| The Young Men's Christian Association (abbreviated as YMCA), originated in 1844 in England, was introduced into China in late nineteenth century. As a Christian social service organization, YMCA became increasingly active in the following years, and attracted more and more attention. However, studies on its history in China, particularly in cities and colleges, are very inadequate, and tend to focus on Beijing and Shanghai only. In fact, the YMCA of Guangzhou was one of the most active and sophisticated among all the YMCAs in China. This thesis takes the Guangzhou Y.M.C.A as a case study to explore the work and contributions of Christian "social gospel" in China. Focusing on the period from 1904 to 1922, this thesis explores the establishment and development of the Guangzhou YMCA, its interaction with the local society, and the difficulty it faced. This thesis also studies the lives of Liang Xiaochu and Li Yinglin, the two most important Chinese leaders in the Guangzhou YMCA. Finally, this thesis evaluates the social impact of the Guangzhou YMCA. |
