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 2008:

Conferences and Visits

1. From January 25 to 28, Dr. Kevin Yao attended a staff gathering of Mennonite church in Kuming, Yunan province.
2. From May 29 to 31, Dr. Kevin Yao participated in a conference on "Inter-Cultural Theological Conversation, beyond Our Past: Bible, Cultural Identity, and the Global Evangelical Movement", organized by Evangel Seminary and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and presented a paper entitled "Chinese Evangelicals and Social Concerns: A Historical and Comparative Review."
3. From June 8 to 9, Dr. Jason Yeung visited the churches and local ministries in Fuzhou, Fujian province.
4. On June 19, Dr Kevin Yao participated in a symposium on "Religions and Local Society and Culture," jointly sponsored by Divinity School of Chung Chi College and the Institute of Religions, Yunan Academy of Social Sciences.
5. From August 29 to 30, Dr. Jason Yeung attended a conference on Chinese theology, held in Shenzhen by Culture Regeneration Research Society, and presented a paper entitled "The Evolution of View on God in Ancient Chinese Culture."
6. From October 9 to 11, Dr. Kevin Yao attended the "Summit of Religious Studies in China," held in Beijing University.
7. From December 9 to 13, Dr. Kevin Yao and Dr. Kin-yip Louie attended the symposium on "Christianity and Social Transition in China," held in Beijing by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Dr. Kevin Yao presented a paper entitled "From 'Christendom' to 'Marginalized Incarnation,'" and Dr. Kin-yip Louie presented a paper on American Christianity.

Teaching in the Mainland

1. From December 31, 2007 to January 10, 2008 Dr. Kevin Yao taught church history at Remin University, Beijing.
2. From January 7 to 9, Dr. Jason Yeung taught systematic theology at Remin University.
3. From March 27 to 31, Dr. Kevin Yao gave a series of lectures on church history at Shanxi Normal University, Xi-an.
4. From May 11 to 21, Dr. Luke Cheung taught a course on Pauline theology at Sichuan University, Chengdu.
5. From June 19 to 21: Dr. Joseph Kok lectured at Renmin University of China in Beijing, on the topic of 'Psychology of Religion – Pastoral Care and Counselling'.
6. On July 9, Dr. Kevin Yao visited Prof. Xu Tao of Wuhan University, and was invited to give a lecture on the universality of Christianity to about two hundred students.
7. From July 10 to 11: Dr. Kevin Yao lectured at summer school of studies on history of Chinese Christianity at Huazhong Normal University, Hubei. About 30 students attended his course on "Re-interpreting modern Chinese church history from the perspective of the modernist-fundamentalist controversy."
8. From October 15 to 17, Dr. Jason Yeung gave a lecture series at the Center of Christian Studies, Lanzhou University on the topic for the undergraduates: "The Meanings of Modern Sciences to Theology;" the topic for the post-graduates: "The Challenge of Cultural Pluralism toward Christianity."
9. From November 21 to 24 and December 23 to 25, Dr. Kevin Yao taught a course on church history in Mainland China.
10. From December 15 to 19, Dr. Jason Yeung taught a course on theology at Sichuan University.

Research and Exchanges

1. From July to August, Dr. Xiao-feng Tang, assistant researcher of the Institute of World Religions, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, visited our center and collected data for his project on Christianity in Yuan Dynasty.
2. From August 2008, to January 2009 Dr. Shi-jin Sun, associate professor of Huanan Normal University visited and did research for her project on the history of Chinese church's involvement in rural cultural construction at CGST.

Academic lectures

1. March 4: Dr. Yong-ning Wen of Shenzhen University spoke entitled "History of Islam in China".
2. April 8: Dr. Jason Yeung spoke entitled "Fenshui philosophy of Chinese folk religion".
3. April 15: Dr. Jason Yeung spoke entitled "A reflection on Charismatic phenomenon".

Publications