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Guizhou: The Precious Province
This is the second of a series of up to 20 volumes focusing on the modern history of the church in China. The books will, for the most part, cover one province each, and will be organised by decades. Each history starts with the arrival of the first evangelical missionaries in a province, and continues through to the present day. The books include many vivid brief biographies of the extraordinary people who have been part of this remarkable story. Each volume includes a number of photographs, painstakingly collected by the author over a period of years.
Partly because of its explosive growth in recent decades there is no accurate, readable account of what has happened to the Chinese church. Few Chinese believers know anyone who has been a Christian for more than ten years. This series is designed not only to inform the wider world of the astonishing work of the Spirit in China, but to provide Chinese believers (and members of the immense Chinese diaspora) with some sense of their own roots.
Partly because of its explosive growth in recent decades there is no accurate, readable account of what has happened to the Chinese church. Few Chinese believers know anyone who has been a Christian for more than ten years. This series is designed not only to inform the wider world of the astonishing work of the Spirit in China, but to provide Chinese believers (and members of the immense Chinese diaspora) with some sense of their own roots.
- GenresNonfiction
320 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 19, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 17, 2019
The second book in the China Chronicles by Paul Hattaway.
He tells the modern history of the Church in China and in this book he includes many stories and biographies of how the gospel of Jesus came to Guizhou from the 1800’s to the present.
Reading this book and this series has been a revelation to me. There are many stories of hardship. The mountainous terrain, wild animals, bandits, disease and the rise of Communism and the atheistic pushback against Christianity. Many, many Ethnic Chinese groups experienced miracles and healing as they embraced the gospel. I am in awe of the missionaries who overcame so many obstacles and many gave their lives. After 1950 all foreigners had to leave and extreme persecution forced Christianity underground. After 1990 things improved but after 2016 persecution is the government policy again.
This one province in China has a community of believers who are growing in faith. It was a revelation to me just how many diverse tribes exist in this one province.
He tells the modern history of the Church in China and in this book he includes many stories and biographies of how the gospel of Jesus came to Guizhou from the 1800’s to the present.
Reading this book and this series has been a revelation to me. There are many stories of hardship. The mountainous terrain, wild animals, bandits, disease and the rise of Communism and the atheistic pushback against Christianity. Many, many Ethnic Chinese groups experienced miracles and healing as they embraced the gospel. I am in awe of the missionaries who overcame so many obstacles and many gave their lives. After 1950 all foreigners had to leave and extreme persecution forced Christianity underground. After 1990 things improved but after 2016 persecution is the government policy again.
This one province in China has a community of believers who are growing in faith. It was a revelation to me just how many diverse tribes exist in this one province.
July 14, 2019
The Things I Liked
The book was contrasted at one point with Shandong, which added some variety to the mix. Even though the names of Chinese provinces don’t mean much to us, you must remember that they are very different places, and thus these books are very different!
Medical needs are shown more than once as being subordinate and significantly less important than spiritual needs, and there is often an emphasis that schools, medical work, etc. serve mainly the purpose of showing others Christ’s love and softening their hearts.
Similarly, humanitarianism is shown as separate and distinct from Gospel-sharing, which I appreciate very much.
Demon possession was not shown as a creepy thing, but as something Jesus has power over. Several people were delivered from demonic powers throughout the course of the book, so I thought that was great.
The Things I Didn't Like
This book, like Shandong, took quite a bit of time for me to read and was almost hard to wade through. Don’t get me wrong: I very much enjoyed the testimonies and stories, but, at a certain point, there’s a bit too much history, at least for me. But this book definitely serves a purpose, and I don’t think it could be written better for that purpose!
There’s a heavy emphasis on statistics throughout the book. I very much appreciate the author’s dedication to finding these stats, and I realize they have a place, but it seemed there was a lot of statistics throughout the book and less of the testimonies I love to read. But, again, the stats serve a purpose and I am not here to criticize that purpose.
Note to Parents
This book has quite a bit of content you may find questionable for your younger child, including several mentions of suicide by various mediums such as pesticide, carbon monoxide poisoning, a whole chapter on martyrdom, a late sister being stripped and checked to see if her claims of being a virgin were true, a massacre of missionaries (including a small child), as well as various executions and martyrdoms, even by way of burying alive.
In addition to this content, you may find that this book is too historically dense for your child. I would definitely recommend sharing inspiring excerpts with your children, but this book is probably not suitable for younger or more sensitive children to read on their own.
May God bless you, and keep you, and make His face shine upon you! Num 6:24-26
The book was contrasted at one point with Shandong, which added some variety to the mix. Even though the names of Chinese provinces don’t mean much to us, you must remember that they are very different places, and thus these books are very different!
Medical needs are shown more than once as being subordinate and significantly less important than spiritual needs, and there is often an emphasis that schools, medical work, etc. serve mainly the purpose of showing others Christ’s love and softening their hearts.
Similarly, humanitarianism is shown as separate and distinct from Gospel-sharing, which I appreciate very much.
Demon possession was not shown as a creepy thing, but as something Jesus has power over. Several people were delivered from demonic powers throughout the course of the book, so I thought that was great.
The Things I Didn't Like
This book, like Shandong, took quite a bit of time for me to read and was almost hard to wade through. Don’t get me wrong: I very much enjoyed the testimonies and stories, but, at a certain point, there’s a bit too much history, at least for me. But this book definitely serves a purpose, and I don’t think it could be written better for that purpose!
There’s a heavy emphasis on statistics throughout the book. I very much appreciate the author’s dedication to finding these stats, and I realize they have a place, but it seemed there was a lot of statistics throughout the book and less of the testimonies I love to read. But, again, the stats serve a purpose and I am not here to criticize that purpose.
Note to Parents
This book has quite a bit of content you may find questionable for your younger child, including several mentions of suicide by various mediums such as pesticide, carbon monoxide poisoning, a whole chapter on martyrdom, a late sister being stripped and checked to see if her claims of being a virgin were true, a massacre of missionaries (including a small child), as well as various executions and martyrdoms, even by way of burying alive.
In addition to this content, you may find that this book is too historically dense for your child. I would definitely recommend sharing inspiring excerpts with your children, but this book is probably not suitable for younger or more sensitive children to read on their own.
May God bless you, and keep you, and make His face shine upon you! Num 6:24-26
March 28, 2019
Most of us have heard about the phenomenal growth of the Church in China over the last century, and we may know that this growth came in the furnace of intense persecution. But how did it all happen?
The China Chronicles series is an ambitious project to document the advance of Christianity in each province of China, decade by decade, from the time the gospel was introduced there to the present day. Author and friend of the Chinese church Paul Hattaway has spent hundreds of hours interviewing Chinese believers so their stories can be shared and remembered.
Volume one took us to Shandong Province, home to almost 100 million people. It includes narratives about foreign missionaries (e.g., Lottie Moon) and Chinese movements (the Evangelistic Bands, the Jesus Family), as well as never-before-published testimonies from Chinese church leaders. Now, volume two details ministry, challenges, and church growth in Guizhou, today home to 35 million people, including some 2.7 million who identify as Christians. Particularly helpful are the author’s explanations of the province’s minority groups, including the Miao and Nosu, and how success on some fronts helped or hindered the spread of the gospel on other fronts. I found it both instructive and inspiring.
The China Chronicles series is an ambitious project to document the advance of Christianity in each province of China, decade by decade, from the time the gospel was introduced there to the present day. Author and friend of the Chinese church Paul Hattaway has spent hundreds of hours interviewing Chinese believers so their stories can be shared and remembered.
Volume one took us to Shandong Province, home to almost 100 million people. It includes narratives about foreign missionaries (e.g., Lottie Moon) and Chinese movements (the Evangelistic Bands, the Jesus Family), as well as never-before-published testimonies from Chinese church leaders. Now, volume two details ministry, challenges, and church growth in Guizhou, today home to 35 million people, including some 2.7 million who identify as Christians. Particularly helpful are the author’s explanations of the province’s minority groups, including the Miao and Nosu, and how success on some fronts helped or hindered the spread of the gospel on other fronts. I found it both instructive and inspiring.
August 9, 2019
This book continues the Chronicles of China. The first book in the series documented the Christian witness in Shandong Province. This book continues the same detailed account for Guizhou Province. It is not just a historical record but also sharing how God used many Christians in the most difficult situations. Above all, you will see God's faithfulness as his servants go where he calls.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews