The Virgin Mary and Catholic Identities in Chinese History

Conclusion

This book has explored the question: How are Chinese Catholic identities expressed through images? In answering this question, I have paid specific attention to the way Marian devotions are portrayed artistically, showing that there has been a rich tradition of sculpting, engraving and painting in an interpretive and accommodative style, ever since the early fourteenth century. Even though there was a period from the mid-nineteenth through to early twentieth centuries where European (especially French) images were prevalent throughout the country, there was a return to a local Chinese style in the early decades of the twentieth century. As previous chapters have shown, the products of this style were playful yet prayerful, poignant and powerful representations of popular Chinese Catholic devotions. Nevertheless, a final question remains: If the identities of Catholic communities had matured to a point where Catholics were as comfortable praying before Chinese Madonna-and-child images or statues as before European-style ones, why is it that there is a pronounced dislike of Chinese Christian imagery in the period after economic reform?1 It has not been my intention to write a history of Chinese Catholic communities since 1949, since this period has been extensively studied.2 Even so, insofar as I have argued that the identities of Catholic communities can be described in terms of the images that portray aspects of their faith life, it is important to offer some conclusions as to why the movement in China towards local artistic expression of both universal and Chinese devotions has halted so dramatically. There seem to be two reasons: first, in the period since economic liberalization , the earlier histories of the Catholic communities have become relatively unknown, not only to those outside the country but also to many Chinese Catholics themselves; second, the Chinese Catholics (and Christians more generally) endured persecutions and hardships from the earliest years of their Conclusion 196 The Virgin Mary and Catholic Identities in Chinese History interactions with the Communist Party of China.3 One Western historian, Beverly Hooper, cited the following figures: Estimates of the total number of Catholic and Protestant missionaries killed by advancing communist troops between 1946 and 1948 ranged from 60 to100, the overwhelming majority Roman Catholics. According to a Jesuit report of early 1948, during the years 1946 and 1947 alone the communists had killed 49 priests, looted or destroyed over 500 mission stations, confiscated 40 churches for their own use and looted or destroyed another 200, and closed down over 1000 mission schools.4 These difficulties only increased in the formational years of the People’s Republic. The precariousness of the situation facing many Catholic communities , especially after the mass arrests in Shanghai in 1955, forced many of them to worship in isolated places or in surreptitious ways.5 Consequently, the Catholics were often separated from their official leaders (bishops, priests, sisters, brothers and lay catechists) and from the achievements of the programme of inculturation. Over the decades, this separation had a negative effect on the popularity of Chinese-style pious images, whereas the older European images maintained their popularity. Modern Chinese Catholics’ knowledge of the histories of the Catholic communities is relatively limited, although there has been an improvement in recent years (especially through the extensive use of websites among the Chinese Catholic dioceses). This relative lack of knowledge is especially the case at a popular level, as opposed to among members of the academic elite (many of whom have received training overseas).6 This is evident, for instance, regarding knowledge about the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. While many modern Catholics have heard of Matteo Ricci, not many know about João da Rocha or Giulio Aleni, Shen Fuzong or Liu Yunde. Arguably, there is an even greater collective amnesia or ignorance regarding the early part of the twentieth century. That is, while the names of Vincent Lebbe and Ma Xiangbo are recognizable to some, the names and activities of Chen Yuandu, Wang Suda and even Celso Costantini may be largely unknown. Aspects of the programme of reform and localization have slipped from consciousness, even though the Vatican had accepted and supported this movement (and continues to do so).7 Thus, while Chinese Catholics know much about the development of the Chinese episcopate (the question of bishops in China continues to be, after all, a pressing issue), they remain largely unaware of the development of Chinese-style Christian art. They also do not [18.226.166.214] Project...