Curated briefings, guides, reviews, and tools for learning, ministry, and prayer.
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.
Meetings (and things that happened alongside those meetings) and Chinese people in the US caught our interest this week.
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.
Violence was very much in China-related media this week as people inside and outside of China sought to come to grips with the brutal attack that took place in the Kunming train station on March 1. A new date, 3-01 has entered our terrorism vocabulary.
My top picks this week center on architecture, education, and the plight of the disabled in China.
Chinese language learning opportunities have mushroomed in recent decades. For those seeking to work specifically with the church in China, however it is still not easy to find a program that covers both the requisite theological vocabulary and is accessible to non-native speakers.
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.
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.
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.
Today begins a month-long subscription drive to get more people reading the ChinaSource Blog.
Our top picks this week are all over the map, so to speak, covering religion, politics, and the perils of language learning!