Nantang

Nantang

Nantang is a Catholic church with a long history. In 1605 (the 33rd year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty), father Matteo Ricci built the first Sutra church there, but on a small scale. Later, father Tang ruowang, a German Jesuit, built the first cathedral in Beijing in 1650.

Nantang is the Episcopal Church of the Chinese Catholic Diocese in Beijing. In 1664, Tang ruowang was impeached and put into prison. The hall was destroyed for a time. After Tang's case was rehabilitated, Kangxi set aside money to rebuild it. In 1775, it was rebuilt after a fire. It was burned by the boxers in 1900 and rebuilt in 1902. After the founding of the people's Republic of China, it has been repaired many times. Nantang is a state key cultural relics protection unit.

The origin of history

Emperor Shunzhi came to Nantang 24 times to have a heart to heart talk with father Tang ruowang, who was the imperial supervisor in the Qing government. The church is mainly protected by the virgin virgin. In addition to the priest's house, there are Observatory, library, instrument room, etc. in the hall, the emperor inscribed "Tongwei Jiajing" and called father Tang ruowang "Tongwei teacher".

Founded in 1601 (the 29th year of Wanli in Ming Dynasty), Nantang is the residence of Jesuits in China granted by Emperor Shenzong. Italy also lived here after coming to Beijing by Matteo Ricci (1552.10.6-1610.5.11). Matteo Ricci bought the "Shoushan academy" (originally the lecture center of Ming Donglin) next to his residence with five hundred taels of gold, and used it as a private prayer center with a small scale. With the increasing number of believers, father Matteo Ricci rebuilt it into a small church in 1605. At that time, there were more than 200 believers in Beijing.

Shunzhi years

In 1650 (the seventh year of the reign of emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty), German Jesuit Tang ruowang built a 20 meter high Baroque cathedral. The church is eight feet long and four feet wide, and is mainly protected by the virgin without original sin. At the same time, a priest's house, an observatory, a library and an instrument hall were built on the west side. A four meter high iron cross stood at the top of the church. After the completion of the church, father Tang ruowang erected a stele to record the event (the stele is still on both sides of the church).

In 1657 (the fourteenth year of Shunzhi), Emperor Shunzhi wrote "tongxuan Jiajing" (later generations changed "Xuan" to "Wei" to avoid the taboo of Emperor Kangxi Xuanye, and then became "Tongwei Jiajing") and the inscription of the Royal Catholic Church, which highly praised Tang ruowang.

Because of Tang ruowang's erudition and friendliness, Emperor Shunzhi paid 24 private visits to Nantang from 1656 to 1657. He had a heart to heart talk with Tang ruowang and affectionately honored father Tang ruowang, 59, as "MafA" (which means "grandfather" in Manchu). Tang ruowang served as an official of Manchu and Qing Dynasties.

Plaque to heaven

In 1666, father Tang ruowang died, followed by Belgian Jesuit Nan Huairen. In 1675 (the fourteenth year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty), Emperor Kangxi visited father Nan Huairen in the South Hall twice. He wrote the plaque of "true source of all things" and the plaque of "respect for heaven" for the emperor of the South Hall, and ordered them to hang in the South hall.

In 1690 (29th year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty), the Diocese of Beijing was established, and Yi Daren (also known as Kang Hezhi) of Italian nationality was appointed as bishop, and the South Hall was used as bishop's office. After that, Nantang was destroyed by the earthquake. In 1703, Emperor Kangxi granted 100000 liang of silver for reconstruction.

In 1775 (the 40th year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty), Nantang was unfortunately destroyed by fire. The plaques and couplets originally written by Emperor Shunzhi and Emperor Kangxi for Nantang were all burned. Emperor Qianlong granted ten thousand liang of silver, and the amnesty order was raised according to the original appearance given by the former Emperor. The Catholic Church was rebuilt, and all the plaques and couplets inscribed by the Emperor himself were restored. In the eighth year of Yongzheng reign, there was an earthquake in Beijing, which killed and injured about 100000 people. The north and south two halls suffered losses.

Yongzheng gave 1000 liang of silver to repair. During the reign of Yongzheng (probably the 10th year of Yongzheng), Nantang was once closed. After the fire in 1775, Emperor Qianlong granted ten thousand taels of silver for restoration. The fire broke out in Nantang, and all the tablets and couplets in Kangxi book were destroyed.

Two priests Gao Shensi and an Guoning wrote to take the blame. Emperor Qianlong gave ten thousand liang of silver and ordered the Catholic Church to be rebuilt according to the laws of Kangxi. All the plaques and couplets were inscribed by Emperor Qianlong himself, completely restoring the old view. However, he rewrote "the true yuan of all things" into "the true yuan of all things".

In 1838, the South Hall was closed. On December 28, 1844, Emperor Daoguang abolished the ban on Catholicism.

In the 26th year of Daoguang, Nantang was returned. In 1860, the South Hall was rebuilt and reopened by Bishop Meng of Beijing.

On June 14, 1900, he was burned again. In 1904, the South Hall was rebuilt. There are only two stone tablets that record the history of building the hall in 1650.

History of church building

On December 21, 1979, bishop Fu Tieshan was ordained in Xuanwumen South Hall, which became an important symbol of the earliest opening of South Hall. Since then, under the leadership of bishop Fu, the Diocese of Beijing has embarked on a smooth road of healthy development. Xuanwumen Nantang became the center of Beijing parish and played an important role. It is the seat of bishop's office, diocese, municipal Patriotic Association and Senate. Many important working organs of the "one district, two sessions" are also located here.

There are more than 5000 members in Nantang district. On weekdays, there is a mass at three stations, and on Sunday, there is a mass at four stations. At 10 a.m. on Sunday, it is an English mass for Beijing's diplomatic staff, foreign businessmen, students studying in Beijing and tourists. Nantang district holds various religious sacraments and activities for Chinese and foreign believers. Such as: baptism, marriage, reminiscence, etc., organize 50 groups, such as moodoo class, Bible sharing class, love group, hospice care. Also held a wedding ceremony in the church for non religious friends.

In October 1999, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the people's Republic of China, Beijing municipal government allocated 1.3 million yuan to renovate Nantang.

Opening up again

After the reopening of the South Hall, it has experienced such chief priests as father Shi Yukun, father Zhao Qinglong, father Zhang Tianlu, father Han Wensheng and Liu Yongbin. Currently, he is father Zhao Qinglong, father Han Bingguo, father Zhang Xiaozhuo and father Zhu Jie

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Address: 141 Qianmen West Street

Longitude: 116.37504905462

Latitude: 39.90040321025

Chinese PinYin : Nan Tang