Qingxin Hall

Qingxin Hall

Qingxin Hall is a protected cultural heritage site of Shanghai.

Located at 30 Dachang Street in Huangpu District, Qingxin Hall was originally named "The First Presbyterian Church of Shanghai." It was established in the tenth year of the Xianfeng reign during the Qing Dynasty (1860). Not long after, the American Missionary Board founded the Qingxin Academy (originally located at 597 Lujiabang Road), where church services were held, hence the name "Qingxin Hall." The congregation mostly consisted of faculty members, their families, and students of the academy. In its early days, the church's pastor was also the president of Qingxin Academy, Rev. John W. Farnham. In 1919, Qingxin Hall moved out from the school campus and constructed a new building at a different site (its current location), which was completed in 1923. The worship hall of the new building features a unique herringbone-shaped layout. Qingxin Hall once operated Qingxin Middle School (now Shanghai Shinnan High School), Qingxin Girls' Middle School (now Shanghai No. 8 High School), a Bible College, and the Puyi Society.

In 1958, Qingxin Hall became a site for united worship services in Nanshi District. On September 9, 1979, worship services resumed. Situated in the old city area of Nanshi, the congregation mainly comprised working-class individuals. In 1992, the hall underwent major renovations, during which a two-story small chapel was also built. In March 1994, Qingxin Hall was listed as a Shanghai architectural heritage site.

In March 1860 (the tenth year of the Xianfeng reign), Rev. John W. Farnham and his wife, Mary Farnham, arrived in Shanghai from the United States. They founded The First Presbyterian Church of Shanghai (the predecessor of Qingxin Hall) and Lowrie Institute (also known as Loulihua School, now Shanghai Shinnan High School) outside the Darnan Gate near Lujiabang. The following year, they also founded the Mary Farnham Girls' School (now Shanghai No. 8 High School). For a long time, the church was housed in the Sibao Hall within Qingxin Academy, and the congregation was also primarily composed of students and teachers from the academy—many of whom were refugee children who had fled to Shanghai during the Taiping Rebellion. In 1919, initiated by Rev. Li Hengchun, Qingxin Hall was built at nearby Dafochang Street (now 30 Dachang Street), leading to the worship services moving out from the school. The hall was completed and opened on January 1, 1923, and has been in use ever since. The building’s worship hall features a unique herringbone layout. From the main entrance to the altar downstairs, the distance is relatively short, while the two side wings extend diagonally and fan out to the left and right. Originally, men and women worshipped separately. There are no supporting pillars on either the first or second floor, with a high flat ceiling, and the floor gently undulates from the side entrance toward the altar, showcasing distinctive architectural features.

According to an article in the November 16, 2005, issue of Xinmin Evening News, renowned physicist Tsung-Dao Lee, the late famous cartoonist Ding Cong, and the founders of The Commercial Press—Xia Ruifang, Bao Xian’en, Bao Xianchang, and Gao Fengchi—all graduated from Qingxin Middle School. Xia Ruifang, Gao Fengchi, and the Bao brothers were already close friends when they were students at Qingxin Middle School. In February 1897, they founded The Commercial Press at Dechang Lane, Jiangxi Road, Shanghai. Its English name was “Commercial Press,” and its logo featured the letter “C” and “P” with the Chinese character “商” (commerce) in between. It could be said that The Commercial Press “came from” Qingxin Middle School. Shanghai’s Zhabei Church also shares deep historical ties with the Northern Presbyterian Church and The Commercial Press, which will be discussed later.

Qingxin Girls' School has also left behind many interesting anecdotes. One particularly noteworthy story is mentioned in a reminiscence piece published in the Wenhui Daily on February 1, 2008. It noted that the school had strict hiring criteria for teachers—they had to be Christians and unmarried. Moreover, once a teacher got married, she would be dismissed. Interestingly, why did such a choice, separating the image of the “virtuous wife and good mother” from a professional career, come from a girls’ school that was most influenced by Western ideals?

On April 4, 2014, the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government officially designated and announced Qingxin Hall as a Shanghai Cultural Heritage Site (Shanghai Government Document No. [2014] 29).