In Memory of Professor Ching Ching Chang

Seonghwa

Nov 22

Written By Youth and Young Adult Ministry

Ching Ching Chang

Spouse: Li-Juan Chang
Children: Junzhe, Junhao, Junyi
Birthdate: March 1, 1929
Ascension: November 16, 2023
Seonghwa Ceremony: November 25, 2023

Professor Ching Ching Chang was born on March 1, 1929 in Shanhua, Tainan, Taiwan, and studied in Japan. Originally, he intended to study medicine, however, the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, Japan, impacted him greatly, so he changed his field of study to physics. Later, he traveled to the United States for further study. After returning to Taiwan, he taught Physics in the Department of Physics at National Taiwan University (NTU).

In 1967, True Father sent a missionary, Ms. Fukuda, to pioneer in Taiwan. At the end of 1969, she witnessed to Professor Chang’s wife, Mrs. Li-Juan Chang, and Professor Chang’s mother-in-law, Professor Lin Chen-Yin. In the summer of 1970, soon after returning to Taiwan from the U.S., Professor Chang’s wife introduced him to Ms. Fukuda Divine Principle lectures, and he joined the church.

Professor Chang began to translate the Japanese version of the Divine Principle into Chinese. His Chinese translation is the first Chinese version of Divine Principle in the Chinese-speaking world. He became the first president of the Unification Church (UC) in Taiwan on April 12, 1971. At the end of 1971, the church in Taipei held its first three-day Divine Principle seminar, and Professor Chang was the lecturer.

Prof. Chang’s mother-in-law, Prof. Lin Chen-yin, taught at today’s Shih-Chien University, and his wife, Mrs. Lin Li-juan, worked at the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association. Professor and Mrs. Chang had two sons, Junzhe and Junhao, and one daughter, Junyi. All three of them are excellent in their related fields (Junzhe and Junhao are working in Silicon Valley, and Junyi is working for a foreign company in Taipei).

Prof. Chang was the forerunner of Chinese Divine Principle lecturing in Taiwan, the lecturer hosting the most DP seminars, and the initiator of the Chinese ministry in spreading True Parents’ words. In 1972, the church began a vigorous evangelistic campaign. On April 19 of that year, True Parents were welcomed at the Taipei church and members received their words. True Parents approved to purchase a new church and to purchase the entire sixth floor of the Pan-America Mansion in Taipei City, Taiwan. In order to help raise the funds, Chen-Yin Lin and Li-Juan Chang sold their house on Kinmen St., Taipei City, Taiwan, and gave proceeds from the sale to help pay off the loan for the purchase of the church.

The church grew tremendously from 1973 to 1974. With Missionary Ms. Fukuda’s help, Prof. Chang served as the first president of the Taiwanese church, Mr. Yamaoka was in charge of VOC and Mr. Ziro Shimizu, Ms. Fukuda’s husband, was in charge of businesses. The three men worked together to work on inter-denominational activities. During this period, Prof. Chang and Mr. Yamaoka translated the hymnals of Unification Church and published it.

In December 1973, the first College Association for Research in Principles (CARP) center in Taiwan was established at National Taiwan University (NTU). Prof. Chang was the supervising professor, and Huang Dajun was the first president of CARP. With enthusiastic campus witnessing, Divine Principle seminars were held one after another. Whenever there was a three-day vacation, there was a Divine Principle seminar. The seven-day Divine Principle seminars were held during the summer and winter vacations, with Prof. Chang as the lecturer. By the end of 1974, the number of students enrolled in CARP had increased to over 50, and about 30-40 were new students from NTU.

In February 1975, when several university students took a break from their studies in order to concentrate on evangelism, the church was persecuted by the governmental martial law banning religion. Prof. Chang suffered immense pains and pressures because he was the president of the association, and he was also unfairly treated by the government, depriving him of a teaching position—he was forced to resign voluntarily without any compensation. At that time, all three of his children were still in high school and college. All the family expenses were then supported by the salaries of his wife and mother-in-law.

Although the church was banned, Prof. Chang continued to translate “A New Critique of Communism” (VOC Theory) published by International VOC of Japan. The Chinese version was published in early 1977 with the help of Mr. Yamaoka. As the director of the Institute of Unification Thought, Prof. Chang continued to instruct the members of the Institute in the study of Unification Thought. Prof. Chang later moved to the United States to be with his children, and continued to study Unification Thought until the time of his SeongHwa. His books, Cosmology and Unification Thought and Gravitational Wave Astronomy and Unification Thought, were published by the Institute of Unification Thought of Japan. With unchanging commitment and devotion, the sacrifices and sincerity of Prof. Chang’s family had contributed greatly to the growth and development of the early Church in Taiwan.

Prof. Chang died of Kidney failure on November 16 at 8:46 AM PDT. Prof. Chang passed away peacefully and without much pain at the age of 95. He will always be remembered, respected, and admired by future generations to come.