NO. 2 FOLK RELIGION IN SOUTHWEST CHINA — GRAHAM 67 



expansion of Christianity into the non-Christian world opens up a 

 new significant period, not only in the expression of the spirit, but 

 also in art (Fleming, 1938, p. i). By 1948 many new Christian 

 hymns and hymn tunes had been written and were being used by 

 the Chinese Christian Church, and many admirable works of art, both 

 by Catholic and Protestant artists, were to be found in Christian 

 publications, churches, and homes. This is one evidence that Chris- 

 tianity had reached and influenced the souls of the Chinese people. 



The Nestorian missionaries came to Sian during the seventh cen- 

 tury, and their work spread into Szechwan and Yunnan. By the end 

 of the Ming dynasty, A. D. 1644, Roman Catholic churches had been 

 established in every province of China excepting Kwelchow and 

 Yunnan (Lataurette, 1920, p. 107), and we can be sure that it was 

 not very much later when they were established in those provinces. 

 In spite of a number of anti-Christian riots and of persecutions, the 

 number of Roman Catholic adherents in West China has steadily 

 increased. 



The first Protestant missionary to visit West China was Griffith 

 John of the London Missionary Society, in 1868. The China Inland 

 Mission soon followed, and later, other missions from Canada, 

 Europe, and the United States. In 1886, 1895, and 1899 anti-Chris- 

 tian riots caused destruction of property and sometimes loss of life. 

 Each time the missionaries were forced to leave, but later returned 

 and continued their work. The revolution in 1911 led to another 

 evacuation, and from 1924 to 1929 a very strong anti-Christian move- 

 ment hindered the progress of the church and again caused many 

 missionaries to leave. 



As in other parts of China, the Christian program in West China 

 included churchs, schools, hospitals, and much social service and re- 

 lief of suffering. In "The Christian Occupation of China" (Stauflfer, 

 1922), it is estimated that in 1920 there were in West China, exclu- 

 sive of Sikang and Kokonor, 1,904 missionaries, 2,522 full-time native 

 Christian leaders, 732 schools besides the West China Union Uni- 

 versity, 24,925 pupils, 38 hospitals, 73 dispensaries, and 39,633 church 

 members. In 1940 it was estimated that the number of Protestant 

 church members was about 80,000 (Wu Yi-fang, 1940, p. iii). In 

 vast areas, especially in Sikang, western Szechwan, Yunnan, Kokonor, 

 and Kansu, there were no churches and no church members. In West 

 China as in other parts of China, the influence of Protestant Chris- 

 tianity was far out of proportion to the number of its missionaries 

 and native Christians. 



