The Chinese Culture Research Center was established in 1995 to demonstrate our commitment to rooting and embodying the gospel in Chinese culture. The center aims to promote a deeper understanding of the Christian faith against the background of Chinese culture and in Mainland China's spiritual climate today. The Center's research focuses on directions in theology and missions in order to respond to various religious and ideological trends. Other focuses include promoting the gospel more effectively, and contributing to the development of Chinese culture.

The Center consists of academics and researchers in the fields of theology, philosophy, culture, history, aesthetics, sociology and ethics. It upholds the evangelical faith by conducting researches on Christianity and Chinese culture. Its four key objectives are: academic research, compilation and publication of teaching materials, Chinese translation of Christian classics, academic seminars and exchanges.

The following are the Center's activities in 2009:

Conferences and Visits

1. From January 21 to 22, Dr Kevin Yao attended the Mennonite Council of International Ministry in Chicago, and gave a lecture on "the Dynamics of Protestant Church in China Today."
2. On January 23, Dr Kevin Yao did research at the Billy Graham Center, Wheaton College.
3. On January 26, Dr Kevin Yao visited the Trinity Evangelical Theological School in Chicago.
4. From March 21 to 23, Dr Jason Yeung attended the World Conference of the Reformed Church in Jakarta.
5. From May 9 to 11, Dr Jason Yeung and Dr Kin-yip Louie participated in the conference on Religion and Disasters, held in Sichuan province.
6. From late June to early August, Dr Kevin Yao visited several academic institutions and churches in Beijing.
7. From August 24 to 26, Dr Kevin Yao attended the International Symposium on the Comparative Study of the Christian Movement in North-East Asia, and presented a paper.
8. From October 15 to 17, Dr Jason Yeung visited Nanjing Theological Seminary in Nanjing.
9. In October, Dr Kevin Yao attended a conference in Fujian province.
10. From December 10 to 13, on behalf of the Centre, Dr. Kin-yip Louie attended annual conference of Christian study, organized by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
11. On December 23, Dr Jason Yeung led a group of 30 students from CGST to visit the Shenzhen University.

Teaching in the Mainland / Aboard

1. From January 5 to 7, Dr Kevin Yao taught “Church History” at Remin University in Beijing.
2. From January 5 to 9, Dr Jason Yeung taught "Systematic Theology" at Remin University in Beijing.
3. On April 7, Dr Kevin Yao gave a lecture on "the Fundamentalist Movement among the Protestant Missionaries in China of the 20th Century" at the History Department, Hong Kong Baptist University.
4. From May 18 to 21, Dr Jason Yeung taught in Shenzhen.
5. From June 8 to 10, Dr Jason Yeung visited and lectured in Taizhou, Zhejiang province.
6. From June 16 to 23, Dr Jason Yeung taught "Christianity and Chinese Culture" in Calgary, Canada.
7. From July 13 to 16, Dr Jason Yeung taught at Alliance Church training class in Vietnam.
8. On July 14, Dr Kevin Yao was invited to lecture at "the Training Class of Modern Church History in China," organized by National Christian Council in China.
9. From November 16 to 17 and November 30 to December 4, Dr Kevin Yao taught in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province.
10. From November 19 to 20, Dr Jason Yeung taught "Modern Theologians" in Union Theological Seminary, Guangdong province.
11. From December 3 to 5, Dr Jason Yeung visited the churches and taught in Wenzhou.
12. From December 18 to 21, Dr Jason Yeung taught "Contemporary Theology" at Yanjing Theological Seminary, Beijing.

Research and Exchanges

1. From February to July, Dr Fangyong, an associate professor at the School of Philosophy, Wuhan University visited the CGST, and did research for his project on "Reinhold Niebuhr's Social Gospel Ethical Thoughts."
2. From March to May, Mr Rong-jian Pu, a Ph.D candidate at the School of Philosophy, Wuhan University did research at CGST for his project on Thomas Aquinas' Thoughts on Holy Communion.

Academic lectures

1. On February 24, the Centre sponsored a public lecture on "The Development in post-Olympic China: a discussion of the relation between Confucianism and socialism." The speaker was Dr Fangyong, and respondent was Dr. Yao.
2. On March 24, Dr Sonjun, a former researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences gave a public lecture on "the Salvation Teachings of Chinese Folk Religions," and Dr Kevin Yao responded.
3. On April 16, the Center organized a public lecture on Islam and its Characteristics in China in cooperation with the Research Center of Cultural Renewal. The speaker was Prof Ding Shiren (The Department of Philosophy, Lanzhou University in China), and respondent was Dr Thomas Leung, President of the Culture Regeneration Research Society.
4. From October 22 to 24, the Centre organized a conference on "Christianity and Nationalism in Contemporary China", and also two related public lectures.

Sabbatical Leave

Dr Kevin Yao took a sabbatical leave from August 2009 to January 2010, and worked on his project on the history of the Hunan Bible Institute.

Publications