Abstract This article examines the literary production of the Chinese Christian Literary Society (Zhonghua jidujiao wenshe 中華基督教文社, 1924–1930), which formed a part of the Chinese Christian indigenization movement (bensehua yundong本色化運動). Scholars have studied the theological contribution of this movement, yet very little has been written about the robust literary activities of Chinese Christian intellectuals. By close reading exemplary works by two cofounders of the literary society, Zhao Zichen and Liu Tingfang, this article demonstrates how their theology deeply informed a literary corpus that actively participated in the national salvation task modern Chinese writers took upon themselves. It argues that the works of the Christian Literary Society shed new light on the formation of the institution of modern Chinese literature during the Republican era by extending the boundaries of the canon of “new literature” (xin wenxue 新文學) to include religious literature as an integral part.
Gal Gvili (Sat,) studied this question.