Real State 
A cross rising above the central pediment of an attractive if somewhat anonymous looking two storey rendered building may seem at first glance to be a surprising addition to the skyline just north of the Forbidden City in Beijing. Yet Kuanjie Methodist Church in Dongcheng District is one of an estimated 6,000 registered Christian churches and 15,000 registered ‘meeting points’ for five million believers in China. In 1967 the Bamboo Curtain (the Asian equivalent of Europe’s Iron Curtain) was lifted allowing international exchanges in knowledge and ideas to take place. At the same time a desire for spirituality and a religious search for meaning gained momentum. Ever since, the visible growth of Christianity during the post Mao era has been dramatic.
Khiok-khng Yeo is a brilliant academic bridging the gap in Western language led theology to reach a Chinese audience. He seeks to translate his understanding of God and humanity into the indigenous philosophical language of his own country. In What Has Jerusalem to Do with Beijing? Biblical Interpretation from a Chinese Perspective (2018), he filters Christianity through a Chinese prism: “Scripture does not contain syllogistic arguments for the existence of God; rather, it assumes that God exists. The scriptural tradition presents evidence for the existence and nature of God as an encounter with the living God. This tradition is in harmony with Chinese theology, especially when adapted to the yin yang model that speaks of the dynamic, bipolar nature of things.”
“These ‘both-and’ aspects of God are clearly seen in the concept of the Triune God. God is both the yin and the yang,” Khiok-khng contends. “The Trinity is incomprehensible and will always remain a mystery. But the term Triune seems to speak of ‘is-ness’: distinctiveness and relatedness. Note that interrelatedness is not only evident among the Trinity, but also obvious between the Trinity and the world … The Chinese method does not assume or assert its superiority, validity or comprehensiveness over traditional or contemporary methodologies of the West or the East. It seeks only to show the translatability of the Christian truth through the employment of the yin yang philosophy.”
He sets out the tenets of yin yang. Cosmology is more important than anthropology because anthropology is part of cosmology. Reality is change rather than being. Reality is relatedness: yin and yang are mutually inclusive. It’s all about reading the Bible culturally and reading the culture biblically. And a universal acknowledgement that, “For those who believe are entering into God’s rest where God’s presence meets them where they are. It is with every step to the mountaintop and down into the valley of darkness that they encounter God, one another, and themselves. Rest is not inactivity, but instead the untiring activity of that constant encounter with the presence of God.”
Yin yang is better known as one of the foundations of Chinese medicine. Tong Ren Tang Chinese pharmaceutical company was founded in 1669 to serve the Qing dynasty. It uses the philosophy of yin yang to diagnose, treat and balance opposing bodily forces. Dr Linda Chan explains, “Nothing in health is totally yin or totally yang. Relative levels of yin yang are continuously changing in the body. Normally this is a harmonious change but when yin or yang are out of balance they affect each other and too much of one can eventually consume and weaken the other.”
On a midweek winter’s morning, yin yang in action is taking place in Ri Tan Park to the east of the Forbidden City. Ri Tan, the Temple of Sun, was built in 1530 which was the 9th year of Jinjing in the Ming dynasty. It is one of five temple sites across the Capital. In the 1950s Ri Tan was classified as a 21 hectare public park, a green heart of the Chaoyang District. Colourful pavilions atop grey rockeries surround miniature lakes. A group of locals are practising Tai Chi Walking. This exercise is to consciously shift weight to maintain balance and internal flow. The full (yang) leg supporting weight is balanced by the empty (yin) leg which is weightless and ready to move. Arms are stretched out to maintain connection with the body’s centre and improve balance while guiding energy flow.
The philosophy even applies to the national drink of jasmine tea. Its warming yang character balances the cooling yin nature of the usual green tea base to improve digestion and create a harmonious spirit.
