Chao, Tzu-Chen

(1880–1979)

   Theologian.

   Chao was the Dean of the School of Religion at Yenching, China. In 1920, together with other leading Chinese thinkers, he formed the Apologetics group in Peking. The stated aim of the group was to spread Christianity as part of the regeneration of Chinese society. He was the author of several books including (in their English titles) Chinese Philosophy, The Life of St Paul and The Interpretation of Christianity. Much of his work has, however, never been translated. Chao believed that his country could only be restored through the creation of a new spirit in humanity and that this new spirit could only be found in Jesus Christ. His was a significant voice in China in the 1920s and 1930s and in 1948 he was a Co-President in the newly founded World Council of Churches.

   Tzu-Chen Chao, ‘The basis of social reconstruction’, Chinese Recorder, liii (1922);

   Wing-Hung Lamb, Chinese Theology in Construction (1983).