China's Old Churches

The History, Architecture, and Legacy of Catholic Sacred Structures in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei Province
Erscheinungsjahr 2019
ISBN: 978-90-04-41612-3
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 2, 420 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 236 mm, Gewicht: 998 g

Reihe: Studies in the History of Christianity in East Asia

China’s Old Churches, by Alan Sweeten, surveys the history of Catholicism in China (1600 to the present) as reflected by the location, style, and details of sacred structures in three crucial areas of north China. Closely examined are the most famous and important churches in the urban settings of Beijing and Tianjin, as well as lesser-known ones in rural Hebei Province.

Missionaries built Western-looking churches to make a broad religious statement important to themselves and Chinese worshippers. Non-Catholics, however, tended to see churches as sociopolitically foreign and culturally invasive. The physical-visual impact of church buildings is significant. Today, restored old churches and new sacred structures are still mostly of Western style, but often include a sacred grotto dedicated to Our Lady of China--a growing number of Catholics supporting Marian-centered activities.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Sweeten, Alan Richard

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Christentum/Christliche Theologie Allgemein Missionswissenschaft, Missionsgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Kirchengeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Architektur Gebäudetypen Sakralbauten
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Asiatische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Architektur Geschichte der Architektur, Baugeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgments

List of Illustrations

Special Terms and Acronyms

List of Abbreviations

1 An Introduction to Old Churches

2 Church Building and Church Buildings

3 The Historic Churches of Central Beijing

4 Greater Beijing’s Old Church Sites and Churches

5 Tianjin’s Old Sacred Structures

6 Old Churches in Hebei’s Small Cities, Towns, and Villages

7 The Churches of Rural Zhuozhou, Past and Present

8 The Catholic Legacy

Appendix 1: Chinese Catholics, Estimates by Year and Place

Appendix 2: Additional Ecclesiastical Divisions for Zhili/Hebei

Appendix 3: Currency Exchange Rate Estimates

Appendix 4: The South Church’s Stelae

Appendix 5: The North Church’s Stelae

Appendix 6: The West Church’s Stone Tablets

Appendix 7: The Government Memorial at Tianjin’s Wanghailou Church

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Alan Richard Sweeten, Ph.D. (1980), University of California, Davis, is Adjunct Professor of History at California State University, Stanislaus. The author of many publications on Christianity in China, he is retired from teaching but remains an active researcher.