Tzu-ch'en Chao (; 1888–1979), also known as T. C. Chao, was one of the leading Protestant theological thinkers in China in the early twentieth century.

Life

Chao was born on February 14, 1888, in Xinshi, Deqing County,

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...

, China. In 1903, at the age of fifteen, he chose to pursue a Western-style education, and enrolled in a secondary school affiliated with Soochow University. He was admitted to the university a few years later. In 1905, Chao married Tong Dingzhen (童定珍), who was two years older than him. The couple had four children:

Lucy Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Lu ...

(), Timothy (), Edward (), and Walter (). In 1907, while attending university, Chao chose to be baptized as a Christian. He graduated from Soochow University in 1910. In 1914, he went to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

to study at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

. He graduated in 1917 with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

degree in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

and a Bachelor of Divinity degree. Chao was well known for his academic work as a professor of

religious philosophy Religious philosophy is philosophical thinking that is influenced and directed as a consequence to teachings from a particular religion. It can be done objectively, but may also be done as a persuasion tool by believers in that faith. Religious ...

and dean at

Yenching University Yenching University (), was a university in Beijing, China, that was formed out of the merger of four Christian colleges between the years 1915 and 1920. The term "Yenching" comes from an alternative name for old Beijing, derived from its status ...

(1928-1951). In 1948, the first general assembly of the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...

elected him as one of its six presidents. However, he resigned the post in 1950 in protest against the council's stand on the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. When the

Three-Self Patriotic Movement The Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM; ) is the official government supervisory organ for Protestantism in the People's Republic of China. It is colloquially known as the Three-Self Church (). The National Committee of the Three-Self Patriot ...

was launched, Chao was one of the 40 church leaders who signed the " Christian Manifesto". In the 1950s, he began to express anti-American sentiments publicly. However, he was accused of siding with the Americans by the Communist government in 1956 and was only rehabilitated in 1979, a few months before his death. Chao died on November 21, 1979.

Theology

Chao is regarded by many as the leading Chinese theologian of the twentieth century. According to Gareth Jones, Chao converted from

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...

to Anglicanism on 20 July 1941, when Bishop

Ronald Hall Ronald Owen Hall (; Cantonese: ''Ho Ming Wah''; 22 July 1895 in Newcastle upon Tyne – 22 April 1975 in Lewknor, Oxfordshire) was an Anglican missionary bishop in Hong Kong and China in the mid 20th century. As an emergency measure during th ...

confirmed In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

and also

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

him as both a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

all on the same day. The reason for his commitment to Anglicanism was due to "the deep appreciation of the ecclesial vocation". During the anti-Christian movement of the 1920s, Chao advised Chinese Christians to remove the Western husk from Christianity in order to discover the true essence of the religion. A truly indigenous Christianity, Chao argued, would be a useful basis for social reconstruction in China. In later years, he became more conservative in faith, especially after his imprisonment by the Japanese for several months in 1942. Chao reconciled himself to the new Communist government in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

after 1949. These changes in the sociopolitical context would be reflected in Chao's theology, especially in his view of Christ, which moved from a more liberal starting point to a conservative one that addressed questions of human and societal sin.

Life

Theology

See also

References

Further reading