Grandpa Qiao

““What I care about most is whether faith will continue into the next generation. I often teach my granddaughter to sing hymns in Lisu.”

Grandpa Qiao is one of the elders of the Sanchahe church in Liju. In this Lisu mountain village, faith is not an isolated ritual practice; it is woven into everyday social life.

His son has left the village for work, leaving Grandpa Qiao and his wife to care for their granddaughter. They cultivate medicinal plants, Sichuan pepper, and beans, working according to the seasons.

Alongside farming, Grandpa Qiao plays an important role in the church. Elders share responsibility, rotate the management of finances, and gather to discuss important matters. The church is therefore more than a religious site. It is also part of the village’s social infrastructure, a place where people create mutual aid and connection through faith.

What concerns Grandpa Qiao most is whether faith will continue into the next generation. At home, he often teaches his granddaughter to sing hymns in Lisu. For him, teaching her to sing is not only a way of transmitting Christianity; it is also a way of preserving the Lisu language and cultural memory.

Here, Christianity and Lisu traditions are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Over a century of local history, they have gradually become intertwined.