The Center for Global Christianity and Mission at the Boston University School of Theology is delighted to announce the launching of the China Christian Posters Project. With support from the Henry Luce foundation, and fourteen academic institutions, the CGCM has digitized, tagged, and translated 470 popular posters published in China between 1907 and 1951. They have made the posters fully searchable in Chinese and English. For classroom use, students can cluster and curate their own exhibits on a large range of topics represented by the posters.
Given that just a few years ago, the existence of these posters was scarcely noted or remembered, they are proud to provide the important service of making them fully available again. The posters provide insight into popular Chinese Christian theology, largely from the Nationalist period. Rather than representing the ideas of educated elites, the posters address the basics of Christian life and practices, ranging from the meaning of salvation to personal hygiene.
The leader of the project is Dr. Daryl Ireland, Associate Director of the CGCM. Daryl first identified the existence of the posters, worked to locate them in libraries around the world, and has employed a team of students and collaborators to make them available, translate them, and construct a website.
Please enjoy this fantastic digital humanities project, as well as their other digital projects such as the History of Missiology website, the award-winning Dictionary of African Christian Biography, and “In the Midst.”