Chapter 872 - Tianshui Bridge Church
Beyond chartered boat services, each branch would have scheduled daily departures. Passenger boats would depart on time whether full or not, ensuring timely arrivals. Freight boats would travel in convoys whenever possible, six to twelve vessels per convoy. Each convoy would have a manager responsible for purchasing supplies and handling checkpoint negotiations en route. A water route escort guard with several dedicated security personnel would be responsible for navigation safety. Passenger boats traveling through areas with poor security would also be equipped with protective escort.
Because passenger boats departed on schedule, each branch could also use them for receiving and delivering mail. This wasn't Zhang Xin's innovation—private boats in this timeline had long offered such services. Commercial activity in Jiangnan was frequent, with high population mobility. Besides private letters, demand for various commercial correspondence was substantial. Zhao Yingong naturally wouldn't pass up this business opportunity. If conditions permitted, he also wanted to open passenger and cargo transport routes and mail service between Beijing and Jiangnan, and between Jiangnan and Guangdong. Of course, such cross-General Office business would require coordination from the General Management Bureau in Guangzhou.
Mao Sansheng was intensively organizing the Jiangnan General Office's passenger and freight transport company according to this approach, particularly working to recruit alliance boat owners. Zhao Yingong knew well this wouldn't be easy—if he couldn't provide boat owners with sufficient benefits, why would they join the alliance and submit to Qiwei's management?
He understood that talk of "joining the alliance increases business volume" rang hollow at this stage. To attract boat owners, the first priority was finding backing for them, making them feel secure. The Duke of Yansheng's estate in Ming and Qing times had taken in large numbers of common people as "estate households." Many fishermen around Weishan Lake had voluntarily pledged themselves, willing to serve the Kong family delivering fish and shrimp, all to gain the protection of the Duke of Yansheng's authority.
The Australian name couldn't be invoked in Jiangnan, and Eunuch Yang had no influence here. He would have to find local powers to serve as a protective umbrella.
For this purpose, he went with Trigault to pay respects to the Hangzhou Catholic Church.
Hangzhou's Catholic Church was located near Tianshui Bridge. The land had been purchased in 1627 by Yang Tingyun, who then built a small church with an attached priest's residence and monastery. It was presided over by the missionary Lazzaro Cattaneo—at this time, Cattaneo oversaw all missionary activities in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, essentially serving as the highest Catholic authority in the Jiangnan region.
From the outside, the Tianshui Bridge Catholic Church didn't resemble a church at all—since it had originally been converted from a residence. If not for the cross visible above the courtyard wall atop the chapel roof, passersby wouldn't notice this was a "Temple of the Cross."
This was the headquarters of the entire Jiangnan Catholic Church. Trigault couldn't contain his excitement and, despite still being on the street, made the sign of the cross.
Zhao Yingong instructed his personal servant Ji Ying to present his calling card at the gate. Before long, the main entrance opened wide, and two people emerged to welcome them inside.
The buildings within the courtyard differed dramatically from the exterior. Here stood a structure with subtle Gothic styling—a door with stone steps, numerous windows on all sides, decorated with various curious patterns. Through the open doors and windows, one could see the ceiling soared remarkably high. Beside the church was a residence for the priests. After the visitors were announced, Cattaneo soon appeared.
He was a tall, robust Italian with a long beard that had turned gray yet remained handsome, and a prominently arched nose. However, his curly hair was combed straight up in Chinese style, and like a Chinese scholar, he wore a square cap. His body was clothed in a white cloth straight robe.
Cattaneo was renowned among missionaries for his "long and beautiful beard and imposing stature." Born into a noble Tuscan family, his bearing and appearance were excellent. So much so that during the "Cattaneo Incident" that caused a stir in Guangdong in 1606, rumors spread among officials and commoners that the Portuguese intended to enthrone him as Emperor of China. Though now over seventy years old—a very advanced age in this timeline—he still appeared quite healthy. He had specifically studied Chinese in Macau and had preached in Shaozhou, Nanchang, Nanjing, Shanghai, and other places. Since his first arrival in Macau in 1594, this missionary had been in China for nearly forty years. He spoke very fluent Nanjing Mandarin. His status among missionaries was exceptionally high. When Matteo Ricci had gone to Beijing, church affairs in Nanjing and elsewhere were handled by him.
Seeing Zhao Yingong and Trigault arrive, he smiled and descended the steps to greet them.
When Father Trigault beheld this priest, he couldn't contain his emotion—among the first missionaries who had pioneered the way into China, Matteo Ricci, Sabatino de Ursis, Nicolas Trigault, and others had successively passed away. Of the original "pioneers," only Cattaneo remained alive, continuing to preside over church affairs.
"Padre!"
"Hello, my brother." Cattaneo smiled in greeting.
Seeing Zhao Yingong, he quickly came forward to bow with Chinese-style courtesy: "Ah, Mr. Zhao, a pleasure to meet you! This humble one has been awaiting you for quite some time!" His Chinese ceremonies were very practiced.
"Padre, this is Mr. Zhao. This is a letter I brought from Macau." Father Trigault said.
"Ah, very good, very good. I've already received the President's letter." He smiled, then asked solicitously: "Please, Mr. Zhao, come to my humble abode first for tea."
News of Trigault's coming to Hangzhou had been sent by letter from the Jesuits in Guangzhou months earlier. The letter had again instructed Cattaneo to "help as much as possible the Chinese person traveling with Father Trigault." Cattaneo was a foreigner and naturally couldn't provide direct assistance—the so-called help meant leveraging the Hangzhou Church's influence.
Zhao Yingong smiled. "I'd like to visit the church first."
"Certainly, please come this way!"
Cattaneo led the way, and the group crossed the courtyard, ascended the steps, and entered the church.
In the old timeline, Zhao Yingong had never been to a church; he had only seen them in books and television dramas. He found this church, designed and built in Western style, matched his basic expectations. The entire hall was narrow and long with a remarkably high ceiling, decorated with simple religious paintings. On both sides were carved windows—very Chinese in style, with window paper—so the church was somewhat dim.
At the very center stood a shrine decorated with altar lamps and curtains, displaying an oil painting of Jesus. Though Zhao Yingong didn't attend church, he had seen many such images in ordinary life and wasn't particularly impressed. This surprised Cattaneo somewhat—Chinese visitors to this place were usually intensely interested in the Jesus painting, not only because it depicted a Westerner, but also because of Western painting's accuracy and realism.
The "Australian's" nonchalant attitude wasn't feigned disinterest. Cattaneo could tell: oil paintings were nothing new or strange to this Australian.
Besides the central altar, altars stood on each side, each displaying a statue of a saint.
"This is St. Peter," Cattaneo explained, seeing Zhao Yingong show interest in the side altars. "He holds two keys, pointing to the gates of heaven. The other is St. Paul, in the posture of a preacher, one hand holding the holy cross, the other pointing to a Latin phrase—" The priest recited it in Latin, then translated: "We preach Christ crucified..."
Zhao Yingong then followed him to visit a small Chapel of Our Lady on the right side. The Chapel's arrangement was similar to the main hall but smaller—by modern standards, about the size of a large conference room. Inside was also a painting depicting the Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus.
He estimated the main hall could accommodate roughly two hundred believers, and the Chapel of Our Lady about twenty or thirty. The Hangzhou Catholic Church's membership probably didn't exceed a thousand. In scale, it was pitifully modest. But this church included many officials, gentry, and scholars, and its social influence was considerable.
After touring the church, Cattaneo invited Zhao Yingong and the others to his residence for tea.
The residence was very simple. Furniture and décor were entirely Chinese. Thread-bound books were piled on the bookshelves and desk. Were it not for the crucifix hanging on the wall, it would be difficult to imagine this was a European missionary's dwelling.
He immediately invited Zhao Yingong and Father Trigault to sit. Then a young servant brought tea—only in his twenties, dressed in blue cloth and a small cap, with delicate features, clearly Chinese. A small cross hung on his chest, apparently already converted.
The tea was green tea—it seemed this priest had thoroughly adopted local customs. Zhao Yingong had prepared gifts tailored to his tastes. Although missionaries came to China with the determination of martyrs ready to sacrifice everything, dedicating their lives to spreading the Gospel in foreign lands, this didn't mean they didn't miss their former living environment.
The gift Zhao Yingong had prepared was a case of red wine. This had been brewed by Xue Ziliang in the small winery at the farm. Of course, the grapes used weren't specialized wine varieties like Cabernet or Pinot Noir, but ordinary table grapes. Still, for Cattaneo—who had lived in China's interior for decades and rarely encountered Europeans—this was a precious gift, allowing him in his twilight years to somewhat soothe his homesickness.
"Thank you, Mr. Zhao." Cattaneo was quite moved. Zhao Yingong took the opportunity to inquire about Hangzhou church affairs. Besides wanting to learn himself, Daoruanzi also wanted to understand just how much influence the Hangzhou Catholic Church truly wielded.
Cattaneo was quite open about this. Although the Hangzhou Church wasn't as important in status as the Beijing Church, in terms of stability it surpassed other locations. Though Yang Tingyun and Li Zhizao had both passed away, their children and former students remained deeply devoted to the church. The Yang family especially had not only purchased land and built the Tianshui Bridge Church, but also donated land at Dafangjing for burying missionaries. His daughter, called Irene, had done much for the church. Thus the Yang family's influence on the Hangzhou Catholic Church was greatest.
Currently, near Tianshui Bridge in Hangzhou, there are two churches. One, "Tianshui Hall," is a Protestant church. Leighton Stuart's father was once the pastor of this church. The one mentioned in this chapter is now called "Hangzhou Catholic Church," less than 50 meters away. Please do not confuse the two.