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 of Northwestern-St. Paul (MN), and Chinese Culture and Communication at Wheaton College (IL) and Taylor University (IN).
Joann has a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (MN), and an MA in teaching from the University of St. Thomas (MN).
She is the author of Survival Chinese Lessons and The Bells Are Not Silent: Stories of Church Bells in China.
Her personal blog, Outside-In, can be found at joannpittman.com, where she writes on China, Minnesota, traveling, and issues related to "living well where you don't belong."
You can find her on X at @jkpittman and on Facebook at @authorjoannpittman.
She makes her home in New Brighton, Minnesota.
A few years ago, I put together a China reading list that I titled "My Literary Journey to Being a Sinophile" for my personal blog in which I highlighted books that have shaped my understanding and love for China over the past thirty years. The book topics run the gamut from history to contemporary society to the condition of the church. The book Safely Home (2003) by Randy Alcorn is not on the list.
Since I've been in China for 28 years, and speak Chinese reasonably well, I am often asked two questions (by foreigners), neither of which have easy answers.
Many people are surprised to know that that there are numerous Christian books that have been published in China and as a result can be legally sold and distributed within China. This is something that has been going on for the past ten years.
On Saturday, there was a knife attack at the Kunming train station. When it was over, 29 people were dead and hundreds injured. Here's how the Los Angeles Timesreported the scene:
My top picks this week center on architecture, education, and the plight of the disabled in China.
James Palmer, a Beijing-based journalist has penned an excellent, yet disturbing, piece about the disabled in China, titled "Crippling Injustice." "Disabled people in modern China," he writes, "are still stigmatised, marginalised and abused." "What hope is there for reform?"
People often ask me for recommendations of books to read about Christianity and the church in China. There are a lot of books out there; some better than others.
There were a number of articles in this week's ZGBriefs that caught my attention. The first two are about romance and weddings in China. The third one is about government efforts to save abandoned babies by providing "baby hatches" in various cities. The fourth is for fun video highlights of a motorcycle ride around China.
Two weeks ago I had the chance to speak to a group of students and professors at the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (MN) about the church in China.
There were a lot of great articles in this weeks' ZGBriefs, but the ones that particularly caught my eye were on the topics of human rights and law, ethnic tensions, and American-style Chinese food.
At the Desiring God Conference for Pastors in Minneapolis last week, conference host John Piper spoke on the life of Hudson Taylor in a message titled, "The Ministry of Hudson Taylor as Life in Christ."
Our top picks this week all touch on some of the social issues that China is dealing with today: happiness, disappearing traditional culture, and the rise of volunteerism.