Qiao'ergou Catholic Church

Qiao'ergou Catholic Church
桥儿沟天主堂
36.6218°N 109.5204°E / 36.6218; 109.5204
Location	Qiaogou Subdistrict, Baota District, Yan'an, Shaanxi
Country	China
Denomination	Catholic (until 1935)
Architecture
Style	Romanesque Revival
Completed	1934
Closed	1935 (abandoned)
Administration
Archdiocese	Yan'an (until 1935)

Qiao'ergou Catholic Church is a former Catholic church in Qiaogou Subdistrict, Baota District, Yan'an, Shaanxi.[1] After the arrival of the Chinese Communist forces in Yan'an in 1936, it was used by the Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party and the Lu Xun Art Institute. It was listed as a major cultural heritage site under national-level protection of China in 1961.

History

Delegates of the 6th plenary session of the 6th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, including Mao Zedong (left end) and Zhou Enlai (right end), posing outside the church in 1938. The Romanesque Revival arch doorway is visible.

Students of Lu Xun Art Institute gather outside the church, which was used by the institute from 1939 to 1945.

In 1924, the Spanish Catholic missionary Celestino Ibáñez y Aparicio [zh] purchased land to build a church. The construction began in 1931 and was completed in 1934.[2] Due to the arrival of the Chinese Red Army in northern Shaanxi in 1935, the Catholic Church retreated from the region and left the church and the associated buildings.[3]

After the Long March, the Chinese Communist Party leadership arrived in Yan'an in January 1936. The Central Party School of the CCP used the church as its auditorium. In 1938, the sixth plenary session [zh] of the 6th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party happened at the church. From 1939 to 1945, Lu Xun Art Institute [zh] used the church building.[3] In 1944, local Catholics celebrated Christmas at the church, and the Communist government sent a delegate to congratulate them.[4]

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the church has been listed as a site protected on the provincial level. In 1961, it was listed as one of the major cultural heritage sites under national-level protection.[3]

Architecture

The Romanesque Revival church is in basilica form. It is 36.28 m (119.0 ft) long and 15.858 m (52.03 ft) wide.[5] The front façade is 11.04 m (36.2 ft) tall. The church has two bell towers that are 22.69 m (74.4 ft) tall.[6]

The church faces south, with its altar placed at the north side of the church.[5] The nave of the church is supported by 12 Corinthian pillars. Each pillar is 4.5 m (15 ft) tall. The nave is 7.2 m (24 ft) wide, while each of the aisles is 3.4 m (11 ft) wide.[5] The altar and pillar capitals are decorated with traditional Chinese patterns.[7] The choir loft is above the southern entrance.[8]

See also

• Yangliujie Catholic Church, Zunyi, another former Catholic Church used by the Chinese Communist Party in the 1930s.
• St. Francis Cathedral, Xi'an, also in Shaanxi
• Catholic Church in Shaanxi

References

Citations

1. 桥儿沟中共六届六中全会旧址 [Qiao'ergou Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party site]. www.sxlib.org.cn (in Chinese). Shaanxi Provincial Library. Archived from the original on 2022-06-13. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
2. Wang & Zhang 2008, p. 68.
3. Wu & Wu 2020, p. 14.
4. Wen Dao 1999, p. 52.
5. Wang & Zhang 2008, pp. 68–69.
6. Wang & Yang 2013, p. 256.
7. Wang & Zhang 2008, p. 70.
8. Wang 2014, p. 106.

Magazine articles

• Wen Dao (1999). 延安时期的天主教和基督教 [Catholicism and Protestantism during the Yan'an Period]. China Religion (中国宗教). No. 2. pp. 52–53.

Journal articles

• Wang, Li (2014). 陕北近代教堂建筑艺术研究 [Research on the Architectural Art of Modern Churches in Northern Shaanxi]. The World Religious Cultures (世界宗教文化) (6): 104–107.
• Wang, Li; Yang, Haozhong (2013). 延安地区近代教堂建筑研究 [Research on Modern Church Architecture in Yan'an]. Sichuan Building Science (四川建筑科学研究). 39 (5): 254–258.
• Wang, Li; Zhang, Weijun (2008). 中西文化交融下的延安桥儿沟天主教教堂 [Influence of Chinese and Western Culture Interaction on Catholic Churches of Qiao'ergou in Yan'an]. Chinese and Overseas Architecture (中外建筑) (7): 68–70.
• Wu, Nong; Wu, Wei (2020). 陕北革命旧址中的延安桥儿沟天主堂 [Yan’an Qiaoergou Catholic Church in the old site of northern Shaanxi revolution]. Shanxi Architecture (山西建筑). 46 (13): 13–14. doi:10.13719/j.cnki.cn14-1279/tu.2020.13.006.