Established nearly 70 years ago, the St. Paul’s Church in Qingdao, Shandong is an important local Christian church. However, few know that the church’s bell is 120 years old and has a tortured tale behind it. An article in the "Liaocheng Evening News" tells the story.
The bell was sent to a scrap company during the Cultural Revolution. Twenty years later, when St. Paul's Church was renovated, the missing bell left a void that could not be filled. Li Lingming, a Christian in Qingdao, had been searching hard for the bell for nearly two decades. In 2007, he accidentally heard that the bell was in the possession of the Liaocheng Shuangli Group. On March 3, 2009, the original bell, which had been missing for nearly half a century, finally returned to St. Paul's Christian Church, undamaged.
Li Yucai, a 62-year-old retired employee of Liaocheng Shuangli Group, said that he was born in Qingdao and believed in Christianity when he was a teenager. He and his friend Li Lingming used to sing hymns at the church in the North District of Qingdao. He was deeply impressed by the melodious and striking bells in the church.
According to the Qingdao Culture and Tourism, there were once many churches in Qingdao. Among them, the three most famous ones are the Catholic Church (also known as St. Michael’s Church), Jiangsu Road Christian Church and St. Paul’s Church. St. Paul’s Church was built in 1938 and completed on Christmas Day 1939. The dedication ceremony was held on Easter 1940. The church was built on the site of the German Club by the American Lutheran Church between 1938 and 1940. Russian architect Yourieff designed the building, imitating an Italian style. The church is at the foot of Guanxiang Mountain, as a famous landmark of the island city.
- Translated by Jacqueline Y
青岛圣保罗堂是当地一所重要的基督教堂，建立迄今已近70年时间了，不过，鲜为人知的是，教堂的老钟竟然有一百二十岁了。而且这座老钟的背后还有一段曲折的故事，《聊城晚报》有文章讲述了这段故事。
它曾经在“文化大革命”期间被送到废品公司，二十年后，圣保罗教堂修缮一新，惟一遗憾的是缺少那口大钟。为此，青岛一名基督徒李灵明苦苦寻找了近二十年。2007年，他竟意外听说这口钟就保存在原聊城双力集团……2009年3月3日，失踪近半个世纪的原装大钟终于回到了青岛圣保罗基督教堂，未被损毁。
62岁的聊城双力集团退休职工李玉才说，他出生在青岛，十几岁的时候曾信仰基督教，和好友李灵明在青岛市北区教堂一起诵诗，对教堂里悠扬、浑厚的钟声印象深刻。
据青岛文旅介绍，青岛曾有教堂多座，最著名的三座是天主教堂(又名圣弥厄尔教堂)、江苏路基督教堂和圣保罗教堂。圣保罗教堂始建于1938年，1939年圣诞节完工，1940年复活节举行献堂典礼。这里曾经是原德国俱乐部旧址，1938年至1940年，由美国信义会建造为教堂。教堂由俄国建筑师尤力甫设计，仿罗马风格，屹立在观象山脚下，为岛城著名景观。
青岛圣保罗教堂逾百岁老钟的故事
Established nearly 70 years ago, the St. Paul’s Church in Qingdao, Shandong is an important local Christian church. However, few know that the church’s bell is 120 years old and has a tortured tale behind it. An article in the "Liaocheng Evening News" tells the story.
The bell was sent to a scrap company during the Cultural Revolution. Twenty years later, when St. Paul's Church was renovated, the missing bell left a void that could not be filled. Li Lingming, a Christian in Qingdao, had been searching hard for the bell for nearly two decades. In 2007, he accidentally heard that the bell was in the possession of the Liaocheng Shuangli Group. On March 3, 2009, the original bell, which had been missing for nearly half a century, finally returned to St. Paul's Christian Church, undamaged.
Li Yucai, a 62-year-old retired employee of Liaocheng Shuangli Group, said that he was born in Qingdao and believed in Christianity when he was a teenager. He and his friend Li Lingming used to sing hymns at the church in the North District of Qingdao. He was deeply impressed by the melodious and striking bells in the church.
According to the Qingdao Culture and Tourism, there were once many churches in Qingdao. Among them, the three most famous ones are the Catholic Church (also known as St. Michael’s Church), Jiangsu Road Christian Church and St. Paul’s Church. St. Paul’s Church was built in 1938 and completed on Christmas Day 1939. The dedication ceremony was held on Easter 1940. The church was built on the site of the German Club by the American Lutheran Church between 1938 and 1940. Russian architect Yourieff designed the building, imitating an Italian style. The church is at the foot of Guanxiang Mountain, as a famous landmark of the island city.
- Translated by Jacqueline Y
The Story of the Century-old Bell in St. Paul's Church, Qingdao
