Bulletin of Catholic University of Peking

CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF PEKING 45 .

this arrangement, far from being impractical has, on the contrary, distinct advantages, the chief one of which is that it brings the priest and the people into closer union in the performance of liturgical functions. The whole question, in short, is one which can be solved without difficulty by a practical sense of adaptation.

It goes without saying that the foregoing observations refer exclusively to the rectangular Temple type. As regards the cruciform type exemplified by the Jade Buddha Temple in the T’uan Ch’eng at Peking, and the ,otondo type exemplified by the universally known Temple of Heaven, the question of adaptation does not arise at all, because to them are applicable the same solutions that are used in the

ease of their European counterparts. As a matter of fact, the altar in the © T’una Ch’eng Temple occupies the upper arm of the cross, just as the Christian altar commonly does in the domeless cruciform churches of Europe. -In a wider sense, of course, the problem of adaptation is bound to affect all forms without exception; for nothing is farther from our thought than to recommend a servile imitation of any existing temple or pagoda. What we really advocate is the retention in our Mission architecture of those distinctively Chinese forms and lines which reflect the true spirit of China and satisfy most fully her esthetic taste. For the rest, the problem is one whose practical solution affords ample scope for inventiveness and originality.

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