Bulletin of Catholic University of Peking

CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF PEKING 41

previously noted with reference to temples and dwellings) have from time immemorial solved the problem of construction in a manner and mentality quite different from those of the West.

If, therefore, our Missionaries are desirous of making the Catholic religion at home in China. they must be careful not to lodge that religion in churches of Western pattern which, however congenial they may be to local tastes in Italy, France, or Germany, are, none the less, totally at variance with the Chinese temperament, climate, and landscape. Chinese Catholics may, indeed, out of deference for the evident predilections of the Foreign priest, conceal their real feelings on the subject, and may even go so far as to feign a preference for Foreign architecture; but in such cases they are speaking out of innate courtesy and from a fear to wound the sensibilities of one for whom they have sincere respect. It would, therefore, be exceedingly unwise for the missionary to take expressions of this kind literally.

Of a more serious character are two other objections which Missionaries, aware of the importance of the question, are wont to put forward as an apology for having constructed their churches in Foreign style. They lay stress, in the first place, upon the comparatively greater cost of building in Chinese style and, secondly, they allege that Catholic liturgy cannot be properly conducted in any of the existing forms of the Chinese Temple. Well, let us inquire into the relevance of this twofold difficulty.

As regards the question of cost, one may be pardoned for prefacing the remark that in not a few instances expense seems to have been a very

secondary consideration. For J myself have seen in China, Catholic churches constructed in mediocre Gothic, or Roman style, but with high and expensive towers and, in such cases, I could.not help but reflect that the amount spent on these buildings would have been amply sufficient for the construction of a like number of very decent-looking churches in Chinese style.

But let us face squarely this question of expense. In what, precisely, does the greater costliness of Chinese construction consist? Not, certainly, in the price of skilled labor and artistic handicraft; for China is the one place left in the world which still has a vast army of skilful workers and craftsmen who do exquisite work for extremely reasonable charges. Obviously, therefore, it lies in the material, in the very considerable quantity of wooden beams and columns required by the most typical form of Chinese architecture. With our modern means of construction, however, the whole wooden frame-work can be advantageously substituted by one of reinforced concrete, without sacrificing any essential structural feature. This concrete frame, covered with an izntonaco similar to that with which the Chinese ordinarily coat the wooden columns, can then be painted according to the traditional color-scheme. This method, besides reducing the cost, has the added advantage of being more durable as well as fire-proof. Successful experiments in this mode of construction in Chinese style have already been made at Peking, in Cochin China, and elsewhere.

In addition to the foregoing solution, there is still another one, less costly and more in accord with the building traditions of the country,