【文章标题】：North Korean Messiah 【文章正文】： Thanks to a generous Coefficient Giving grant, ChinaTalk is currently running two contests! See below for details: 感谢Coefficient Giving的慷慨资助，ChinaTalk目前正在举办两项竞赛！详情如下：
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Why is North Korea so weird? Is it Stalinism? Maoism? Japan-style emperor worship? Ancient Korean hermit kingdom energy? No, argues 为什么朝鲜如此怪异？是斯大林主义？毛主义？日本式的天皇崇拜？还是古代朝鲜隐士王国的气质？都不是，持此观点的是 Jonathan Cheng Jonathan Cheng , Beijing bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal and author of ，《华尔街日报》北京分社社长，著有 The Korean Messiah: The Failed Dynasty That Shaped the Hermit Kingdom 《朝鲜弥赛亚：塑造隐士王国的失败王朝》 . You’ve all been sleeping on the influence of 19th-century American revival Protestantism. 你们一直忽略了19世纪美国复兴派新教的影响。
To discuss why Kim Il-sung kind of thought he was Jesus — or at least wanted to convince everyone else he was — we have the honor of Jonathan joining ChinaTalk today, with 为了探讨金日成为何有点自认为是耶稣——或者至少想让别人相信他是——我们很荣幸邀请到Jonathan今天做客ChinaTalk，与 Alex Boyd Alex Boyd .
Our conversation covers: 我们的对话涵盖：
Billy Graham meets Kim Il-sung — how America’s pastor visited Pyongyang in 1992 and bonded with the dictator over their shared Presbyterian childhoods, while touring a birthplace resembling the nativity story. 葛培理遇见金日成——这位美国牧师如何在1992年访问平壤，并在参观一个酷似耶稣诞生故事的出生地时，因共同的长老会童年经历而与该独裁者产生共鸣。
From “Jerusalem of the East” to totalitarian theocracy — how 22-year-old missionary Samuel Moffett brought eschatological founder energy to the wickedest city in Korea, and transformed Pyongyang into the most Protestant city in Asia, complete with jazz clubs and a Chevrolet dealership. 从“东方耶路撒冷”到极权神权政治——22岁的传教士塞缪尔·莫菲特如何将末世论的创始者能量带到韩国最邪恶的城市，并将平壤变成亚洲最新教化的城市，配有爵士俱乐部和雪佛兰经销店。
The Manchurian cauldron — how the lawless frontier of 1920s Manchuria blended Christianity, Korean nationalism, and Marxism to forge Kim Il-sung’s messiah complex. 满洲熔炉——1920年代满洲的无法无天的边疆如何将基督教、朝鲜民族主义和马克思主义融合，锻造出金日成的弥赛亚情结。
Jim Jones and Kim — how the Jonestown cult leader became obsessed with Kim Il-sung, adopted Korean children, and traded tips with North Korean diplomats on running a closed religious society. 吉姆·琼斯与金——琼斯镇邪教领袖如何痴迷于金日成，收养朝鲜儿童，并与朝鲜外交官交流经营封闭宗教社会的诀窍。
Christianity as political technology — how Kim weaponized Protestant doctrine and ritual to build a state religion that has outlasted the Soviet Union by three decades. 作为政治技术的基督教——金如何将新教教义和仪式武器化，建立了一个比苏联多存在三十年的国教。
Plus, why North Korea is best understood not as a nation-state but as a religious society, and what Hong Xiuquan and Xi Jinping have to do with any of this. 此外，为什么朝鲜最好被理解为一个宗教社会而非民族国家，以及洪秀全和习近平与这一切有何关系。
Listen now on your favorite 现在就在你最喜欢的 podcast app 播客应用 .
A photo of a North Korean town near the border with China, taken via drone. 一张通过无人机拍摄的靠近中朝边境的朝鲜城镇照片。
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Billy Graham and North Korea 葛培理与朝鲜
Jordan Schneider: Let’s start with Billy Graham’s visit to North Korea. Jordan Schneider： 让我们从葛培理访问朝鲜开始。
Jonathan Cheng: Billy Graham is arguably the world’s most famous preacher, the embodiment of Christianity in the 20th century. They called him “America’s pastor,” hanging out at the Oval Office with every president from Harry Truman to Barack Obama. He’s famous for filling stadiums around the world with his evangelistic crusades, but he was also trying to take his message across the Iron Curtain — holding crusades in the USSR, Poland, and Czechoslovakia when that wasn’t easy. Jonathan Cheng： 葛培理可以说是世界上最著名的布道家，是20世纪基督教的化身。人们称他为“美国的牧师”，从哈里·杜鲁门到巴拉克·奥巴马，他与每一位总统都在白宫椭圆形办公室会面。他以布道大会填满世界各地的体育场而闻名，但他也曾试图将他的信息传递到铁幕之后——在苏联、波兰和捷克斯洛伐克举行布道大会，当时这并非易事。
But North Korea was a tougher nut to crack. He had a surprising amount of personal connection there — his wife actually went to high school in Pyongyang in the 1930s. His first major evangelistic trip outside the US was to the Korean Peninsula during the Korean War, and in 1973, he preached to about 1.1 million people in the center of Seoul. He had this deep connection to Korea, but until he got his invitation from North Korea in 1991, he had never actually been there. He finally visits in early 1992. That’s where the book starts. 但朝鲜是一个更难啃的骨头。他在那里有着惊人的个人渊源——他的妻子实际上在1930年代曾在平壤上中学。他第一次美国以外的重要布道之旅是在朝鲜战争期间前往朝鲜半岛，1973年，他在首尔市中心向约110万人布道。他与韩国有着深厚的联系，但在1991年收到朝鲜的邀请之前，他从未真正去过那里。他最终在1992年初成行。这就是这本书的开端。
Jordan Schneider: Can you share Billy Graham’s impressions of the country he visited? Jordan Schneider： 你能分享一下葛培理对他所访问国家的印象吗？
Jonathan Cheng: Graham had been behind the Iron Curtain before, but he knew North Korea was different. It wasn’t just a random socialist country to him; he knew Kim Il-sung had been raised in the Christian church. Jonathan Cheng： 葛培理以前去过铁幕之后，但他知道朝鲜是不同的。对他来说，这不仅仅是一个普通的社会主义国家；他知道金日成是在基督教会中长大的。
He flew there in the spring of 1992 and was immediately taken to Kim Il-sung’s birthplace — a humble thatched hut where the state claims its God-King was born under humble circumstances. Upon arriving, Graham remarked, “All they’re missing here are the three wise men and the manger,” obviously referencing the birth of Christ. 他于1992年春天飞往那里，立即被带到金日成的出生地——一间简陋的茅草屋，朝鲜政府声称其上帝之王就诞生于此。到达后，葛培理评论道：“这里只缺三位智者和马槽了，”显然是在暗指基督的诞生。
Graham spent several days in Pyongyang, giving sermons at Kim Il-sung University and in the two churches Kim built toward the end of his life. There, he preached his usual message: John 3:16, the Christian gospel distilled to one verse. He also gave Kim Il-sung a copy of his 1953 book 葛培理在平壤待了几天，在金日成大学和金晚年建造的两座教堂里布道。在那里，他宣讲了他一贯的信息：约翰福音3章16节，将基督教福音浓缩为一节经文。他还送给金日成一册他1953年的著作 Peace with God 《与上帝和好》 and talked with him about the North Korean leader’s Presbyterian upbringing. ，并与他谈论了这位朝鲜领导人的长老会成长经历。
Billy Graham handing his book, Peace With God, to Kim Il-Sung April 2, 1992, in Pyongyang. 1992年4月2日，葛培理在平壤将他的著作《与上帝和好》交给金日成。
When Graham came, he played a bit coy, claiming he had no idea why he was invited. Deep down, he knew it was because of Kim’s personal connection to Christianity, but he also recognized the political angle. Kim Il-sung saw Graham as someone with access to the very top levels of American leadership — George H.W. Bush during his first visit, and Bill Clinton on his second. 当葛培理来访时，他有点故作矜持，声称不知道为何被邀请。在内心深处，他知道这是因为金个人与基督教的联系，但他也认识到其中的政治角度。金日成将葛培理视为能够接触美国最高领导层的人——第一次访问时是乔治·H·W·布什，第二次是比尔·克林顿。
The Protestant Roots of North Korea 朝鲜的新教根源
Jordan Schneider: Maybe with that as a little tableau to open us with — Kim Il-sung bonding with, of all people, Billy Graham about their shared Christian upbringing — I want to take it back all the way to the 1800s with another American preacher, Samuel Moffett. He brought out a slightly different energy than Billy Graham, but was perhaps even more influential in the arc of Korean history. Jordan Schneider： 也许用这个作为开场画面——金日成与葛培理，偏偏是他，因共同的基督教成长经历而建立联系——我想把时间一路拉回到1800年代，讲述另一位美国传教士塞缪尔·莫菲特的故事。他带来的能量与葛培理略有不同，但在韩国历史的进程中可能更具影响力。
I loved the intro — the first 100 pages were really novel history to me. Can you paint us a picture of the ideology and mindset that led a 22-year-old in the 1870s and 1880s to pack up their bags for Asia? 我很喜欢引言——前100页对我来说真是新颖的历史。你能为我们描绘一下，是什么意识形态和心态促使一个22岁的年轻人在1870年代和1880年代收拾行囊前往亚洲？
Jonathan Cheng: Samuel Moffett is a fascinating character. Billy Graham is a bit of a teaser at the beginning of the book, but the narrative really gets going with Moffett. He was born during the Civil War in Madison, Indiana, right on the border between the Union and the Confederacy. He attended an abolitionist church and went to Hanover College, a small school known for its religious fervency. Fun fact: nearly a century later, Mike Pence attended Hanover and was president of the exact same fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta. Both were very earnest, upright, serious Christian men. Jonathan Cheng： 塞缪尔·莫菲特是一个引人入胜的人物。葛培理在书开头只是一个小小的引子，但叙述真正是从莫菲特开始的。他生于内战期间，在印第安纳州麦迪逊市，正好位于联邦和邦联的交界处。他参加了一个废奴主义教会，就读于汉诺威学院，这是一所以宗教热忱著称的小型学校。有趣的事实：近一个世纪后，迈克·彭斯也就读于汉诺威，并且是同一个兄弟会Phi Gamma Delta的主席。两人都是非常认真、正直、严肃的基督徒。
To give you a sense of Moffett’s strict Presbyterianism — he was staunchly anti-alcohol and anti-cigarettes, but also opposed to card playing, horse racing, dancing, and even rhythmic clapping in church. 为了让你们了解莫菲特严格的长老会信仰——他坚决反对酒精和香烟，也反对打牌、赛马、跳舞，甚至反对在教堂里有节奏地鼓掌。
The prevailing ideology for college-educated Midwesterners at the time was this immense Christian fervor. Their highest aspiration was to spread the gospel to the literal ends of the earth. And they meant it — Tahiti, Greenland, the interior of Africa, or somewhere so exotic it was called the Hermit Kingdom. Today, Korea exports Samsung and K-pop, but back then, it was hard to imagine a more isolated place. Moffett didn’t even specifically ask to go to Korea. He just said, “Send me somewhere really far away.” 当时受过大学教育的中西部人的主流意识形态是这种巨大的基督教热忱。他们的最高抱负是将福音传播到地球的尽头。他们是认真的——塔希提岛、格陵兰、非洲内陆，或者某个被称为“隐士王国”的异域之地。今天，韩国出口三星和K-pop，但在那时，很难想象一个更孤立的地方。莫菲特甚至没有特别要求去韩国。他只是说：“送我去一个非常遥远的地方。”
The backdrop here is an America that had just reunited after the Civil War, flush with new wealth and innovations like the steam engine and the telegraph. Manifest Destiny had reached the West Coast and was spilling into the Pacific. The Christian version of this was a movement calling for “the evangelization of the whole world in this generation.” Moffett saw himself as part of this enterprise, driven by an eschatology that believed spreading the gospel to every last person on the planet would actually hasten the second coming of Jesus. 这里的背景是一个刚刚在内战后重新统一的美国，充满了新的财富和像蒸汽机、电报这样的创新。“昭昭天命”已经到达西海岸，并正在向太平洋蔓延。基督教版的天命是一场呼吁“在这一代人中向全世界传福音”的运动。莫菲特将自己视为这项事业的一部分，驱动他的是一种末世论，即相信将福音传播到地球上每一个人实际上会加速耶稣的第二次降临。
In front of Jangdaehyeon Church in Pyongyang, Samuel Moffett is in the center left. 在平壤长台岘教堂前，塞缪尔·莫菲特位于左中位置。
Jordan Schneider: The ethos was about bringing about the end times and going on this great foreign adventure. There’s a big founder energy part of all of this too. It’s really a zero-to-one thing, especially when you’re the guy showing up in Korea. Jordan Schneider： 这种精神气质关乎促成末世的到来，并踏上这场伟大的异国冒险。这其中也有很大的创始者能量。这真的是一件从零到一的事情，尤其是当你是那个出现在韩国的人。
Other things people need to understand is that this was dangerous. These missionaries didn’t just get diseases — they got killed occasionally. When you went, this wasn’t necessarily like Peace Corps, where you do two years and you’re back. This was decades. Maybe you’d see your parents once again before they died in 30 years or something. It was very much a burn-the-boats style commitment, as opposed to the type of Mormon missionary tours or Peace Corps tours you see today. 人们还需要理解的是，这很危险。这些传教士不只是生病——他们偶尔会被杀害。当你去的时候，这不一定是像和平队那样，服务两年就回来。这是几十年的承诺。也许你会再见父母一次，然后他们在30年后去世之类的。这是一种破釜沉舟式的承诺，不同于你今天看到的摩门教传教士或和平队那种。
Alex, fellow Peace Corps veteran — how did you see the echoes of this story in the ethos that you walked into? Alex，同为和平队老兵——你如何看待这个故事在你所进入的精神气质中的回响？
Alex Boyd: I see the zeal — not necessarily in the Peace Corps to spread God’s light. But I also see competition. When Moffet is going to South Korea, he has his mission to spread God, to finish American Manifest Destiny or whatever. But he’s not the only one who has designs on Korea. The Japanese have also gone through their own Meiji Revolution and have the idea that they’re going to become a Western power and engage in this. I