Study On The Spread Of Christianity And Its Influence In Modern Xiangxi

In1858, with the signing of the Treaty of Tianjin, the Christianity had gained theright of practicing missionary activities and started spreading Christianity in China’smainland, began to spread in mainland China. By the late19th century, under thesupport from Western Powers, missionary’s figure started being appeared in Xiangxisituated in the western border of Hunan. Since then, Christianity started spreading out inXiangxi area.Xiangxi is an inhabited land for Tujia ethnic minority group and Miao ethnicminority group. This area was in a situation of limited communication with outsideworld due to its geographic remoteness, suppression and ethnic isolation policies carriedby past dynasties’ rulers. At the same time, a cultural system and a religious beliefsystem were formed with intensely regional features. Consequently, as the spreading ofChristianity came into China with colonial aggression was worked badly in Xiangxi;Christianity was excluded from Xiangxi people and lead to a series of political andcultural conflicts. In early20th century, with the domestic political situation’s changes,Christianity churches changed the missionary strategy. The spreading of Christianitymade a move through providing medical and health services and carrying out socialsuccor and other social charity undertakings positively. Especially, when KMTgovernment was moved to the west regions of China during Anti-Japan war, it was in apeak period to Xiangxi Christianity’s development. Right before China’s liberation, asforeign missionaries were left from China, it was an end to their modern missionarywork in Xiangxi. In a history of almost one hundred years of spreading Christianity, itwas impossible for Xiangxi people to accept Christianity broadly due to the bigdifference in culture. While, during this period, it had both certain positive and negativeinfluences to every aspect in Xiangxi’s society.This paper that takes Xiangxi as the study area, from a point view of social history,is to systematically analyze the spreading, developments and influences of Christianityand Catholicism since modern times. It is to help people have a general understandingon Christianity’s spreading and development in Xiangxi during modern times. On thiscondition, this paper analyzes Christianity’s cultural conflicts to Xiangxi and itsspreading features. Meanwhile, in hope of that people can treat the difference betweenChina and western countries with a rational attitude and this paper can provideinformation for policy making on religion in ethnic group areas.