Living in Taiwan, I learned to read most of the Chinese characters by watching movies with subtitles. I only remember enough of the language to hurt myself, but I do remember that many of the Chinese characters depend on the context to have meaning. Many times, tattoos in America are copied from a template which doesn’t give context, Rendering the tattoo meaningless. I remember from my Chinese writing lessons, that the tiniest incorrect stroke order will render the character illegible. As we have learned with access to google translate, words without context just come out sounding weird.
Surprising roots of Jewish tradition in Chinese History
It is usually thought that the gospel stemmed from middle east and spread west across Europe. A study of Chinese language reveals some interesting insights. If have referenced missionary families who laid the ground work for my family to eventually go to Taiwan. They experienced the hunger of the Chinese people for the gospel because so much of Chinese culture had bread crumbs that led them to the Christianity. That post is here . So much of it was already a part of their own culture. I still remember sitting in a hot stuffy church service in Taiwan listening to this sermon. As an adult I have gone back and researched more. Answers in Genesis https://answersingenesis.org/genesis/chinese-characters-and-genesis/ had some very interesting information if you are interested in reading more.
The first recorded missionaries to arrive in China came around AD 645. But much of the Chinese culture bears witness to an earlier influence, because Christian ideas were embedded in the Chinese language and culture long before this time.
The border sacrifice was discontinued with the end of Manchus, the last Chinese emporer in 1911. But the tradition goes back at least 4000 years prior, The Book of History compiled by Confucious 500 years before Christ wrote about the border sacrifice. This sacrifice was exclusively made to Shang Di (meaning The Most High).
Confucius wrote, “How vast is Shang Di, the ruler of men below.” and in a separate quote, “Heaven gave birth to the multitudes of people.” – The Book of Odes
In other places Confucius is quoted to have confessed faith in Shang Di. Mozi, another Chinese philosopher (408-382 BC), Also wrote about Shang Di.
“Now Heaven loves the whole world universally. Everything is prepared for the good of man. Even the tip of a hair is the work of Heaven. Heaven ordered the sun, the moon, and the stars to enlighten and guide them. Heaven ordained the four seasons, Spring, Autumn, Winter and Summer, to regulate them. Heaven sent down snow, frost, rain, and dew to grow the five grains and flax and silk so that the people could use and enjoy them.” – The Works of Mozi
The border sacrifice was to be made twice a year earlier it was held on the Eastern border, but in the 5th century Confucius outlines requirements that were to be strictly observed at this border sacrifice. The ruling Chinese emperor was to reverently enter the “Imperial Vault” and offer a bull or a sheep on the Altar of Heaven. This bull was to be a year old, a male, and was to be perfect.
The inscription read at this ceremony bears some resemblance to the first 2 chapters of Genesis.
Of old in the beginning, there was the great chaos, without form and dark. The five elements had not begun to revolve, nor the sun and moon to shine. You, O Spiritual Sovereign, ShangDi, first divided the grosser parts from the purer. You made heaven. You made earth. You made man. All things with their reproducing power got their being.
An analysis of some of the written characters of the Chinese language resembles the creation story.
All photos created by Answers in Genesis.
The following character was developed after the birth of Christ. This character is an interesting indication of Christian culture’s influence on the Chinese language. It is hard to ignore the resemblance to the words of John the Baptist.
John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
God has placed clues that lead back to Him throughout the Chinese culture. Interesting to note, the characters pictured here are all from what is referred to as the traditional written Chinese. The communist party, reinvented the thousands year old written language. They call it the ‘simplified’ Chinese. So far as I know all of these references to Biblical concepts have been removed in the simplified version.
A song we used to sing in the church in Ukraine: “God is easy to seek for, God is easy to find. He is in the first cry of the baby, he is in the thunderstorm. He is in the still night, he is in the small blessings. (it sounds better in Russian).
Just open your eyes to the bits and pieces of himself that he places around you. Small kindnesses of a stranger, the beauty of the sunset, the delicate design in a snowflake. God is with you always, trying to draw you back to him.