Site of the Chenzhou Missionary Case

Site of the Chenzhou Missionary Case

The site of the Chenzhou Missionary Case is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The site of the Chenzhou Missionary Case is located at the Lotus Pond Neighborhood Committee, Yuanling Town, Yuanling County, Huaihua City, Hunan Province. It is distributed across the Malu Lane area in downtown Yuanling and features modern buildings that combine Chinese and Western elements. With a total area of 7,763 square meters and a total floor space of 4,981 square meters, it comprises eight modern European-style buildings: the Yongsheng Hall, Weishan Zui Le Building, Reverend Hai’s Residence, Miss Wei’s Residence, Reverend Hillard’s Residence, the Catholic Church, Reverend Bao Hanchen’s Residence, and Reverend Fu Huamei’s Residence. These structures are built with brick and wood, and are relatively large in scale. Among them, the Yongsheng Hall and the Catholic Church face east, while the others all face south, all displaying distinct European architectural features. In 2011, the site was designated as a Provincial-level Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

On August 15, 1902 (the 12th day of the 7th month in the 28th year of the Guangxu reign in the Qing Dynasty), the shocking “Chenzhou Missionary Case” (the former name of Yuanling County was “Chenzhou”) occurred in Yuanling County. Two British missionaries were killed by local residents driven by outrage, and churches were vandalized. Under pressure from Western powers, the corrupt and incompetent Qing government punished local officials, arrested over 300 people, executed six civilians by the most severe penalties, and paid an indemnity of 80,000 taels of silver. Later, using the indemnity funds, Western powers built the Yongsheng Hall, the Catholic Church, and numerous missionary residences between 1904 and 1937, using these buildings to carry out missionary work and other forms of cultural infiltration. From November 1938 to May 1939, the provincial capital of the Nationalist Government of Hunan Province was temporarily relocated from Changsha to Yuanling, and this complex of buildings was used as temporary offices for government departments and various social organizations.

The site of the Chenzhou Missionary Case bears witness to the Chinese people’s resistance against Western cultural aggression and to the humiliating history of China’s descent into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. It reflects the Chinese people’s spirit of struggle against invasion and unyielding bravery, as well as the indomitable history of Hunan’s resistance during wartime. At the same time, this group of surviving buildings represents one of the largest complexes of modern architecture in Hunan Province. Rich in architectural cultural elements, it coexists with both European and Chinese styles, serving as a true reflection and product of multicultural collision and integration, and a representation of the fusion of Eastern and Western architectural art and culture.

On October 7, 2019, the site of the Chenzhou Missionary Case was included in the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

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Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units