The Study Of Missionary Cases In Henan Province During The 1860s

Christian had been introduced to Henan for a long time. Although influenced by government polices after the Kang Qian period, by 1860 missionary work still secretly continued to exist in parts of Henan. After 1860 missionary work was legalized in mainland China, missionaries began to accelerate the pace of preaching, Conflicts between missionary party and non-missionary party thereupon increased, Henan province got into the frequently-occurring stage of missionary cases.According to the statistical analysis, there were 20 complicated missionary cases that had happened in Henan in this period. Based on specific criteria, this article would divide missionary cases of Henan in that period into three categories, namely property class, missionaries being excluded or Christians being unfairly treated class, and unexplained class. After investigation, the writer find that simply considering the causes of cases as the absolute aggression and counter-aggression is improper. It also includes the peremptoriness of the church and misunderstanding between Christians and non- Christians. Without doubt, the former is fundamental.There were four typical cases that had happened in Henan province during this period. The writer chose three of them to give a brief analysis from the official disposal. By doing this, the writer found that the government of the Qing Dynasty and the French government worked together to dispose cases which had happened in Henan. The diplomatic organs of the French government in Qing Dynasty usually listened to one side from missionaries, then, began to intervene in the judicial judgment of the Qing Dynasty arbitrarily. Although the diplomatic organs of the French government attempted to threat the judicial organs of the Qing Dynasty that participated in the disposal of the cases to gain the decision on behalf of missionaries, the judicial organs of the Qing Dynasty still strove not to harm the judicial justice.The behavior that missionaries used the privilege obtained by the power to intervene in the judicial judgment had great impact on the judicial judgment that it was formally dominated by the Qing Dynasty and the dominant position of official and gentry. The fierce competition happened in missionary cases between the prerogative interest group dominated by missionaries and official, gentry and numerous people of the Qing Dynasty became a sonorous phenomenon of Henan society at that time.