A Very Sad Comic Book
Reading Boxers and Saints by Gene Luen Yang was an interesting introduction to the Boxer Rebellion that I was not previously familiar with. I enjoyed the lighter version of reading and found it a very creative medium to communicate such a horrific story. Wesley Yang (a different Yang 🙂 ) summarized it well by stating, “The slow crackup of China’s last imperial dynasty during its “century of humiliation” was so fantastical it could have been made up by a comic book artist: an aspiring civil servant failed his entrance exam, fell into a delirium, dreamed he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ sent to deliver China from the Qing dynasty and ignited the Taiping Rebellion in 1850. Twenty million people died in the ensuing chaos. In the late 1890s, peasants from the north, affronted by Western influence in the empire, formed a secret society to practice the martial and spiritual disciplines of Chinese folk religion, which some believed made them invulnerable to European bullets and cannon fire. The belief did not survive the test of experience, but did earn the Boxer Rebellion an enduring place in popular memory.”[1] This tragedy that played out in Chinese history is hard to wrap my head around, but at the same time it seems oddly familiar to other stories where people have done atrocities to others all in the name of religion or faith.
It is always sad to read about innocent people dying as a result of war or rebellion, especially when it seems so senseless and accomplishes nothing. Reading about 30,000 Chinese Christians, the countless boxers and others killed as a result of this rebellion was tragedy enough, but also to read about the imperial library being burned to the ground and losing all that history was tragic as well. Another thing reviewer Wesley Yang points out is that “both volumes (Boxers & Saints) show how everyday humiliations by foreigners bred fear and hatred in the Chinese.”[2] This is the sad reality we live with in this country every day. Humiliation and abuse in the form of gender discrimination have also bred a great deal of fear and anger among the recipients of this humiliation…women. As I have stated before, the #metoo movement is one way women are standing up and rebelling against this treatment and expressing their intense anger at the horrendous treatment they have endured since the founding of this nation. Women are tired of being treated like second-class citizens and are wanting to be treated as equals and be able to go to work without fear of being harassed, objectified and marginalized. This is the water women swim in daily and thank God their rebellion is not creating the bloodshed experienced in China. (sorry, I just can’t help myself in bringing most of my blogs back to the gender issue 🙂 )
Our churches do the same thing when they discriminate or oppress women in the name of religion and don’t treat them as equals. It is one thing for the church to declare that women are allowed in various areas or positions, but it is completely another thing to express to women that they are equally needed and wanted as much as their male counterparts. I think Jesus set the gold standard for seeking out and accepting all people and not judging them for being different from us. In the name of the Bible or religion others often feel judged or outcast and this humiliation creates the fear and hatred all over again. The history of our world has too many stories of this and much worse when we use religion as a weapon of hatred and anger instead of the love and grace Jesus modeled. The greed for money and power seems to corrupt many people in our history, and the missionaries to the Chinese were no different.[3] It is no wonder why China has been so against Christianity for so many years. These type of wounds rarely heal quickly, especially when betrayal and broken trust are at the core.
My hats are off to the missionaries (like the awesome one in our cohort 🙂 ) who are working hard to reverse this negative view of Christianity and are seeking ways to bridge this gap and created pathways to healing so the love and grace of our Lord can permeate the country of China and the hearts of the beautiful Chinese people. After reading this amazing illustrated book, I can see why this is a tall order. My prayer is for healing for a country that has been torn apart by fear and hatred.
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           [1] Wesley Yang, Views of the Rebellion, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/books/review/gene-luen-yangs-boxers-and-saints.html
           [2] Ibid.
           [3] Gene Luen Yang, Boxers and Saints, First Second: New York
About the Author
Jake Dean-Hill
Currently a Marriage & Family Therapist in private practice. Ordained minister with 10 years of prior full-time church ministry experience and currently volunteering with a local church plant. Also working with companies as a Corporate Leadership Coach.7 responses to “A Very Sad Comic Book”
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Jake!
Thanks for making the connection between this book and the contemporary situation in the US for women and the church. You always have your ears open for those points of contact, and thanks for bringing them out again!
Thanks Dave, I definitely try to make connections to the issues we face in our country and reading about the oppression in China definitely triggered me.
Hi Jake, I have been watching from a distance the situation at Willow Creek, specifically the transition with the egalitarian senior leadership and with the subsequent allegations against Bill Hybels. There are sure some huge names involved and I admittedly only know what a few media sources are saying (like Christianity Today).
I was interested in your take on what you see from a distance?
Thanks Jay. My take on Willow Creek is that it is sad and unfortunate, but it appears like the new leadership is handling it as best they can even though the media is having a hay day with it since they are a high profile church.
Jake,
Thanks for your post bro. I wonder what you would say regarding the woman in the B+S books, Vibiana? I thought it interesting that she would rise up and become a daunting, powerful figure for change, inspired by Joan of Arc. And interesting, too, that at the end of the book should give her life up. Once again we see power and surrender as key motifs.
Yes Mark that was very powerful to see her rise up for change with Joan of Arc as her inspiration. I think many women have given up their professional “life” on the altar of gender equality only to see the problem continue unchallenged. Thanks for your great words and wise perspective.
Jake! Thanks for always standing for women! Male advocates are essential in changing the way the world views “our” leadership potential. You always share great insight on the weekly blogs!