ABSTRACT
The proliferation and popularity of folk religious sects and of secret societies during the nineteenth century document the inability of Confucian teachings or even the wide-spread Pure Land Buddhism to meet the needs of individuals amidst social breakdown. Christianity was only one among several outlets to which the Wuhua Hakka turned for comfort, hope, and security. And so, one asks, do the eight biographies reveal that Christianity offered them something unique? The answer seems to be that Christianity as understood and preached by Chinese evangelists afforded a mix of both the singular and the familiar. Such was the case in doctrines as well as in rituals. Crucial were those that provided consolation and gave promise of a better fate either in this life or the next.
