Different Narratives: The Pingli Missionary Case in Wenshi Ziliao and Private Expression

Abstract

Wenshi Ziliao (Cultural and Historical Materials) are spaces where contemporary Chinese official discourse and local self-expression are coordinated. But these spaces are extremely limited on religious issues. The Pingli missionary case in the Shaanxi Wenshi Ziliao is seen as an anti-imperialist patriotic movement. However, by re-examining this conflict through the analysis of other materials, this article finds that the outbreak of the Pingli case is closely related to local power structures, the conditions of missionaries and Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (P.I.M.E.), and the socio-cultural atmosphere. These hidden stories, although overlooked by the compilers of Wenshi Ziliao, are re-emphasized by priests of the local church, revealing attempts by Christians to continually adjust their self-expression in response to official discourse under the contemporary Chinese church–state relationship.

1. Introduction

In 1961, the eighty-year-old Zhu Xiaxuan (朱霞轩) recalled the Pingli missionary case and expressed deep emotions, stating, “The days of imperialism oppression in China are gone forever.”1 This remark, along with his memoirs, was preserved by the cadres of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Although these records were only recently disclosed in the official electronic database, the expression of the Pingli missionary case in the Shaanxi Wenshi Ziliao and local gazetteers closely aligns with Zhu’s narrative.2 However, Zhu was not a firsthand witness of the incident; when it occurred, he was living in Ankang, about 56 km away from Pingli. All his information was derived from his brother Zhu Fengbiao (Zhu 1961). However, this did not affect the creation of “Wenshi Ziliao” by the CPPCC because cadres urgently needed to divert the pain caused by the political movements of the 1950s by inviting people to recount their past painful experiences (Fromm 2019, p. 3). Since then, the Pingli missionary case has been described as an “anti-imperialist patriotic movement”.

According to statistics, during the late Qing Dynasty (1840–1911), there were 3032 such “patriotic movements” across China, which significantly impacted local society and church–state relations in the late Qing period (Dong 2018, pp. 56–71). Scholars refer to these events as “Jiao An 教案” (missionary cases). However, the occurrence of these cases was closely related to local social structures, cultural customs, economic conditions, and power relations, making them the product of multiple groups at a specific historical juncture. Opponents of Christianity and Christians themselves were not monolithic groups; their involvement in missionary cases was driven by pragmatic concerns. Therefore, the study of missionary cases needs to be combined with a comprehensive analysis of regional social backgrounds. This article takes the missionary case that erupted in Luohe (雒河) Town, Pingli (平利) County, Shaanxi, in 1903, as the research object. Through analyzing historical materials from different sources, this study re-examines the outbreak process of the Pingli case. Simultaneously, there exist notable disparities in the narratives between official memorials, gazetteers, local church materials, and the Shaanxi Wenshi Ziliao related to this event. The discrepancies expose the hidden and political purposes in the compilation of Wenshi Ziliao and shed light on the subtle situation of Christianity in contemporary China.

2. Wenshi Ziliao and Missionary Cases

Influenced by official materials such as Wenshi Ziliao, research on late Qing missionary cases in mainland China primarily adopts the traditional revolutionary historical perspective and the paradigm of class conflict. These studies focus on criticizing the “imperialism” and “colonialism” represented by Western missionaries and the “feudalism” represented by the Qing government (Shiyue Li 1958; Changsheng Gu 1981; Shuhao Zhao 2016). In missionary cases, the anti-Christian side often consists of the gentry, commoners, and local secret societies. Traditional studies tend to label them together as “anti-imperialist people with national consciousness”, which to some extent leads to a misinterpretation of their true motivations against the missionaries. Conversely, local Christians are portrayed as “individuals with weak national consciousness and questionable morality”, with their conversion simplified as a means to acquire material resources or exploit the authority of missionaries (Simian Lü 1997, p. 204). The regional social backgrounds and diverse survival strategies are overlooked. Every missionary case is not only a contradiction between the masses and imperialism or feudalism but also a result of conflict by various groups within late Qing local society at specific moments.

The missionary cases in different regions of late Qing China exhibit distinct regional characteristics. Analyzing specific local societies can reveal the underlying motivations of both the anti-Christian and Christian factions. In studying the Boxer Rebellion, Paul A. Cohen (1998, pp. 47–80) first noted the local environmental changes and socio-economic conditions in the early 20th century: natural disasters such as floods and droughts intensified famine, reinforcing xenophobic sentiments and unrest among the lower classes. Meanwhile, the weakness of grassroots officials and the tradition of local communities organizing militia groups to defend against bandits provided ground for the turmoil. The combination of these factors ultimately led to large-scale anti-missionary conflicts. R. G. Tiedemann (2022, pp. 462–73), using church archives and local gazetteers, initiated his study by examining the social structure and power dynamics in Shandong. He found that the Boxer Rebellion had an inherent relationship with long-standing local conflicts such as factional disputes, banditry, and secret societies in rural areas. He argued that the rebellion was the result of simultaneous internal and external pressures. Therefore, beyond the mono-historical sources, the Boxer Rebellion and other missionary cases ceased to be a simple clash between East and West or an anti-imperial movement. Instead, it became a fierce interaction among various groups within local societies under specific historical conditions.

The Pingli case is part of the numerous missionary cases that occurred during the late Qing period. Official materials, especially the Shaanxi Wenshi Ziliao, also provide a traditional and dichotomous narrative. Fromm (2019) discovered that Wenshi Ziliao are part of a long-term campaign to mobilize the people to record history, and in the process, re-emphasize the contributions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to modern Chinese history. Consequently, the expression of missionary cases in Wenshi Ziliao inevitably conforms to the national discourse and is used as a tool to educate the public about the painful history of modern China, achieving the aim of “recalling bitterness and reflecting on sweetness” (Bulag 2010). However, this narrative fails to capture the complex entanglements of the various parties involved in the missionary case.

Goossaert and Palmer (2011, pp. 1–18) argue that China’s religious landscape is part of an evolving ecosystem, where various factors interact with each other continuously, and a significant change in one factor or the addition of a new factor may lead to a series of changes in other parts of the system. Catholicism, gentry, secret societies, and ordinary people are subsystems within the local social structure, interacting with the milieu at specific historical times. Viewed as a “holistic social phenomenon”, missionary cases can be described and analyzed through their connections with local economic and political life, thereby revealing the underlying causes of religious conflicts in the context of specific socio-political structures. To further study the “ecology” before the eruption of the missionary case, this paper refers to local gazetteers, official memorials, internal church materials such as “Shaanxi Catholicism”,3 and the memoirs of Zhu Xiaxuan. This aims to uncover the details overlooked by Wenshi Ziliao and understand the reasons for this omission, and the “resistance” that is not easily found in the local church materials is also exposed. Before reconstructing the Pingli missionary case, this paper first reviews its course narrated in traditional histories.

3. Pingli Missionary Case in Wenshi Ziliao

After the Second Opium War (1856–1860), the influence of Christianity rapidly expanded in Shaanxi. Missionaries established a branch church in Pingli County in 1902, using methods such as “material inducement”, “promises of protection”, and “collusion with officials” to attract or coerce local people into conversion. Local bullies Yuan Ruilin (袁瑞林) and Liu Zimo (刘子模), by extorting the locals, aroused public outrage and were accused by the gentry Zhan Chaozhu (詹朝珠) (Zhang and Zhao 2010, pp. 267–68). Subsequently, the two men converted to the church with the intention of “relying on the church’s power to exploit the villagers” (The Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the CPPCC 2010, vol. 1, pp. 77–79). To retaliate against Zhan, Yuan, and Liu went to Ankang (安康) Church in May 1903 to inform, alleging that Zhan colluded with local bandit He Caifeng (何彩凤) and slandered the church. The church immediately demanded the local government arrest He and the government dispatched county bailiff Liang Sheng (梁升) to execute. Liang Sheng arrived in June, and he directly detained He Caifeng, but He was rescued by local patriotic masses led by a person nicknamed Wang Luandaozi (王乱刀子) (Zhiyong Dong 1985). At this time, the locals, who had long been discontented with the actions of the local church members, took the opportunity to kill Yuan Ruilin, Liu Zimo, and seven other Catholics, and burned down Yuan’s house, triggering the incident.

After the incident, He Caifeng, Ma Jinchun, Ke Lanfu, and others led the people in launching a rebellion, declaring their intention to “attack the church and kill all the Catholics”, while residents from nearby counties, feeling oppressed by the church, provided food and weapons to the rebels (The Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the CPPCC 2010, vol. 1, p. 77). To suppress the rebellion, the Governor General of Shaanxi and Gansu, Song Fan (崧蕃), and the Governor of Shaanxi, Sheng Yun (升允), dispatched Yao Wenguang (姚文广) and Zhou Yutang (周玉堂) to lead the local military to suppress the rebel army. They also deployed Guo Renzhang (郭人漳) and Liu Qi (刘琦), stationed in Hanzhong, to lead modernized troops to assist. The Qing army engaged in multiple battles with the rebels, ultimately capturing over thirty rebel leaders and killing hundreds of rebels (The Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the CPPCC 1990, pp. 20–29).

The Pingli missionary case in Wenshi Ziliao is depicted as a struggle against colonial aggression and class oppression, belonging to an anti-imperialist and anti-feudalist movement. This narrative is influenced by ideology. The CCP, as an atheistic party, put continuous pressure on the survival of religions through various political movements after coming to power (Ying 2017). Christianity, especially Catholicism, was stigmatized by the state and cadres due to its acknowledgment of the sole leadership of the Vatican, its tightly organized structure, and its supranational ideology (Ying 2022). Therefore, in official records, Christianity is predominantly depicted as an “accomplice” of Western colonizers and as a “protector” of local bullies. Various missionary cases during the late Qing are also seen by the state as propaganda tools to attack the church (Hui Li 2019, pp. 43–46). However, the agency of missionaries, Christian, and anti-Christian individuals as distinct actors has been overlooked, and their decision-making in specific times and regions is affected by local milieu and consideration of interests.

4. Local Social Context in Pingli before the Conflict

4.1. Catholicism in Shaanxi and Pingli

After being introduced to Shaanxi in the late Ming and early Qing, Catholicism maintained stability through the efforts of the Jesuit and Franciscan Orders. They primarily conducted missionary activities in the two major plains centered around Xi’an Prefecture (西安府) and Hanzhong Prefecture (汉中府). Even during the Yongzheng and Qianlong eras, Catholic activities in this region persisted. In 1696, Shaanxi separated from the Diocese of Beijing and, together with Gansu and Qinghai, formed the “Apostolic Vicariate of Shensi”. The first vicar apostolic was Basilius Brollo. In 1715, Shanxi and Shaanxi merged into the “Apostolic Vicariate of Shensi and Shansi”, with Anto. Laghi as the first vicar apostolic (Guang Luo 1967, pp. 89–90; Qingyuan Zhao 1980, p. 20). During this period, Catholicism experienced a remarkable expansion in Shaanxi, with the number of believers reaching 20,000 and over sixty churches being established (Pfister [1932] 1995, p. 255). In 1844, Shaanxi became an independent Apostolic Vicariate with Alfonso Donato as the bishop. Due to the elongated north–south and narrow east–west geography of Shaanxi, in 1887, the Vatican established an independent Apostolic Vicariate in southern Shaanxi to manage church affairs in Hanzhong Prefecture, Xing’an Prefecture (兴安府), and southern Shangzhou (商州) (Criveller 2014, p. 11). In contrast to other regions in Shaanxi managed by the Franciscan Order, the “Apostolic Vicariate of southern Shensi” was overseen by the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (P.I.M.E.), founded in 1874. This was the first mission of P.I.M.E in China (Gheddo 2000, p. 597). Regrettably, P.I.M.E. was compelled to conform to the ideas of the Vatican and the regulations of the diocesan orders, which resulted in a conservative and insular approach to their missionary techniques, ultimately leading to limited success (Criveller 2014, p. 9). Therefore, when P.I.M.E., lacking experience and maintaining rigid strategies, encountered the even more conservative and closed-off natives living in mountainous areas (Lianfang Li 1896, pp. 50–52), conflict was inevitable. This contributed to southern Shaanxi becoming the region with the most active conflicts between local people and missionaries in Shaanxi during the early 20th century.

Pingl was administratively part of Xing’an Prefecture and was under the ecclesiastical administration of the “Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Shensi”. The dissemination of Catholicism in the area was relatively hysteretic. According to missionary statistics, there were no Catholics in the entire Xing’an Prefecture in 1787 (Cracco 1940, p. 105) due to the cathedral of the bishop being located in Hanzhong and the anti-Christian incident by the Qing government that erupted in 1784–1785 (Menegon 2010). Catholicism in this region did not experience significant development in the latter half of the 18th century due to pressure from the state (Criveller 2014, p. 10). It was not until after 1860, under the protection of the Convention of Peking, that Catholic activities in Shaanxi were legalized, and the number of believers in southern Shaanxi began to increase. By 1888, there were 7700 brethren and about 1000 catechumens, and the number of believers grew to 10,000 in 1904 (Hu 2010, p. 405; Criveller 2014, pp. 11–14). Therefore, the development of Catholicism in Pingli began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At this time, Catholicism and P.I.M.E. intervened in regional conflicts due to various factors such as China’s declining international position, the re-entry of foreign missionaries with treaty privileges, intensified internal social conflicts, xenophobia, and traditionalism.

4.2. Boxer Rebellion and Pingli Missionary Case

The Boxer Rebellion, which occurred in North China, presented a significant obstacle to the propagation of Christianity in China throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The extensive conflict, originating from the social habits of the region (Esherick 1987, p. 321), also impacted Shaanxi. During this period, seven missionary cases broke out, three of which occurred in southern Shaanxi, with two resulting in massive riots (Shibin Hu 2010, pp. 409–24).

On 25 June 1897, in Nanzheng County of Hanzhong Prefecture, Wu Nianjin (吴年进), Wu Nianzhong (吴年忠), and Wu Nianxuan (吴年选) were sent to the authorities and sentenced to two months in prison for “violating laws and hierarchical order” after insulting a priest in a church. In June 1900, upon learning that the Qing government had declared war on the Eight-Nation Alliance, Li Chaodong (李朝栋) of Ningqiang County, along with his family members, decided to oppose local missionaries and Catholics, gathering over three hundred people to attack churches, ultimately resulting in the death of Fr. Alberico Crescitelli and dozens of others (Criveller 2014). This incident, known as the Yanzibian (燕子砭) missionary case in Hanzhong, was directly linked to the Boxer Rebellion in North China. Similarly, in northern Shaanxi, under the incitement of Boxer leader Zhang Chengde (张成德), another missionary case occurred in Jingbian (靖边), Dingbian (定边), and Anbian (安边) Counties (The First Historical Archives of China 1998, vol. 3, pp. 314, 479).

The rebellion in North China provided an outlet for those originally xenophobic, suffering from deteriorating economic conditions and frequent natural disasters, who found motivation and means to oppose Christianity through the Boxer events. Even after the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion, its influence endured in the 1903 Pingli case, as the insurgents continued to use the slogan “Xinghan Mieyang” 兴汉灭洋 (support the Han and exterminate the foreigners). Significantly, the Pingli case was still marked by local power struggles and rumors, which to a large extent stemmed from changes in social structure in Shaanxi during the late Qing period.

4.3. Competitive Society and Missionary Privilege

In the late Qing, Shaanxi social differentiation was oriented mainly towards political privilege. While the polarization based on wealth and land ownership was not significant, the differentiation based on political power and social standing was arresting (Qin and Jin 1996, pp. 90–91). Based on this, heavy taxation and natural disasters further made it difficult for commoners to survive through normal channels in the late Qing. The local gazetteers reported the following:

“The people are poor, aimless, fond of litigation, and even bankruptcy is of no consequence to them… This is because although litigation may fail, survival is impossible without resorting to litigation and false accusations”.

(Pingli County Gazetteers 1871–1908, pp. 7–8)

Litigation, as a unique source of income, served as an alternative means for locals to sustain their livelihoods when they were unable to amass wealth through conventional methods. Thus, for certain individuals, obtaining advantages through political channels proved to be more efficient.

After the White Lotus Rebellion and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Rebellion, the speculators and the rich took opportunities and became emerging agencies of the state through contributions and by organizing militia (团练), obtaining authority in the rural areas (Huang 1993; S. Li 2023). In 1853, the emperor decreed that regions contributing money would increase the number of candidates admitted to the imperial examinations, which led to a rapid increase in the number of gentries in the Shaanxi. According to Chung-li Chang (1955, pp. 110–12), the proportion of gentry to the total population in Shaanxi and Gansu provinces increased from 1.2% to 5.0% during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Rebellion. In 1898, Shaanxi re-formed militias and reorganized the Baojia system, with capable and prestigious individuals chosen from among the local gentry to lead (Bolu Song 1934, p. 97). Those who gained positions through donations seized the opportunity to further grab grassroots power, resulting in the emergence of emerging agencies plundering the civilians across various regions in Shaanxi:

“In southern Shaanxi, leaders exploit locals with their power, and local militias cooperate with them. For instance, today a decree is issued to tax a certain village, and tomorrow an order is dispatched to request contribution to a certain matter…In remote and impoverished areas, the people suffer from their oppression, unable to complain to the higher government”.

(Bolu Song 1934, p. 116)

Such agencies of the state, engaged in profiting from their positions, are defined by Prasenjit Duara (1991, pp. 42–44) as “entrepreneurial brokerage”, who replace the traditional “protective brokerages” and take on the tax burden and law enforcement duties assigned by the higher authorities. On the one hand, the state utilizes its services, and on the other hand, it monopolizes the connections between the state and the villages to gain power, exploiting it for personal gain at the expense of the public and harassing villagers (Duara 1991, pp. 55–57). When entrepreneurial brokerage combine with the local culture of seeking power and status, people realize that the empowered can gain interest far beyond what normal agricultural and commercial activities would yield, solely based on their status and privileges. An environment is established in which individuals who lack authority are unable and unwilling to amass wealth, while those who possess power do not feel the need to do so, resulting in a lack of competition and a prominent feeling of social status. Consequently, the local population develops a tendency to depend on political privilege.

Following 1860, missionaries entered local societies with the support of treaties and assistance from their nationality, thereby demonstrating the power that transcended governments and other forces. Henrietta Harrison (2013, p. 86) noted that Italian missionaries in Shanxi, China, sought comfort from their national disadvantages in Europe by implementing more rigid hierarchies and orders. This trend was further intensified by the traditionalism of P.I.M.E. (Gheddo 2000, pp. 95–96). Consequently, missionaries were able to recruit local people more effectively than officials, gentry, and state power agencies because of their higher authority and influence. In societies centered around power, fluctuations in authority significantly affected the interests and authority of different groups. After missionaries entered the turbulent society in Pingli, the old power structures formed by traditional organizations and norms in the locality were challenged, triggering interactions and conflicts among various groups.

5. Missionary Case Caused by Power Changes and Social Upheavals

Wenshi Ziliao frequently overlook in-depth analysis of the identities and motivations of the individuals engaged in missionary cases, tending instead to interpret them within broad frameworks colored by official ideological perspectives. However, through the study of gazetteers, contradictions among various parties before the Pingli case have been revealed, where struggles for power and access to resources transcended idealistic nationalist sentiments. Similarly, insights into the motivations of various parties during the gradual escalation of conflicts can be clarified by examining reports sent by local officials to Beijing.

5.1. Power Shifts and the Origins of Conflict

In the late Qing, there was a convergence of increasing influence for profit-driven brokers and decreasing power for the old elite. The primary rivalry between the two groups stemmed from their competition for control over local public affairs. Individuals such as Yuan Ruilin and Liu Zimo, who acted as representatives of the state, aimed to leverage their authority for personal benefit and undermine the influence of the old gentry. As a result, the latter individuals reported the former to the government to diminish their power. However, the presence of the church provided Yuan and Liu with the opportunity to continue challenging the gentry. “After they converted to Catholicism, relying on the power of the church, they became local overlords” (Shibin Hu 2010, p. 422). By converting, Yuan and Liu obtained more powerful positions and privileges, enabling them to continue their struggle for power with the traditional gentry.

After Yuan and Liu gained material benefits and political privileges through conversion to Catholicism, other forces, secret societies, and the gentry responded accordingly. On the one hand, a member of the local secret society, He Caifeng, attempted to expand their influence through conversion to Catholicism. According to local officials’ reports, “as Yuan was not allowed to join the church, he retorted sarcastically” (The First Historical Archives of China 1998, vol. 3, p. 709). Before the outbreak of the case, He Caifeng, as a member of the secret society, was not a so-called “patriot”. He was merely attempting to use the church to advance the interests of his society, only opposing the church after being rejected (Shibin Hu 2010, p. 422). It is evident that the involvement of secret society members in anti-church activities was not proactive but rather retaliatory after being ostracized by the churchgoers. The phenomenon of secret society members joining the church was not uncommon in modern China. R. G. Tiedemann (1996) observed that members of secret societies in Shandong during the mid-Qing Dynasty joined the church as a form of “mass conversion”. However, in the Pingli case, the motivation for secret society members to convert was more about competing for resources and seeking personal gain.

On the other hand, to gain more support, the gentry took the opportunity to seek support from secret society members who were refused by the missionaries to go against the church (Zhu 1961). In the aftermath, Governor Songfan also pointed out in his report that there was cooperation between the local gentry and the secret society: “Local gentry such as Cheng Jianye (程建业) and Ye Jiuyi (叶久义), either secretly supplied bandits with grain or provided military supplies during the disturbance” (The First Historical Archives of China and the History Department of Beijing Normal University 1985, p. 819). The individuals who had access to grain, guns, and the ability to support the rebels were probably the local gentry. Therefore, there was a definite level of agreement between the secret society and the upper class in their opposition to Catholicism. However, the goal of the former individual was driven by a desire for revenge, but the latter aimed to diminish the influence and power of the church and its followers on their authority.

As a result, the Pingli case arose from the combined actions of emerging agencies of the state power, the local gentry, and members of the secret society. Among them, the secret society and agencies both attempted to utilize the special influence of the Catholic Church in society to achieve their profit. However, the secret society, failing to align itself with the church, turned instead into opponents. The local gentry, as the leading class in traditional local society, chose to support the anti-Christian faction when their authority was challenged.

5.2. Intensification of the Missionary Case

According to Wenshi Ziliao, the individuals participating in the Pingli case may be described as a coalition that opposes Catholicism. Their motivations can be stated as being against oppression, invasion, or imperialism. However, the grassroots movement was comprised of distinct individuals who were shaped by a singular historical setting. Considering the specific social background before and after the case is a way to understand how they joined this conflict orchestrated by secret societies and local gentry requires

In societies with structural tensions, the conceptualized beliefs of people’s prejudices and animosities towards specific groups continuously aggravate, which creates a specific atmosphere that intensifies extreme social activities, transforming discontent into action once catalyzed by incidental factors such as disasters, miscarriages of justice, or increased taxation (D. Wang 2018a, pp. 458–59). The turmoil in early 20th-century Shaanxi magnified the economic downturn, heavy taxation, and administrative corruption issues that had existed in the Pingli since the late Qing, fostering an atmosphere of despair and indignation conducive to rebellion (Bolu Song 1934, pp. 44–45). This delicate atmosphere was ignited by the erroneous handling of the conflicts between the locals and the church by local officials on the eve of the case, ultimately triggering large-scale conflict.

County bailiff Liang Sheng arrived in Pingli in June 1903 and apprehended He Caifeng immediately, who was accused of “defaming the church”. However, instead of promptly handing him over to the government, Liang detained He Caifeng and tried to extort one hundred strings of copper coins from him (Shibin Hu 2010, p. 423). When the leader of the Jianghu Hui, Wang Luandaozi, was arrested by constables while trying to rescue He Caifeng, He rallied members of the secret society and the masses to launch an uprising (Zhu 1961). Subsequently, the official sent by the Governor to assist in handling the case, Guo Renzhang, further escalated the tense situation. Upon his arrival in Pingli, Guo “employed local thugs to fabricate charges… and forced gentry to mortgage their houses and land titles” (The First Historical Archives of China 1998, vol. 3, p. 710). The extortion and abuse of power by Guo undoubtedly pushed the tightly wound locals and gentry to the brink of rebellion. Even his superior had to admit afterward that “Guo acted recklessly and arrogantly without consulting, resulting in numerous injustices and oppression” (The First Historical Archives of China 1998, vol. 3, p. 710).

The mishandling by Qing Dynasty officials like Liang Sheng and Guo Renzhang during the conflict further strengthened the tense situation, with the ordinary becoming sacrificial victims manipulated and falsely accused under the atmosphere of tension. Locals recalled that “At that time, the church had already threatened that the provincial government would come to crack down on this case. The Catholics firmly believed that it was a local rebellion, causing widespread panic. In addition, the secret societies incited many ordinary to join the rebellion” (Zhu 1961). Thus, under incitement, over a thousand ordinary people joined the rebellion. Regarding these ordinary people, locals believed they were “Yingguagua (瘿瓜瓜) from the village who didn’t understand anything, let alone inciting rebellion.”4 The “Yingguagua” was caught in a dilemma, forced to make choices: rather than being arrested, they chose to gather and join the rebellion, hoping to avoid punishment. Guiping Qu (2021) found that during the Qing Dynasty, villagers always sought government intervention to resolve disputes, making the county government a safety valve for grassroots order. However, after missionaries intervened in local society and frequently interfered with administration and justice, officials were pressured to favor the church, leading to unfair lawsuits and disrupting the rural governance process. Faced with injustice, public resentment towards both the church and local government accumulated, forming the “conceptualized beliefs” mentioned earlier, which, catalyzed by external forces, transformed into violent actions, leading to the escalation of the Pingli case.

5.3. The End of the Missionary Case

Finally, the hastily assembled rebel forces were unable to withstand the attacks of the regular army. Amidst widespread panic, the uprising people, persuaded by officials, “abandoned their weapons under cover of night and scattered” (The First Historical Archives of China 1998, vol. 3, p. 711). Only “dozens of bandits” remained, fleeing and hiding (The First Historical Archives of China 1998, vol. 3, p. 711). After the suppression of the rebellion, both the secret societies and the local gentry were significantly weakened, while the influence of the church further expanded. Firstly, a total of thirty individuals belonging to the Jianghu Hui were promptly sent to punishment, resulting in a significant setback for the clandestine organizations operating in the area (The First Historical Archives of China and the History Department of Beijing Normal University 1985, p. 820). Secondly, the gentry who backed the rebellion were not only obligated to pay a fine of ten thousand taels of silver as “reparation for their offenses”, but also banished from the county, where they were prohibited from residing (The First Historical Archives of China and the History Department of Beijing Normal University 1985, p. 820). Simultaneously, the Governor seized the land, residences, and property of the gentry implicated in the missionary case, amounting to eight thousand taels of silver, which was utilized as restitution for the church (The First Historical Archives of China 1998, vol. 3, p. 660). Lastly, to satisfy the church, the local authorities constructed the “Stele of Pingli Missionary Case” in Pingli County. This monument described the incident and reiterated the Qing government’s commitment to safeguarding missionary endeavors, serving as a cautionary message to the local population.

6. The Defect of Wenshi Ziliao

This study reconstructs a version of the Pingli missionary case distinct from that found in “Wenshi Ziliao” by referring to local gazetteers, official reports, personal memories, and discussions by local church historians. Although officials view the Pingli case as a thorough “anti-imperialist and patriotic” movement, upon analysis, multiple factors are driving the case, including local power struggles, deteriorating social conditions, and secret society activities. Despite being seen as a space for reconciling various ideologies, historical views, and social interests (Fromm 2019, p. 12), the application scenarios of Wenshi Ziliao are limited. After 1949, the state maintained a generally repressive and negative stance towards religion, especially Christianity (Xiaoxuan Wang 2020). Following the issuance of Document No. 19 in 1982,5 this attitude transformed more subtly, permitting “freedom of belief” ostensibly but strengthened oversight in implementation, including establishing state-sanctioned and bureaucratic religious institutions and systematically investigating and registering religious sites and groups (Palmer 2009; X. Wang 2018).

Therefore, the flexibility of the United Front in coordinating central–local relations is not fully applicable when it comes to gathering information regarding Christianity in Wenshi Ziliao (He and Thøgersen 2010). In most ideal scenarios, such flexibility may apply only to “open churches” with close ties to the government (Chan 2012a; Xiaoheng Xie 2010). For instance, some Wenshi Ziliao retain positive descriptions of contributions to philanthropy and education by Christians in modern China. These narratives are often written by clergy closely affiliated with the government, who leverage their positions and political connections to reshape public perceptions of Christianity. The local CPPCC also regards this as an opportunity to reconcile church–state relations (Fromm 2019, p. 7).

Regrettably, the prevailing official position mandates that the portrayal of Christianity in Wenshi Ziliao is carefully refined and negative. The government often directly intervenes or restricts religious content in Wenshi Ziliao. For example, in an article in the Shaanxi Wenshi Ziliao, Christians praised the “Zhonghua Jidujiao Xibei Nonggong Gaijin Hui 中华基督教西北农工改进会” (Chinese Christian Northwest Agricultural Improvement Association) for its role in local agricultural development. However, the CPPCC added their comments to the article noticeably, suggesting that the original Christian authors were not objective in their historical depiction and implying that this association was essentially a tool for church–landlord collusion to oppress farmers, urging readers to “maintain a rational perspective”.6 More importantly, when the discussion involves missionary cases concerning the ideologies of imperialism and nationalism, the government prefers an authoritarian approach rather than balancing local diversity and party control (Fromm 2019, pp. 255–56). The sections discussing missionary cases in the Shaanxi Wenshi Ziliao are authored by government editors and undergo a review process by higher officials to ensure they conform to official viewpoints. Thus, while Wenshi Ziliao represent a continuous effort to restore and reconcile the united front and incorporate elites from the outside, its targets are groups and organizations permitted by the state in principle. The institutional characteristics of Christianity, such as connections with Western powers, strict organizational structure, and supranational ideology (Sun 2019), lead to enduring hostility from the party and its exclusion from the state’s interests. Consequently, Wenshi Ziliao cannot truly serve as spaces for interaction between religious figures and the state.

7. Conclusions

“The Pingli missionary case is a small mirror”, as Xiaxuan Zhu (1961) pointed out. The Pingli example provides insight into the factors influencing the dynamics and tensions between Christianity and the local society in contemporary China, as well as the underlying causes for the contrasting accounts found in various literature. As a continuum of the Boxer Rebellion in southern Shaanxi, the Pingli case did not feature the tightly organized local groups commanded by the gentry and the communal spirit rites commonly observed in northern China (Esherick 1987, p. 318). The competitive society in Pingli caused all individuals to fiercely compete for dominance and exploit essential resources for existence from one another, resembling the people of western Shandong described by R. G. Tiedemann (2022, p. 73), who used extreme survival strategies. Therefore, the conflicts between Christians and non-Christians in the Pingli missionary case were the result of internal power struggles and resource conflicts within the society (Sweeten 2001; Lee [2003] 2010). However, it is important to note that the missionary efforts in southern Shaanxi were distinct from the well-established missionary activities in northern or southern China due to the absence of experienced missionaries and suitable missionary regulations. Additionally, there were no native missionaries or lay leaders to mediate between the clergy and the locals (Menegon 2009; J. Li 2023). This deficiency exacerbated local conflicts and ultimately led to the conflict.

The identities of Yuan Ruilin and Liu Liangmo are focal points in multiple sources about the Pingli case. According to Wenshi Ziliao, they are characterized as “bullies”, while local recollections and the local church history refer to them as “Yang Xiucai 洋秀才” (gentry depending on foreigners). By synthesizing these sources, their identities can be deduced as Christians who converted for personal interests. Tiedemann (2000; 2022, p. 188) classifies the motivations for these conversions as spiritual, material, and political temptations. In the distinct social context of Pingli, political affiliation was directly linked to the possibility of receiving money advantages, thus making Yuan and Liu exemplars of both “rice Christianity” and “litigation Christianity”. Similarly, He Caifeng, a member of the secret society opposing Christianity, initially sought to join the church to gain benefits, illustrating that the anti-Christian faction and the Christian converts were not static and made pragmatic decisions based on their interests within a complex local society. Nevertheless, contemporary mainstream publications are filled with nationalist expressions that obscure such information. As Paul A. Cohen (1998, pp. 293–94) noted, the typicality of Boxer Rebellion allows it to be used for broader interpretative purposes. The historical information conveyed through the Pingli missionary case is also employed by different narratives with distinct intentions.

The official purpose-driven narratives represented by Wenshi Ziliao are gradually giving rise to resistance from Christians, which has also led to a decline in its initial function of “United Front”. Scholars have already recognized the shortcomings in the historical perspective and narrative of Wenshi Ziliao. In the study of the secret society “Paoge 袍哥” (brotherhood) in Sichuan, D. Wang (2018b) found that Wenshi Ziliao labeled such groups as local “bandits”, repeatedly emphasizing that they were “suppressed or eliminated by the police during riots”. Wang, however, argued that the so-called “riots” were collective actions by the populace resisting the government’s violent and high-rate grain requisitioning through an analysis of the socio-economic structure of Sichuan in the 1950s. The stigmatization of Paoge was partly a continuation of the consistent hostility towards secret societies by the state (Strauss 2006), and the attempt to eradicate traditional groups that posed a danger to the party–state’s complete control over society (Perry 1985). Similarly, the existence of the church in society also posed a threat to the party–state, resulting in Christianity often being portrayed negatively in public discourse (Mariani 2011; Inouye 2018). This led authors of Wenshi Ziliao to succumb to the national discourse since editors are required to conform to official ideology, resulting in church-related expressions restricted in the boundaries of the legitimate “red market” (Yang 2006). Consequently, in the post-Mao era, an increasing number of church insiders have expressed dissatisfaction with the official church history narratives represented by Wenshi Ziliao and have begun to voice their perspectives independently.

The Shaanxi Catholicism cited in this article is a local church historical material written by Fr. Hu in 2010 (Hu 2019). Although it uses terminology that aligns with official discourse, it still expresses different views on the missionary cases between the lines:

“The spreading the gospel of Christian love through imperialism and unequal treaties presents an inherent contradiction, and the punishment of sinful church members is a sacrificial offering on the altar built by unequal treaties, a self-inflicted punishment that rice Christians must endure”.

(Hu 2010, p. 425)

The author’s interpretation of the conflict still relies on the concept of “imperialism”, but also suggests that the core principle of the gospel is “love”. This perspective demonstrates a fundamentally positive view of Christianity, in stark contrast to the negative portrayal of religion in Wenshi Ziliao. This is an example of how marginalized groups use “public transcripts” and “hidden transcripts” to voice their perspectives (Scott 1992). Fr. Hu, as a member of the CPPCC, is obligated to outwardly align with the state as being subject to surveillance over his religious activities. However, he manages to gently convey his religious beliefs as a priest in a more discreet manner.

Traced back to the Cultural Revolution, Chinese Christians already employed various covert methods of resistance. Ying and Guo (2019) found that Christians maintained their faith through activities such as listening to overseas broadcasts and corresponding with them, thereby expressing their sentiments in an extremely politicized environment. While outwardly adhering to Communist ideology, they retained a devout religious belief, becoming part of what Frank Dikötter (2016) describes as the unofficial “second society”, contrasting with the authoritarian-dominated “first society”. Scholars also view the post-reform and Opening-up era in China as analogous to the emergence of a “second society” (X. L. Ding 1994, pp. 30–31). In the realm of religion, such “society” is defined as the “gray and black religious markets”, which gradually expanded since the 1980s (Yang 2010), providing Christians with opportunities to express themselves (Sun 2017; Yang 2017). Henrietta Harrison (2013, p. 200) discovered that the narratives of Catholics in Shanxi about their history differ from the official narrative and do not exhibit excessive idealized patriotism. However, in Shaanxi, priests writing their histories are not only Christians seeking to assert their identities but also local elites maintaining connections with the regime. This dual role requires them to align broadly with the official narrative while preserving their uniqueness.

This flexibility is attributed to the unique church–state relationship in Shaanxi, defined as “cooperative resistance” by Shun-Hing Chan (2012b). He revealed that cooperation with the government based on non-violation of doctrines allowed the church to develop maximally. Simultaneously, covert methods were used in areas where government interference occurred to maintain the church’s independence. Therefore, bishops and priests serving as members of the CPPCC and the Chinese Catholicism Patriotic Association (CCPA) utilize similar strategies in historical writing to sustain the church–state relationship. They selectively provide appropriate content to the CPPCC and “official histories”, while preserving their own section in internal publications. However, this phenomenon raises a concern: as Wenshi Ziliao aimed at reconciling the party with local interests and integrating non-party elites increasingly become stages for the mutual “public transcript”, the original function of facilitating assimilation and conversion of non-party elites may diminish. In the future, Wenshi Ziliao may be limited to the roles of “processing” and “polishing” public memory.