My first book of Chinese prayers

The promotional material for My First Prayer Book (我的第一本祈祷书, aka “My first prayers book”) calls it “the only ‘prayer’-themed book of Christian culture on the market.”

Bible storybooks are widely available both in bookstores and in bootleg stalls, and books on the history of religion often include examples of prayers, but the sale of actual religious texts is usually limited to church-affiliated bookstores. So the publisher may be justified in claiming that the book breaks new ground.

My First Prayer Book, by Li Sikai, is being marketed by Boji Tianjuan, a mainstream Beijing-based packager and distributor that is home to best-selling thriller author Cai Jun. According to the information posted on the publisher’s blog, the book contains the text of over 100 prayers illustrated with 200 images of hand-lettered European religious texts:

This book divides prayers into “Special days,” “the people I love,” “spiritual geography,” “a better world,” “glory to God,” “in all my days”….covering all common and classic prayers.

In addition, each category in the book incorporates meaningful Bible stories and basic information about Christian culture to give us a deeper understanding of the essence of Christian culture.

The elaborate hand-inscribed prayer books shown in the book are from the outstanding fusion of Greek and Roman culture with Christian and Byzantine art during the Middle Ages in Europe. Within this splendid art we can experience the grandeur of faith and the artistic flavor of the Middle Ages.

Also featured on the publisher’s blog today are The Inexhaustible Lamp of Wisdom: A guide to Buddhist doctrine for modern people and My First Parent-Child English Textbook.