Timothy Ting-fang Lew, Tzu-Ch'en Chao and the School of Religion at Yenching University

Timothy Ting-fang Lew and Tzu-ch'en Chao (T. C. ChaoT. C. Chao) were great deans of the School of Religion at Yenching UniversityYenching University (Lew served as chair of the theology department from 1920 to 1925 and became the founding dean 1925–1926; whereas Chao served as dean from 1928 to 1952). Both played an important role in the establishment and development of the school and were key figures in the Chinese Christian Church during the first half of the twentieth century. Under the strong and effective leadership of these two deans, the School of Religion at Yenching University became a leading Christian seminary in China and a benchmark for the localization of theological education in China. Based on documents and archives collected in China and the United States, this article explores what has been called the “Yenching Era” of Christian theological education in China and the role of Yenching University through the relationship between and the significant contributions of Lew and Chao in its School of Religion. It was found that Lew had already planned to step down from the School of Religion in 1926, which gave rooms for some new developments of the School when Chao became dean in 1928. Though Lew was the founding dean of the School of Religion who prepared to create a British-American model of theological education for Yenching University, the School of Religion turned out to move towards localization and indigenization (or even “Sinification”) after Lew’s departure and once Chao became dean in 1928. The year 1928 also marked the beginning of Harvard-Yenching Institute which opened up a wider platform for more teaching and research on Chinese studies at Yenching University. This article also helps to suggest another possible understanding of the development of the School of Religion at Yenching University in the 1930s and 1940s, while still confirming T. C. Chao as the first Christian theological educator who worked for indigenous theology in China.