The Indigenization of Chinese Churches Before and After the Boxer Rebellion — A Case Study of the Xishiku Church and the Wanghailou Catholic Church

Zou Lin

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijaaa.20230901.15

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The Indigenization of Chinese Churches Before and After the Boxer Rebellion — A Case Study of the Xishiku Church and the Wanghailou Catholic Church

Zou Lin

Published in International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications (Volume 9, Issue 1)

Received: 23 February 2023 Accepted: 27 March 2023 Published: 31 March 2023

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Abstract

At the end of the nineteenth century, there was a spate of church cases in China, and missionary activity was again challenged since the dissolution of the prohibition. In this context, the styles of new, rebuilt, and restored churches began to change. Some church designers began to consider the choice of architectural style for their churches, and the call for the indigenization of Christianity grew louder and louder. Therefore, this paper takes case studies of two churches built by the missionary Alphonse Favier, the Xishiku Church in Beijing and the Wanghailou Catholic Church in Tianjin. The two churches are analyzed from the perspectives of layout and space, structure and decoration, and the Chinese and Western elements of the churches are classified. Various factors that contributed to the changes in the style of the two churches, such as the architect's background and social factors, are discussed to analyze the reasons for the change. The church cases' short-term and long-term influence on the choice of Chinese church style in the context of the indigenization of Christianity is analyzed concerning other indigenization concepts in society. The combination of these influences and the participation of church designers from different backgrounds has led to the development of Chinese churches through several different stages of development, from predominantly Chinese styles to a combination of Chinese and Western styles, to completely Western styles, and then to a combination of Chinese and Western styles.

Published in	International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications (Volume 9, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijaaa.20230901.15
Page(s)	29-36
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Church Cases, Indigenization, Chinese Decoration, Gothic

References

[1]	Guo L. “A Preliminary Study on the Architecture of the Four Catholic Churches in Beijing.” Master thesis. Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, 2013.
[2]	Chen J. “Research on Modern Church Architecture in Beijing.” Master thesis. Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, 2020.
[3]	Li W, and Qu Z. “Cultural Blending: Localization of Chinese Church Architectural Features and Design.” Urban Architecture, no. 17 (2020): 143-146.
[4]	Coonans T, and Cui J. “From Western-style Christianity to Chinese-style Christianity: Architectural means in promoting local cultural adaptation in China, 1919-1939.” Architecture History, no. 02 (2016): 190-200.
[5]	Yang C, Zhou Z, and Lan W. “Interpretation of the architectural style of Tianjin Wanghailou Catholic Church.” Architectural Journal, no. S1 (2013): 72-75.
[6]	Zhou D, and Jiang L. “History and Architecture of Xishiku Church, the Largest Church in Beijing.” Chinese Residential Houses, no. 12 (2011): 68-71.
[7]	Clark A E. China Gothic: The Bishop of Beijing and His Cathedral. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2019.
[8]	Hao D. “Research on the construction technology of modern Catholic churches in Shanxi.” Taiyuan University of Technology, 2016.
[9]	Coonans T, and Xu Y. Building Churches in Northern China. A 1926 Handbook in Context. Beijing: Intellectual Property Rights Publishing House, 2016.
[10]	Coonans T, and Xu Y. “Gothic churches in early 20th-century China: Adapting Western building techniques to Chinese construction tradition.” Proceedings of the Fifth International Congress on Construction History. (June 2015): 523-530.
[11]	Coonans T. “Indigenizing Catholic Architecture in China: From Western-Gothic to Sino-Christian Design, 1900–1940.” Catholicism in China, 1900-Present. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014: 125-144.
[12]	Liu G. “Localization of Catholicism in China: Historical Vision, Realistic Situation and Dilemma.” Christian Religious Studies, no. 2 (2016): 303-317.
[13]	Cheng Y. “Christian art under the "Sinicization" strategy of modern missionaries in China.” Religious Studies, no. 03 (2014): 205-212.
[14]	Zuo R. “The Cultural Heritage of the Integration of Chinese and Western Architectural Art: A Case Study of the Modern Christian Church in Shanghai.” Chinese Religion, no. 09 (2019): 74-75.
[15]	Cheng G. “The Architectural Style of Xuanwumen Church in Beijing.” Popular Literature and Art, no. 15 (2019): 139-142.
[16]	Liu Y. “Research on Architectural Theory of Augustus Pugin.” PhD. diss. Shanghai University, 2018.

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Zou Lin. (2023). The Indigenization of Chinese Churches Before and After the Boxer Rebellion — A Case Study of the Xishiku Church and the Wanghailou Catholic Church. International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications, 9(1), 29-36. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaaa.20230901.15

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ACS Style

Zou Lin. The Indigenization of Chinese Churches Before and After the Boxer Rebellion — A Case Study of the Xishiku Church and the Wanghailou Catholic Church. Int. J. Archit. Arts Appl. 2023, 9(1), 29-36. doi: 10.11648/j.ijaaa.20230901.15

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AMA Style

Zou Lin. The Indigenization of Chinese Churches Before and After the Boxer Rebellion — A Case Study of the Xishiku Church and the Wanghailou Catholic Church. Int J Archit Arts Appl. 2023;9(1):29-36. doi: 10.11648/j.ijaaa.20230901.15

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@article{10.11648/j.ijaaa.20230901.15,
  author = {Zou Lin},
  title = {The Indigenization of Chinese Churches Before and After the Boxer Rebellion — A Case Study of the Xishiku Church and the Wanghailou Catholic Church},
  journal = {International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications},
  volume = {9},
  number = {1},
  pages = {29-36},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijaaa.20230901.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaaa.20230901.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijaaa.20230901.15},
  abstract = {At the end of the nineteenth century, there was a spate of church cases in China, and missionary activity was again challenged since the dissolution of the prohibition. In this context, the styles of new, rebuilt, and restored churches began to change. Some church designers began to consider the choice of architectural style for their churches, and the call for the indigenization of Christianity grew louder and louder. Therefore, this paper takes case studies of two churches built by the missionary Alphonse Favier, the Xishiku Church in Beijing and the Wanghailou Catholic Church in Tianjin. The two churches are analyzed from the perspectives of layout and space, structure and decoration, and the Chinese and Western elements of the churches are classified. Various factors that contributed to the changes in the style of the two churches, such as the architect's background and social factors, are discussed to analyze the reasons for the change. The church cases' short-term and long-term influence on the choice of Chinese church style in the context of the indigenization of Christianity is analyzed concerning other indigenization concepts in society. The combination of these influences and the participation of church designers from different backgrounds has led to the development of Chinese churches through several different stages of development, from predominantly Chinese styles to a combination of Chinese and Western styles, to completely Western styles, and then to a combination of Chinese and Western styles.},
 year = {2023}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Indigenization of Chinese Churches Before and After the Boxer Rebellion — A Case Study of the Xishiku Church and the Wanghailou Catholic Church
AU  - Zou Lin
Y1  - 2023/03/31
PY  - 2023
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DO  - 10.11648/j.ijaaa.20230901.15
T2  - International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications
JF  - International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications
JO  - International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications
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EP  - 36
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2472-1131
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaaa.20230901.15
AB  - At the end of the nineteenth century, there was a spate of church cases in China, and missionary activity was again challenged since the dissolution of the prohibition. In this context, the styles of new, rebuilt, and restored churches began to change. Some church designers began to consider the choice of architectural style for their churches, and the call for the indigenization of Christianity grew louder and louder. Therefore, this paper takes case studies of two churches built by the missionary Alphonse Favier, the Xishiku Church in Beijing and the Wanghailou Catholic Church in Tianjin. The two churches are analyzed from the perspectives of layout and space, structure and decoration, and the Chinese and Western elements of the churches are classified. Various factors that contributed to the changes in the style of the two churches, such as the architect's background and social factors, are discussed to analyze the reasons for the change. The church cases' short-term and long-term influence on the choice of Chinese church style in the context of the indigenization of Christianity is analyzed concerning other indigenization concepts in society. The combination of these influences and the participation of church designers from different backgrounds has led to the development of Chinese churches through several different stages of development, from predominantly Chinese styles to a combination of Chinese and Western styles, to completely Western styles, and then to a combination of Chinese and Western styles.
VL  - 9
IS  - 1
ER  -

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Author Information

Zou Lin

School of Architecture Urban Planning Construction Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Zou Lin. (2023). The Indigenization of Chinese Churches Before and After the Boxer Rebellion — A Case Study of the Xishiku Church and the Wanghailou Catholic Church. International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications, 9(1), 29-36. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaaa.20230901.15

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ACS Style

Zou Lin. The Indigenization of Chinese Churches Before and After the Boxer Rebellion — A Case Study of the Xishiku Church and the Wanghailou Catholic Church. Int. J. Archit. Arts Appl. 2023, 9(1), 29-36. doi: 10.11648/j.ijaaa.20230901.15

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AMA Style

Zou Lin. The Indigenization of Chinese Churches Before and After the Boxer Rebellion — A Case Study of the Xishiku Church and the Wanghailou Catholic Church. Int J Archit Arts Appl. 2023;9(1):29-36. doi: 10.11648/j.ijaaa.20230901.15

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@article{10.11648/j.ijaaa.20230901.15,
  author = {Zou Lin},
  title = {The Indigenization of Chinese Churches Before and After the Boxer Rebellion — A Case Study of the Xishiku Church and the Wanghailou Catholic Church},
  journal = {International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications},
  volume = {9},
  number = {1},
  pages = {29-36},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijaaa.20230901.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaaa.20230901.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijaaa.20230901.15},
  abstract = {At the end of the nineteenth century, there was a spate of church cases in China, and missionary activity was again challenged since the dissolution of the prohibition. In this context, the styles of new, rebuilt, and restored churches began to change. Some church designers began to consider the choice of architectural style for their churches, and the call for the indigenization of Christianity grew louder and louder. Therefore, this paper takes case studies of two churches built by the missionary Alphonse Favier, the Xishiku Church in Beijing and the Wanghailou Catholic Church in Tianjin. The two churches are analyzed from the perspectives of layout and space, structure and decoration, and the Chinese and Western elements of the churches are classified. Various factors that contributed to the changes in the style of the two churches, such as the architect's background and social factors, are discussed to analyze the reasons for the change. The church cases' short-term and long-term influence on the choice of Chinese church style in the context of the indigenization of Christianity is analyzed concerning other indigenization concepts in society. The combination of these influences and the participation of church designers from different backgrounds has led to the development of Chinese churches through several different stages of development, from predominantly Chinese styles to a combination of Chinese and Western styles, to completely Western styles, and then to a combination of Chinese and Western styles.},
 year = {2023}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Indigenization of Chinese Churches Before and After the Boxer Rebellion — A Case Study of the Xishiku Church and the Wanghailou Catholic Church
AU  - Zou Lin
Y1  - 2023/03/31
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaaa.20230901.15
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijaaa.20230901.15
T2  - International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications
JF  - International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications
JO  - International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications
SP  - 29
EP  - 36
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2472-1131
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaaa.20230901.15
AB  - At the end of the nineteenth century, there was a spate of church cases in China, and missionary activity was again challenged since the dissolution of the prohibition. In this context, the styles of new, rebuilt, and restored churches began to change. Some church designers began to consider the choice of architectural style for their churches, and the call for the indigenization of Christianity grew louder and louder. Therefore, this paper takes case studies of two churches built by the missionary Alphonse Favier, the Xishiku Church in Beijing and the Wanghailou Catholic Church in Tianjin. The two churches are analyzed from the perspectives of layout and space, structure and decoration, and the Chinese and Western elements of the churches are classified. Various factors that contributed to the changes in the style of the two churches, such as the architect's background and social factors, are discussed to analyze the reasons for the change. The church cases' short-term and long-term influence on the choice of Chinese church style in the context of the indigenization of Christianity is analyzed concerning other indigenization concepts in society. The combination of these influences and the participation of church designers from different backgrounds has led to the development of Chinese churches through several different stages of development, from predominantly Chinese styles to a combination of Chinese and Western styles, to completely Western styles, and then to a combination of Chinese and Western styles.
VL  - 9
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download