{"id":8596,"date":"2024-03-28T14:57:45","date_gmt":"2024-03-28T14:57:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ccposters.com\/?p=8596"},"modified":"2024-03-29T03:09:55","modified_gmt":"2024-03-29T03:09:55","slug":"adaption-and-adoption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ccposters.com\/zh\/adaption-and-adoption\/","title":{"rendered":"(English) Adaption and Adoption"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\"An angel announces the birth of Jesus to shepherds\" by (Luke) Chen Yuandu<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\"No room at the inn\" by Lu Hongnian (Lu Hung-nien)<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\"Birth of Jesus\" by Lu Hongnian (Lu Hung-nien)<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\"Baby Moses is Rescued\"<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\"Let the Little Children Come\" by Yu Molin<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\"How Christians Become Sons and Daughters of the Lord\"<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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            China, more than many cultures,\nholds tightly to traditions of imagery and iconography, even with adopted ideas\nand practices. In Christianity, this practice is just as visible. In chapter 10\nof Daryl R. Irelands compendium Visions of Salvation, <\/i>it is noted that Chinese\nposters promoting Christianity and conveying its stories, visual artifacts not\nyet lost to time and \u201cechoing the logic of \u201cthe Word made flesh\u201d\u201d, show \u201cmore\nthan mere combinations of images and texts\u201d the simple stories and bright\ncoloring on their surface level, but upon more deep examinations deliberate\ndecision making on how to translate into their culture foreign ideas and parables1<\/sup>.\nOf all of the subtle decisions made, I aim to discuss the choice on whether to\nAdapt the core figures of biblical stories by Sinicizing them, or to Adopt them\nas is with little to no change.<\/span><\/p>

            The first three posters I have\nchosen above all show a decision to portray the stories of the bible in a more\nChinese visual space and style. In An angel announces the birth of Jesus to\nthe shepherds <\/i>by (Luke) Chen Yuandu, not only have the shepherds and angel\nbeen drawn to represent Chinese people likely to aid in self-identification for\nthe viewers, but the more arid and warm vistas of the middle east have been\ncompletely altered to a more snowy scape. So too are No room at the inn<\/i>\nand Birth of Jesus<\/i> (by Lu Hongnian) drawn, in which Jospeh unsuccessfully\nseeks shelter in a snow storm at the nominal inn, and then finds it in a cave,\noutside of which we see the blustering snow. Though far different than the\nactual location of Christ\u2019s birth, the snow matted world, closed gates, frozen river,\nand shear mountains in the distance all lend to the inhospitable environ, and\ncertainly to a way largely more recognizable to most who would see the images. <\/span><\/p>

However,\namazingly, \u201cWhile non-Chinese saw the paintings as a tremendously effective\ninstructional tool because of the concept of self-identification\u201d there was a \u201cgeneral\nlack of support among contemporary native clergy\u201d who, along with many native\nscholars preferred \u201chistorically accurate imagery\u201d and considered all else improper2<\/sup>.\nThis strange disjoining of local preference from the perceived preference\nMissionaries and their far off directors\u2019 assumed likely started in the early\ndays of mission work, and the false belief self-perpetuated. After all, one of\nthe first steps in preaching a foreign belief system or doctrine, as found effective\nby early Nestorian and Protestant monks, is the \u201cmarket[ing] of their religion\u201d\nrequiring \u201cknowledge of the market itself\u201d to target the \u201ccustomers\u201d to be3<\/sup>.\nIf monks, preachers, and missionaries early on found success in comparing their\nmessages with local accepted beliefs or stories, that such a practice\nencouraged the beginning stages of conversion, then they would be hard pressed\nto risk losing said progress by pushing stories and images of alien foreigners\nto their flock: so thus preferring a strategy of \u201ctransplantation\u2026and\ntransformation.\u201d3<\/sup> <\/span><\/p>

But,\nas above, this view was not held by the actual (albeit few) non-foreign clergy2,\n3<\/sup>. Showing the actual preference for accuracy, posters four and six show depictions\nof Biblical stories with more classic depictions and imagery, and poster five\nis a blend. Starting with said poster, Let the Little Children Come <\/i>by\nYu Molin, we see Matthew 19:14 represented with a traditional portrayal of Jesus\ncalling children to show His affection for purity and innocence. Interestingly,\nthis poster shows Jesus in China, both demonstrating the total reach of His\nmessage, and presumably, His Grace. This style of depiction would both lend\nhomage to the desired historical accuracy, and the present power of the Word.<\/span><\/p>

In\ntrue displays of Biblical stories set in their actual locations, Baby Moses\nis Rescued<\/i> and How Christians Become Sons and Daughters of the Lord<\/i>\nboth show purely \u2018western\u2019 characters, or at least western by the Chinese\nperspective. Similarly, both accurately show the middle east as it would have\nbeen in climate, attire, and construction, including such details as \u2018INRI\u2019 on\nthe cross, and (though exaggerated) hieroglyphs on the buildings of Egypt.\nThese styles of posters, more representative of the wider Christian faith, have\nbeen argued to have \u201chelped invite Chinese Christians to join in an inclusive\nworld Christian community,\u201d but nevertheless they remained the less common\nstyle, \u201c\u2026illustrating the life of Jesus grounded on a Palestinian stye [was] a\nrare phenomenon in Christian missions in China.\u201d4<\/sup><\/span><\/p>

            Perhaps in a more exceptional idea, this\nidea to portray a foreign core of the religion was an idea that paid off in\nanother way. In their Lift High the Cross: The Visual Message of Popular\nChinese Christianity, <\/i>Ireland and Li argue that in the early 20th<\/sup>\nCentury an oft-defeated China sought change and that like a new preference for\nforeign, distinguished clothing \u201c\u2026the imported cut was a way for the wearer to\nvisibly express his commitment to be different, his belief that China had to be\nmade new\u201d5<\/sup>, change was needed elsewhere as well. Maybe in Religion as\nwell, something not Sino-centric was for the better. <\/span><\/p>

            It might be best to end with the\nbeginning of Vision of Salvation, <\/i>it is emphasized that these very mass-produced\nposters, whether they are as I have phrased adaptive or adoptive, \u201cwere not for\nuse in Sunday schools, to decorate a sanctuary, or hang in a private home\u201d and\ncarried \u201cvery clear instructions: \u201cPlease post in public places.\u201d\u201d1<\/sup> Whether\ntrying to unite the people to appreciate themselves, to emphasize the traditions\nof China and her history, or to usher in new change and a respect for\nhistorical accuracy, these pieces of religious propaganda aimed to foster\nfaith. The message was common, just the presentation differed.<\/span><\/p>

\n\n<\/p>

 <\/span><\/p>

1. Ireland,\nDaryl R., and Peter Gue Zarrow. Visions of salvation: Chinese Christian\nposters in an age of revolution<\/i>. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2023. <\/p>

2. Lawton,\nMary S. \u201cA Unique Style in China: Chinese Christian Painting in Beijing.\u201d Monumenta\nSerica<\/i> 43, no. 1 (January 1995): 469\u201389. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/02549948.1995.11731282.\n<\/p>

3. Zheng,\nYangwen. Sinicizing Christianity<\/i>. Leiden: Brill, 2017. <\/p>

4. Liu,\nLingshu, and Madeleine Yue Dong. \u201cSilent Messengers: Visualizing the Growth of\nChristianity in China by Chinese Christian Posters, 1927-1942.\u201d Silent\nMessengers: Visualizing the Growth of Christianity in China by Chinese\nChristian Posters, 1927-1942<\/i>, 2021. <\/p>

5. Ireland,\nDaryl R., and David Li. \u201cLift High the Cross: The Visual Message of Popular\nChinese Christianity.\u201d International Bulletin of Mission Research<\/i> 46,\nno. 4 (August 18, 2022): 474\u201391. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/23969393221097624. <\/p>

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Ireland,\nDaryl R., and David Li. \u201cLift High the Cross: The Visual Message of Popular\nChinese Christianity.\u201d International Bulletin of Mission Research<\/i> 46,\nno. 4 (August 18, 2022): 474\u201391. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/23969393221097624. <\/p>

Ireland,\nDaryl R., and Peter Gue Zarrow. Visions of salvation: Chinese Christian\nposters in an age of revolution<\/i>. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2023. <\/p>

Lawton,\nMary S. \u201cA Unique Style in China: Chinese Christian Painting in Beijing.\u201d Monumenta\nSerica<\/i> 43, no. 1 (January 1995): 469\u201389.\nhttps:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/02549948.1995.11731282. <\/p>

Liu,\nLingshu, and Madeleine Yue Dong. \u201cSilent Messengers: Visualizing the Growth of\nChristianity in China by Chinese Christian Posters, 1927-1942.\u201d Silent\nMessengers: Visualizing the Growth of Christianity in China by Chinese\nChristian Posters, 1927-1942<\/i>, 2021. <\/p>

Zheng,\nYangwen. Sinicizing Christianity<\/i>. Leiden: Brill, 2017. <\/p>

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