South
of the Clouds
KUNMING,
China — From the wealthy cities on the east coast of China to the poor
but beautiful western border province of Yunnan. There is such a contrast!
Yunnan means
‘south of the clouds’, and the province is renowned for its mild climate.
The capital named Kunming is known as ‘the Capital of Eternal Spring’.
The landscapes are extremely varied, from tropical rainforest to icy highlands.
Yunnan is also the province of 26 registered minorities. Some of these
have kept a strong local identity by maintaining their own traditions.
Although parts of Yunnan are ‘autonomous’ regions, their independence from
the Chinese authorities is only nominal.
Our visit had been arranged by the local
China Christian Council (CCC), the provincial government and the Bureau
of Religious Affairs. Throughout our visit we were accompanied by an official
from the Bureau. His role was to ensure that all official doors were open
for us, and to see that our sojourn was as comfortable and straightforward
as possible. Everybody was very helpful. It was encouraging to note that
the policy of religious freedom appears to be working out in practice throughout
Yunnan. (SR 20/12 - 3.99) [PHOTOS]
Bibles
for Minority Peoples
Helping
young people to learn
about
the Bible can mean
working
for no income – but it is
some
encouragement when
one
is not alone
YUNNAN, China — “At the Long
Chuan Bible Training Centre, the teachers receive no payment for their
work. All of them have other work or run private enterprises to make a
living,” says Lute Li.
Lute
Li is a teacher, married to Annisimus Li, who is director of the Long Chuan
Bible Training Centre, Dehong Region.
Hard life
“We have leased a small piece of land
so that we can grow vegetables for our two sons, Isaac and Joshua, and
for ourselves,” she says. Life is hard here, but I find strength and understanding
in Psalm 23: ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need.’ There
is so much to be done here.
“Since
the opening, in 1990, 1,000 students have graduated from this Centre, but
that is far from enough. In this area there are seven ministers for 30,000
Christians, so they need as much support as they can get. Students from
Lisu, Jingbo and Dai minority groups come here – some from far away,” she
says.
Both Lute Li and her husband have received
theological training. “We have many illiterate farmers here, so it is very
important to explain the biblical texts as simply as possible, and to present
them in their context,” says Lute Li. But we need commentaries, Bible study
material, and church history books written in our own language.”
In
the Dehong area, the annual per capita income is US $25. Heavy subsidization
brings the price of Bibles down to $0.12. When they can obtain the Bible
in their own language these minority groups discover new opportunities
for themselves. Bible study becomes a way out of illiteracy and can be
a road to a better life. Our escort from the Bureau of Religious Affairs,
Wan Yung Sheng, is a non-Christian, but he says:
“The
Christian communities are better organized than other communities. They
are wealthier and more harmonious, they take care of their poor and needy,
and they have lower crime rates. I know of one drug addict who had been
treated at government drug addiction centres four times. He was regarded
as a hopeless case. Then a Christian church took him on as a handyman.
He became a Christian, and we have not heard from him since,” he adds.
(SR 20/13 - 3.99) [PHOTOS]
‘They
Introduced Us to Christ’
YUNNAN,
China — “We appreciate what the missionaries did in introducing us to Christ,”
says Long Sheng Zhong, pastor and Bible translator. They brought us out
of our darkness into the light of salvation. When they had to leave, we
kept the light of God.”
The last missionary left the region
in 1950, but the work of the missionaries had a lasting influence on the
minority Miao community.
In 1910, English missionary the Rev
Samuel Pollard invented a system of writing the Miao language in order
to make the Bible accessible to this minority people.
As a result, the Bible has become central
in the Miao people’s society and culture. An estimated 60 per cent of the
Miao population are Christians.
At
Da De Church, situated on a hilltop and only accessible on foot or by donkey
cart, 500 people attend service every Sunday.
“Imagine this,” says Rune Hansen.
“You are sitting in a church on a hilltop, in a beautiful and remote area
of China, listening to a choral rendering of Handel’s Messiah. “I
know every note, but never before have I heard such a glorious and enthusiastic
performance!”
(SR 20/14 - 3.99) [PHOTOS]
Hunger
Among the Miao in 1907
l
Samuel Pollard and his fellow missionaries began their work among the Miao
at the end of the 19th century. They first attempted to provide the illiterate
Miao peasants with the Gospel by teaching them to read the Chinese Bible.
Despite the
almost insuperable difficulties posed by this program, such was the eagerness
of the Miao to read the Scriptures that, we are told: “Within six months
there were 10,000 people in and around one mission station alone – not
to speak of the others – all studying the Gospel, and yet there was no
Portion of the Word of God in their own language.”
The mission
set itself to provide the Miao with a Bible in their own tongue. . .Pollard
and his colleagues devised a script for the Miao, an alphabet of syllables.
. .and its success was immediate and phenominal.
When, in
1907, the first copies of one of the Miao Gospels reached Yunnan-fu the
provincial capital, every copy was sold within two hours, although the
consignment had been carried in on the backs of 29 horses. Book
of a Thousand Tongues, UBS, 1972. (SR 20/15 - 3.99)