Historical Study and Conservation Strategies of “Tianzihao” Colony (Nanjing, China)—Architectural Heritage of the French Catholic Missions in the Late 19th Century

Yinghan Li,Qi Zhou,Qiaochu Jiang,Xuanfan Li

doi:10.3390/buildings11040176

Abstract

The “Tianzihao” colony was built by the French Jesuits in the 1890s. As one of the earliest examples of the French Catholic Church’s mission in China, as well as the only case in Nanjing, it shows the historical scenes of Western missionaries in Nanjing 120 years ago. It is a demonstration of cultural exchanges between China and the West after China opened to the Western world in the late 19th century. In architectural style, the “Tianzihao” colony is Western-style townhouses, but a large number of traditional Chinese architectural technologies were used for it, and therefore it is characterized by Western space and Chinese technology. The “Tianzihao” colony was badly damaged during these decades, with a lot of decayed building materials and structures on the verge of collapse. Based on the historical research and technical analysis of the “Tianzihao” colony, this article explores the conservation strategies and methods of reusing the architectural heritage. In addition, this article is to study the characteristics of the times before introduction of Western architectural technology in Nanjing based on an analysis on the building technology used for the “Tianzihao” colony. The authors participated in the conservation and restoration project of the “Tianzihao” colony, and the objective of this study was achieved through some qualitative methods, including collection and analysis of archival data, analysis of old maps and photos, architectural mapping and a large amount of historical information found in the conservation process.

Highlights

The “Tianzihao” colony is the legacy of the French Catholic Church, which preached in Nanjing in the late 19th century
Research on the “Tianzihao” colony, which is located in a city significant in Chinese history—Nanjing—is helpful for us to draw a clearer picture of the activities of Catholicism after its return to China at the end of the 19th century
Just as expected by the Jinling (Nanjing) Customs, around 1916 the French Jesuits began to construct around the completed Xiaguan Catholic Church and built over 10,000 square meters of Western-style brick–wood structure townhouses, which were rented to the poor and refugees who believed in Catholicism (Figure 4).The alleyways of these residences were numbered, and so there appeared many names containing “Tian” that are still in use today, such as “Tianbaoli”, “Tianxiangli”, and “Tianguangli” [24]

Summary

Introduction

The “Tianzihao” colony is the legacy of the French Catholic Church, which preached in Nanjing in the late 19th century. In the late 17th century, due to the official ban of Imperial China, open Catholic missionary activities in China were interrupted and many foreign missionaries were expelled. Preaching activities could only be carried out secretly It was not until the mid19th century that Catholicism resumed its official mission in China [2]. The “Tianzihao” colony, built upon the return of the Catholic mission after its 150-year-long interruption, is proof of cultural exchanges between China and the West when China opened its door to the Western world in the late 19th century. Through our efforts in protection and renovation, “Tianzihao” will be adapted to a place fit for modern life while its historical authenticity most well preserved

Literature Review

Aims and Methodology

The Construction History of the “Tianzihao”Colony

Case Presentation

Space and Materials

Conclusions