TY - BOOK ID - 138873808 TI - China's old churches : the history, architecture, and legacy of Catholic sacred structures in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei Province PY - 2020 SN - 9004416188 9789004416185 9789004416123 9004416129 PB - Leiden, The Netherlands ; Boston : Brill, DB - UniCat KW - Catholic church buildings KW - Catholic Church KW - History. KW - Christianity and culture KW - History UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:138873808 AB - China’s Old Churches, by Alan Sweeten, surveys the history of Catholicism in China (1600 to the present) as reflected by the location, style, and details of sacred structures in three crucial areas of north China. Closely examined are the most famous and important churches in the urban settings of Beijing and Tianjin, as well as lesser-known ones in rural Hebei Province. Missionaries built Western-looking churches to make a broad religious statement important to themselves and Chinese worshippers. Non-Catholics, however, tended to see churches as sociopolitically foreign and culturally invasive. The physical-visual impact of church buildings is significant. Today, restored old churches and new sacred structures are still mostly of Western style, but often include a sacred grotto dedicated to Our Lady of China--a growing number of Catholics supporting Marian-centered activities. ER -