ABSTRACT
The preceding chapter analysed the philosophical and legal foundations for official action against movements deemed ‘heretical’. Frequently, the borderline between ‘heresy’ and tolerated heterodoxy was determined by local officials according to subjective criteria, such as their religious inclination or ethnic identity. Political background events, especially ‘sectarian’ insurrections and intra-court rivalries, could also play a role. During times of tranquillity, popular religion would enjoy the benign neglect of state officials, whereas the state would apply intense pressure whenever its authority appeared threatened. 1 This chapter analyses the manifestation of such factors in the relationship between the imperial government and the Christian communities. Another function of the chapter is to trace the development of the ‘Chinese church’ in the northern and central provinces of Han China during the ‘long eighteenth century’, providing a chronological framework for the following three chapters.
