The Xujiahui Legacy

By+YAO+LANLAN

Legacy of a Ming Prime Minister

Xu Guangqi was a legendary figure. His political career was bumpy， yet eventually culminated in the highest position in the Ming imperial court. Furthermore， this dignitary was among the first Chinese Catholics in Shanghai.

In collaboration with the Italian Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci （1552-1610）， Xu translated six volumes of Euclids Elements， laying the foundation for modern mathematical sciences in China. He learned from Western astronomy and presided over the writing of The Chongzhen Calendar， which embraced the concept of a spherical Earth. On the basis of extensive fieldwork， as a versatile scientist he also compiled the Complete Treatise on Agriculture （Nongzheng Quanshu）， one of ancient Chinas four greatest agricultural books.

A park in Xujiahui， now a bustling commercial district， has been renamed after the Ming luminary. With a traditional archway of crane-and-dragon designs and a giant cross standing at two ends of the central divine axis， Guangqi Park is another manifestation of the confluence of the East and West that defines Shanghai.

South Chunhua Mansion is a Mingera residence relocated from another part of Xujiahui to the park to serve as a memorial hall for Xu Guangqi. A bust of the scientist stands midst the 500-yearold leafy complex. Among the antiques displayed inside the wings， the most valued are the Kunyu Wanguo Quantu（Great Universal Geographic Map）， the oldest surviving world map extant in China， and the four watercolor portraits of Xu Guangqi， Matteo Ricci， Flemish Jesuit missionary Ferdinand Verbiest（1623-1688）， and German Jesuit Johann Adam Schall von Bell （1591-1666）. These portraits were displayed at the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition.

“The First Cathedral of the Far East”

Xujiahui Cathedral， or St. Ignatius Cathedral， is walking distance from the park. Built from 1904 to 1910， it is in unequivocally Western style， breaking from the predominant trend of the time of intermingling architectural features of both the East and West. With a redbrick facade， white columns and gray roof， the stately twin-spired Gothic Roman Catholic cathedral was the highest building in the region until the 1920s. It remains the most prominent landmark in Xujiahui today.

Orphans to Artists

Tou-Se-We， an extremely rural appellation meaning Earth Dune Cove， became an incubator for European arts. In 1864， a Jesuit orphanage for boys was established here. To ensure their young charges would be financially independent in adulthood， the facility ran classes in practical skills including painting， sculpture， woodwork， and printing. The students artworks were sold across the country and overseas.endprint

To produce religious paintings， the orphanage opened a fine arts school， where thousands of orphans received training in European painting. Many of them later became the most recognized names in Chinas art circles. The school was hence lauded as “the cradle of European painting in China.” Several prominent artists such as Ren Bonian， Liu Haisu and Xu Beihong taught here.

Xu Baoqing， a former protégé of the Tou-Se-We Orphanage， later founded the Shanghai School of Boxwood carving– listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2008.

In 1913， under the instruction of German Jesuit Aloysis Beck， dozens of the best skilled apprentices at the orphanage completed a wooden archway， 5.8 meters tall and 5.2 meters wide， after a year of hard work. The elaborately engraved design features dragons curling among clouds and the Eight Immortals of Chinese folklore. This artwork was presented at three sessions of the World Expo， and has traveled the world on exhibition. It is now the centerpiece of the Tou-Se-We Museum collection.

Old Haunt for Bookworms

Housed in an imposing structure， the Xujiahui Library （also known as Bibliotheca Zi-Ka-Wei）， built in 1847， is a rich trove of books in different languages. The original wooden floor， wrought-iron railings and arch windows in its reading rooms， all emanate an antique ethos.

The section for European-language publications is a replica of the Vatican Library. This collection proudly includes more than 2，000 books in European languages published earlier than 1800， as well as another 500，000 books published before the end of 1949. The space is apportioned by maroon wood bookshelves towering to the ceiling. Three stairways by the wall lead to the upper floor， leaving the center as an open space that resembles an atrium. Shutters on the European-style pointed-arch windows mute the sunlight， conjuring up an ambience of peace and nostalgia in the interior.

The librarys huge stash of old foreign-languages publications is a legacy of the movement in China to learn from Europe that unfurled in the early 19th century. The fine volumes of Chinese classics translated into other languages also imply that Eastern cultural exports to the West were underway at the same time. The best examples are a 1662 Latin edition of a woodblock print of The Analects， a 1692 French edition of The History of China， and a 1723 edition of Manuscripts： Chinese-Latin Dictionary. There are also many volumes， some illustrated， on Chinese culture and religions， most prominently on the troika of Confucianism， Buddhism and Taoism.

Befitting its name， Xujiahui is a confluence of two civilizations and rivers. For centuries many of the best attainments in world science and technology， arts and culture have blended in this region， to procure innovative application. Now a commercial district and an AAAA scenic area， Xujiahui， though not immune to the changes wrought by time， yet remains intact at its core – a classic facet of old Shanghai.endprint