John Song

Daryl R. Ireland is Research Assistant Professor of Mission in the School of Theology at Boston University.

Preface Introduction: The Quest to Become New 1 The Dissolution 2 A New Man 3 A New Means 4 A New Location 5 A New Audience 6 A New Woman 7 A New Body Conclusion: Modern Chinese Christianity

...with its groundbreaking research and captivating style, John Song constitutes an invaluable scholarly contribution. I highly recommend this book to professors of World Christianity and church history, and also to seminary students interested in the development of Chinese Christianity. --Briana Wong, Wake Forest Uniersity School of Divinity "Journal of World Christianity" Ireland's exploration of John Song as a trailblazer stands as a thought-provokingaddition to the corpus of Chinese Christian studies. It is also an essential read for thoseinterested in missions and missiology, breathing life into the legacy of John Song andshowcasing how personal transformation can have far-reaching effects on evangelismand societal change. --Zexi (Jesse) Sun, Belmont University "Missiology: An International Review" ...the work does an excellent job both of situating Song within the story of China's modernization and of giving a glimpse into the emergence of modern Chinese Christianity. But even more than that, the work Redefines Song's legacy and clarifies much of the ambiguity surrounding his conversion narrative and his ministry methods. --Matthew Winslow "Fides et Historia" Part of Baylor's Studies in World Christianity series, edited by Joel Carpenter, John Song is a major contribution to the study of Christian history. Archival strengths combined with a clear narrative and helpful analysis make it a great introduction to early twentieth-century Chinese Christianity. Inclusion of immigration history, the growth of the charismatic movement and the body and healing make it even more informative. --Jonathan A. Seitz "Journal of Ecclesiastical History" Using primary materials previously unavailable to others (including Song's personal journals), Ireland's narrative sheds new light on the story of China's great evangelist. It gives insight into the forces, both within China and within the evangelist himself, that first transformed Song and then thousands of others. --Matthew Winslow "Fides et Historia" Ireland succeeds in situating Song within the world of Republican China and foregrounds his voice as a central participant in debates over the shape of Chinese modernity in the early twentieth-century. For Ireland, Song's transformation into a "new man" is a central trope that connects various stages in his life. Ireland's argument is persuasive on this account, and his engagement with multiple bodies of literature in individual chapters--on gender, religion, science, and medicine--is impressive. --Joshua Tan "Reading Religion" ...Ireland's book is a must-read for any serious student of Chinese Christianity. As Ireland provides rich social and historical context in each chapter, the book is accessible not only to academics but also to interested laypeople. The book is also well written, accessible, and enjoyable to read. Ireland's extensive use of archival materials and primary sources to correct the story of John Song is a triumphal achievement. --Eric Beach "Themelios" Ireland's book is full of documentary, archival evidence to support his findings, evidence that has not been published before. This is the strength of this publication; but for anyone interested in Chinese Christianity, it has wider relevance and is essential reading. As Ireland reminds us again in the very last sentence of this book: 'To know the story of John Song and how he became a New Man is to understand the formation of modern Chinese Christianity' (p. 207). --Allan H. Anderson "PentecoStudies" Overall, Daryl Ireland provides a vivid story of John Song, one of the most famous Chinese Christian revivalists of the period, that presents many important insights into this period of China's history. Scholars will gain insight into the way the mind and methods of this famous evangelist were linked with the political and social struggles of the period. --John R. Stanley "Church History" ...Daryl Ireland's John Song should be on the shelves of anyone interested in the transformation of Chinese Christianity. His clear, engaging, and lively style makes it a joyful read, and instructors can adopt this outstanding book in courses on Chinese church history, world Christianity, Asian theology, and religious sociology. --Joseph Tse-Hei Lee "Review of Religion and Chinese Society" Overall, the author makes pioneering and thought-provoking contributions to our understanding of Song Shangjie by both drawing on previously little or never used source materials and offering an illuminating analytical framework of becoming new in China's modernization. John Song's findings will appeal to scholars in the studies of Chinese Christianity, Chinese modernity, and global fundamentalist and revivalist movements. --ZHIXI WANG "Journal of Religious History" Ireland advances a theory about Song's reinvention as part of a larger story of Chinese Christianity's 20th-century development. Even more, he teases out how Song and Chinese Christianity offered an alternative to the path of exchanging a feudal past for a modern future. This new man and this new religion profoundly influenced the making of a new China. --Alexander Chow "Christianity Today"