On The Issue Of Christian Indigenisation In The Region Of Jingpo Nation

The spreading of Christianity in regions of Jingpo nation is actually a process ofthe collision, exchange and integration between Christianity and local culture, that is,the process of indigenisation. It is a hard and winding process. Until today, theindigenisation of Christianity in the regions of Jingpo nation has not been reallycompleted. Such a situation not only hinders the survival and development ofChristianity in regions of Jingpo nation, but also influences the harmoniousdevelopment of the society of Jingpo nation. The category of indigenisation of Christianity manifests the situation of thecollision, exchange and integration between Christianity and a different kind ofculture, and can be regarded as an analytic means to grasp the survival conditions ofChristianity in a different kind of culture. However, up to now, special theses ondiscussing the survival condition of Christianity from the view angle of indigenisationhave not been found in publications. The written materials on this problem onlyscatter in articles and books on the study of the situation of the spreading ofChristianity in minority nationalities in Yunnan (or southwestern China). Generallyspeaking, there exists the imperfection such as few in quantity, shallow studies andbeing unsystematic. Based on the analysis of document materials and on-the-spot investigation, theauthor of the thesis clarifies the spreading of Christianity in regions of Jingpo nationfrom the view-angle of indigenisation. He points out that the indigenisation ofChristianity experienced four stages. That is, in the early stage, there was thenationalization "packaging" and the "translation" transformation. Later, thenationality missionaries emerged and the indigenisation of Christianity waspreliminarily realized. Then frontier was liberated, the "Three-Self PatrioticMovement of the Protestant Churches of China" was launched and Chinese Christiansbegan to go along a road of "self doing missionary work, self-governing andself-sufficiency". And since the Third Plenary Session of CPC Central Committee, astage of rapid restoration and development of Christianity has begun. The content andcharacteristics of the indigenisation in each stage are analyzed in the thesis. At thesame time, problems or difficulties existing in the process of Christian indigenisationare pointed out. Firstly, the quality of believers of Christian is quite low, whichconstrains the development of indigenisation. Secondly, there are few missionaries inthis region, which influences the development of indigenisation. Thirdly, the belief ofghosts is quite stubborn, which restrains the development of indigenisation. Fourthly,there are strong religious forces that come from the foreign countries, whichinterferes with the development of indigenisation. After analyzing reasons ofproblems or difficulties, the author of the thesis has made a further exploration andput forward the way out for solving difficulties and promoting the development ofindigenisation. Firstly, the adaptability to the traditional culture of Jingpo nationshould be deepened. The key to this problem lies in conducting dialogues,communication and integration with the outlook of divinities, their cultural core.Secondly, it is necessary to actively adapt to the socialist culture of Jingpo nation andthe orientation of secularization and moralization is the joint point of such adaptation.The author assumes that there is the necessity and possibility in the efforts ofChristian indigenisation. It is the necessity for the survival and development ofChristianity in the regions of Jingpo nation, and is also the requirement of theharmonious development of the society and culture of Jingpo nation. Theindigenisation of Christianity will be helpful for the merging of Christianity with thelocal contemporary society and culture of Jingpo nation and plays an active part inthem.