Highland Christianity : modern transformations of the China-Southeast Asia borderlands / edited by Lian Xi, David Bradley, and Ralph A. Litzinger.

Other author Lian, Xi, editor.
Other author Bradley, David, 1947- editor.
Other author Litzinger, Ralph A., 1959- editor.
Format Book
PublicationUniversity Park, Pennsylvania : The Pennsylvania State University Press, [2026]
Copyright Date©2026
Descriptionxii, 262 pages : illustrations (black and white), maps ; 24 cm.
Subjects

Portion of title Modern transformations of the China-Southeast Asia borderlands
SeriesWorld Christianity
World Christianity (University Park, Pa.)
Contents Introduction / Lian Xi -- The beginnings of highland Christianity. Christianity, modernity, and the Karen in Burma / Pum Za Mang -- Baptist Christianity in the making of modern Kachin identity in Burma / Lagai Zau Nan -- Beyond belief: conversion to Christianity among the highlanders in Kon Tum, Vietnam, 1850-1945 / Anh-Minh Nguyen-Dang -- The family of William Young among the Lahu: Baptist mission on the border between China and Burma / Jianxiong Ma -- The making of a modern Ahmao intellectual: Han Jie and A brief history of the flowery miao / Zhu Jili -- Ethnic Christianity on the margins of nation-states. Eschatological beliefs in the Christianity of the Miao in southwestern China, 1950-1960 / Chijui Hu -- The Baptist church's civilizing project and the Lahu's appropriation of Christianity: a case study of the Christian and the traditionalist Lahu of northern Thailand / Yoichi Nichimoto -- Performing expressive culture, performing governance, and performing togetherness: the church as a stage for the display of Lisu identity / Aminta Arrington -- Borderland Christianity in comparative perspective. Christianity and writing on the China-southeast Asia border / David Bradley -- Productions of knowledge about highland Christianity on China's southeast Asia frontier: a historical review / Lian Xi.
Abstract "Christianity has become one of the most powerful markers of identity in the mountainous borderlands of China and Southeast Asia, also known as Zomia. This region is home to tens of millions of people--including the Ahmao, the Kachin, the Lisu, and many other highlanders--all living at a far remove from the population centers of the lowlands. This volume explores how their creative engagement with Christianity has transformed their communities and reshaped their relationships with nation-states and dominant cultures. Highland Christianity brings together indigenous, in-group scholars and external researchers to examine Christianity's complex entanglement with ethnicity and modernity across eastern Zomia. Chapters investigate mass conversions, the creation of Bible orthographies, the indigenization of Christian practice, and the tensions Christianization generated with lowland states and majority populations. Contributors highlight the dramas and ambiguities of these changes while foregrounding the creative agency of highland peoples in reworking the faith to generate cohesion, cultural capital, and renewed forms of belonging. Moving beyond colonial frameworks, this interdisciplinary volume maps the profound and ongoing transformations of communities across this borderland region. It will be an essential resource for scholars and students of world Christianity, Asian studies, and anthropology."-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references (pages 251-256) and index.
Issued in other formebook version : 9780271101750
ISBN9780271101262
ISBN0271101261 (hardback)
ISBN(ePub ebook)
ISBN(PDF ebook)

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