About
Xi Lian serves as the David C. Steinmetz Distinguished Professor of World Christianity at Duke Divinity School and is currently a Yang Visiting Scholar at Harvard Divinity School. His scholarly work examines the complex relationship between Christianity and Chinese society across historical periods.
His educational background includes:
- BA and MA from Fujian Normal University
- PhD from the State University of New York at Albany
Professor Lian's research focuses on:
- The development of indigenous Chinese Christian movements
- Religious transformation in post-Mao China
- Christian missionary history in China
- Religion's role in cultural and political change
He has authored several groundbreaking books including The Conversion of Missionaries: Liberalism in American Protestant Missions in China, 1907-1932 (1997), Redeemed by Fire: The Rise of Popular Christianity in Modern China (2010), and Blood Letters: The Untold Story of Lin Zhao, a Martyr in Mao's China (2018). His current research investigates how homegrown Christianity has emerged as a transformative force in contemporary Chinese public life, offering new moral frameworks in the post-Mao era.
Professor Lian's scholarship bridges historical, theological, and sociological perspectives to document how Christian beliefs have been adapted within Chinese cultural contexts, challenging Western-centric narratives about global Christianity.
