Wu Chinese in China


Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge

Identity

The Wu Chinese language is more commonly referred to as the Shanghai dialect, but in fact Wu is spoken in a far greater area than just Shanghai. The Wu are counted as part of the Han nationality.


History

The Republic of China (1911-1949): Secret societies and triads were active throughout the Chinese countryside at the turn of the twentieth century. China was effectively run by local warlords. Discontent at foreign control over many parts of China led to the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, when more than 200 foreigners, mostly missionaries, were killed. The Boxers were themselves a secret society which originated in Shandong Province and stirred up anti-foreign sentiment throughout the land. In October 1911 Sun Yatsen set up the Republic of China and was promptly displaced as president by Yuan Shikai. Unrest in the countryside and economic chaos created a favorable environment for the Communist Party, headed by Mao Zedong. They won the hearts of China's oppressed peasants and waged a civil war against the Nationalists from 1927 to 1949. The Kuomintang army of the Nationalists were defeated and fled, along with the country's entire gold reserves, to Taiwan from where they have claimed to be the rightful rulers of China until the present time.


Customs

In the 1990s the differences between China's poor and its wealthy reached epidemic proportions. In 1997 one magazine commented, "China has no shortage of workers who have reached the limit of their tolerance... Widespread labor unrest doesn't just threaten economic reforms - it threatens the Party's hold on power."


Religion

Most Wu Chinese do not practice any religion, although in recent years there has been widespread interest in the magical practice of Qi Gong.


Christianity

There were Nestorian churches in the region between Nanjing and Shanghai as early as AD 1279. At one time the Nestorians had seven monasteries in and around the city of Zhenjiang, now in Jiangsu Province. In the 1800s almost all missionaries to China commenced their work in Shanghai, which was the first port of entry for foreigners. This has resulted in the region having the highest concentration of Christians in all of China today. The Wu number at least 4 million believers, including 2.5 million in Zhejiang and 247,000 in Shanghai.


Prayer Points

Scripture Prayers for the Han Chinese, Wu in China.


Profile Source:   Operation China, Asia Harvest  Copyrighted ©   Used with permission  

People Name General Han Chinese, Wu
People Name in Country Han Chinese, Wu
Natural Name Wu Chinese
Pronunciation Woo
Alternate Names Han Chinese; Haw; Ho Yunannese; Hor; Khach; Shanghai; Shanghai Chinese; Shanghainese; Tau; Wenchow; Wu
Population this Country 81,587,000
Population all Countries 81,722,000
Total Countries 10
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 4
Unreached No
Frontier People Group No
GSEC 5  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed
People ID 11345
ROP3 Code 102143
ROP25 Code 301734
ROP25 Name Chinese
Country China
Region Asia, Northeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 16  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country The 1987 China Language Atlas listed 70.1 million speakers of the Wu Chinese language. Wu is spoken over a widespread area of 137,500 square kilometers (53,600 sq. mi.) in six provinces of eastern China. The majority are located in Zhejiang Province (43 million by the year 2000), southern Jiangsu Province (19.3 million), and the city of Shanghai (13.9 million). Smaller numbers are also located in Jiangxi, northern Fujian, and southern Anhui provinces.   Source:  Operation China, 2000
Country China
Region Asia, Northeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 16  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country The 1987 China Language Atlas listed 70.1 million speakers of the Wu Chinese language. Wu is spoken over a widespread area of 137,500 square kilometers (53,600 sq. mi.) in six provinces of eastern China. The majority are located in Zhejiang Province (43 million by the year 2000), southern Jiangsu Province (19.3 million), and the city of Shanghai (13.9 million). Smaller numbers are also located in Jiangxi, northern Fujian, and southern Anhui provinces..   Source:  Operation China, 2000

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Ethnolinguistic map or other map

Primary Religion: Ethnic Religions
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
20.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 10.00 %)
13.40 %
Ethnic Religions
38.60 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
28.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Chinese, Wu
Language Code wuu   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 2
Secondary Languages
Chinese, Mandarin
Primary Language Chinese, Wu
Language Code wuu   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 2
Secondary Languages
  Chinese, Mandarin
People Groups Speaking Chinese, Wu

Primary Language:  Chinese, Wu

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (1847-1908)
Bible-New Testament Yes  (1868-1908)
Bible-Complete Yes  (1908-1914)
Possible Print Bibles
Amazon
World Bibles
Forum Bible Agencies
National Bible Societies
World Bible Finder
Virtual Storehouse
Resource Type Resource Name Source
Audio Recordings Audio Bible teaching Global Recordings Network
Film / Video Jesus Film: view in Chinese, Wu Jesus Film Project
Film / Video My Last Day video, anime Jesus Film Project
Film / Video World Christian Videos World Christian Videos
General Gospel resources links Scripture Earth
Photo Source Copyrighted © 2023  Operation China, Asia Harvest  All rights reserved.  Used with permission
Profile Source Operation China, Asia Harvest  Copyrighted ©  Used with permission 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.