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Project
Transmission and Transformation of European Church Types in China: The Churches of the Scheut Missions beyond the Great Wall, 1865-1955
The BelgianCongregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (C.I.C.M.), also known as the Scheut fathers or Scheutists, was founded in Brussels by Théophile Verbist in 1862. Rome assigned the congregation the mission to evangelizethe vast spaces of Mongolia and gradually organised the territory in seven vicariates apostolic, namely Jehol, Chifeng, Xiwanzi, Jining, Suiyuan, Ningxia and Datong. The Scheutists were active beyond the Great Wall for ninety years, from 1865 to 1955.
The Scheutists developed an important building activity in China after the Boxer Uprising of 1898-1900. Only a few of these churches survived the Chinese Civil War of 1947-1949 and the Cultural Revolution of 1966-1976. The method of this dissertation combines fieldwork and archival research. Fieldwork was done in March 2010 and May 2011 (the latter with Prof. Thomas Coomans) and recorded significant remains. Written and visual sources from the Archives of the Scheutists, which are conserved at KADOC-KU Leuven, as well as documents from the Ferdinand Verbiest Institute in Leuven and severalfamily archives in Belgium, allowed reconstructing the construction process and the historical contexts of the buildings.
After the Boxer Uprising, thanks to the indemnity money from the Chinese state and the growing number of Christians, the C.I.C.M. mission grew and the church prolifically constructed in Western styles, especially Gothic. From the late 1910s, under the rule of the young Republic, began a great movement of modernization of Chinese society. Parallel to this, the Roman Catholic Church defined a new evangelizing policy for the missions in 1919 and began to implement a process of indigenization in China from 1922.
The main part of this dissertation demonstrates the evolution of Scheutist churches through sixteen case studies, grouped in three phases. mso-ansi-language:EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">The first phase covers the period from 1865 to 1900, with the early settlements of the Scheut fathers in the vast Mongolian steppe. The poor, modest chapels and churches from this period were in all likelihood built by local people under the supervision of the missionaries. The second phase, corresponding with the heyday of Scheut in China, begins after the defeat of the Boxers in 1900 and goes until the middle of the 1920s. Many new churches were built and referred to designs and stylesfrom the home country of the missionaries. This phase is dominated by father Alphonse De Moerloose (1858-1932), who had studied architecture atthe St. Luke School of Ghent before entering the C.I.C.M. in 1881. After 1900 he received the opportunity of his life and was commissioned witha wide range of projects. The third phase is a consequence of major changes both in Chinese society and in the Catholic Church after the First World War. The new missionary policy of Rome (encyclicals Maximum illud</>, 1919, and Rerum Ecclesiae</>, 1926), implemented in China by archbishop Celso Costantini from 1922, stressed the need of localclergy and promoted indigenized religious art and architecture. Several Scheut fathers were important agents of development of the new Chinese-Christian art and architecture.
This dissertation not only focuses on the transmission and transformation of Western types and styles in China, but also deals with the important issue of construction. Building beyond the Great Wall, even in Gothic style, obliged the missionaries to encounter the Chinese workers, construction methods, and buildings materials. Traditional Chinese architecture and Western building systems worked in totally different manners. The encounter of Scheut missionaries with native craftsmen and local conditions in Northern China generated many construction problems, resulting in hybrid compromises. Other important factors of influence were Northern Chinas climate, gender segregation, and Chinese orientation rules of architecture.
This dissertation investigates and unravels the cultural and historical meaning of the Scheutist churches, including their specific contribution to the history of Chinese-Christian architecture. After having been a typical Western missionary congregation in the nineteenth century, C.I.C.M. became one of the most progressive missions in China in the 1920s.
At last, this studyconfirms the existence of a number of churches from the second half of the nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century in the less explored region beyond the Great Wall. This heritage is largely unknown and often underestimated. The potential value of church buildings needs to be enhanced and merits a better evaluation. Nevertheless, the churches studied in this dissertation show the evolution of Christian architecture, in particular that of the Belgian missionaries of the Congregation of the Holy Heart of Mary (the Scheut Fathers) and their relations with Belgiumthe home country.
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The Scheutists developed an important building activity in China after the Boxer Uprising of 1898-1900. Only a few of these churches survived the Chinese Civil War of 1947-1949 and the Cultural Revolution of 1966-1976. The method of this dissertation combines fieldwork and archival research. Fieldwork was done in March 2010 and May 2011 (the latter with Prof. Thomas Coomans) and recorded significant remains. Written and visual sources from the Archives of the Scheutists, which are conserved at KADOC-KU Leuven, as well as documents from the Ferdinand Verbiest Institute in Leuven and severalfamily archives in Belgium, allowed reconstructing the construction process and the historical contexts of the buildings.
After the Boxer Uprising, thanks to the indemnity money from the Chinese state and the growing number of Christians, the C.I.C.M. mission grew and the church prolifically constructed in Western styles, especially Gothic. From the late 1910s, under the rule of the young Republic, began a great movement of modernization of Chinese society. Parallel to this, the Roman Catholic Church defined a new evangelizing policy for the missions in 1919 and began to implement a process of indigenization in China from 1922.
The main part of this dissertation demonstrates the evolution of Scheutist churches through sixteen case studies, grouped in three phases. mso-ansi-language:EN-GB" lang="EN-GB">The first phase covers the period from 1865 to 1900, with the early settlements of the Scheut fathers in the vast Mongolian steppe. The poor, modest chapels and churches from this period were in all likelihood built by local people under the supervision of the missionaries. The second phase, corresponding with the heyday of Scheut in China, begins after the defeat of the Boxers in 1900 and goes until the middle of the 1920s. Many new churches were built and referred to designs and stylesfrom the home country of the missionaries. This phase is dominated by father Alphonse De Moerloose (1858-1932), who had studied architecture atthe St. Luke School of Ghent before entering the C.I.C.M. in 1881. After 1900 he received the opportunity of his life and was commissioned witha wide range of projects. The third phase is a consequence of major changes both in Chinese society and in the Catholic Church after the First World War. The new missionary policy of Rome (encyclicals Maximum illud</>, 1919, and Rerum Ecclesiae</>, 1926), implemented in China by archbishop Celso Costantini from 1922, stressed the need of localclergy and promoted indigenized religious art and architecture. Several Scheut fathers were important agents of development of the new Chinese-Christian art and architecture.
This dissertation not only focuses on the transmission and transformation of Western types and styles in China, but also deals with the important issue of construction. Building beyond the Great Wall, even in Gothic style, obliged the missionaries to encounter the Chinese workers, construction methods, and buildings materials. Traditional Chinese architecture and Western building systems worked in totally different manners. The encounter of Scheut missionaries with native craftsmen and local conditions in Northern China generated many construction problems, resulting in hybrid compromises. Other important factors of influence were Northern Chinas climate, gender segregation, and Chinese orientation rules of architecture.
This dissertation investigates and unravels the cultural and historical meaning of the Scheutist churches, including their specific contribution to the history of Chinese-Christian architecture. After having been a typical Western missionary congregation in the nineteenth century, C.I.C.M. became one of the most progressive missions in China in the 1920s.
At last, this studyconfirms the existence of a number of churches from the second half of the nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century in the less explored region beyond the Great Wall. This heritage is largely unknown and often underestimated. The potential value of church buildings needs to be enhanced and merits a better evaluation. Nevertheless, the churches studied in this dissertation show the evolution of Christian architecture, in particular that of the Belgian missionaries of the Congregation of the Holy Heart of Mary (the Scheut Fathers) and their relations with Belgiumthe home country.
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Date:1 Oct 2008 → 1 Feb 2013
Keywords:religious architectural heritage, early modern Chinese history
Disciplines:Architectural engineering, Architecture, Interior architecture, Architectural design, Art studies and sciences, Conservation-restoration science, Visual arts, Theology and religious studies
Project type:PhD project