The Comparative Analysis of the Styles of Christian Churches in Modern Mainland China, Macau and Hong Kong

: Chinese Christian (Catholic) architecture is not only an important type of religious architecture, but also an important witness of cultural exchanges between China and the West. This article comprehensively summarizes the architectural styles of Christian (Catholic) churches in modern mainland China, Macau and Hong Kong, and compares the differences in the main styles of their churches horizontally. Based on the data results, a comprehensive analysis of various factors such as age, region, religion, and society is carried out to further explore the reasons for the differences in the architectural styles of Christian churches in the three regions, and discover the historical and religious significance of the Christian churches in modern China.


Introduction
Historically, Christianity (Catholicism) has been introduced to China three times, among which the third mission began in the 16th century (late Ming Dynasty), first in Shangchuan Island, Guangdong Province, and then into the mainland through Macau. Large-scale preaching was mainly after the Opium War in the middle of the 19th century, with the help of a series of unequal treaties to establish churches. Most of the existing churches in Mainland China, Macau and Hong Kong were brought by the third Christian (Catholic) entering China. Chinese Christian architecture is not only an important type of Western religious architecture in the Far East, but also an important witness of cultural exchanges between China and the West. It is gradually being paid attention to by international and modern Chinese architecture researchers.
However, due to the lack of documentation and the non-extensive nature of Christian missionary groups in China, modern Chinese Christian church architecture is in urgent need of research and conservation. Relevant studies are mostly on single or region-specific church architecture, such as "The Religious Architecture of Macau" (Liu Xianjue, 2002) 1 , "Modern Church Architecture in Lingnan" (Dong Li, 2005) 2 , etc. There is very little review of the overall specific styles of churches in Mainland China, Macau and Hong Kong, such as "Neoclassicism in China and the West" (Gotina, 2005) 3 . "A Study of Modern Chinese Christian Church Architecture" (Xu Min, 2010) 4 compares the evolution of the architectural styles of Christian churches in modern China, but does not further explore the differences between the styles of churches in the mainland, Macau and Hong Kong. Judging from the data collected so far, based on the research of single church architecture, there is no research to comprehensively sort out the architectural styles of Christian churches in the three regions and further analyze the differences between them.

Research purpose and Method
Based on the architectural research of individual churches, this article comprehensively summarizes the styles of Christian churches in mainland China, Macau and Hong Kong, and further systematically explores the differences in the styles of Christian churches in the three regions.
The research method is divided into three steps: First, use the method of literature investigation and field research to collect representative church examples that have been preserved and have historical value during the spread of Christianity in modern China. Then apply statistical methods to investigate and compare the existing architectural styles of churches in Mainland China and Macau and Hong Kong. Finally, explore the reasons for the differences in church architectural styles.

Statistics on the Styles of Modern Christian Churches in Mainland China, Macau and Hong Kong
(1) Mainland China (Table 1): Christian churches in mainland China are mostly Gothic Ⅱ (12 seats) and Eclectic (8 seats), with Gothic Ⅱ as the main style, accounting for more than half. The remaining small parts are neoclassical (3 seats). Renaissance and Baroque styles   (3) Hong Kong (Table 3): Christian churches in Hong Kong are Neoclassical (5 seats) and Gothic Ⅱ (4 seats).

Data Analysis
Based on the results of the above data, there are significant differences in the architectural styles of modern Christian churches in Mainland China, Macau and Hong Kong.
(1) In the third Christian (Catholic) mission, Macau was earlier than Mainland China and Hong Kong and was the "City of the Holy name of God". Therefore, there were Baroque churches that were prevalent in the West earlier in the history. There were even Renaissance churches in the 17th century that has been preserved to this day.
From 1557 to 1562, barbarian merchants landed in and settled buildings in Macau. Before Matteo Ricci came to China, this place had always been the only stronghold of the Jesuit mission in China, and it is also the main base and channel for Catholicism to infiltrate China. At the same time, Europe had gone through the Renaissance to the late Baroque, and capitalism had emerged. The architectural styles of Macau churches were affected by this, and most of them adopted the Baroque style prevailing in the West at that time or even the earlier Renaissance style, which have been preserved to this day. After the Opium War in 1840, with the help of a series of unequal treaties, churches of various denominations began to build churches in mainland China and Hong Kong on a large scale. At this time, neoclassicism and Gothic Ⅱ were prevalent in the West, and then eclecticism appeared. What is interesting was that most churches built in mainland China adopted the Gothic Ⅱ style, while the churches built in Hong Kong mostly adopted the Neoclassical style, followed by the Gothic Ⅱ.
(2) Macau is the "City of the Holy name of God" and a colony, and Hong Kong is also a colony. However, the mainland of China is a semi-colonial place where the so-called "pagans" are located, and the more Gothic Ⅱ style churches are notable features.
Portugal had landed and settled in Macau as early as  In the vertical system of Gothic and Gothic Ⅱ church buildings, the towering towers and pointed arches are metaphors for the ascension to God. The murals and statues inside the building, together with the exterior image of the building, create a pious and mysterious religious atmosphere. Therefore, compared with other styles of architecture, Gothic or Gothic Ⅱ church mission is a clearer display of "theocracy" rather than "human rights". After the Opium War, mainland China was still semi-colonial, and people were still fighting against imperialism. The spread of Christianity was not progressing smoothly. It can be seen from Table 1 that there are obviously more Gothic Ⅱ churches in the interior than other styles, which better fit the missionary purpose of highlighting the sacredness and sublime of Christianity and allowing devout believers to perceive the majestic existence of God.

Conclusion
The existing Christian churches in Mainland China are mainly in the Gothic Ⅱ style; the existing Christian churches in Macau are mostly Baroque and neoclassical styles; the Hong Kong Christian churches are in neoclassical and Gothic Ⅱ styles. The main reasons for the differences in church styles between the Mainland China, Macau and Hong Kong are as follows: (1) In the third Christian (Catholic) mission, Macau was earlier than Mainland China and Hong Kong and was the "City of the Holy name of God". Therefore, there were Baroque churches that were prevalent in the West earlier in the history. There were even Renaissance churches in the 17th century that has been preserved to this day. In Western culture, although Baroque architecture is vigorous, it is still a horizontal composition. Neoclassical architecture emphasizes the unique order and human dignity more. Especially, neoclassicism is associated with the "human rights" of the emerging bourgeoisie.
(2) There are significantly more vertical Gothic Ⅱ churches in mainland China than in Macau and Hong Kong. The missionaries chose a different missionary approach. A large number of Gothic Ⅱ churches built in mainland China better fit the missionary purpose of highlighting the sacredness and sublime of Christianity and allowing devout believers to perceive the majestic existence of God.
It is true that Christian churches of various styles invaded China along with the imperialist ships and guns, but they gradually incorporated the connotation of Chinese traditional culture, completing the infusion and interpretation of the local architectural language in the Chinese background. This stone-made "historical book" has left a brilliant stroke in the history of Chinese architecture and is worthy of further in-depth research.