October 26-27, 2019, The academic symposium “Christianity and Women's Liberation in Modern China” was held in Room 406 of the College of Liberal Arts at Shanghai University. This conference was jointly organized by the Shanghai University Center for the Study of Religion and Chinese Society, the Shanghai University Key Discipline of Chinese History, the American journal Studies in Chinese Christianity, and the Center for the Study of Christianity and Chinese Society in Los Angeles, USA. Over 40 scholars from universities and institutions across mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United States, New Zealand, and Japan attended the event.
The conference was chaired by Professor Xiao Qinghe, Director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Chinese Society at Shanghai University. Welcome addresses were delivered by Professor Tao Feiya, Academic Director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Chinese Society at Shanghai University, and Dr. Li Ling, Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Christianity and China in Los Angeles and Editor-in-Chief of the American journal Studies in Chinese Christianity. Subsequently, Professor Hu Weiqing from the School of History and Culture at Shandong University and Professor Tao Feiya from Shanghai University delivered keynote speeches on the conference theme.
Professor Hu Weiqing's presentation, “Liberation and Discipline: A Comparative Analysis of British Female Missionaries' Activities in North and South China,” examined the work of female missionaries from the Anglican Church, the Church of England, and the British Presbyterian Church in North and South China. Their activities included missionary work, education, and medical services. Through historical analysis, Professor Hu argued that while female missionaries prioritized spiritual salvation, they also demonstrated clear concern for local women's education, employment, and marriage. However, the church maintained a cautiously positive stance toward the “liberation” of local women, advocating for piety, discipline, obedience, purity, and domestic devotion. This reflected British female missionaries' wariness toward the trend of professional women separating from their families following the Industrial Revolution.
Professor Tao Feiya presented on “Whose Influence? Chinese and American Female Missionaries in Local Churches during the Republican Era,” examining the dynamics between Chinese members (represented by Jing Dianying) and American female missionaries (represented by Nora Dillenbeck) within the Jesus Family community in local churches. Through historical analysis, Professor Tao concluded that their relationship was one of mutual influence and interaction. Nora exerted significant influence in guiding Jing Dianying's Christian faith and household management, while Jing served as an intellectual interpreter in adapting Christianity to specific challenges in rural China. Professor Tao also expressed hope to locate Nora Dillenbeck's own writings to more comprehensively and objectively narrate this story of Sino-American encounter, illuminating both the common ground and divergences among Christian believers from both nations during that era.
The conference received over 30 papers, which were presented and discussed across five sessions. Papers primarily addressed themes including “Christian Education and Women,” “The War of Resistance and Christian Women,” “Christian Female Missionaries,” “Christianity and Gender Construction,” and “Christian Female Imagery.” Participants delivered presentations, posed questions related to the papers, and engaged in responses.