Shanghai Faithful: Betrayal and Forgiveness in a Chinese Christian Family

by Jennifer Lin

Within the next decade, China could be home to more Christians than any country in the world. Through the 150-year saga of a single family, this book vividly dramatizes the remarkable religious evolution of the world’s most populous nation. Shanghai Faithful is both a touching family memoir and a chronicle of the astonishing spread of Christianity in China. Five generations of the Lin family—buffeted by history’s crosscurrents and personal strife—bring to life an epoch that is still unfolding.
A compelling cast—a poor fisherman, a doctor who treated opium addicts, an Ivy League–educated priest, and the charismatic preacher Watchman Nee—sets the bookin motion. Veteran journalist Jennifer Lin takes readers from remote nineteenth-century mission outposts to the thriving house churches and cathedrals of today’s China. The Lin family—and the book’s central figure, the Reverend Lin Pu-chi—offer witness to China’s tumultuous past, up to and beyond the betrayals and madness of the Cultural Revolution, when the family’s resolute faith led to years of suffering. Forgiveness and redemption bring the story full circle. With its sweep of history and the intimacy of long-hidden family stories, Shanghai Faithful offers a fresh look at Christianity in China—past, present, and future.

Genres: China, History, Nonfiction, Biography, Politics, Leadership, War

332 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2017

About the author

I was born with the reporter’s gene. It’s all I ever wanted to do from the time I was in high school and listening to a young local radio reporter named Andrea Mitchell (yes, that Andrea Mitchell) interviewing my father about soaring health-care costs. I had the good fortune of working for one of the finest newspapers in the business, The Philadelphia Inquirer, but always as a reporter, never an editor. Reporters had more fun. There’s nothing like the rush of a big breaking story. I worked as a correspondent in New York, Washington, D.C., and Beijing. My son and daughter were tots when I told them, “We’re moving to China!” They thought Beijing was somewhere west of Philadelphia on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. My husband, Bill Stieg, uprooted his journalism career and we traded in our Ford station wagon for Flying Pigeon bicycles. I reported from all over Asia—Hong Kong during the 1997 handover to China; Jakarta during the fall of President Suharto; Bangkok during the Asian financial meltdown. But of all the news and issues I covered, the assignment that captivated me the most was the one right in front of me, the story of my Chinese family.

Reviews

[Ian Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a dynamite book about the author's Christian family in China. Despite their persecution, they kept the faith and helped lay the foundation for the takeoff of Christianity in China today. The story is especially interesting because the author's great uncle was one of the most famous Chinese preachers of the 20th century, Watchman Nee, while her grandfather was a very prominent Shanghai pastor. The author has a great flair for the narrative--it's fast-paced and hooks us in early--and then takes us back to the 19th century when her first ancestor converts. It's quite a story and a real insight into an important movement in China. I strongly recommend it for people interested in Chinese society, Christianity, or the vibrant world of interwar China.

[Ebookwormy1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1948, Jennifer Lin’s grandfather, a third generation Christian serving as an Anglican Bishop, was able to launch two of his four children to America before the Chinese Civil War concluded with Communism walling off China from the world. The family managed to maintain cautious connection, passing information and money through the veil of Communist scrutiny for four decades. These were years of terror in China that claimed the lives of Lin’s grandparents, but prosperity for the Chinese who who had become Americans and their offspring. In 1979, when the door opened for her father to return, Lin and accompanied him to China to meet her family, and Jennifer Lin’s fascination with her family story began.

While panoramic in breadth, Lin’s family story is a personal account that fits the narrative non-fiction genre well. Through 30 years of diligent research, documented by copious footnotes and a voluminous biography, Lin has captured her roots. Beginning with the first Chinese convert in her family, a man whose life course was altered by the missionary movement of the late nineteenth century, Lin wrestles with her progenitors through the entanglements of colonialism and opium, as well as the transition of missionary lead movement to local ministers, and how revolutionaries successfully used that transition as a wedge to attack Christian churches as foreign influences. She chronicles their engagement with Christianity through the Anglican practice of her grandfather and the independent house church movement of her Great-Uncle (Watchman Nee/ Ní Tuòshēng) and his sister, her Grandmother. The suffering of all Chinese through the Cultural Revolution, the persecution of Christians for their faith, and the tenuous familial relationships with outsiders, are all gently illuminated. The family’s relationship with America is filtered through educational experiences of some members, and ultimately the geo-political negotiations between Mao and Nixon that allowed both the reunification of the family in China and their eventual departure from China to the USA and Australia.

Jennifer Lin has captured the heart of China, telling the history of a Chinese family in a Chinese way. Earnest, yet restrained, she presents their testimony with Confucian brevity. The student of China today will recognize many themes that continue in our days. After I finished Shanghai Faithful, I was reminded of another book that delves into great pain and beauty to present the heart of a people who have come through deep trials – Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country. And yet, Lin’s work has the greater impact of being non-fiction!

I have two regrets about this book. The first is the subtitle. Sensational in nature, “Betrayal and Forgiveness in a Chinese Christian Family” fails to communicate the broad themes of the memoir. Lin captures that survival was the overarching goal, but the betrayals are handled cautiously and the forgiveness (in typical Chinese fashion), is largely offered through acceptance, not open reconciliation. If these concepts couldn’t be developed within the commitment to a non-fiction account, I would prefer a different subtitle that captures the excellent themes of the work, or no subtitle at all.

My second regret is that this is not an easy book to acquire, especially troubling since its quality is worthy of the widest readership! Released in February of 2017, I had to pay $32 on Amazon for it in hardcover in the spring of 2017, and the price has ticked up slightly since ($36 for hardcover, $24 for Kindle in spring of 2018). I am thrilled to have this copy to pass onto my children, particularly valuable to us in understanding China. If you are at all interested in memoir, genealogy, China, Chinese American relationships, Chinese American immigrants, Christian mission, Christian persecution, Mao’s Cultural Revolution, Shanghai history, or simply reading a glimpse into a world traversed by others, I highly recommend Shanghai Faithful.

Finally, if anyone thinks the horrors of humanity ended with the Second World War, you need to pay attention. Observing my own self-censoring in the writing of this review, I can only imagine the censoring Lin did in the writing of the book. And yet, for the darkness clearly defined, Lin’s account contains an optimism, a hope for the survival of future generations, the grace of breaking skies after storms passed, the testimony of lives lived well through torturous valleys, and the comfort of an everlasting rest that is worth it all.

For more on the book, see the website:
https://www.shanghaifaithful.com/q-and-a

For more on China….
… about the missionary movement, see
City of Tranquil Light, Caldwell, 2010
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

For a fictional account of twentieth century China, see
The Middle Heart, Bette Bao Lord, 1996
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

…Pulitzer Prize winning fiction set in China, written by the child of missionaries,
The Good Earth (Good Earth Trilogy #1), Buck, 1931
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

For a glimpse of the soul of South Africa, see the fictional
Cry, the Beloved Country, Paton, 1948
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Perhaps, you’ll want to check out the writing of Lin’s Great-Uncle, Watchman Nee. I’m told this is a good place to start:
The Normal Christian Life, Nee, 1957
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Or, a biography of Watchman Nee,
Against the Tide, Kinnear, 2005
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an interesting and remarkable story about the author's personal family dating back to the 19th century. The author, growing up in America realized in her 20's that her Father had a large and rather special side to his family hidden in China. She spent 30 years digging up her family's history and as a result shed an enlightening view on Christianity in China. Her family was some of the first converts to Christianity and the story chronicles how this affected their lives and the lives of the people around them during the times. It brings us through the Cultural Revolution and describes in detail the atrocities and turmoil so many people had to face. Her descriptions are beautifully presented and the story completely captivates you. I couldn't put the book down. It was thoroughly engaging and such an interesting read.

Anyone who is interested in memoir, Chinese culture, history and/or Christianity and how it has evolved into todays global culture would enjoy this book immensely.

[Luna Rao · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before the Cultural Revolution turned Chinese society upside down, my father managed to leave. Ours was a family much like the Lin's of Shanghai Faithful: Betrayal and Forgiveness in a Chinese Christian Family--Christian through several generations, land-owning, well-educated, ties to the West. This era of the late 1960s and early 1970s would have been disastrous for my dad.

Lin's book is incredibly detailed, not only in its portrayal of the madness of the Cultural Revolution's cruelty of Chinese against Chinese, but in its telling of a multi-generational story of a Christian family's evolution in a changing China. But can this book be interesting to those who don't have a personal stake in China's recent history?

What was thoroughly gripping for me was the fearfully comprehensive way neighbor turned on neighbor, friend on friend, family member on family member. I believe any society is at risk of this when we choose ideology over democracy and free thought. I read with horror the realities of the Great Leap Forward (which my father did live through) and the Cultural Revolution (which my aunt, whom we recently reunited with, experienced). Lin's years as a reporter serve her well here as she portrays these events factually yet devastatingly.

So while parts of this book are dry and dissertation-like, as a whole it is unlike any other book I've read on China or any other society which has undergone a massive reorganization. The author brings the reader a unique, family perspective on great social change, one that I will not soon forget.

[Frances Slater · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shanghai Faithful has a cinematic quality about it which is integral to the compelling and fast forwarding text.
From the beginning we are given detailed and arresting pictures e.g. Of Old Lin and his wife in the early 1870s walking many miles along hard, stone paths to a new life in Fuzhou where he becomes cook to CMS missionaries; to his grandson Pastor Lin being captured in Fuzhou,taunted and tormented by anti-Christians in 1927;to the splendid Shanghai Opera Housewhere the trial of Watchman Nee is about to take place in 1956; to the Lin family on Lane170 off Jiaozhou Road where they are corralled in ever diminishing space in their own once comfortable home by Red Guards fomenting tension division and great suffering; to the distraught face of Dr Paul Lin after he is told of the treatment his parents received in the Cultural Revolution- engaged by such immediate scenes and the people in them, the reader is into an enthralling story of family embedded as it is in the history of Christianity in China, and the history of China and its diaspora
I know this is going to be one of my best reads this year,a story inspiring and desperately sad. Thank goodness after thorough research the story has been told and Jennifer Lin found such an engaging style in which to tell it.
Frances S.

[Miriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jennifer Lin grew up in Pennsylvania, but the heart of her family's story lay in her father's homeland, China. There, her father's relatives endured torture and persecution simply because they were Christians in the country of Mao. Lin, a prize-winning former reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer, returns to China multiple times to uncover her family's hidden history. Along the way, she illuminates the story of the spread of Christianity and of life under Mao. Her teenage cousin was sent to the countryside, delivering babies with no training. Friends turned on each other, following orders to slap those who defied the conventions of the Maoists. Under his regime, even playing classical piano was an invitation to punishment. Her family endures, and Lin's gift for navigating the twists and turns of their lives with suspense and flair takes readers on an compelling journey through history.

[Susan Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a powerful narrative about Christianity and the cultural history of China. It is thoroughly researched because the author had access to family letters and photos and built upon those sources with official documents. As a result, she tells the story as if she were there right along with her ancestors as they experienced great hardship in order to practice their faith. Jennifer Lin is a serious author and a gifted storyteller. This book is an ideal accompaniment to a standard Chinese history textbook because it shows how cultural and political change played out across generations of one family.

[Lisa Hosack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkably researched and written. I learned a lot about the spread of the Christian faith in China which helps me to place its current growth in proper perspective.

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up

I read this in on paper, but if I don't put the review on the MPE then it won't show up when I look on the MPE. I read the first edition hardcover book.

This is a superbly researched book about a key family in the leadership of Christianity in China. The author is the great niece of Watchman Nee, a famous Chinese leader and writer who was one of the first to move away from western-organized denominations (there were already eastern organized ones, but not in China) into one that didn't mix European culture, etc, with the religion. She is also the grand-daughter of a man who was a leader in both Church and Christian education. She didn't only do extensive interviews with family, but also a great deal of other resesarch.

The book start in the 19th century with her great-grandfather and move into and through the 20th century, including Chinese political upheaval early in the 20th century, WW II and then the communist revolution which led to enormous problems for the church and families perceived to have money/influence. This is not a biography of Watchman Nee, although we do read about him, but we also read about his wife and, of course, his sister who was Lin's grandmother.

The saga of Lin's Christian family does what the blurb claims, and "captures the collision of religion and politics that began more than a century ago..." However, it's not just a saga, but also a biography of some of Lin's family members.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author's grandfather was a pastor in China in the 1920's. The brother of her grandmother was Watchman Nee, a popular pastor who was branded as a counter revolutionary during the Cultural Revolution. This is the account of her family and the things they experienced.
The first part of the book, for me, bogged down in details. I wondered where it was going and considered giving up. But I pressed on and was glad I did. This is a family that experienced great trauma for their Christian faith and they continued to stand. The Church in the West has yet to experience the likes of the persecution described here. It's a challenging read - will we stand on our faith in the Lord or bow to the pressure?

[Christine Barth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really compelling narrative nonfiction about the author's family; Christians living through tumultuous times in modern China. The author did a good job of researching details and bringing them to life. The one thing I wanted more of was the current (2015) situation in China for Christians and what was happening with the grandchildren in the family. I'm wondering if the author purposefully avoided this to protect those living in China today.

[Wendy Farley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a compelling read. It would be such a great book for high school and college reading lists.

[Sonia Schoenfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't finish this book. I was attracted to the subject matter, but the book was more academic than I anticipated. At this time in my life I need a book that will grab me and carry my along in the story; this book was a little too plodding. I loved learning about the Chinese missionaries and the Lin family, but I just couldn't stick with it.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book became too tedious. I really wanted to hear about the interpersonal relationships, dialogue, instead of detailed minutiae of the building of churches, who was on the faculty, etc., etc.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

The unexpected bonus from this book was how this Chinese family's history was intertwined with that of Watchman Nee, one of the most influential Chinese evangelists in the 20th century.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. I first read Shanghai Faithful about eighteen months ago and was moved by the story of how much the Lin family went through and yet stayed strong in their faith. Now, reading it a second time after having learned more about Chinese history since then, I noticed more details and their significance in China and their impact on this family such as the fall of the Qing Dynasty and the civil war. Jennifer Lin does an excellent job showing us her family’s history, their faithfulness in the midst of suffering, and their experiences as China underwent massive changes. She highlights both the achievements and character flaws of her family in a way that shows us a balanced picture of them as regular humans neither perfect nor beyond redemption. I would highly recommend this book to everyone, especially those interested in learning more about Chinese history, the Cultural Revolution, Christianity in China, and family life in China.

Lin’s book gives a very realistic glimpse of what the Cultural Revolution was like for families that fell on the government’s black list. In my opinion, although informative and a good read, the book’s pace is a little slow until the fifth part which covers the Cultural Revolution. After everything the family goes through because of their connection to Watchman Nee and their faith, I find it incredible how the adults refused to renounce Christ and that any of the grandchildren became Christians themselves. One thing that stood out to me was the answer Jennifer Lin found to her question at the end of the book. The refusal of the older generation to publicly or privately give up their faith made it possible for the younger generation to see the power of Christ’s message for themselves and to choose to convert to Christianity themselves. After all this, it is remarkable how the number of Chinese Christians in China grows as Christianity continues to figure out its place in Chinese society, but as Jennifer Lin suspects, it may be in large part to the faithful witness of people like the Lin family.

After reading this book twice, I continue to be challenged to live a life as committed to my faith as this family. The family took the opportunities they had and made the best of them. Their ability to forgive those that had hurt them also amazes me. This is one of the best books I have ever read because of its message of faithfulness, perseverance, and resilience in the face of hostility stemming from massive constant political and societal changes.

[Joshua Fang · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because Historic Shanghai recommended it, but I didn't join the book club -- the event is at Sunday. I skipped the cultural revolution part because it's too familar to me. It's interesting to know that Rev. Lin studied with Lin Yutang at the same time in St. Johns.
However, becuase it's the author's grandfather, the author put very limited ink on his accucasation toward Y. Y. Chu, the faithful Anglican bishop. This accusation moved Rev. Lin Pu-chi toward the three-self camp of the Protestant churches in China. And I (as a house church pastor) can hardly say it's "faithful", because the whole camp of three-self is not faithful.
From Rev.Lin's preaching quotation in the book, I belielive he is at the liberal wing of Christianity. That's why his wife complained that "your sermon does not have life."
She is right.

[Tom McGuire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riviting Family Sotry

As a graduate student in the 1960s I read the inspiring book, The Spiritual Man by Watchman Nee. I knew little of his history in China. Reading the witness to faith in Jesus Christ of Watchman Nee, his brother in law, Lin Pu Chi, the members of their family is to know that the roots of Christian faith are deeply rooted in China forever.

[Wendelin Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

It really is a sweeping, personal look at her family's troubles from a little before the Republican Era of China through the Cultural Revolution. Some of her relatives were prominent members of the Christian community during those times, and they suffered greatly as the political winds shifted. Very well-written, too.

[George King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Should be nominated for a Pulitzer in the Biography/Memoir Category