Modern Chinese Christian Church Architecture In Research

The Christian Religion had spread widely in modern China since the War of Opium. Christian organizations from western world actively carried on their missionary project with military force as their backup. Compared with its spread in China during Tang, Yuan, Ming (at its final stage) and Qing (at its beginning) Dynasty when it succumbed to traditional Chinese Culture, Christianity executed its mission in an totally different way in modern China. As a symbol of spirit of Christianity, church buildings emerged with great number in many places of China. The construction world of China dominated by native traditional buildings was thus radically changed by this kind of religious building whose characters are intrinsically of western culture. This essay made a survey of general situation and types of Christian Churches built in modern China. Characters of these churches are compared and studied from different angles. Through this way, this work tries to find their historic meaning, religious meaning, and their profound impact on Chinese building during that period. Their role as important evidence witnessing the development of city constructions in modern China is also highly concerned. With field study and artistic criticize on typical churches in different place of China, this work aims to reveal the difference between traditional ideas of China and those of Western culture, and therefore its social meaning and social effects.