianity.
The Dama who lives downstairs came from the countryside to take care of her grandson after her daughter-in-law gave birth to a baby. She is nearly seventy years old. She is in good health and full of energy when talking about her grandson. When she arrived, she began to do the housework and take care of her son and his family. To keep in touch, her son bought her a smartphone. Sometimes in the park in the community square, I could hear hymns or sermons playing on her cell phone. That’s how I knew she was a Christian.
After learning that I was also a Christian, she asked me where Christians meet, and I was happy to introduce her to a church in her neighborhood. On Sundays, when her son and daughter-in-law were resting at home, she would go to church.
When her son and daughter-in-law came home from work in the evening, and she didn't have to take care of their child, she would go downstairs and walk around by herself. Gradually, because others around her were also taking care of their children, she became familiar with the elderly people who took care of their grandsons or granddaughters.
About three or four months after she came to Suzhou, the weather slowly warmed up and people in the community began to gather to square dance. In the square in the neighborhood center, trained dancers and the elderly who were dancing gradually filled the whole square. In the beginning, Dama just stood by and watched. After a few days, she imitated the dancers while watching. I often saw her as she wiggled on the side of the crowd.
So after a period of time, I saw here in the group of people who were square dancing. Her enthusiasm for square dancing never got out of hand. Every day after her son and daughter-in-law got off work and settled their child after dinner, she would go downstairs to dance in the square. Her enthusiasm for square dancing was far greater than her desire to attend church.
Later, at church events, she would attend only Sunday parties, and when they were over, she would return home to spend time with elderly friends she had met while dancing.
Still later, when I met her in the square, her phone was full of rhythmic pop music instead of hymns and scripture verses.
Once, we talked for a little while. She said that there was dancing the park in her hometown, but she was too old to be laughed at by others and felt embarrassed to dance. Now people of all ages were dancing in the community, so she joined in.
There is an aunt downstairs, about fifty years old, who came from the countryside to take care of her granddaughter. This aunt is relatively young and is quick to accept new things. Within a few months, this aunt fell in love with short videos on Tik Tok. In her spare time with her child, she would also dance for a little while and sing a short song to post on Tik Tok.
Dama was a Christian. She said she had a terrible toothache before and took all kinds of medicine, but they didn’t work. Later, she was introduced to the Lord and believed in the Lord. After a period of time, her tooth didn’t ache anymore. Naturally, she became a Christian. But today the enthusiasm for square dance has clearly surpassed that for Christianity.
The aunt is not a Christian, but TikTok's appeal to her apparently exceeds that of other forms of entertainment, and at this point, preaching would probably be far less appealing.
It has been several years since square dancing has become popular. Although there has been a lot of controversy around square dancing. especially the tension and conflict between modern urban civilization and it was a hot topic being discussed. Dancing in the park has grown in popularity. People of all ages are participating. TikTok is a new phenomenon that has become popular among the whole nation.
The generation that likes dancing in public areas lived through a difficult period of time when there was little public culture and they lacked the public activities to express themselves. Although the political movement had engaged everyone, it was not a platform for self-affirmation and self-expression.
As time passed and the economy improved, the degree of openness and inclusiveness in society has also increased. It is during this time that dancing has become popular. Public dancing first arose in cities. The most important thing is to have a place to dance. Obviously, when urbanization expands the capacity of cities, it also takes into account the construction of public squares. Therefore, dancing in the city square emerged after the construction of many city squares.
Square dance is a kind of spontaneous action. The government did not use any administrative power, and square dance flourished. While dancing, people, especially middle-aged and elderly people, find a culture and a melody that they can immerse themselves in and get a sense of pleasure. Gradually, square dancing began to appear in rural areas as well, no matter in remote areas or towns.
As a matter of fact, in the 1980s and 1990s, singing was almost unheard of except for the hymns of Christian church meetings, when singing and dancing were confined to places like special karaoke rooms. Because at that time, there were no so many squares, and there were no economic conditions required. Of course, people had no mood for that too. Everyone was working hard to make a living.
In the eyes of my mother, Christian singing is a kind of "freedom". In my childhood, in the whole countryside, except for the bands for marriage and funeral, you could hear music and singing only in the church.
Christian gatherings, however, have less of this gaiety and have far less universal appeal than dancing. Activities like dancing, posting on Tik Tok and other activities have made Christianity no longer a unique choice, but only an option.
Urbanization and modernization also mean secularization, and secularization is not considered as a nihilization by traditional Christianity, but a kind of de-religion. People can gain pleasure and meaning in the secularized activities.
The dilemma that Christianity is facing today is that activities such as square dance have a great impact on the religious enthusiasm of Christianity and provide alternatives to Christianity for people to choose. Under this background, it is worth everyone's thinking about how Christianity should break out.
Jesus said: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) But should this kind of rest be in the rules of religion, in the repentance and confession, or in the joy and ease of human life? It is worth reflecting on whether rest should be heavy or light.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
广场舞与基督教本来没什么关系。但是，就是因为太没有关系，才扯上关系。
先说说两个身边的案例，大家就知道广场舞与基督教有着密切的关系。
楼下邻居大妈，在媳妇生了孩子之后，从乡下赶来带孙子。大妈快七十岁了，身体硬朗，谈起孙子来，精神头十足。大妈来了之后，开始料理家务，照顾儿子全家的起居。
联系方便，儿子为她买了智能手机。有时在小区广场乐园碰到，会听到她的手机里播着赞美诗或者圣经讲道的音频。这样我才知道她也是个基督徒。
在知道我也是基督徒之后，她向我打听基督教聚会的地方，我热心为她接受了一个小区附近的教会。在周日，儿子媳妇都休息的时候，她就会去教会聚会。
儿子媳妇晚上下班回家，她就不用带孩子，就会自己下楼走动走动，慢慢地因为带孩子的原因，和那些带孩子的老人也就熟悉了起来。
大概她来苏州三四个月之后，天气慢慢暖和起来，小区的广场舞开始热闹起来，邻里中心的广场上，有专门的带舞的人，跳广场舞的老年人站满了整个广场。开始的时候，大妈只是站在边上看，看了没几天，她自己就边看边扭动，我经常看到她在人群边上自己比划。
这样过了一段时间，小区里的广场舞队列中，也能看到她的身影了。她对广场舞的热情，从此一发不可收拾，每天儿子媳妇下班之后，吃完饭安顿好孩子，她就去楼下广场跳舞。这跳舞的热情，远远高于她聚会的热情。
后来，教会的活动，她只参加周日的聚会，而且聚会结束之后，也就会返回家中，与那些她在跳舞时认识的老年朋友拉拉家常。
再后来在广场上遇到她的时候，手机里放的都是节奏感很强的流行音乐了，而不是基督教圣经和赞美诗了。
后来聊起来，她说老家农村也有广场舞，但是她年纪大了，怕人家笑话，不好意思跳，现在在小区跳舞的什么年龄的人都有，也就加入了。
我们楼下还有一个阿姨，五十岁左右，从农村来为儿子带孙女。阿姨比较年轻，接受新事物很快，没几个月，阿姨就热爱上了抖音短视频。带孩子的空档，也会跳几下，唱一段发到抖音上。
大妈是个基督徒，据她说她以前牙痛的要命，吃了各种药都不好，后来经人介绍就信了主，信主之后一段时间，牙就好了。这样她就成为一名基督徒。但是今天广场舞的热情，显然已经超越了对基督教的热情。
阿姨不是基督徒，但抖音对她的吸引，显然超越了其它娱乐项目，这个时候如果我们向她传福音的话，可能远没有抖音的吸引力。
广场舞的兴起已经有一些年月，虽然引起很多争论，尤其与现代城市文明之间的张力和矛盾，也曾经成为热门的话题被讨论，但是广场舞经历这么多年的发展，却没有衰落之势，而是其吸引的群体越来越多，年龄层面也越来越广。抖音是新兴起没多久的，但是很快受到全民的喜爱。
喜欢广场舞的那一代人，因为经历了文化的枯竭时期，他们缺乏表达自己的公共活动，虽然曾经的政治运动，让每个人都全身投入，但是那却不是一个能获得自我肯定和自我自由表达的平台。
随着时代发展，经济条件越来越宽裕，社会的开放和包容程度也随之增加。这个时候就兴起了广场舞。广场舞最先在城市兴起。广场舞最重要的是要有广场，显然城市化在城市扩容的时候 ，也考虑到了公共广场建设，那么广场舞就是在众多城市广场建造之后兴起的。
广场舞是一种自发行动，政府没有动用任何的行政力量，广场舞就红火起来。在广场舞中，人们尤其是中老年人找到了一种文化，一种旋律，可以让自己沉浸其中，并获得愉悦感。慢慢地农村也开始有了广场舞，无论边远地区的农村还是乡镇。
要知道，在八九十年代的时候，除了基督教教会聚会时期的赞美诗，几乎听不到唱歌的声音，那个时候，唱歌跳舞只能在专门的卡了OK厅等地方。因为那个时代，一个是没有那么多的广场，一个是没有那个经济条件，当然也就没有心情，大家都在努力为生活奔波。
在笔者母亲的眼里，基督教唱歌那是一种“自在”，在笔者童年中，整个农村，除了婚丧嫁娶的乐团之外，能听到音乐和唱歌的地方，就只有教会了。
基督教的聚会，却没有这种欢快性，与广场舞相比，远没有这种全民吸引力。广场舞、抖音等活动，已经让基督教不再是独一无二的选择，具有很强的可替代性。
城市化和现代化，也意味着世俗化，而世俗化并不是传统基督教认为是一种虚无化，而是一种去宗教化。让人能在世俗化的活动中，获得愉快和意义。
基督教今天面临的困境，就是诸如广场舞之类的活动，对基督教宗教热情的冲击，为人们的选择提供了可替代基督教的选项，那么基督教在这个背景下，该怎样突围，这值得每个人思考。
耶稣说“凡劳苦担重担的人可以到我这里来，我就使你们得安息。 (马太福音 11:28)”然而，这里的安息究竟是在宗教里的各种规章制度，各种认罪悔改，还是人生命的愉悦和轻松中来安息？
安息究竟是沉重的，还是轻省的，这值得我们反思。
思考丨广场舞和基督教：被世俗化包围的福音，该如何突破？
Dancing in the square, a popular exercise routine among the middle-aged and retired Chinese women, has nothing to do with Christianity. Although they seem completely unrelated, perhaps there are ways that they could be found to have some similarities
First of all, let's look at two examples. In this way, we will begin to see that square dancing has a close relationship with Christianity.
The Dama who lives downstairs came from the countryside to take care of her grandson after her daughter-in-law gave birth to a baby. She is nearly seventy years old. She is in good health and full of energy when talking about her grandson. When she arrived, she began to do the housework and take care of her son and his family. To keep in touch, her son bought her a smartphone. Sometimes in the park in the community square, I could hear hymns or sermons playing on her cell phone. That’s how I knew she was a Christian.
After learning that I was also a Christian, she asked me where Christians meet, and I was happy to introduce her to a church in her neighborhood. On Sundays, when her son and daughter-in-law were resting at home, she would go to church.
When her son and daughter-in-law came home from work in the evening, and she didn't have to take care of their child, she would go downstairs and walk around by herself. Gradually, because others around her were also taking care of their children, she became familiar with the elderly people who took care of their grandsons or granddaughters.
About three or four months after she came to Suzhou, the weather slowly warmed up and people in the community began to gather to square dance. In the square in the neighborhood center, trained dancers and the elderly who were dancing gradually filled the whole square. In the beginning, Dama just stood by and watched. After a few days, she imitated the dancers while watching. I often saw her as she wiggled on the side of the crowd.
So after a period of time, I saw here in the group of people who were square dancing. Her enthusiasm for square dancing never got out of hand. Every day after her son and daughter-in-law got off work and settled their child after dinner, she would go downstairs to dance in the square. Her enthusiasm for square dancing was far greater than her desire to attend church.
Later, at church events, she would attend only Sunday parties, and when they were over, she would return home to spend time with elderly friends she had met while dancing.
Still later, when I met her in the square, her phone was full of rhythmic pop music instead of hymns and scripture verses.
Once, we talked for a little while. She said that there was dancing the park in her hometown, but she was too old to be laughed at by others and felt embarrassed to dance. Now people of all ages were dancing in the community, so she joined in.
There is an aunt downstairs, about fifty years old, who came from the countryside to take care of her granddaughter. This aunt is relatively young and is quick to accept new things. Within a few months, this aunt fell in love with short videos on Tik Tok. In her spare time with her child, she would also dance for a little while and sing a short song to post on Tik Tok.
Dama was a Christian. She said she had a terrible toothache before and took all kinds of medicine, but they didn’t work. Later, she was introduced to the Lord and believed in the Lord. After a period of time, her tooth didn’t ache anymore. Naturally, she became a Christian. But today the enthusiasm for square dance has clearly surpassed that for Christianity.
The aunt is not a Christian, but TikTok's appeal to her apparently exceeds that of other forms of entertainment, and at this point, preaching would probably be far less appealing.
It has been several years since square dancing has become popular. Although there has been a lot of controversy around square dancing. especially the tension and conflict between modern urban civilization and it was a hot topic being discussed. Dancing in the park has grown in popularity. People of all ages are participating. TikTok is a new phenomenon that has become popular among the whole nation.
The generation that likes dancing in public areas lived through a difficult period of time when there was little public culture and they lacked the public activities to express themselves. Although the political movement had engaged everyone, it was not a platform for self-affirmation and self-expression.
As time passed and the economy improved, the degree of openness and inclusiveness in society has also increased. It is during this time that dancing has become popular. Public dancing first arose in cities. The most important thing is to have a place to dance. Obviously, when urbanization expands the capacity of cities, it also takes into account the construction of public squares. Therefore, dancing in the city square emerged after the construction of many city squares.
Square dance is a kind of spontaneous action. The government did not use any administrative power, and square dance flourished. While dancing, people, especially middle-aged and elderly people, find a culture and a melody that they can immerse themselves in and get a sense of pleasure. Gradually, square dancing began to appear in rural areas as well, no matter in remote areas or towns.
As a matter of fact, in the 1980s and 1990s, singing was almost unheard of except for the hymns of Christian church meetings, when singing and dancing were confined to places like special karaoke rooms. Because at that time, there were no so many squares, and there were no economic conditions required. Of course, people had no mood for that too. Everyone was working hard to make a living.
In the eyes of my mother, Christian singing is a kind of "freedom". In my childhood, in the whole countryside, except for the bands for marriage and funeral, you could hear music and singing only in the church.
Christian gatherings, however, have less of this gaiety and have far less universal appeal than dancing. Activities like dancing, posting on Tik Tok and other activities have made Christianity no longer a unique choice, but only an option.
Urbanization and modernization also mean secularization, and secularization is not considered as a nihilization by traditional Christianity, but a kind of de-religion. People can gain pleasure and meaning in the secularized activities.
The dilemma that Christianity is facing today is that activities such as square dance have a great impact on the religious enthusiasm of Christianity and provide alternatives to Christianity for people to choose. Under this background, it is worth everyone's thinking about how Christianity should break out.
Jesus said: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) But should this kind of rest be in the rules of religion, in the repentance and confession, or in the joy and ease of human life? It is worth reflecting on whether rest should be heavy or light.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
Reflection on Dancing in Park and Christianity: How to Break the Dilemma of the Gospel Surrounded by Secularization?
