相比中日两国，为什么基督教只在韩国发展壮大？ [美国媒体]

Why did Christianity become so popular in Korea but not in Japan or China?

相比中日两国，为什么基督教只在韩国发展壮大？



Erik Painter
In all three countries there is an early history of Christianity that mostly failed. Because it was so often true, missionaries were seen as an arm of attempts to colonize these countries. After tolerating it in early times (for example the Mongol Empire had many Nestorian Christians) it was suppressed in all these countries for a long time.

中日韩三个国家都有传播基督教的历史，但大部分都失败了。因为传教士通常被视为企图殖民这些国家的势力。在经历了早期的容忍之后，这些国家纷纷选择压制传教士势力。

When it was legal in Japan after the Meiji restoration, it was still thought of as a foreign idea in a time when nationalism was on the rise. As Japanese became more and more a modern state the same dynamic that has happened in Western Europe happened. People became much less religious just as people are technically members of the Church in England or France but don't practice much, people in Japan say "married Shinto, Buried Buddhist" but don't do much in between.

就日本而言，明治维新后，基督教在日本获得了合法地位，但到了日本民族主义抬头的军国时代，基督教被视为外来观念。而随着日本越来越成为一个现代国家，西欧也发生了同样的变化。人们变得不那么信教了，就像英国人或法国人严格来说都是教会的成员，但都不怎么虔诚，日本人嘴上说“结婚神道教，埋葬（死后）佛教”，但实际生活中也不是非要照着这两者执行。

In China after the Nestorian times, it had some success with the Jesuits who adapted to fit into Chinese culture, for example venerating ancestors was allowed. As part of a campaign against Jesuits that led to their being disbanded, the Pope declared that they were promoting idolatry. Then the Chinese Emperor banned the Catholics from the court where they had been influential. As China was weakened by the western powers in the 19th century Christian missionaries came to China again. The leadership of the Taiping Rebellion felt they were a kind of Chinese Christian. This fight between 1850 to 1864 led to about 20-30 million deaths. After that missionary work continued. The Boxer rebellion was in part a reaction to their expansion. Under the Nationalist government Christianity grew but the Communists won and suppressed all religion both because it was against classic Marxist/Leninism and because it was historically an arm of foreign power.

中国在经历了景教时代后（唐代正式传入中国的基督教聂斯脱里派，也就是东方亚述教会），基督教在与中国文化结合方面取得了一定的成功，例如崇拜祖先是允许的。但教皇宣布他们是在宣扬偶像崇拜，解散了中国的基督教会。后来，中国皇帝（雍正）禁止天主教徒进入朝廷。
随着19世纪中国被西方列强殖民，基督教传教士再次来到中国。当时太平天国的领导层被认为是一种中国基督徒。1850年至1864年的这场太平天国运动导致了大约两千万到三千万的死亡。之后传教工作继续进行。义和团运动的兴起在一定程度上是对基督教扩张的反击。在国民党政府的统治下，基督教迅速发展壮大。

The big contrast is Korea. The early history is the same with Christianity being suppressed for its association with colonial powers. But under the Japanese colonialism Christianity began to be seen as a form of resistance to power. The big growth has been since WWII and freedom from Japan. It became culturally associated with the middle class, youth, intellectuals, urbanites, and modernizers and nationalists who were against Japanese oppression.

与之形成鲜明对比的则是韩国。在早期的历史上，基督教因其与殖民列强的联系而被韩国压制。但在日本殖民统治时期，基督教开始被视为一种反抗日本殖民的工具。第二次世界大战以来，从日本手下获得解放的韩国人数大幅增长。基督教也在文化上与反对日本压迫的韩国中产阶级、青年、知识分子、城市居民、现代主义者和民族主义者联系在一起。

Before the Korean war, the majority of Christians was in the north. Most fled to the south. Since the Korean War it has been seen as force helping South Korea's pursuit of modernity and emulation of the United States, and opposition to the old Japanese colonialism and Communism of North Korea. Lay and local leadership as opposed to foreign born missionaries have greatly contributed to its growth. Those against the military governments and for democracy were also seen as identified with the Christian movement. Those that are for more social equality are seen being allied with the Christians.

在朝鲜战争之前，基督徒大多集中在朝鲜。朝鲜战争之后，大多数基督徒又逃到了南方（韩国）。自朝鲜战争以来，基督教一直被视为一股力量，它可以帮助韩国实现现代化，并使韩国向美国看齐，与外国出生的传教士相比，韩国本土的基督教领导层极大的推动了教会的发展。反对军事政府和支持民主的人被认为是基督教运动的一部分。而那些支持更多社会平等的人也被认为是基督徒的同盟。

These views and approaches have led to an extremely rapid growth. Today after the US, Korea sends more missionaries abroad than any other country. About 30% are Christian. The new rise of extreme Protestant groups who are hostile to the majority Buddhist population and have defaced statues as "idols" has caused some backlash and may limit future growth.

这些观点导致了韩国基督徒数量急剧暴增。在继美国之后的今天，韩国向海外派遣的传教士比其他任何国家都多。据统计，韩国大约有30%的人是基督徒。而且各种极端团体林立，对人口占多数的佛教群体怀有敌意，并将佛教雕像污损为“偶像”崇拜，这引发了韩国社会的一些反制，这些可能会在将来阻碍韩国基督徒的增长。

Patrick Wallace
Christianity first gained substantial ground in Korea during the early years of the Japanese occupation of the country, beginning around 1918, as an expression of anti-Japanese sentiment and Korean nationalism.

在日本占领朝鲜的初期，也就是1918年前后，基督教成为了朝鲜人民表达反日和民族主义的情感的载体，由此在朝鲜获得了实质性的地位。

As a part of their colonialism, the Japanese had begun a policy of forced Korean assimilation to the Japanese culture. Along with other expressions of the Korean culture, Korean shamanism (Korean shamanism) was banned. Meanwhile, Buddhist temples within Korea were brought under direct Japanese government administration, and steps were taken to refashion Buddhism in Korea so that it closely resembled that in Japan. With this, pro-Japanese sentiment became a requirement for appointment as a Buddhist priest in Korea. However, the bulk of Japanese government religious efforts were spent in a fruitless attempt to convert the people of Korea to Shintoism.

作为殖民主义的一部分，日本坚持强迫韩国人融入日本文化。朝鲜萨满教与其他代表朝鲜文化的事物被禁止。与此同时，朝鲜境内的佛教寺庙被置于日本政府的直接管理之下，而且日本政府采取措施对朝鲜的佛教进行强制改造，使其越来越像日本的佛教。
因此，在当时的朝鲜，能否当一名和尚取决于你是否亲日。除此以外，日本政府还试图让朝鲜人民皈依神道教，然而结果亦是徒劳。

As colonial law in Korea was modeled upon the law in Japan, for many years Christianity was the only form of religion in Korea that existed beyond Japanese government control. With no viable religious competition, Christianity began t0 flourish in Korea, and it soon became an expression of Korean nationalism and anti-Japanese fervor. Indeed, for many years Christian pastors and churches formed the only real opposition to Japanese rule over Korea, and it became a symbol of Korean patriotism to became a Christian and attend church. Even though there have been other Christian revivals within South Korea since colonial rule, the equivalence between Christianity and Korean nationalism appears to be somewhat of a force even to this day.

由于朝鲜的殖民法是模仿日本的法律写成的，所以在日占时期，基督教是朝鲜唯一一种不受日本政府控制的宗教形式。由于没有其他宗教的竞争，基督教开始在韩国蓬勃发展，并很快成为韩国民族主义和反日情绪的一种代表。事实上，多年来，朝鲜基督教牧师和教堂是唯一真正反对日本对朝鲜统治的团体，成为一名基督教徒并参加教堂仪式成为了韩国爱国主义的象征。尽管自殖民统治以来，韩国国内也出现了其他基督教复兴运动，但直到今天，基督教与韩国民族主义之间的关系似乎仍是一种对等的力量。

Neither Japan nor China have enjoyed these special circumstances that have allowed Christianity to flourish in Korea.

日本和中国都没有韩国这样的特殊环境，这些环境使得基督教在韩国蓬勃发展。

In the case of Japan, there was a large Christian revival in the late 16th century, but this was literally stamped out by the Tokugawa regime in the 17th century, with untold thousands of Christian deaths. Christianity in Japan has never been able to recover from this. Most Japanese now see Christianity as something decidedly un-Japanese. A detailed explanation can be found here: Patrick Wallace's answer to How did Christianity affect Japan?.

对于日本来说，在16世纪晚期日本曾经有一场大规模的基督教复兴运动，但在17世纪，统一日本的德川政权又把它踩灭了，有数不清的基督徒因此而亡。直到今日，日本的基督教也没有恢复过来。而在当今大多数日本人的认知里，基督教并不是日本的东西。

Prior to World War 2, US thousands of Christian missionaries worked within China. However, for the most part their work was unfruitful. due to anti-foreign sentiment (c.f., the Boxer Rebellion). --Chinese people who became Christians or engaged in Christian work, not out of conviction, but because they wanted a free meal

在第二次世界大战前，美国有数千名基督教传教士在中国传教。然而，他们的工作大多没有成果。一方面是由于排外情绪(比如义和团运动)。另一方面是因为中国人成为基督徒或从事基督教工作，不是出于信仰，而是因为他们想要一顿教堂每天免费分发的饭食

While Korea did/does have its own indigenous religion, it was mostly suppressed for most of its history (and it still continues today, in North and South Korea). Before that, it had been repressed by the Japanese Colonial Government and the Joseon Dynasty.

虽然朝鲜有自己的本土宗教，但在历史的大部分时间里，它都是被朝鲜王朝和后来的日本殖民政府所压制的对象。

Islam did arrive at several points in Korean history, but it fizzled out quickly. However, there was a mosque in Korea long before the first church was planted. The remains are still there, you can (not) visit them in North Korea.

伊斯兰教的确在朝鲜历史上出现过几次，但很快就消失了。早在第一座基督教堂建成之前，朝鲜就已经有了一座清真寺。遗址还在那里，你可以去朝鲜参观。

Before the 1900s, Christianity was still a very minority religion, and it would have fizzled out if Japan didn’t invade. .

在20世纪之前，基督教在朝鲜依然是一个非常小众的宗教，如果没有日本的入侵，它自己就会慢慢消亡

Koreans like to do strange things with religion, and many cults have emerged over the years. While many people choose to believe in mainstream religions like Buddhism, Catholicism, or Protestantism, a growing number of people are joining groups like Shincheonji, which is the only major Korean cult to make it outside Korea.

最后说一句，韩国人总喜欢用宗教做一些奇怪的事情，这几年韩国出了许多邪教。虽然很多人选择信仰佛教、天主教或新教等主流宗教，但越来越多的人加入了“新天地”这样的邪教团体。“新天地”是韩国唯一一个走出国门的邪教。