Camels at rest

Glass lantern slide from the Lin Collection, acquired by the Yale Divinity Library in 2016. The Lin Collection is a curated set of photographs and printed materials visually documenting Chinese society through the eyes of Western missionaries. Consisting of ca. 900 original photographs, printed materials, rare books, and other artifactshis, the collection pays particular attention to cross-cultural interactions between China and the West, the growth of Christianity in China in the early 20th century, and the development of the indigenous Chinese church.

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Victor Animatograph glass lantern slide from the Lin Collection

Victor Animatograph glass lantern slide from the Lin Collection, acquired by the Yale Divinity Library in 2016. The Lin Collection is a curated set of photographs and printed materials visually documenting Chinese society through the eyes of Western missionaries. Consisting of ca. 900 original photographs, printed materials, rare books, and other artifactshis, the collection pays particular attention to cross-cultural interactions between China and the West, the growth of Christianity in China in the early 20th century, and the development of the indigenous Chinese church.

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Fukien Christian University (Fujian xie he da xue) campus from the Min River in Fuzhou (Fujian, China)

View of the Fukien Christian University (Fujian xie he da xue) campus from the Min River in Fuzhou (Fujian, China).

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Bamboo Plantation in Nanking (Nanjing, China). Glass lantern slide from the Lin Collection

Bamboo Plantation in Nanking (Nanjing, China). Glass lantern slide from the Lin Collection, acquired by the Yale Divinity Library in 2016. The Lin Collection is a curated set of photographs and printed materials visually documenting Chinese society through the eyes of Western missionaries. Consisting of ca. 900 original photographs, printed materials, rare books, and other artifactshis, the collection pays particular attention to cross-cultural interactions between China and the West, the growth of Christianity in China in the early 20th century, and the development of the indigenous Chinese church.

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Yenching University Students Perform As You Like It (August 1, 1930)

In this photograph dated August 1, 1930, two Yenching University students act in a school performance of As You Like It. The Yale Divinity Library holds a large amount of documents and images related to Yenching University, as part of the Archives of the United Board of Christian Higher Education in Asia (UBCHEA).

Related Links: Yenching materials in the Yale Divinity Library Special Collections
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Floatplane on the Min River in Fuzhou (Fujian, China)

Floatplane on the Min River in Fuzhou (Fujian, China). The photograph was taken by a  student as part of final exams at Fukien Christian University (Fujian xie he da xue).

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Chinese Street View

Glass lantern slide from the Lin Collection, acquired by the Yale Divinity Library in 2016. The Lin Collection is a curated set of photographs and printed materials visually documenting Chinese society through the eyes of Western missionaries. Consisting of ca. 900 original photographs, printed materials, rare books, and other artifactshis, the collection pays particular attention to cross-cultural interactions between China and the West, the growth of Christianity in China in the early 20th century, and the development of the indigenous Chinese church.

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Karl Ludvig Reichelt's notes on Chinese religion

Detail of a manuscript page of the handbook Kinas religioner. Haandbok i den kinesiske religionshistorie (1913 and 1922), by the Norwegian missionary and religious scholar Karl Ludvig Reichelt (1877-1952). Digital copy of an original preserved in the library of the Tao Fong Sghan Christian Centre (道風山基督教叢林), founded by Reichelt in 1930 in Shatin, Hong Kong. 

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Recent Acquisitions

Ready for Your Research: The Robert L. Calhoun Papers

Sketch of man with glasses

The papers of Robert L. Calhoun (1886-1983), Yale professor of theology and philosophy, are now available for research. Chronologically, the papers reach from Calhoun’s early years teaching at Yale in the 1920s, through the Great Depression in the 1930s, his humanitarian relief work during WWII, to his ecumenical and non-violent activist work in the Cold War. The collection touches upon the social issues of Robert Calhoun’s lifetime, including union rights, conscientious objection, Marxism, atomic war, and emergent “World Order” in the postwar. The papers contain substantial materials from Calhoun’s organizational work with the Council for Social Action and the World Council of Churches among others and reflect his prominent role in American and ecumenical Protestant Christianity in the twentieth century. To read more about Robert Calhoun and place requests for your own research, visit Collection: Robert L. Calhoun Papers | Archives at Yale.
Last modified: 
Wednesday, January 24, 2024 - 3:57pm

In Focus

Two hands holding an anchor with a snake entwined around it
Inaugural Latourette Learning Center Exhibit

Come see the very first exhibit in the newly renovated Latourette Learning Center and take a journey through more than five centuries of book printing on three continents.

Minister at pulpit with people in pews
Teaching the Practice of Ministry at YDS

A new online exhibit documents the history of teaching the practice of ministry at Yale Divinity School.