MyimpressionofCizhongstartedwithaglassofwine.InthehomeofaTibetanlocalIcalled鈥淯ncleAdro,鈥滻wasserveddelicioushomemadewine.UncleAdrohasa0.27-hectarevineyardwherehegrows鈥渞osehoney,鈥漚nancientFrenchgrapevarietysuitableforbothwinemakingandeating.ThegrapewasintroducedtoYunnanProvincebyFrenchmissionariesintheearly19thCentury.
BothUncleAdroandhissonareCatholic.HenamedhissonZhangAwei,atransliterationofthebaptismalname鈥淒avid.鈥漊ncleAdro鈥檚daughter-in-law,however,isabelieverofTibetanBuddhism.鈥淪uchanarrangementisquitecommoninCizhong,鈥漧aughsAdro.鈥淢anyfamilieshavememberswithdifferentreligiousbeliefslivingtogetherunderthesameroof.鈥滾ocalvillagersconsiderreligiousbeliefsapersonalchoiceandneverinterferewiththepracticesofothers.Whenthevillage鈥檚CatholicshostweddingsandfuneralsfeaturingCatholicrituals,TibetanBuddhistsjointhemandofferhelp,andviceversa.ThephilosophyofCizhongisthatallthingsareinterrelatedandshoulddevelopandprospertogether.
WineisanecessityforstandardCatholicrituals.ItshistoryinCizhongiscloselytiedtothepopularizationanddevelopmentofCatholicismintheregion.Statisticsshowthatatpresent,abouttwothirdsofCizhonglocalsconsiderthemselvesCatholic,andtheremainingonethirdismostlyTibetanBuddhist.
Thecentury-oldCizhongCatholicChurchisanimportantwindowtolocalhistory.Localssaythatthevineyardnexttothechurchproducesatime-honoredspeciesofgrapefromFrance鈥檚Bordeauxregion.Today,thegrapevarietyisextinctinitshomecountry,butcontinuestogrowandflourishinremotesouthwesternChina.
Atthehighestpointofthechurch鈥檚mainstructureisamassivecross.However,itcombinesWesternarchitecturalelementssuchasabelltower,cross,andarchedchapelwithChineseelementsincludingapavilion,gatetowerwithupturnedeavesandflyingrafters.Consideringsuchtastefulfusioninitsarchitecture,itisnowonderthatCatholicismandTibetanBuddhismhavepeacefullycoexistedforsolonginthearea.TheCizhongCatholicChurchcombinesWesternarchitecturalelementssuchasabelltower,cross,andarchedchapelwithChineseelementsincludingapavilion,gatetowerwithupturnedeavesandflyingrafters.
TheCizhongCatholicChurchsitsinavineyard.Localsbelievethatthevineyardproducesatime-honoredspeciesofgrapefromFrance'sBordeauxregion.
OnSundays,CatholicsgatherinthechurchandsinghymnsinTibetan.
StoriesfromtheBiblearepaintedonthewallofthechurch,withrefinedcolors.
Forkids,thechurchmeansfunratherthansolemnity.IhadthepleasureofmeetingXiaoJieyi,an88-year-old鈥渨alkingdictionary鈥漺hovolunteersattheCizhongCatholicChurch.ThemanspeaksfluentMandarin,Tibetan,French,Latin,andtwootherChineseethniclanguages鈥擭axiandLisu.InthebookAConciseHistoryofCatholicisminCizhong,whichhecompiledinhisyoungeryears,XiaocarefullylistedtheLatinnameofeveryforeignmissionarytovisit.
Almosteveryhouseholdinthevillagemakesitsownwine.IwasofferedanotherglassbyAustin,bishopoftheCizhongCatholicChurch.In1996,hestayedforatimeattheYanjingCatholicChurchinMarkamCounty,TibetAutonomousRegion,tolearnwinemakingfromaseniornun.
Austin鈥檚winefeaturestraditionalFrenchwinemakingtechniques.GrapesproducedinCizhongareonlythesizeoffingernailsandtasteabitsour.Winemadewiththesegrapestastesrichwithlastingflavor.Localsusuallymakewineforprivateuseortreatingguests.Sometouristsalsobuyafewbarrels.Sincewinemakingrecipesdifferabitfromfamilytofamily,thetasteofeachisslightlydifferent.
HowdidtheforeignmissionariesofacenturyagomanagetoplanttherootsofCatholicismsodeeplyinthesteepmountains?
AustinhypothesizesthatwhentheFrenchmissionariesfirstarrivedintheareasaroundtheLancangRivertopreachtheirreligion,theyperformedmanycharitableactssuchasestablishingschools,providingmedicalservices,caringforseniorswithoutfamilyandbringinguporphans.Suchselflessactswonthemimmensetrustandagreatreputationamongthelocals.
Butperhapsmoreimportantly,earlymissionarieswereallknowledgeableandcharismatic.PreservedmanuscriptsintheDeqinCountyLibrary,whichwerewrittenbythemissionaries,attesttothis.AccordingtoXiaoJieyi,FrenchmissionaryFrancisGore,whosuccessfullygraftedtheFrenchgrape鈥渞osehoney鈥漷oawildlocalgrapeinthe1930s,wasahighly-educatedman.HeexcelledattheTibetanlanguageandeventranslatedCatholicclassicsintoTibetanalongsideauthoringTibetandictionaries.AnotherFrenchmissionarynamedGeorgesAndr茅wasanoutstandingengineer.Inthe1940s,Andr茅oversawtheconstructionofaroutefromCizhongtotheNujiangRiver.AndhedesignedtheLiutongjiangchainbridgetocompleteacrucialroutefromYunnantoTibet.
ThemosthistoricchurchalongtheLancangRiver,theCizhongCatholicChurchisunderprovincialandstateprotection.MassisheldeverySundayinthechurch.Atabout9:00a.m.,CatholicsfromvariousethnicgroupsincludingNaxi,TibetanandLisufilein.YaoFei,thecurrentpriest,greetsthemonebyone.YaotookofficeinFebruary2008tobecomethefirstfull-timeChinesepriestinthechurchsincetheforeignmissionariesleftin1951.
At10:00a.m.,morethan100CatholicsgathertosinghymnsinTibetan.LocalssaidthatatimportantreligiousfestivalssuchasChristmasandEaster,CatholicsfromCiguandBadong,twonearbyvillages,alsomakethetriptothevillage.Sometimes,morethan1,000peopleattendholidayevents.MassinCizhongismoreexcitingthansolemn.Kidsmayplayaroundandbabiescryintheirparents鈥檃rms,butwhenthesingingstarts,allthenoisesmeltaway.