Constructing China's Jerusalem: Christians, Power, and Place in Contemporary Wenzhou (Contemporary Issues in Asia and Pacific)
"This richly documented and well-written book will be of interest to scholars of contemporary China, and also could be adopted for undergraduate and graduate courses in religion and/or Chinese society and culture."—Jean DeBernardi,Journal of Chinese Relgions"InConstructing China's Jerusalem, Nanlai Cao provides one of the best thickly descriptive studies of Christianity's emerging role in contemporary Chinese society . . . Cao makes an important contribution to the study of Christianity in China specifically and religion in China more broadly. Additionally, his discussion of Christian identity as a symbolic resource would seem to have interesting implications for similar studies on either religion in emerging economies or the symbolic uses of religion in modern society."—Cole Carnesecca,Sociology of Religion"An anthropologist, Cao shows how the Christian faith works in one population center of China: Wenzhou, the huge commercial metropolis that has been called China's Jerusalem . . . [A] beautifully textured study."—Christian Century"Cao's work effectively shatters the 'foreign' face of Christianity and presents a religion that is highly indigenized, depoliticized and highly interpenetrated with capitalist economic behavior. . .  Cao's work is extremely well-written and clearly presented. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in contemporary religions in China, China studies, and the anthropology of Christianity in General."—Wu Keping,Asian Anthropology"Cao excels in describing the structural features of local church and economic life: its interlacing networks, the financial support flowing from patrons to local clergy, and the business-style operations of evangelism in the city. . . .  This is an excellent, informative case study, with many insights not seen elsewhere and rich with possibilities for future research."—Chloë Starr,The China Quarterly"As yet, [Constructing China's Jerusalem] is the most comprehensive account of the complex dynamics characterising everyday life in Chinese Protestant house churches."—Marie-Eve Reny,China Perspectives