From Christian Pacifist to Resistance Leader: Liu Zhan’en’s Response to Japanese Aggression, 1931–1938

Abstract This article examines the transformation of Liu Zhan’en (刘湛恩, 1895–1938) from Christian pacifist to resistance leader during China’s war against Japanese aggression. As the first Chinese appointed as the president of the University of Shanghai (Hujiang Daxue), a Baptist university established by the Southern and the Northern Baptist Conventions in 1906, and a prominent Protestant educator, Liu exemplified how Chinese Christian intellectuals navigated between religious commitments and national crises during the 1930s. Drawing on materials from the Shanghai Municipal Archives, local periodicals, and Liu’s writings, this study traces his evolution from advocating educational salvation and Christian pacifism to embracing active resistance. Through analysis of his public writings, personal correspondence, and organizational work, this article shows how Liu developed a distinctive theological framework that reconciled Christian principles with resistance against Japanese aggression. His case illuminates the broader process through which Chinese Protestant elites resolved the tension between Christian ideals of universal love and the practical demands of national defense. Liu’s journey from educational reformer to resistance leader, culminating in his assassination by pro-Japanese agents in 1938, reveals the complex ways Chinese Christian intellectuals integrated their faith with patriotic action during the War of Resistance.