China was atheist, America Christian — fantastically gross generalities, yes, but since I was a living specimen of humanus Americanus, my students poked at this religious divide. Did I know the Bible? Did I visit church? And what about Waco? (When Waco hit the headlines that year, Chinese media snapped it up as as evidence of America’s human rights hypocrisy.)
Sundays I attended Beijing International Christian Fellowship, a mini-United Nations worship service that met in the lecture hall of a foreign corporation’s headquarters. Note the disclaimer front and center on the BICF website: “Due to local government regulations, the Fellowship is open to foreign passport holders only. Please bring a photo ID that proves foreign citizenship. Thank you for your cooperation.”
Beijing forbade its own citizens from joining us on the rationale that the government operated a handful of local churches for the religiously inclined – churches that kept records on all who attended.
On Christmas Eve I visited one of these services, sitting politely though I understood few words. The rather liturgical service was videotaped, both altar and congregation. I wondered how the Chinese felt about putting their faces on permanent record in a nation with a history of imprisoning Christians.
One of my students asked if I owned a Chinese translation of the Bible. “I would like to read the Bible,” he said, “to know about it for myself. But to buy a Bible I have to register my name.” Who could blame him for hesitating?
April 2, 2008 at 6:13 am
I am writing from Australia. I studied Mandarin for one year in 1996 in Beijjing - thanks for rekindling many almost forgotten memories! You have captured life as a foreigner in China perfectly!
I’m looking forward to reading more - great idea with the Olympics looming.
April 2, 2008 at 6:35 am
Thanks for the feedback, Lucy — glad to know you can relate. What an amazing year you must have had. My own efforts at Mandarin were somewhat thwarted by my English teaching. I did have an immersion experience of five weeks between semesters (coming up in about two weeks on this blog), but that pales in comparison to an entire year. You must have picked up so much.
Feel free to contribute your own stories and insights as you read. I’ll be self-publishing this blog in book form when it’s done, and I’m planning to ask contributors for permission to include some of their comments. I’d love to include the perspectives of others who have also been to Beijing, like you!