The Study Of The Property Purchase Of The Catholic Church In Heilongjiang Province(1874-1911)

In the 1840 s,the Holy See assigned the "Manchuria" division to the Foreign Mission in Paris,France.Subsequently,the foreign mission established a mission base in Xiaobajiazi,Jilin Province,and took it as the center to explore the possibility of missionary work in the northeast border areas.In the 1860 s,Russia invaded the northeast frontier and held a negative attitude towards the spread of Catholicism,which made it difficult for foreign churches to carry out their teaching plans in the Northeast frontier.The acquisition of property rights and interests for missionary work in Chinese mainland brought a turning point for missionary work.During this period,foreign churches shifted their missionary targets to the hinterland of Heilongjiang Province.The missionary work of the Catholic Church in Heilongjiang Province is the inevitable result of the specific social and historical conditions and the development of the Catholic Church.At the same time,the geographical location,population structure and religious customs in Heilongjiang also provided the soil for the development of the church.In 1874,a priest built a church in Bayan,marking the establishment of the Catholic Church’s mission base in Heilongjiang.By 1911,in the past 40 years,foreign churches had successively carried out missionary work in eight prefectures and counties of Heilongjiang Province,building 27 churches,9 primary schools,1 convent and 1 Hall of Goodwill.Influenced by geographical location,population factors,missionary methods and policies,the temporal and spatial distribution of Catholicism in Heilongjiang showed certain rules.On the whole,the development trend of the church in Heilongjiang was that it gradually penetrated from the south to the north and radiated around a mission site.With the passage of time,the missionary area of the church increased and the transmission speed accelerated,and the development of the church reached its peak in the first 10 years of the 20 th century.Church property acquisition activities inevitably have negotiations with the local government.In this regard,China and France formed a three-level negotiation procedure of priest-Deputy Dutong Yamen ",bishop-general Yamen ",minister-Prime Minister Yamen.The two sides negotiated on such issues as property acquisition and deed signing,theft,purchase and forced rent,payment of taxes and compensation.Negotiations have made some progress in regulating procedures and clarifying taxes,but when it comes to the fundamental interests of the church,the rules lose their binding force.After the church entered Heilongjiang,all classes in Heilongjiang made different reactions out of their own interests.Local officials held an anti-religion attitude on the whole,while the believers mostly supported the development of the church,and the general public showed no great resistance to the church.At the same time,the church’s power penetrated into local administration,social economy,cultural customs and other aspects.Although it changed the old look of society in Heilongjiang to a certain extent,it seriously damaged the administrative functions of local governments and caused a large loss of economy.The activities of the Catholic Church far exceeded the field of religious belief dissemination.