Chinese Christian posters became prevalent after the 1911 Revolution, with the fall of the imperial dynasty and the founding of the Republic of China. Although Christianity had become popular during the Qing Dynasty, Christian leaders first appeared in the national parliament in 1912. However, with the rise of the Communist and Nationalist movements, Christianity became the target of a smear campaign. Christians, who were supposed to bring a new revolution and a new way of life, were blamed for corrupting the Chinese as a whole and working with the imperialists; this is where Chinese Christian posters became very popular in the late 1920s. These posters were not only spreading Christianity but also trying to correct the image of Christian missionaries in China and talked about political issues. Most of the slander came from the Communist and Nationalist parties. It became such a big problem that the two groups would rip down posters and paste their posters on top of the Christian ones.
Chinese posters were plastered all around China in public areas to connect to everyone and create a sense of amenity as many people came up to see what it was. These posters were also everywhere as many people were displaced because of the revolution. Posters also resonated with different groups of people. For example, injured soldiers connected with posters of Jesus being crucified because they also sacrificed themselves for their country and brought a new salvation.
Many missionaries were women who would talk to Chinese women. It was important to connect with them as they would keep the home safe while their husbands were out fighting. Many houses were multigenerational and it was easy to have a conflict between the different generations. Hence, posters directed to women that focused on how Jesus could bring a harmonious family were also very appealing. Jesus breaking the bondage we have with our sin resonated with women who wanted to break their bondage of being bound to the home.
It was crucial to have posters that could be easily understood by a wide range of people and those who needed to be more educated. Artists soon began using colors that are important to Chinese culture, like giving the 5 elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water) a new meaning (black [sin], red [Jesus’ sacrifice], white [sanctification], and gold [heaven]), and the 5 Chinese minorities (Manchu [yellow], Tibetan [black], Mongolian [blue], Hui [white], and Han [red]), as their main colors for their posters which included red, white, black, and gold. These seemingly small details made a huge impact. They greatly increased the effectiveness of the posters and the spread of Christianity. However, when the Communist party succeeded in 1949, Christianity was outlawed and many of the posters and literature were lost due to Mao Zedong's burning of Christian literature.