C H A P T E R E I G H T
Building churches in China—from the treaty ports to remote villages of the interior—was a concrete act making Christianity physically present in the public space. Choosing a particular architectural style, therefore, was a crucial issue to the missionaries, who interacted daily with Chinese people and local interests. Church builders could not only select precise references in a wide range of Western styles (Gothic,
Romanesque, Baroque, Classic, Eclectic, and more), but also hybridize
Chinese and Western forms, building types, construction techniques, and ornamentation. After the massive destruction of churches during the Boxer Uprising in 1900, discussed in Part 1, most new churches adopted a triumphant Gothic style that, at that time, was considered the best expression of “Christian Civilization.”
As previous chapters have noted, the period between the fall of the
Qing Dynasty and the birth of the Republic in 1912, to the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, was a period of challenging modernization. This should be understood in the context of the great world changes generated by World War I and the development of new ideologies across the globe. Even the Catholic Church, which had to adapt from its universal-level approach to a greater concern for local circumstances, was no exception.
10.1057/9781137353658preview - Catholicism in China, 1900-Present, Edited by Cindy Yik-yi Chu

The central questions posed in this chapter are why, when, and how did the Catholic Church decide to abandon the architectural paradigms of Western architecture, especially Gothic design, and opt for an indigenized canon based on a new “Sino-Christian” church design. This chapter also introduces and discusses the main Western and Chinese actors who helped to promote and realize this indigenized style.
Books on modern architecture in China at the time of the Republic—a thriving theme in present research—generally ignore religious architecture and its evolution.
1 Furthermore, historical studies of Christianity in China generally pay little attention to architecture.
2 Jeffrey Cody’s studies on the American architect Henry Murphy and Protestant educational buildings, 3 as well as rare publications on church architecture, are notable exceptions.
4 in China before 1949.
5
This chapter, based on both archival research and fieldwork, contributes to ongoing research on Catholic architecture
Churches in China after the Boxer Uprising
The Unequal Treaty of 1844 tolerated Christianity in China, and the
Treaty of Tianjin of 1858 guaranteed religious liberty to all Christians in
China. This included building churches, along with missionary activity. Little was left from earlier missionary architecture in China.
6 In the treaty ports, churches were initially intended for Western worshippers, but they were also powerful visual landmarks: the use of certain styles expressed the national and religious identities of different groups of colonial agents. The association of French Gothic design with the
Catholic religion, as seen in the cathedral of Guangzhou (1863–1888), 7 must be understood in the context of the French Catholic Protectorate of 1860. As discussed by Fr. Ticozzi in Chapter six, this had created a new framework of relationships between Church and State, structured by the interactions among the French legation, Chinese authorities,
8 missionaries, and Chinese believers.
Most churches built in China before 1900, with the exception of those in the foreign concessions, were rather modest, using local building materials and construction techniques. These were created by the collaborative efforts of missionaries and Chinese converts, designed to facilitate missionaries’ integration with Chinese communities in accordance with the principles of acculturation and cultural exchange.
Pioneering missionaries adapted themselves to the Chinese culture for more effective and productive evangelization. The earliest churches
10.1057/9781137353658preview - Catholicism in China, 1900-Present, Edited by Cindy Yik-yi Chu

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