Over the past four decades, Christianity has grown faster in China than anywhere else in the world. Daryl Ireland, a Boston University School of Theology research assistant professor of mission, estimates that the Christian community there has grown from 1 million to 100 million. What led to that explosion, centuries after the first Christian missionaries arrived in China? The BU scholars behind the China Historical Christian Database aim to find out.
The project, which allows researchers to visualize the history of Christianity in modern China, links web-based visualization tools with a database packed with the names and locations of missionaries, churches, schools, hospitals, and publications. Hosted by BU’s Center for Global Christianity & Mission, the project launched in 2018 and version 2.0 of the database is scheduled for release in 2023. The new version will double the amount of data previously available, providing approximately four million data points—names, occupations, locations, dates, and more—spanning four centuries (1550–1950).
The database began as a relatively modest class project. Alex Mayfield (STH’21) charted early 20th-century Pentecostals in Hong Kong for a history class taught by Eugenio Menegon at the BU Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. When Mayfield mentioned his research to Ireland, the pair began thinking about how to expand the work—by several centuries and across China. Mayfield, Menegon, and Ireland are now the principal investigators for the China Historical Christian Database.
Ireland spoke with The Brink about how the database could help scholars understand the relationships between China and the Western world.
The Brink: What drew you to the study of Christianity in China?
Daryl Ireland: It has such a fascinating and complicated history. You can see the dynamics of Christianity and culture interacting in amazing ways. Sometimes, watching how Christianity becomes embodied in Chinese culture and society provides a mirror for reflecting on the ways in which Christianity in the United States has also shaped and been shaped by the American experience. And then I’m also fascinated that, over the last 40 years, Christianity has grown faster in China than any other place in the world. It’s gone from approximately 1 million Christians to around 100 million. This is just an incredible explosion. What set that up? That didn’t just come out of nowhere.
The Brink: Why China and why Christianity—is there something about that convergence that’s conducive for a digital project?
Daryl Ireland: The length of history—400 years—and the strong record keeping over that time period, both in European languages and in Chinese. We have the opportunity to view this interchange between two world systems from multiple levels, and that makes it really fascinating. We’re recording everything we can, from the relationships that missionaries developed in the 16th century to Mao Zedong and his early work for the YMCA. It’s an incredibly rich body of material and gives us a really good picture of the relationship between China and the West.
The Brink: What is the data you’re collecting and where is it coming from?
Daryl Ireland: Our objective is to map every Christian institution in China, whether it’s a church, school, hospital, publishing house, orphanage, or convent. Then we try to identify who worked inside them. We use all kinds of records and sources. One of the simple ones is a Protestant directory of Christian missionaries in China that was published annually in the 20th century. That gave us a rich source of names. Other times, we are looking through diaries, or the preface of a book written by a Chinese literati where he may thank the Christians who first introduced him to certain ideas. So, we draw on a wide variety of sources to put together social networks and spatial maps.
The Brink: Are these sources available online or are you searching physical archives and libraries?
Daryl Ireland: Both. We have been blessed to live in an age where so much has been digitized. But we’ve also had to digitize an enormous quantity of material, working with institutions around the globe to make it more accessible for our team members. While there are three project leaders, we’ve had over 100 students work on this project, and they are located on four continents.
The Brink: What’s the ideal source for you?
Daryl Ireland: Our dream document gives us maybe the names of people, where they were located, the years they were there, what they were doing—were they a doctor, a nurse, an evangelist?—and possibly some of the people they were connected to. Those are the five big things that we’re always searching for. We usually find about three of those five in documents, so there’s a lot of triangulation of our various data sources to build out the picture that we’re trying to make. We’ve never found the perfect document.
The Brink: How close are you to the goal of mapping all of these entities?
Daryl Ireland: In terms of foreign missionaries, I think we are probably about 90 percent done. We’ve got a pretty good dataset of around 30,000 foreigners who were in China during that 400-year period. The much more difficult question is what about the Chinese actors that we’re looking for? We’ve never tried to claim we’re going to record every Chinese Christian. That is beyond our scope. But even locating the more visible ones, those who worked in Christian institutions, such as pastors, doctors, publishers—that’s still an unknown quantity. How well are we going to be able to piece together the Chinese story? That is the challenge we are addressing now, and it’s forcing us to get creative.
The Brink: How do you hope people will use this data?
Daryl Ireland: We’ve imagined this to be a resource primarily for scholars, but also for students and the general public. We have tried to make the data as accessible as possible. It’s free to download and we’ve created a web interface so that if you don’t have the digital skills to write your own database queries, you can still search through the data. What people do with that varies. The general public probably uses it most often for genealogical research. Students or teachers use it in the classroom for a quick visual, like a heat map representation to show where Christianity was most prevalent in China. And scholars use it for all kinds of fascinating things. There is a team at Oxford that is trying to use the data to look at how religions have responded to climate change. They look at times of famines and droughts and watch, on our map, what happens with Christians—do they move into locations that are devastated or do they move out of them? And a team at Harvard Business School has proposed using our map to look at social networks and economic development. They’re trying to see whether economic expansion preceded religious expansion, or if economic exchanges began happening through these religious networks.
The Brink: The study of religion doesn’t necessarily call to mind data science and big data. Why does this melding of fields make sense?
Daryl Ireland: Digital scholarship and digital tools can enhance our scholarship and our understanding of history and human life. This is a way of doing scholarship that allows us to take massive amounts of data and begin to synthesize them in some really fun and creative ways. And one of the great things about digital resources and digital scholarship is that, when done well, it empowers the user to become the author of history.
The Brink: What comes next with this project?
Daryl Ireland: We decided to get as broad a picture as possible as quickly as possible. Now we are really choosing areas of focus. At the moment, for instance, we are trying to finish off Christian schools in China, so that’s where we’ve invested a lot of our energy. When we’re done with that, we will move to another area. At this point, we want our historical questions to begin driving what kind of data we choose to input next.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
The database was launched with seed money from BU’s Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering and received a pilot grant from the BU Center for Innovation in Social Science. In August 2021, the project received a $100,000 Digital Humanities Advancement Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Originally from Webpage "The Brink"
CCD edited and reprinted with permission
过去40年里，基督教在中国的发展要比世界上任何其他地方都要快。美国波士顿大学神学院宣教学研究助理教授达尼尔·艾尔兰（Daryl Ireland）估计，中国基督徒群体已经从1百万增长为1亿。在第一批基督教传教士抵达中国的几个世纪后，是什么导致了这种爆炸呢？中国历史基督教数据库（China Historical Christian Database）背后的波士顿大学学者们想要寻找答案。
这个项目允许研究人员将现代中国的基督教历史可视化，以基于网络的可视化工具与一个包含传教士、教会、学校、医院和出版社的名称及位置的数据库相联系。项目启动于2018年，由波士顿大学全球基督教与宣教中心（Center for Global Christianity & Mission）主持。计划于2023年发布的数据库2.0版将提供如姓名、职业、地点、日期等400万个数据细节，时间横跨四个世纪（1550年至1950年）。
数据库最初始于一个相对小型的课堂项目。阿历克斯·梅菲尔德（Alex Mayfield，神学院21级）为波士顿大学艺术与科学研究生院欧根尼尔·梅根农（Eugenio Menegon）教授的历史课绘制了20世纪初香港五旬节派信徒的图表。在梅菲尔德向艾尔兰说到他的研究时，两人开始考虑如何将这项工作扩展至几个世纪和整个中国。梅菲尔德、梅根农和艾尔兰现在是中国历史基督教数据库的主要调查员。
艾尔兰向《边缘领域》（The Brink）谈到了数据库如何帮助学者们理解中国和西方世界的关系。
《边缘领域》：是什么吸引您研究中国基督教呢？
艾尔兰：它有着很迷人且复杂的历史。你可以看到基督教和文化以着惊人的方式进行互动的活力。有时候，观察基督教如何在中国文化和社会中得以体现，给反思美国基督教如何塑造美国和被美国经验所塑造的方式方法提供了一面镜子。对于在过去40年里，基督教在中国的成长速度要比世界上任何其他地方都要快，我也很感兴趣。从约一百万基督徒变为约一亿人。这是个令人难以置信的爆炸。是什么造成了这种结果呢？它并非凭空出现。
《边缘领域》：为什么是中国，又为什么是基督教呢？这种融合是否有利于数字项目的发展？
艾尔兰：400年的历史跨度，以及在这段时期发生的强有力记录，双双发生在欧洲语言和中文之中。我们有机会从多个层面看待两个世界体系之间的这种交流，是的，它真的很引人入胜。从16世纪传教士发展的关系到毛泽东和他早期为基督教青年会（YMCA）的工作，我们记录着我们发现的一切。这是一份令人难以想象的丰富资料，让我们对于中国和西方之间的关系有一个极好的了解。
《边缘领域》：您所搜集的数据是些什么呢？它们又源自何处？
艾尔兰：我们的目标是绘制中国每一间基督教机构的基督徒，无论是教会、学校、医院、出版社、孤儿院，还是修道院。之后我们试图确定哪些人在其中工作。我们使用各类记录和资料，其中有一份单品是20世纪每年都出版的基督教新教在华传教士名录，它给我们提供了丰富的名字来源。其他时候，我们通过日记，或是中国文人所著书籍的序言来寻找，因为文人可能会感谢向其介绍某些思想的基督徒。因此，我们是利用各式各样的来源来拼凑社会网络空间地图。
《边缘领域》：这些资料是可以在网络上找到的，还是说您在实体档案馆或图书馆进行寻找？
艾尔兰：两者都有。我们很幸运地生活在一个很多东西都被数字化的时代。但我们也不得不将大量资料数字化，与全球的机构合作，让我们的团队成员更容易获取这些资料。虽然有三位项目负责人，但我们还有超过100名学生在为这个项目工作，他们都分布于四大洲。
《边缘领域》：对您而言，理想的来源是什么？
艾尔兰：我们的梦中文件或许给了我们人的名字，他们在哪里，他们在那里的年月，他们在做些什么（是医生、护士，传教士吗？），可能还有一些他们的关系人。这是我们一直在寻找的五件大事。我们通常在文件中找到这五件事中的三件，所以我们要对各种数据来源进行大量三角测量，以求建立我们试图绘制的图表。我们从未发现过完美的文件。
《边缘领域》：您距离绘制所有这些实体组织的目标还有多远？
艾尔兰：就外国传教士而言，我认为我们可能已经完成了约90%。我们已经有了一个相当完备的数据集，有约3万名外国人在那400年时间中呆在中国。而更有难度的问题是，谁才是我们正在寻找的华人行为人？我们从未试图声称我们要记录每个中国基督徒，因为这已经大大超出我们的范围。但是，即使确定那些更明显的人，那些在基督教机构工作的人（如牧师、医生、出版商），都还是个未知数。我们要如何将中国故事拼凑起来呢？这是我们现阶段要解决的挑战，它迫使我们要有创新性。
《边缘领域》：您希望人们会如何用到这些数据呢？
艾尔兰：我们设想它们主要是为学者提供资源，但也提供给学生和普通民众。我们努力让这些数据尽可能方便使用。它们可以免费下载，我们也创建了一个网络界面，这样，就算不具备数字技能来编写自己的数据库查询，你依然可以通过数据进行检索。人们用它来干什么是不一样。普通民众可能最经常使用它来进行家谱研究。学生或教师在课堂上用它来做一个快速视觉效果，如用热点地图来显示基督教在中国最普遍的地方。学者们会利用它来做些有意思的事情。牛津大学有一支团队正试图利用这些数据来研究宗教是如何应对气候变化的。他们研究了饥荒和干旱时期，在我们的地图上观察基督徒的情况，看他们是迁入被破坏的地区还是迁出。哈佛商学院一支团队提议使用我们的地图观察社会网络和经济发展。他们试图观察经济扩张是否先于宗教扩展，或是经济交流是否通过这些宗教网络开始发生。
《边缘领域》：宗教学不一定令人联想到数据科学和大数据。为何这种领域融合是有意义的呢？
艾尔兰：数字化学术和数字工具可以提高我们的学术水平和对历史及人类生活的理解。这是一种进行学术研究的方式，让我们可以利用到大量数据，并开始一些非常有意思和创新性的方式来进行综合。数字资源和数字化学术的一个伟大之处在于，如果做的好，它让用户成为历史的著者。
《边缘领域》：这个项目的下一步是什么？
艾尔兰：我们决定尽快获得尽可能广泛的情报。现在我们在认真选择重点领域。比如目前，我们正努力完成中国的基督教学校，所以那块是我们投入大量精力的位置。在完成这项工作后，我们会转到另一个领域。对于这个问题，我们希望我们的历史问题开始驱动我们选择接下来输入怎样的数据。
翻译：S.I
Over the past four decades, Christianity has grown faster in China than anywhere else in the world. Daryl Ireland, a Boston University School of Theology research assistant professor of mission, estimates that the Christian community there has grown from 1 million to 100 million. What led to that explosion, centuries after the first Christian missionaries arrived in China? The BU scholars behind the China Historical Christian Database aim to find out.
The project, which allows researchers to visualize the history of Christianity in modern China, links web-based visualization tools with a database packed with the names and locations of missionaries, churches, schools, hospitals, and publications. Hosted by BU’s Center for Global Christianity & Mission, the project launched in 2018 and version 2.0 of the database is scheduled for release in 2023. The new version will double the amount of data previously available, providing approximately four million data points—names, occupations, locations, dates, and more—spanning four centuries (1550–1950).
The database began as a relatively modest class project. Alex Mayfield (STH’21) charted early 20th-century Pentecostals in Hong Kong for a history class taught by Eugenio Menegon at the BU Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. When Mayfield mentioned his research to Ireland, the pair began thinking about how to expand the work—by several centuries and across China. Mayfield, Menegon, and Ireland are now the principal investigators for the China Historical Christian Database.
Ireland spoke with The Brink about how the database could help scholars understand the relationships between China and the Western world.
The Brink: What drew you to the study of Christianity in China?
Daryl Ireland: It has such a fascinating and complicated history. You can see the dynamics of Christianity and culture interacting in amazing ways. Sometimes, watching how Christianity becomes embodied in Chinese culture and society provides a mirror for reflecting on the ways in which Christianity in the United States has also shaped and been shaped by the American experience. And then I’m also fascinated that, over the last 40 years, Christianity has grown faster in China than any other place in the world. It’s gone from approximately 1 million Christians to around 100 million. This is just an incredible explosion. What set that up? That didn’t just come out of nowhere.
The Brink: Why China and why Christianity—is there something about that convergence that’s conducive for a digital project?
Daryl Ireland: The length of history—400 years—and the strong record keeping over that time period, both in European languages and in Chinese. We have the opportunity to view this interchange between two world systems from multiple levels, and that makes it really fascinating. We’re recording everything we can, from the relationships that missionaries developed in the 16th century to Mao Zedong and his early work for the YMCA. It’s an incredibly rich body of material and gives us a really good picture of the relationship between China and the West.
The Brink: What is the data you’re collecting and where is it coming from?
Daryl Ireland: Our objective is to map every Christian institution in China, whether it’s a church, school, hospital, publishing house, orphanage, or convent. Then we try to identify who worked inside them. We use all kinds of records and sources. One of the simple ones is a Protestant directory of Christian missionaries in China that was published annually in the 20th century. That gave us a rich source of names. Other times, we are looking through diaries, or the preface of a book written by a Chinese literati where he may thank the Christians who first introduced him to certain ideas. So, we draw on a wide variety of sources to put together social networks and spatial maps.
The Brink: Are these sources available online or are you searching physical archives and libraries?
Daryl Ireland: Both. We have been blessed to live in an age where so much has been digitized. But we’ve also had to digitize an enormous quantity of material, working with institutions around the globe to make it more accessible for our team members. While there are three project leaders, we’ve had over 100 students work on this project, and they are located on four continents.
The Brink: What’s the ideal source for you?
Daryl Ireland: Our dream document gives us maybe the names of people, where they were located, the years they were there, what they were doing—were they a doctor, a nurse, an evangelist?—and possibly some of the people they were connected to. Those are the five big things that we’re always searching for. We usually find about three of those five in documents, so there’s a lot of triangulation of our various data sources to build out the picture that we’re trying to make. We’ve never found the perfect document.
The Brink: How close are you to the goal of mapping all of these entities?
Daryl Ireland: In terms of foreign missionaries, I think we are probably about 90 percent done. We’ve got a pretty good dataset of around 30,000 foreigners who were in China during that 400-year period. The much more difficult question is what about the Chinese actors that we’re looking for? We’ve never tried to claim we’re going to record every Chinese Christian. That is beyond our scope. But even locating the more visible ones, those who worked in Christian institutions, such as pastors, doctors, publishers—that’s still an unknown quantity. How well are we going to be able to piece together the Chinese story? That is the challenge we are addressing now, and it’s forcing us to get creative.
The Brink: How do you hope people will use this data?
Daryl Ireland: We’ve imagined this to be a resource primarily for scholars, but also for students and the general public. We have tried to make the data as accessible as possible. It’s free to download and we’ve created a web interface so that if you don’t have the digital skills to write your own database queries, you can still search through the data. What people do with that varies. The general public probably uses it most often for genealogical research. Students or teachers use it in the classroom for a quick visual, like a heat map representation to show where Christianity was most prevalent in China. And scholars use it for all kinds of fascinating things. There is a team at Oxford that is trying to use the data to look at how religions have responded to climate change. They look at times of famines and droughts and watch, on our map, what happens with Christians—do they move into locations that are devastated or do they move out of them? And a team at Harvard Business School has proposed using our map to look at social networks and economic development. They’re trying to see whether economic expansion preceded religious expansion, or if economic exchanges began happening through these religious networks.
The Brink: The study of religion doesn’t necessarily call to mind data science and big data. Why does this melding of fields make sense?
Daryl Ireland: Digital scholarship and digital tools can enhance our scholarship and our understanding of history and human life. This is a way of doing scholarship that allows us to take massive amounts of data and begin to synthesize them in some really fun and creative ways. And one of the great things about digital resources and digital scholarship is that, when done well, it empowers the user to become the author of history.
The Brink: What comes next with this project?
Daryl Ireland: We decided to get as broad a picture as possible as quickly as possible. Now we are really choosing areas of focus. At the moment, for instance, we are trying to finish off Christian schools in China, so that’s where we’ve invested a lot of our energy. When we’re done with that, we will move to another area. At this point, we want our historical questions to begin driving what kind of data we choose to input next.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
The database was launched with seed money from BU’s Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering and received a pilot grant from the BU Center for Innovation in Social Science. In August 2021, the project received a $100,000 Digital Humanities Advancement Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Originally from Webpage "The Brink"
CCD edited and reprinted with permission
