A Resurgence of Religious Faith in China

choi

Faith and tradition in China l Pilgrims Through This Barren Land; A resurgence of religious faith is changing China. Economist, Mar 31, 2017.
http://www.economist.com/news/bo ... rhythms-past-modern

Qyote:

"At least in Europe, the ebb of the Christian tide left a deeply rooted rule of law and a compassionate welfare state.

" 'We thought we were unhappy because we were poor,' says one [Chinese] interviewee [by Ian Johnson]. 'But now a lot of us aren't poor any more and yet we’re still unhappy.'

Note:
(a) "The outside world sees a thrusting, confident new China, but many people (and party leaders) are still trying to work out what it means to be Chinese in the modern world."

thrust (vi):
"1 b :  to push forward :  press onward
c :  to push upward"
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thrusting

These are ordinary (ie, not unusual) definitions.
(b) "As one historian put it: the Middle Kingdom has lost its middle."

In the entire Web, the English quotation appears in this essay only. As for Chinese language, I can not find anything close, such as who says this -- or exact wording.

(c) "Xi Jinping, standing at Confucius's birthplace in 2013 and paraphrasing the sage: 'A state without virtue cannot flourish; a person without virtue cannot succeed.' "
(i) What Xi said on Nov 26, 2013 at 曲阜: "国无德不兴，人无德不立."
(ii)  孔子: "自古皆有死，民无信不立." 《论语·颜渊》

choi

(d) " 'A government that relies on fear cannot instil morality; it can only enforce behaviour,' he [Ian Johnson] writes."

instil: "chiefly British spelling of INSTILL"
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/instil

The etymology of instil/instill is from Latin, which had two l's. I do not know how the British get one l.

(e) "The sermons of Wang Yi, a house-church pastor in the city of Chengdu, epitomise the changes taking place across the country, perhaps because he presents a clear vision of the future that is neither the party narrative nor just a reversion to the past: 'We are creating a Jerusalem,' he says. 'This is the city on the hill.' "
(i) 加尔文派 成都秋雨之福 归正 家庭教会王怡牧师 (1973- ; male)
(ii) For Wang Yi's quote, I fail to find the Chinese, except that city on the hill is 山上之城, according to pastor Wang.
(iii) "City on a hill" is from New Testament. There is a Wiki page for that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_upon_a_Hill
(section 1 "A Model of Christian Charity")
(iv) June Cheng, Wang Yi: The Long Road; A pastor's perspective on Chinese house church obstacles and opportunities. World Magazine, May 28, 2016.
https://world.wng.org/2016/05/wang_yi_the_long_road

one set of Q&A:

"What is Early Rain's goal?

"To become a completely open church [as opposed to 'underground']. We believe the Chinese house church shouldn’t stay underground, but should be a city on a hill. Our purpose isn’t to avoid persecution but to bring both our faith and the persecution we face out into the open. If we are afraid, we shouldn’t keep that fear in secret, but we should bring it into the light and ask God to help us.

* 秋雨之福 归正 is here translated as "Early Rain Reformed Church," but another English-language report on this church identified it as "Autumn Rain."
(iv) 王怡, 看得见的山上之城：会堂之于国度的意义. 基督教北京守望教会, Sept 26, 2012
https://t3.shwchurch.org/2012/09 ... %E6%84%8F%E4%B9%89/
("当主耶稣说，你们要成为山上之城，'你们是世上的光。城造在山上，是不能隐藏的'（太5:14）。主在这个比喻中，凸显的就是有形教会进入世界并 '彰显' 国度这一重含义。主耶稣称我们为一座 '城，' 而不仅仅是一个 '团契。'  所以他接着说，'你们的光也当这样照在人前，叫他们看见你们的好行为，便将荣耀归给你们在天上的父'（太5:16）。  地方教会就是城中之城，是在旧社会中蒙恩活出新社会")

* Apparently, whatever pastor Wang meant about city on a hill (Christians or church), he does not mean Chengdu.