On the “Chineseness” of Contemporary Chinese Christian art: With a Focus on Daozi’s Saintist Wash-ink Paintings

Abstract

This paper explores the “Chineseness” of contemporary Chinese Christian art with a focus on Daozi’s Saintism wash-ink paintings. The aim is to defend and define the “Chineseness” of Chinese Christian art against doubts from the “Sinocization of Christianity” movement that such art is an “expression of Chinese culture.” Chinese Christian art is of China, not only because of the Chineseness of their form or media, but also because the Chineseness redefined by the Christian spirit is still of China. Furthermore, such Chineseness in Chinese Christian art is actually universal—and whatever is universal must at the same time also be Chinese.

Key words:

Chinese Christian art, Chineseness, Saintism wash-ink paintings, Daozi, spirituality