Protestant Pastor in China Convicted for Printing, Distributing Bibles
By Philip P. Pan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, November 9, 2005;

BEIJING, Nov. 8 -- A prominent pastor in Beijing's underground Protestant church was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison for illegally printing and distributing Bibles and other religious books, in a case that has attracted attention from Christian groups in the United States and elsewhere.

The Beijing People's Intermediate Court handed down the sentence immediately after it convicted Cai Zhuohua, 34, of conducting "illegal business practices," said his attorney, Zhang Xingshui. Two co-defendants were also convicted and sentenced to prison, he said. Story


Book review: The Shrine Next Door
A superb study of Chinese popular religion helps to set the context for the appeal of Christianity in China today.
Reviewed by Wright Doyle
posted 11/08/2005 09:00 a.m.

Have you ever noticed a brightly colored picture of a man in traditional costume, flanked by electric red candles, in your favorite Chinese restaurant, perhaps somewhere near the cash register? Well, that's a shrine to the god of wealth, the patron deity of millions of Chinese business people. By conferring his blessing on the acquisition of riches, this popular god helps to express, and also to drive, the capitalistic impulse that has both enriched and damaged China in recent years.

Despite its foreboding title and evident academic audience, von Glahn's treatment of Chinese religion offers a wealth of information and insight to general readers as well as to students of Chinese culture. To explain the rise and transformation of one prominent cult—that of Wutong, a precursor to the smiling face we see today—the author ranges widely throughout Chinese history. The end product is a general overview of popular Chinese religion from earliest times to the present. The rest