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Christianity in China—The Early Years


I have written previously about my love of podcasts, especially when I’m on a road trip! While my listening taste are varied, my favorite podcast is The China History Podcast, hosted by Laszlo Montgomery.

In February Montgomery posted an episode titled ”The Earliest Years of Christianity in China,” in which he describes the history of “pre-Jesuit” Christianity in the Middle Kingdom:

Many people don’t know that the first preaching of Christianity in China pre-dated the Jesuits by more than nine centuries.  We’ll take a second cursory look at the Jesuits as part of a bigger story that includes Christianity in China during the Tang and Yuan dynasties.  We’ll see that prior to the arrival of Matteo Ricci, there were two other lesser known attempts to grow Christianity in China.

It’s a fascinating episode. You can listen to it directly from the site, or on iTunes.

And for a bonus, on the site he has a handy list of terms that he uses in the podcast. It’s a great glossary of Chinese / English historical and Christian terms.

Image credit: by Ken Marshall, via Flickr
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Joann Pittman

Joann Pittman

Joann Pittman is Vice President of Partnership and China Engagement and editor of ZGBriefs. Prior to joining ChinaSource, Joann spent 28 years working in China, as an English teacher, language student, program director, and cross-cultural trainer for organizations and businesses engaged in China. She has also taught Chinese at the University …View Full Bio


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