My friend went back to his hometown in a northern province to attend a wedding banquet and sent me a message saying that the whole banquet was almost meat dishes. On every Chinese New Year back in my hometown, all we eat is almost meat. For the chicken, fish, and pork that my parents prepare, we do not eat them immediately. Instead, they are hung in the aisle at the gate to show visitors who are paying us New Year’s greetings. We do not eat it until the show is over. After many days, the meat gets even a little stale.
Why do we like meat dishes at banquets and show them at the Spring Festival? This is actually a memory of suffering and a culture caused by the cruel memory of hunger. In the past, people could not even have a meal, not to mention get meat for protein. After the living conditions improved, meat became a way to contrast the memory of suffering.
There is a bitter national memory hidden behind any of our traditional cultural customs. For instance, the obsession with meat is due to hunger. Boys are traditionally preferred, which is commonly due to childlessness in ancient times. The risk of childlessness caused by high mortality made male offspring more preferable, and more children could balance high mortality.
Cruel historical memory makes us tend to yearn for material possessions. In the practice of the Christian faith, we have constantly materialized Jesus. We have shaped the image of Jesus and the gospel according to our national memory of suffering.
First, it is the materialization of redemption. Many believers in the traditional church understand that redemption is real, material, and concrete.
Their testimonies are usually the following: "Believe in Jesus, and your illness will be cured or your son’s marriage problem can be solved." Or "everything will go well in your family, and your children will be healthy." My neighbor’s toothache was ineffective for a long time. She accepted the gospel that her relatives had been preaching after seeing numerous witches and wizards. My sister was frequently ill and was believed to be under the influence of demons. Later, after following Jesus, she felt that the demons would never bother her again. In their eyes, redemption is just a way to get rid of the current suffering, which brings concrete welfare.
Secondly, it is the deification of Jesus. Jesus came into the world in order to spread the true gospel to us, but in the eyes of many traditional believers, Jesus is an immortal who has infinite power. It is out of belief in Jesus’ power that the massive cult Mentuhui or "Association of Disciples" came into being. They claim that after believing in Jesus, they will be endowed with this ability. As long as you put a handful of rice in your own rice jar, you will never run out of rice. So the heresy attracts a large group of people. There are many similar heresies; for example, some people believe that Jesus will come again in the future and establish a country, so they divide the world into different sites and give them to different believers.
Because the memory of suffering is too real, the satisfaction of the body is regarded as the first orientation of belief. In the Spring Festival season, temples are filled with visitors who get up early to compete for the first pillar of incense in order to get rich and lucky. Yet, no one cares about the richness of life, spirit, or the meaning of life.
The richness of life and spirit emphasizes the height and transcendence of mental state, and it has an overlooking perspective on concrete life. Materialistic cultural traditions have no height, let alone the height of faith, hope, and love.
The real Jesus is not so materialized; he is alive. He is considerate of everyone’s suffering and life. He hopes that everyone can live a rich life and newly establish a relationship with God.
- Translated by Charlie Li
一位朋友回北方某省老家参加婚宴吃席，发消息告诉我说整个宴席上几乎全是肉。每年回老家，家人准备的年货都是肉为主，甚至全是肉。而且买到鸡鱼猪肉之后，不吃掉而是将它们挂到大门口的过道里，向来拜年的人展示。等到展示完了再吃掉，放这么多天之后，肉已经有点馊味了。
为什么宴席上喜欢荤菜，年货喜欢展示肉呢？这其实是苦难的记忆，是饥饿的残酷记忆导致的一种文化。因为在过去的时代，不用说吃一次肉了，就是吃一顿饱饭都是困难的。因此在生活条件转好之后，肉就成为回应苦难记忆的方式。
我们任何一个传统文化习俗的背后都隐藏着一段苦难的民族记忆。对肉的痴狂是因为饥饿，而生男孩的传统则是因为古代绝嗣的普遍性。高死亡率带来的绝嗣风险，让人们一方面偏向男性子嗣，另一方面偏向多生，来对抗高死亡率带来的后继无人。
残酷的历史记忆，让我们趋向于对物质的向往。我们在对基督教信仰的实践过程中，不断把耶稣也物质化了。我们按照我们对苦难的民族记忆，塑造了耶稣形象，也塑造了福音。
首先救赎的物质化。传统教会的很多信徒所理解的救赎是实在的，是物质的，也是具体的。
信耶稣吧，你的疾病就会得到医治；你就能解决儿子的婚姻问题；你家就会一切顺利，儿女健康。我的邻居因为牙痛很久医治无效，在看了很多神婆巫汉之后，就接受了亲戚传的福音。我的姐姐经常身体不适，被认为是被鬼附身，后来信了耶稣之后，她觉得那些鬼再也不敢惹她了。在他们眼里，救赎仅仅是当下苦难的脱离方式，带来的是具体的福利。
其次是耶稣的神仙化。耶稣道成肉身，来到世界，为的是把真正的福音传给我们，但是很多传统信徒眼中的耶稣就是一个法力无边的神仙。正是出于对耶稣法力的信奉，才有了声势浩大的二两粮异端。他们宣称信了耶稣之后，就会被耶稣赋予这种能力。只要在自家米缸里放上一把大米，就能吃不完。因此该异端吸引了一大帮人。同样，类似的异端还有很多。比如有的人相信将来耶稣会再次降临，建立国度，因此他们把世界分成了不同的地盘，给不同的信徒。
因为苦难的记忆太过真切，从而把身体的满足作为信仰的第一取向。春节的寺院人山人海，人们纷纷早起争抢头柱香，为的就是发财和顺利。没有人是为了生命的丰盛，精神的丰富，或者为了寻找生命的意义。
生命的丰盛和精神的丰富强调的是高度和超越的精神状态，他对具体的生活有着一种俯瞰的视角。而那些物质化的文化传统，则是没有高度，更谈不上信望爱的高度了。
真实的耶稣可不是如此物化，他是鲜活的。他体贴每个人的苦楚，也体贴每个人的生命。他希望每个人都能得到丰盛的生命，得到与上帝重新建立的关系。
苦难的民族记忆 从两方面深远塑造了我们对耶稣和福音的理解
My friend went back to his hometown in a northern province to attend a wedding banquet and sent me a message saying that the whole banquet was almost meat dishes. On every Chinese New Year back in my hometown, all we eat is almost meat. For the chicken, fish, and pork that my parents prepare, we do not eat them immediately. Instead, they are hung in the aisle at the gate to show visitors who are paying us New Year’s greetings. We do not eat it until the show is over. After many days, the meat gets even a little stale.
Why do we like meat dishes at banquets and show them at the Spring Festival? This is actually a memory of suffering and a culture caused by the cruel memory of hunger. In the past, people could not even have a meal, not to mention get meat for protein. After the living conditions improved, meat became a way to contrast the memory of suffering.
There is a bitter national memory hidden behind any of our traditional cultural customs. For instance, the obsession with meat is due to hunger. Boys are traditionally preferred, which is commonly due to childlessness in ancient times. The risk of childlessness caused by high mortality made male offspring more preferable, and more children could balance high mortality.
Cruel historical memory makes us tend to yearn for material possessions. In the practice of the Christian faith, we have constantly materialized Jesus. We have shaped the image of Jesus and the gospel according to our national memory of suffering.
First, it is the materialization of redemption. Many believers in the traditional church understand that redemption is real, material, and concrete.
Their testimonies are usually the following: "Believe in Jesus, and your illness will be cured or your son’s marriage problem can be solved." Or "everything will go well in your family, and your children will be healthy." My neighbor’s toothache was ineffective for a long time. She accepted the gospel that her relatives had been preaching after seeing numerous witches and wizards. My sister was frequently ill and was believed to be under the influence of demons. Later, after following Jesus, she felt that the demons would never bother her again. In their eyes, redemption is just a way to get rid of the current suffering, which brings concrete welfare.
Secondly, it is the deification of Jesus. Jesus came into the world in order to spread the true gospel to us, but in the eyes of many traditional believers, Jesus is an immortal who has infinite power. It is out of belief in Jesus’ power that the massive cult Mentuhui or "Association of Disciples" came into being. They claim that after believing in Jesus, they will be endowed with this ability. As long as you put a handful of rice in your own rice jar, you will never run out of rice. So the heresy attracts a large group of people. There are many similar heresies; for example, some people believe that Jesus will come again in the future and establish a country, so they divide the world into different sites and give them to different believers.
Because the memory of suffering is too real, the satisfaction of the body is regarded as the first orientation of belief. In the Spring Festival season, temples are filled with visitors who get up early to compete for the first pillar of incense in order to get rich and lucky. Yet, no one cares about the richness of life, spirit, or the meaning of life.
The richness of life and spirit emphasizes the height and transcendence of mental state, and it has an overlooking perspective on concrete life. Materialistic cultural traditions have no height, let alone the height of faith, hope, and love.
The real Jesus is not so materialized; he is alive. He is considerate of everyone’s suffering and life. He hopes that everyone can live a rich life and newly establish a relationship with God.
- Translated by Charlie Li
China's Memory of Suffering Shapes Our Understanding of Jesus and the Gospel
