China's old churches : the history, architecture, and legacy of Catholic sacred structures in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei Province / by Alan Richard Sweeten.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 380-403) and index.

An introduction to old churches -- Church building and church buildings -- The historic churches of Central Beijing -- Greater Beijing's old church sites and churches -- Tianjin's old sacred structures -- Old churches in Hebei's small cities, towns, and villages -- The churches of rural Zhuozhou, past and present -- The Catholic legacy.

“China's Old Churches, by Alan Sweeten, examines the history of Catholicism (1600 to the present) as reflected by the location, style, and details of sacred structures in three crucial north China areas. Examined are the most famous and important churches in the urban settings of Beijing and Tianjin as well as lesser-known ones in rural Hebei Province. Missionaries built Western-looking churches to make a broad religious statement important to themselves and Chinese worshippers. Non-Catholics, however, tended to see churches as socio-politically foreign and invasive. The physical-visual impact of church structures is significant. Today, restored old and new churches are still mostly of Western style, serving a growing number of Catholics who actively support a Marian movement"-- Provided by publisher.

Local access dig.pdf. [Sweeten-China's Old Churches.pdf]

"Delving into the archives of the Zongli Yamen--the Qing dynasty bureau that mediated conflicts between foreign missionaries, local Christians, and local communities--Alan Sweeten presents detailed accounts of interactions between Catholics and non-Catholics in the market towns and villages of Jiangxi. Sweeten pieces together a close view of tensions in the countryside, their eruption into violence, and as often, their peaceful resolution. He concludes that the sources of tension lay with day-to-day problems common throughout rural China, rather than with issues of religion per se. Although religious identity did play a role in local conflict during this forty-year period, personal or family disputes, poverty, and general alienation turn out to be equally important factors.

Earlier scholarship on urban anti-Christian incidents pointed to agitation by local elites against aggressive missionaries and the enclaving of Chinese Christians apart from their communities, yet this author's findings suggest that Catholics in rural Jiangxi were normally well integrated into their larger communities, and conflict with Catholics was more often a contest of personal interests among neighbors."-- Alan Sweeten teaches at California State University, Stanislaus, and has published numerous articles on Christians and Christianity in Jiangxi.--Publisher description.

Community and bureaucracy in rural China : evidence from "Sectarian Cases" (chiao-an) in Kiangsi, 1860-1895 /  by Alan Richard Sweeten.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--History, University of California, Davis (1980
Includes bibliographical references (pages 296-329).

Keyword: Chiao-an [Jiao'an 教案】

The history of the Congregation of the Mission in China, 1699-1950 / by Octave Ferreux, C.M. ; translated by Hippolyte Henk De Cuijper, C.M. ; edited by Hugh O’Donnell, John E. Rybolt, Alan Richard Sweeten.

Translated from the original French Histoire de la Congrégation de la Mission en Chine (1699-1950)
Cover title also in Chinese: Qianshihui zai Hua chuanjiaoshi 遣使會在華傳教史

Includes bibliographical references and glossary of Chinese names for persons, places, organizations, communities, bishops and archbishops.

The centennial of sending American Vincentians and Daughters of Charity to the China Mission (1921-1923) is the occasion for publishing Octave Ferreux, C.M.'s comprehensive history of the Vincentians in China, 1699-1950, available in English for the first time.

The Vincentians arrived in 1699 as part of a papal mission to establish a seminary for the formation of Chinese priests, which was impossible at first. The following period began in 1785 when the Vincentian community selected three French confreres to replace the Jesuits who had been suppressed by the Pope. They continued the work of the Jesuits in Peking at the imperial court, the cornerstone of the Jesuit strategy for spreading the Gospel.

This eventually led to Vincentian missionary work beyond Beijing in Tianjin and the provinces of Hebei, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi. In the two and a half centuries covered by Father Ferreux's wonderful history, six hundred Vincentian missionaries and four hundred Vincentian Chinese priests and brothers served the China mission.

The current and fourth period of evangelization in China unfolds today as the leadership has passed in the Providence of God from the missionaries into the hands of Chinese bishops, priests, brothers, sisters and lay people.

Contents:
1. Memoirs (notebook mss, Chinese, 40 pp.)
2. Photocopy of handwritten copy of 1953 “court” recordings indicting Ts’ai (Chinese, 16 pp.)
3. Photocopy of 1971 “court” summons (Chinese, 2 pp.)
4. Photocopy of 1971 “court” ruling (Chinese, 2 pp.)
5. Photocopy of Ts’ai’s message to Stanford Center students (Chinese, 2 pp.; English, 1 p.)
6. Photocopy of Stanford University student newspaper article, 21 Oct. 1971 (English, 1 p.)
7. Explanatory information from Alan Richard Sweeten (2 pp.).