On January 23, 1923, the radio station of Radio Corporation of China - the first radio station in mainland China was founded in Shanghai, creating a national precedent. By 1932, there were 40 radio stations in Shanghai.
In June 1932, Dr. Wang Baiwan hosted two programs, medical common sense, and Christian essentials, on Chinese and Western Radio, a commercial radio station set up by the Chinese and Western Pharmacy where he worked. Wang was not only a doctor but also a devout Christian, who knew the importance of conducting missionary through broadcasting.
On December 2, 1933, Shanghai Gospel Broadcasting Station was established and began broadcasting. At that time, the transmitting power of the radio station was only 150 kilowatts, so only Shanghai and Hangzhou, Ningbo and Fuzhou which are close to Shanghai could effectively receive its signal. To solve the problem of short broadcasting range, the original 150 kW station was replaced with a new 1000 kW station on January 5, 1936. At that time, it was the largest transmitting power among the domestic private radio stations.
After the establishment of the radio station, the main broadcast content was scripture reading, morning prayer, praise music, preaching, medical health, and children’s stories. As Wang was a famous doctor in Shanghai at that time, he gave a lecture on medical health. Morning service was held by Frank R.Millican; Mandarin worship was mainly held by Charles Chi; Cantonese worship is led by K. S. Lee and Wong Kwun Tang.
In June 1936, the radio station held the first radio revival sermon conference, which lasted for ten days, with Pastor George Chao of Beulah Chapel of Shanghai Christian and Missionary Alliance and Pastor Charles Chi of Shanghai Baptist Church as the speakers.
In 1938, during the Japanese War of Aggression Against China, the Japanese invaders established the Radio Supervision Office in order to control the broadcasting industry after occupying Shanghai. On December 8, 1941, the day of the Outbreak of the Pacific War, Shanghai Gospel Radio was taken over by Japan as an “enemy station”. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the radio station resumed broadcasting on September 8, 1946. After the founding of new China on October 1, 1952, Shanghai Gospel Broadcasting Station, and other radio stations in Shanghai jointly established Shanghai United Broadcasting Station.
Shanghai Gospel Radio Station is the first radio station in China to broadcast Gospel information, which is a typical combination of ancient gospel and modern emerging scientific and technological achievements. The broadcast of Christian gospel messages through radio stations, compared with other traditional missionary methods, spread across places and spaces, giving many Chinese people the opportunity to hear the gospel.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
