Study On The Missionary Work By The China Inland Mission To Moslems In Northwest Of China (1876-1951)

The dissertation focuses on the missionary work by the China Inland Mission (CIM) to the Moslems in northwest of China. The missionary work started from1876when the missionaries of CIM entered northwest and came to an end in1951. Previous studies on the CIM involved the missionary work by CIM to Moslems, but the analysis was neither systematic nor complete or deep. The key historical material is also seriously lack. Meanwhile, the micro-view and macro-view studies on the relationship between Protestant and Islam in modern China are strong but the medium-view study is very weak. Based on these, the study of this dissertation is very necessary and it can supplement the inadequacy of the study on the CIM and it can also strengthen the medium-view study on the relationship between Protestant and Islam in modern China.The dissertation consists of7chapters. The first chapter is introduction. Firstly, it introduces the root of the topic, the previous study, the meaning, contents and methods of the study in this dissertation. Secondly, it introduces the history of CIM and its position in the missionary history in northwest, other missions’ activities to Moslems in northwest, which provides background information for this dissertation. Drawn upon these, we know that the inner characteristics of CIM have necessary relation with the mission to Moslems. The strategies of CIM have positive impacts on the missionary work to Moslems. The CIM plays a very important role in the missionary history in northwest, and it is the main force in the missionary work to Moslems in northwest.The chapter2to chapter6is the main part of the dissertation which completely and systematically elaborates the whole missionary work and social enterprises. The early missionaries mainly knew about Moslems of northwest in the itineration and the stations and they tried to initiate missionary work there. Based on their rudimentary experience in missionary work, the CIM started to explore the skills of mission to Moslems, proposed to send full-time missionaries, proposed mission to Moslems should be specialized and made skill requirements to the full-time missionary. After a period of exploration, G. W. Hunter and H. F. Ridley from CIM started to pay attention to missionary work to Moslems and took Moslems as their main missionary object. They became the first group of missionaries of CIM in the mission to Moslem in northwest. Dihua, Xining where they stayed were the centers of missionary work to Moslems in Xinjiang and Qinghai, and one Moslem was baptized which marked the rising of the missionary work by CIM to Moslems in northwest.During the period of1911to1926, the missionary work achieved great development. Kansu Moslem Committee founded in1918made the missionary work develop systematically and orderly. The proposal of full-time missionary turned into realization, which was the important mark of the development of the missionary work. During this period, there appeared William Borden, George E. King, Mark E. Botham, George F. Andrew, George K. Harris, Annie Garland, Susie J. Garland, Percy C. Mather etc. who were interested in the mission to Moslems and formed Lanzhou, Dihua, Xining, Huixian, Hezhou etc centers for mission to Moslems. The missionaries’ withdrawal in1927had negative impacts on the work, but the afterward return of the missionaries, a group of new missionaries’participation and formation of many centers made the missionary work recover and further develop; During the period (1927to1935), there formed14centers for mission to Moslems and at least36missionaries were interested in mission to Moslems, and meanwhile they were active in the mission to Moslem women.The withdrawal of the missionaries from Xinjiang in1936marked the decline of the missionary work to Moslems in northwest. After withdrew from Xinjiang, the missionary work to Moslems by CIM was mainly in Gansu, Qinghai and Ningxia, and the sustainable centers were only Lanzhou and Xining. At the same time, the phenomena of the reduction of missionaries who were interested in the mission to Moslems and shortage of new missionaries were serious. And also the working places of the full-time missionaries were changeable and they also need to carry out the missionary work to non-Moslems. Although try to keep the missionary work, it inevitably came to an end due to political factor.The Chinese missionaries participated in the whole work and they played greater and greater role with the development of the work. During the whole process, the ways of their participation in mission to Moslems were supporting missionary work, co-missionary work, independent missionary work, self-controlled missionary work. The missionary work was mainly taken by westerner missionaries, but the Chinese missionaries also played ineligible role in the missionary work.The main social enterprises established by CIM for the purpose of mission to Moslems were Borden Memorial Hospital, Hochow Hospital, writing propaganda and translation publishes regarding mission to Moslems. In addition, not for the purpose of mission to Moslems but related to it, there were Lanchow Leprosarium, Holy Light Hospital and a lot of clinics, and Northwest Bible Institute, Northwest Spiritual Training Institute etc educational institutes and the charity and sponsor activities carried out in the natural and human behavior disasters.The last chapter is the conclusion part. The missionary work has significant impact on the Moslems in northwest and CIM missionaries. As to the Moslems in northwest, the mission to Moslems did not greatly change their religion belief, but caused threat to them. Such threat didn’t arouse collective violence in anti-missionary activity, but formed the impetus for reformation in religion and education etc which had great impacts on the Moslems in northwest and the development of Muslim society. As to the CIM missionaries, the mission to Moslems was the unforgettable scenario which figured out their destiny. Some of them became experts in Muslim study or mission to Moslems; some devoted their whole life to it. Several generations of some had also devoted to it, and also some formed the habits of the Moslems in northwest. In addition,the missionary work objectively became the important way for the Chinese and westerners to communicate and know each other, which helped the western academia enlarge the range of Chinese study at that time, and it also provides important historical materials and informations to know about modern moslems in northwest for us today.