ABSTRACT
There was hardly any attempt at forming a Chinese theology during the first two decades of the 20th century. Chinese theologians were trained in theological seminaries and worked as evangelists or ordained pastors in local churches together with foreign missionaries. Mission was the task of Western missionaries. The first article Chao published in 1918 is a programmatic analysis of the encounter between Christianity and China. At the center of this encounter is Christ who appeals to China as he appeals to the whole world - not so much in doctrinal clauses, but rather in a practical-ethical way of life. The Christological pattern betrays Schleiermacher's theological approach, carried on by Coleridge and the New England School which has formed generations of American liberals and with which Chao was well acquainted. The suffering of Jesus is fitted to the Chinese setting and takes the form of a Confucian virtue: obedience.
