The Project

Between 1927 and 1951 millions of Christian posters entered the Chinese market. Printed by the thousands onto the cheapest paper, most were used in street preaching and teaching. Others were hung in tearooms and shop windows, or put up with starch and brooms on city gates and local temples. The bright-colored posters briefly attracted attention before they tore, were covered by a more current notice, or dissolved in the rain. These visual messages competed aggressively for the soul of China. The Center for Global Christianity & Mission, funded by the Henry Luce Foundation, is pleased to make hundreds of these rare images digitally accessible and searchable for the first time.


Popular Theology

Chinese Christian propaganda posters were produced for the masses. Displayed in public spaces, artists created posters for popular consumption. What would make Jesus and the Christian message immediately comprehensible and appealing? Who did the people want Jesus to be, and what did they think the Savior needed to rescue them from? Propaganda posters portray the gospel, not as Chinese theologians wrote about it, but as artists pictured it for the common people. Through five hundred images, it is possible to explore how these posters portrayed salvation to a nation in crisis. 


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