Scriptural Interpretation and Cultural Interaction: The Case of Wu Leichuan

Title

Scriptural Interpretation and Cultural Interaction: The Case of Wu Leichuan

Author

Yen-zen Tsai

Page

305-330

DOI

Abstract

Wu Leichuan was an important Chinese Protestant thinker in the early decades of the twentieth century. This paper discusses the problems of his Biblical interpretation as well as argues for an appropriate attitude and viable steps that one should consider in terms of cultural interaction.
First, the paper lays out the May Fourth period which was characterized by fervent patriotism, eager pursuit of science and democracy, and the establishment of a new China as its ultimate goal. Chinese Christian intellectuals, overwhelmed by the current atmosphere, attempted to contextualize Christianity as a response. With national reform and social progress in mind, their indigenization project, however, often treated this foreign religion with instrumental rationality.
Analyzing Wu Leichuan’s major writings, the paper finds that his interpretation of the New Testament follows the essentialist approach and thereby exhibits a reductionist tendency. In order to achieve an immediate and pragmatic purpose, he selectively reads the Bible with a biased presupposition and a predetermined conclusion. He is thus entrapped in a hermeneutic circle, short of the interpretive tension that is supposed to exist between the reader and the text. Based upon this example, the paper proposes that to interpret the Bible, one should see every scripture in its entirety. It is important that the reader delve into the historical context within which each scripture was formed and understand the complicated mechanism behind its canonization.
This paper further argues that, in a similar vein, deep understanding is the prerequisite when it comes to cultural interaction. It is crucial that one should comprehend the total picture of an alien tradition by looking into its characteristics, exploring its similarities and differences, measuring its compatibilities and incompatibilities, and then explaining their meanings. Only this kind of hermeneutic process ensures a fruitful cultural interaction.

Keyword

May Fourth Movement, Wu Leichuan, Biblical studies, hermeneutics cultural interaction

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