Returning to China: Part III

-It's not an easy journey

By Yuan Wu-jue

Lin Zhi, a native of Jiangsu Province, earned an MBA in America and was then posted by his American corporate headquarters to work in Shanghai for two years. Now he is back in the U.S.

What was life in China like?

Q: What did you think of China?

A: China is changing very rapidly. When I left China for America in 1994, hardly anyone knew anything about the Internet. But when I returned to China in 1997, quite a few of my former classmates had started their own internet companies. In fact China is experiencing rapid changes both in society as a whole and even in the way people think. China today is very different from what it was ten years ago. It is very different from what it was two years ago!

Q: How did you adjust to the lifestyle back in China?

A: It was not easy in the beginning. My first impression of China was that it was dirty and chaotic with serious traffic problems. But I had already lived in China for thirty years, so I was able to accept it all quite quickly.

Q: What about the spiritual side of your adjustment?

A: Spritually, it was much harder to adapt. A lot of Chinese people just smell of money; it is very common for people to live just for money. When friends and colleagues get together to chat, the talk more often than not is about somebody starting a new company and making tons of money. So I don't honestly think that China has a good quality of life.

The fall in moral standards is another big problem in China. There is too little commitment in marriage and family life, yet people do not seem to find this something to be ashamed of. Many overseas Chinese scholars who have completed their degrees abroad go back to China and very soon their family members find themselves becoming victims. In recent years, quite a few of my friends and classmates have gone back to Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and other large cities to work for foreign companies as managers or directors. Their wives and children had been excited about going back with them, some even thinking they would have good opportunities to preach the Gospel in China. But then a year or so later, the wives return to America with bad news - their husbands have been seduced by their female secretaries, public relation ladies or other women staff members. The environment can make a huge impact on people and there is no lack of temptations. Those who are finishing their studies abroad and planning to go back to China need to be prepared to cope with temptations of this kind.

Q: What about religious beliefs? Did you see any changes there?

A: There are not very many atheists now. People believe in masters of their fate. When they meet bad luck, they go to the temples. They seem to know more about Christianity than they did in the past and they are curious about it too. But many people do not understand the Bible, and even think it is ridiculous.

Easier for Christians to get used to the lifestyle in China?

Q: As a Christian, did you find it hard to get used to the lifestyle in China?

A: In some sense it is easier for Christians. Believers are usually more compassionate and tolerant. I know of a deputy mayor who had the mayor murdered because he wanted to be mayor himself. From a Christian's standpoint, these people are seeking after something which is completely worthless. We can never have the same interests.

Q: During your two years in China, did you have any experiences which were in conflict with your beliefs and values, especially anything with substantial consequences? How did you deal with it?

A: Certainly. It often happened. For instance, it is usual for business deals to be made at nightclubs. And a lot of social activities between colleagues also take place in bars. While it is difficult to avoid all social activities, you still have to hold to your own principles. When the professional bartenders got too close to me, I would stand up and say that I didn't feel well or that I didn't want to continue. Then I would just leave. My colleagues often laughed at me, saying that life in America had made me stubborn. While it may not be easy to persuade others not to do wrong, we can make sure that we ourselves do what is right.

Spiritual growth may be hampered

Q: In your opinion, when overseas Christian scholars go back to China, are they able to continue their spiritual growth and training?

A: Many do not. One reason has to do with the environment. In my case, for example, I refused to go to the open churches but at the same time I had no access to a house church. Foreigners are allowed to have their own house churches, but the government restricts them from accepting local people. My demanding job and poor health certainly didn't help. For almost two years, I attended no Sunday worship or church activities, nor did I have fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ or share in any kind of service in a church. Although I still maintained my basic beliefs, I did not make any spiritual progress. I often felt I did not look like a Christian any more.

When I got back to America, I was shocked to discover that a huge spiritual gap had developed between my wife and me. Both of us had been baptized at the same time. I recall it was I who gave her the big push before she accepted the Lord. But over the last two years, she had kept on attending church activities in America and leading a life of Christian fellowship, and now she understands more of the Bible than I do.

It is common for scholars who go back to China to suffer spiritual setbacks, and I believe they need a lot of help from their churches overseas.

A word of advice: your life is the most important thing

Q: Based on your two years of experience in China, do you have any advice for those who are thinking of going back to China to work or to spread the Gospel?

A: My advice is first, that we must admit how effective the atheist brainwashing of the last few decades has been. When you preach the Gospel to people, they will think you are either crazy or stupid. Therefore, before going back to China, it is essential to gain some experience of working with people from the Mainland. We need to be psychologically prepared.

Secondly, we must be very aware of the big differences in outlook between Chinese overseas and people in China. Chinese overseas really have to struggle in order to survive. They may have become very conscious of their own limitations and have lost a lot of their self-confidence. It is much harder, however, to shatter the pride of people in China, especially if they already have some significant achievements to their credit. Chinese overseas have become used to hearing words like sin or sinners. But if you tell a person in China that he is a sinner, he will get mad at you. Therefore, we should not rush in to preach the Gospel as soon as we go back to China. We must plan for it; we must get to know China better and look for a good way to unlock closed hearts.

Thirdly, those who go back to China to preach the Gospel must not just depend on their courage and ability, they must have life. If we cannot live the life of Christ and are relying only on our own eloquence, we will never be effective.

How hard is this journey?

Q: So you think that it's a difficult journey, then, to go home ?

A: Yes, I do. It was especially hard for someone like me, who had been baptized only a short while ago and who had not had much spiritual training. There are many temptations in China. Even today I feel a bit uncertain about my experiences in China. If a person stayed on there for a long time, it would be hard to avoid falling into temptation. This is why, after two years back in China, I decided to resign and return to America.