For many years a Time magazine reporter stationed in Hong Kong, and bureau chief in Beijing for nearly two years, Aikman made numerous visits, some as recently as 2002, interviewing scores of Christian leaders as well as ordinary members, both from the "underground" and the "Three Self" movement.
As a journalistic effort rather than that of an analyst, his style is fairly riveting, but is understandably less sustained in its presentation. Nonetheless, it is an important contribution to our understanding of Christianity in contemporary China.
Briefly sketching the history of Christian influence on China from the Nestorian mission in AD 635, Aikman provides useful material on the subsequent efforts of the Franciscans, the Jesuits, and the Anglo-Saxon Protestants in the 19th century, pioneered by Robert Morrison. He concludes his survey with the apparent eclipse of Christian missions in China when Mao Zedong inaugurated the new China when around 10,000 Western missionaries were expelled. It is estimated there were then approximately three million Roman Catholics and three-quarters of a million Protestants.
But, the seeds of transformation were nurtured by Christian leaders like Wang Mingdao and Watchman Nee, and others who stepped up their evangelistic efforts "especially among China's frightened urban population …" thereby ensuring a continuity and growth of the Christian community.
These two "patriarchs" were only two of the top layer of a vast number of "uncles", itinerant evangelists in the provinces, none more spectacular than in the village of Guan Zhuang in Henan province, a halfway house where they preached, evangelised, taught and sometimes baptised new believers, then moving on to another village - an "underground railroad" of clandestine preachers who were responsible for nurturing thousands of house churches. They survived imprisonment and cruel persecution and showed an astonishing zeal and stamina, to say the least.
The "patriarchs" were supported by another layer of workers - "aunts, nephews and nieces", local leaders, many (perhaps the majority) of them women.
Coming from a village background in Henan, Sister Ding is a good example of an "aunt", intelligent, well versed in world events and a strategic planner. She and other leaders took turns to pick up Bibles brought in by Hong Kong Chinese and foreign Christians.
Arrested, she refused to give any information, but learnt to be patient in suffering and faithful under persecution. Even in labour camp, she shared her faith with many prisoners whose discipline and morale raised production levels so that she was released ahead of schedule.
Within the story of the Christian movement is the account of why and how the "Three Self" movement was formed at the initiative of the government when China entered the Korean War in 1950. Christian organisations were instructed to terminate all links with Christian groups in the West, "to thoroughly, permanently and completely sever all relations with American missions and all other missions, thus realising self-government, self-support and self-propagation in the Chinese church".
However, some of the "Three
Self" leaders appeared to be closely related to, or were
actually members of the Communist Party, and discredited at least
some of the evangelical leaders like Wang Mingdao. Wang himself
was convinced that Christian clergy should not be involved in
the political process and therefore defied the "Three Self"
organisation. This has resulted in a tension between the independent
house churches and the "Three Self" movement.