Resources from 2017
The Resource Library is where you will find the latest resources from across our publications.
Stinky Tofu and Language Learning
Earlier in the summer, I had the chance to meet a family that was in the process of moving to China. Among other things they wanted to know about resources to help their young children learn Chinese.
Western vs. Chinese Theology
In the “Teaching across Cultures” class I took last month with Dr. Craig Ott, he had us read The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently . . . and Why by Richard Nisbett. The crux of the book’s argument is that Westerners and Asians think differently because of their different ancient roots.
ZGBriefs | August 10, 2017
'China has conquered Kenya': Inside Beijing's new strategy to win African hearts and minds (August 7, 2017, The Los Angeles Times)
As a digital infrastructure provider, StarTimes is helping African states transition from analog television — a technology akin to FM radio, rife with snow, static and dropped signals — to digital, which ensures high-quality image and sound. As a pay-TV company, it is stacking its networks with pro-China broadcasts. As both, it is materially improving the lives of countless Africans, then making China’s role in those improvements impossible to ignore.
Too Quickly to Be Astonished
Surveying China’s extraordinary rise over the past decade, Graham Allison, in his book Destined for War, paraphrases former Czech President Vaclav Havel when he says, “It has happened so quickly, we have not yet had time to be astonished.”
Massive Church Building Project Underway in Ningbo
A remarkable church building project in Ningbo, China.
What Does “Ju” Mean?
When I was living in China, newcomers, especially those who had been around for a few weeks or months and had started to pick up some new words and phrases, would often ask me, “what does ju (or some other word) mean?”
Dwarves Kingdom
A Film Review
A documentary exploring the lives of some of China's "little people" living and working at a theme park in Yunnan.
ZGBriefs | August 3, 2017
The Elderly Are Becoming the New Self-Governing Subjects in China (August 2, 2017, China Policy Institute)
Senior citizens, now retired from decades of public and productive life contributing to the nation’s GDP and nation-building, are now private citizens with ageing bodies and often declining health. […] This shift of their social identity from productive worker to individual consumer puts elderly individuals in China at a moral and ethical crossroads, caught between traditional, family-oriented values of personal sacrifice and new individualistic practices.
China’s Church and Its Future
A fundamental question for Christians in China—who will lead the Chinese church of the future.
Why China Needs a Higher Righteousness
In June, video footage of a tragic traffic accident surfaced online, once again prompting questions of morality in Chinese society by Chinese netizens. The incident occurred on April 21 in Zhumadian, Henan province. The video shows a woman who was blindsided by one car while crossing the street and left there by pedestrians. Several people and several cars pass through the intersection without stopping to help. Sadly, the woman is struck again by another car and killed. In this article from the journal Territory, Pastor An analyzes the incident and comments that a cold wave of self-righteousness has swept through Chinese society and says, “what we need is a higher righteousness” to counter this wave of self-righteousness.