"In the Yellow Crane Tower, the jade flute is being played and the plum blossoms fall in Jiangcheng in May." The poem was written by the famous Chinese poet Li Bai about the renowned Tower in Wuhan. The history of archaeological discoveries in Wuhan can be traced back to the early and middle Neolithic Age between 8000-6000 years ago.
Wuhan has outstanding historical buildings, mainly composed of financial, religious, diplomatic, residential, industrial, and commercial buildings in the period from 1861 to the 1950s when Hankou was opened as a treaty port. It integrates the classical romanticism of Western architecture and the implicit elegance of national architecture, which is comprised of Christianity, including excellent architectural relics of Catholicism, Protestantism, and the Orthodox Church, such as church buildings, hospital buildings, Christian organizations, etc.
In mid-April 2021, I visited some churches in Hubei Province, and Wuhan was the first stop. Below, the ten Christian buildings and historical relics will be introduced one by one. Some of them are real cultural relics, which no longer belong to any church, nor are meetings or other religious activities being held there, while some are still being used by Christian churches or Christian organizations and medical charities.
1. Wuchang Church
Wuchang Church is located at No. 221, Minzu road, center of Wuchang City. It is a typical Chinese three-story building with green brick, red tiles and a large roof. It was built in 1921, covering an area of 380 square meters, with a brick and wooden structure. The building was originally the United States Navy Christian club, and then the site of the Wuchang Youth Men's Christian Association (YMCA). It was built exactly 100 years ago. The exterior and internal structure of the church maintained the same appearance as it was a hundred years ago, with wooden stairs and wooden floors. The main hall is not very big but it highlights the glory and dignity of the sacred temple, and there is also a bookstore of the Wuhan CC&TSPM (Committee of Christian Three-Self Patriotic Movement of Wuhan and the Christian Council of Wuhan) in Hubei Province, on the first floor.
I was particularly honored to meet Guo Yongjie, the senior pastor of the church and the president of the Wuhan Christian Council, one of the first batch of graduates of Nanjing Union Theological Seminary after China's reform and opening up. He began to serve God when he was 22 years old and has been serving for 36 years in the church.
Although the buildings in Wuchang Church are old, the church invested much money in repairs and maintenance, as well as renovation of some old facilities and equipment. I noticed on the Lord's day that the believers who came to the gathering according to the requirements of epidemic prevention entered the church with high enthusiasm after registering, scanning codes and checking their temperature. From the first floor to the second floor, the main hall was full to the brim. At present, the church is required to have at most two services every Sunday due to epidemic prevention, one hour apart, after a disinfection process.
For this old church, several years ago, the Wuhan CC&TSPM had replaced several church properties used by Wuchang District Education Commission with the District Education Commission and obtained the property right of the former Xujiapeng Primary School. However, due to the lack of funds for building a new church, it has not been realized yet.
2. Priest's Apartment cultural relic on Garden Hill
Under the rain, I saw the Wuchang Tanhualin, a seemingly common street; it is an old street formed in 1371, which has only 1200 meters but in the recent hundred years incredibly accommodated dozens of old buildings: Churches, hospitals, schools, famous residences, gardens, consulates, etc., almost every place records the modern history of Wuhan. Strolling up the Garden Hill with an umbrella, I saw a two-story building with intersections of teal and reddish brick walls and red tiles made with a combination of Chinese and Nordic styles. This is the "Wuchang Priest's Apartment on Garden Hill", one of the cultural relics under protection in Wuhan.
Catholicism was first introduced to Hubei in 1587, and Wuhan in 1635, according to the book Historical Evolution of the Catholic Diocese in Hubei written by Liu Zhiqing. Garden Hill had always been the power command center of the Catholic Church in Wuhan. This "Priests' Apartment" was built in the 1930s and was the residential building of the Swedish senior priest. It should have been called "parsonage", but I do not know why it is called "Priests' Apartment". From the loftiness of this apartment, it could be seen that this was a remarkable landmark building during those years, and also a symbol of the development of Catholicism in Hubei Province and Wuchang.
It is a pity that the "Priests' Apartment" today, like many parishes across the country, no longer belongs to the Catholic Church.
3. The Chongzhen Church
Located at No. 44, Tanhualingojia Camp, Wuchang District, Chongzhen Church is only a few hundred meters away from the Catholic parsonage. It is the oldest existing Protestant church in Hubei Province and Wuhan City. The church was built by a London missionary, Griffith John in 1864. According to the architectural inscription of Wuhan Municipal People's Government, it was a Gothic building, with a Latin cross-shaped plane, and the doors and windows are made of double-core rolls and stained glass, which have been modified.
Ms Hu Liuming, a member of the Democratic League, Hubei Writers' Association, Wuhan Writers' Association and an urban cultural research expert, has a detailed record of the Chongzhen Hall in her book Tanhualin, especially about its founder, the British Griffith John. "Yang Gefei (1831-1912), English name Griffith John, was a British Christian Congregationalist and a missionary of the London Missionary Society. He went to Shanghai in 1860 and arrived in Hankou on June 21, 1861, where he built chapels, among which were Shou En Church, Tai Ping Lane, Da Jia Street, etc. He went to Wuchang in 1863, bought land in Gejia camp in 1864, and built Chongzhen Church in 1865."
Services are still being held in Chongzhen Church. According to the Wuhan Municipal People's government, it is also one of the learning centers of the "Three Self-Patriotic Church".
4. Renji Hospital
Christian Renji Hospital is a light-yellow two-story building. It is now affiliated with Shanghai Jiaotong University, School of Medicine, and located at No. 4 Huayuan mountain, Wuchang District.
Renji Hospital was built in 1895, with a mixed structure of brick and wood, with a building area of about 3,146 square meters (0.77 acres). It was a typical Christian charity medical institution presided over by Griffith John of the London Missionary Society. According to reports, the hospital includes an outpatient department and an inpatient department in two parts. The outpatient department building is a two-story brick and wood structure with a pitched roof and rectangular plane. The bottom circle is composed of continuous Roman coupons and the upper part is composed of simplified Doric column division. The east side of the overpass is connected with the inpatient department. The inpatient department is a two-story brick and wood structure with a horseshoe-shaped plane. In the middle is a sunken courtyard, surrounded by corridors. The back profile adopts the arch type with double-height coupons and is decorated with relief. The interior is made of wood, with a wooden staircase in the center of the hall with multiple fireplaces and a red tile sloping roof.
During the revolution of 1911, Renji Hospital was involved in the treatment of wounded civilians and soldiers. In 1931 during the Wuhan flood disaster, the London Missionary Society established the disaster relief headquarters in Wuchang. After the fall of Wuhan, the Japanese army occupied this place as a Japanese hospital. After the liberation, it belonged to the Hubei Provincial Hospital of traditional Chinese medicine, and it still witnessed and played a role.
Renji Hospital is now listed as one of the "Street History and Culture Museums" in Wuhan. However, I have been there twice and could not enter to visit, so I could only see from the outside.
5. Canossian Daughters of Charity Chapel
The top of the Garden Hill has a single-story, greyish-white brick and wood building with a distinctive classical Christian architectural style: Canossian Daughters of Charity Chapel.
The chapel built in 1888 was relatively small, with a long hall single-layer brick and wood structure, a floor area of 130 square meters and an area of 150 square meters. The central symmetry method was adopted for the layout and elevation of the chapel: facade arch door, window, line, cornice treatment, etc.
The Canossian Daughters of Charity association was founded in Italy in 1806 and headquartered in Rome. In 1868, the organization at the invitation of Ming Wei Du, bishop of the Catholic pastoral district of Hubei, sent church personnel to Wuhan. In 1888, the land was purchased in Garden Hill and a branch of the Canossian Daughters of Charity association was established. A nursery, a catechism class, a crafts institute and other public welfare services were set up and a residential area for Daughters of Charity and the Daughters of Charity Chapel were built. In 1948, religious activities ceased but the chapel is still in Wuhan.
Behind the chapel, I saw the ruins of the observatory, which is old but still has a scientific appearance.
The Canossian Daughters of Charity chapel is one of the excellent historical buildings in Wuhan.
(The author is a a staff writer for the Gospel Times in Wuchang. To ensure the accuracy of historical facts, some of the data in this paper are derived from the Wuhan Excellent Historical Building network. To be continued…)
- Translated by Nonye Nancy
“黄鹤楼中吹玉笛，江城五月落梅花。”（李白）武汉地区考古发现的历史可以上溯到距今8000年－6000年前的新石器时代早、中期。
武汉市现存优秀历史建筑，主要由1861年汉口开埠至20世纪50年代这一时期的金融、宗教、外交、民居、工商业等历史建筑组成，它融西方建筑的古典浪漫主义和民族建筑的含蓄典雅于一体，其中也有基督教，包括天主教、新教、东正教的优秀建筑文物，比如教堂、医院、基督教组织机构的建筑等。
2021年4月中旬，笔者走访湖北省部分教会，第一站就是武汉。下面笔者逐一向读者介绍这十处基督教建筑和历史文物。其中，有的真的就是文物了，已经不属于哪个教会了，也没有聚会等信仰活动，有的还在为基督教教会或基督教组织、为医疗慈善机构继续使用。
一、武汉市基督教武昌堂
武汉市基督教武昌堂处于武昌城区中心地带的民主路221号。这是一座典型的青砖、红瓦、大屋顶的中式三层建筑。武昌堂始建成于1921年，面积380平方米，砖木建筑结构，房屋原为美国海军基督教俱乐部，后为武昌基督教青年会所在地，建堂距今恰好是100年。教堂的外部和内部结构基本保留着百年前的老样子，木质的楼梯、木质的地板，主堂不是很大，堂内一楼还有一个湖北省基督教两会的书店。
笔者特别有幸的是拜会了武汉市基督教协会会长、中国改革开放后南京金陵神学院的第一批毕业生、本堂郭永洁主任牧师。这是一位22岁就在武昌堂服侍神和已服侍36年的牧长。
尽管武昌堂的房屋已经老化，但是教会还是投入了大量的资金进行修缮和维护，并且改造教堂的一些陈旧设施和设备，。笔者在主日看到，按照防疫要求前来聚会的信徒在登记、扫码和测温之后，热情很高的进入教堂，从一楼到二楼主堂，都是座无虚席。目前武昌堂聚会因着防疫要求每个礼拜日是两场，两场聚会间隔一个小时，要有消杀的过程。
对于这座老教堂，数年前武汉市基督教两会已将几处被武昌区教委使用的教会房产与区教委置换，获得了原徐家棚小学的产权，打算建新堂，但由于缺乏建堂经费，至今尚未实现。
二、花园山牧师楼遗址
细雨中的武昌昙华林这条看似普普通通的街区，是1371年逐渐形成的一条老街，仅有一千二百米，但是这里居然集中了几十处近百年的老建筑物：教堂、医院、学校、名居、花园、领事馆等等，几乎每一处都记载着武汉的近代历史。撑着雨伞漫步来到花园山，映入眼前的是一座具有中国特色与北欧风格结合的青色、淡红色相交砖墙、红色屋瓦的两层楼建筑。这就是武汉市文物保护单位之一的“武昌花园山牧师公寓”。
据有关宗教方面的资料介绍，天主教最早传入湖北为1587年，传入武汉是1635年。（刘志庆：《湖北天主教教区历史沿革考》）花园山一直是武汉天主教的权力指挥中心，这座牧师公寓始建于上世纪30年代，属于瑞典主任牧师的府邸建筑。实际上应该称为神父公寓为确切，但是不知道为什么在各地的神父公寓都被称为“牧师楼”。从这幢公寓的气势，可以看出当年这应该也是一幢引人注目的地标性建筑，也可以看出天主教当年在湖北地区和武昌发展的盛况。
现如今的“牧师公寓”与全国各地的一些教产一样，已经不属于天主教教会了，这无疑是一件遗憾的事情。
三、基督教新教崇真堂


基督教崇真堂位于武昌区昙华林戈甲营44号，距离天主教牧师楼仅数百米，是湖北省和武汉市现存最古老的基督教新教教堂之一。这座教堂由伦敦会传教士杨格非兴建于1864年。2005年列为武汉市第二批优秀历史建筑，据武汉市人民政府的建筑铭文介绍：属于哥特式建筑，平面为拉丁十字形，门窗采用二心卷和彩色玻璃，曾作改建。
民盟成员、湖北省作家协会会员，武汉市作家协会会员、城市文化研究专家胡榴明女士的书《昙华林》中比较详细的记载了崇真堂，特别是关于它的创始者英国人杨格非讲的十分细致。“杨格非（1831-1912）英文名格里菲斯•约翰（Griffith John），英国基督教公理会及伦敦传教会传教士。1860年到上海，1861年6月21日到汉口，在汉口建礼拜堂。其中有大夹街太平巷首恩堂等。1863年到武昌，1864年在戈甲营买地，1865年建崇真堂。”
崇真堂现还在继续聚会，据武汉市人民政府介绍，崇真堂也是“基督教三自”学习中心之一。
四、仁济医院
基督教仁济医院是一幢淡黄色的二层建筑，现为该院的附属医院，位于武昌区花园山4号。
仁济医院建于1895年，砖木混合结构；建筑面积约3146平方米。由英国基督教伦敦会杨格非牧师主持修建，是典型的基督教慈善医疗机构。据介绍，该院包括门诊部和住院部两部分。门诊部建筑为两层砖木结构，四面坡屋顶，平面矩形。上下四面围廓，底层回廓由连续的罗马券构成，上层由简化的多立克柱划分构成。东侧有天桥与住院部相连。住院部为二层回廓式砖木结构，平面马蹄形。中间是下沉式庭院，四周设有回廓。回廓采用通高券拱式，加以浮雕装饰。内部均采用木构件，木楼梯设于正中门厅内，并设有多处壁炉。红瓦坡屋顶。
辛亥革命时期，仁济医院曾参与救治受伤的民众和军人。1931年武汉水灾，基督教英国伦敦会在院内设立武昌赈灾指挥部。武汉沦陷后，日军占用这里作为日军医院。解放后归属湖北省中医院，仍然见证并发挥着作用。
仁济医院现被列为武汉市“街头历史文化博物馆”之一。但是笔者来了两次，也是无法进入参观，只能是从外部观看。
五、嘉诺撒仁爱修女会礼拜堂
花园山的山顶有一幢独特的具有基督教古典主义建筑风格的、砖木结构的一层灰白色建筑：嘉诺撒仁爱修女会礼拜堂。
这座修女礼拜堂规模较小，于1888年建成，长厅式单层砖木结构，建筑面积130平方米，占地面积150平方米。礼拜堂平面布局及立面均采用中心对称式手法。建筑外立面拱券门、窗、线条、檐口处理等。
嘉诺撒仁爱修女会1806年创立于意大利，总部设在罗马。1868年，嘉诺撒仁爱修女会应天主教湖北牧区主教明位笃邀请，派遣教会人员来汉。1888年，在武昌花园山购置土地，创建嘉诺撒仁爱修女会分院，开办育婴堂、教理班、工艺所等公益事业，建有修女居住区和仁爱修女会礼拜堂。1948年宗教活动终止。现为武汉市内尚存的修女礼拜堂。

在礼拜堂后面，笔者看到了一处花园山天文台遗址，虽是残旧，但是依然透着科学的气质。

嘉诺撒仁爱修女会礼拜堂是武汉市优秀历史建筑之一。
（福音时报特约撰稿人于武昌。为确保史实的准确性，本文的部分资料引自于《武汉市优秀历史建筑网》。未完待续。）
http://www.gospeltimes.cn/article/index/id/56092
武汉十处基督教优秀历史建筑（上）
"In the Yellow Crane Tower, the jade flute is being played and the plum blossoms fall in Jiangcheng in May." The poem was written by the famous Chinese poet Li Bai about the renowned Tower in Wuhan. The history of archaeological discoveries in Wuhan can be traced back to the early and middle Neolithic Age between 8000-6000 years ago.
Wuhan has outstanding historical buildings, mainly composed of financial, religious, diplomatic, residential, industrial, and commercial buildings in the period from 1861 to the 1950s when Hankou was opened as a treaty port. It integrates the classical romanticism of Western architecture and the implicit elegance of national architecture, which is comprised of Christianity, including excellent architectural relics of Catholicism, Protestantism, and the Orthodox Church, such as church buildings, hospital buildings, Christian organizations, etc.
In mid-April 2021, I visited some churches in Hubei Province, and Wuhan was the first stop. Below, the ten Christian buildings and historical relics will be introduced one by one. Some of them are real cultural relics, which no longer belong to any church, nor are meetings or other religious activities being held there, while some are still being used by Christian churches or Christian organizations and medical charities.
1. Wuchang Church
Wuchang Church is located at No. 221, Minzu road, center of Wuchang City. It is a typical Chinese three-story building with green brick, red tiles and a large roof. It was built in 1921, covering an area of 380 square meters, with a brick and wooden structure. The building was originally the United States Navy Christian club, and then the site of the Wuchang Youth Men's Christian Association (YMCA). It was built exactly 100 years ago. The exterior and internal structure of the church maintained the same appearance as it was a hundred years ago, with wooden stairs and wooden floors. The main hall is not very big but it highlights the glory and dignity of the sacred temple, and there is also a bookstore of the Wuhan CC&TSPM (Committee of Christian Three-Self Patriotic Movement of Wuhan and the Christian Council of Wuhan) in Hubei Province, on the first floor.
I was particularly honored to meet Guo Yongjie, the senior pastor of the church and the president of the Wuhan Christian Council, one of the first batch of graduates of Nanjing Union Theological Seminary after China's reform and opening up. He began to serve God when he was 22 years old and has been serving for 36 years in the church.
Although the buildings in Wuchang Church are old, the church invested much money in repairs and maintenance, as well as renovation of some old facilities and equipment. I noticed on the Lord's day that the believers who came to the gathering according to the requirements of epidemic prevention entered the church with high enthusiasm after registering, scanning codes and checking their temperature. From the first floor to the second floor, the main hall was full to the brim. At present, the church is required to have at most two services every Sunday due to epidemic prevention, one hour apart, after a disinfection process.
For this old church, several years ago, the Wuhan CC&TSPM had replaced several church properties used by Wuchang District Education Commission with the District Education Commission and obtained the property right of the former Xujiapeng Primary School. However, due to the lack of funds for building a new church, it has not been realized yet.
2. Priest's Apartment cultural relic on Garden Hill
Under the rain, I saw the Wuchang Tanhualin, a seemingly common street; it is an old street formed in 1371, which has only 1200 meters but in the recent hundred years incredibly accommodated dozens of old buildings: Churches, hospitals, schools, famous residences, gardens, consulates, etc., almost every place records the modern history of Wuhan. Strolling up the Garden Hill with an umbrella, I saw a two-story building with intersections of teal and reddish brick walls and red tiles made with a combination of Chinese and Nordic styles. This is the "Wuchang Priest's Apartment on Garden Hill", one of the cultural relics under protection in Wuhan.
Catholicism was first introduced to Hubei in 1587, and Wuhan in 1635, according to the book Historical Evolution of the Catholic Diocese in Hubei written by Liu Zhiqing. Garden Hill had always been the power command center of the Catholic Church in Wuhan. This "Priests' Apartment" was built in the 1930s and was the residential building of the Swedish senior priest. It should have been called "parsonage", but I do not know why it is called "Priests' Apartment". From the loftiness of this apartment, it could be seen that this was a remarkable landmark building during those years, and also a symbol of the development of Catholicism in Hubei Province and Wuchang.
It is a pity that the "Priests' Apartment" today, like many parishes across the country, no longer belongs to the Catholic Church.
3. The Chongzhen Church
Located at No. 44, Tanhualingojia Camp, Wuchang District, Chongzhen Church is only a few hundred meters away from the Catholic parsonage. It is the oldest existing Protestant church in Hubei Province and Wuhan City. The church was built by a London missionary, Griffith John in 1864. According to the architectural inscription of Wuhan Municipal People's Government, it was a Gothic building, with a Latin cross-shaped plane, and the doors and windows are made of double-core rolls and stained glass, which have been modified.
Ms Hu Liuming, a member of the Democratic League, Hubei Writers' Association, Wuhan Writers' Association and an urban cultural research expert, has a detailed record of the Chongzhen Hall in her book Tanhualin, especially about its founder, the British Griffith John. "Yang Gefei (1831-1912), English name Griffith John, was a British Christian Congregationalist and a missionary of the London Missionary Society. He went to Shanghai in 1860 and arrived in Hankou on June 21, 1861, where he built chapels, among which were Shou En Church, Tai Ping Lane, Da Jia Street, etc. He went to Wuchang in 1863, bought land in Gejia camp in 1864, and built Chongzhen Church in 1865."
Services are still being held in Chongzhen Church. According to the Wuhan Municipal People's government, it is also one of the learning centers of the "Three Self-Patriotic Church".
4. Renji Hospital
Christian Renji Hospital is a light-yellow two-story building. It is now affiliated with Shanghai Jiaotong University, School of Medicine, and located at No. 4 Huayuan mountain, Wuchang District.
Renji Hospital was built in 1895, with a mixed structure of brick and wood, with a building area of about 3,146 square meters (0.77 acres). It was a typical Christian charity medical institution presided over by Griffith John of the London Missionary Society. According to reports, the hospital includes an outpatient department and an inpatient department in two parts. The outpatient department building is a two-story brick and wood structure with a pitched roof and rectangular plane. The bottom circle is composed of continuous Roman coupons and the upper part is composed of simplified Doric column division. The east side of the overpass is connected with the inpatient department. The inpatient department is a two-story brick and wood structure with a horseshoe-shaped plane. In the middle is a sunken courtyard, surrounded by corridors. The back profile adopts the arch type with double-height coupons and is decorated with relief. The interior is made of wood, with a wooden staircase in the center of the hall with multiple fireplaces and a red tile sloping roof.
During the revolution of 1911, Renji Hospital was involved in the treatment of wounded civilians and soldiers. In 1931 during the Wuhan flood disaster, the London Missionary Society established the disaster relief headquarters in Wuchang. After the fall of Wuhan, the Japanese army occupied this place as a Japanese hospital. After the liberation, it belonged to the Hubei Provincial Hospital of traditional Chinese medicine, and it still witnessed and played a role.
Renji Hospital is now listed as one of the "Street History and Culture Museums" in Wuhan. However, I have been there twice and could not enter to visit, so I could only see from the outside.
5. Canossian Daughters of Charity Chapel
The top of the Garden Hill has a single-story, greyish-white brick and wood building with a distinctive classical Christian architectural style: Canossian Daughters of Charity Chapel.
The chapel built in 1888 was relatively small, with a long hall single-layer brick and wood structure, a floor area of 130 square meters and an area of 150 square meters. The central symmetry method was adopted for the layout and elevation of the chapel: facade arch door, window, line, cornice treatment, etc.
The Canossian Daughters of Charity association was founded in Italy in 1806 and headquartered in Rome. In 1868, the organization at the invitation of Ming Wei Du, bishop of the Catholic pastoral district of Hubei, sent church personnel to Wuhan. In 1888, the land was purchased in Garden Hill and a branch of the Canossian Daughters of Charity association was established. A nursery, a catechism class, a crafts institute and other public welfare services were set up and a residential area for Daughters of Charity and the Daughters of Charity Chapel were built. In 1948, religious activities ceased but the chapel is still in Wuhan.
Behind the chapel, I saw the ruins of the observatory, which is old but still has a scientific appearance.
The Canossian Daughters of Charity chapel is one of the excellent historical buildings in Wuhan.
(The author is a a staff writer for the Gospel Times in Wuchang. To ensure the accuracy of historical facts, some of the data in this paper are derived from the Wuhan Excellent Historical Building network. To be continued…)
- Translated by Nonye Nancy
Ten Historic Christian Buildings in Wuhan (Part I)
