Construction
Construction of the foundation began on June 28, 1861, the Feast of the Sacred Heart, and concluded in 1863. On December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, with surrounding Chinese houses and streets decorated, a grand ceremony was held, attended by the Viceroy of Liangguang (兩廣總督), all senior Mandarins, a detachment of 300 Tartars, all consuls in Canton as well as the missionaries and a score of priests. The bishop and the consul of France, Baron Gilbert de Trenqualye, delivered speeches. Two foundation stones were blessed and laid. The Latin words "Jerusalem 1863" were engraved on the east one and the words "Roma 1863" on the west one, stating that the Roman Catholic Church had its origin in Jerusalem in the east and evolved in Rome in the west. One kilogram of soil taken from Rome and one stone from Jerusalem were laid under the two foundation stones respectively.
The construction of the cathedral turned out to be very challenging, mostly because of its all-granite structure and the lack of machinery, which meant the cathedral had to be built by hand. None of the Chinese workers at that time had seen a western cathedral before, not to mention had any experience of building one. Communication was another major problem when the French and the Chinese didn't speak the other language. The construction progress was slow for the first few years. Eventually the French employed a Chinese named Cai Xiao (蔡孝) from Jiexi County as foreman. Cai had many years of experience in building stone houses in his hometown, which enabled him to bring in a lot of unique and creative methods. He barely left the site since being employed. The construction of the cathedral took most of his youth but was able to be finished in his lifetime.
The cathedral was constructed at a time when most local cantonese, having suffered from the First and Second Opium Wars, still remained xenophobic. Tensions between the two sides often existed and conflicts and disputes were often solved by the bishop or the French consul taking the matters directly to senior officials in the province or Peking. On August 11, 1880 a fire broke out in the houses just outside the church's fence. Local residents tried to get water from wells located within the boundary of the cathedral's construction site, but they were denied by the workers. The argument turned into a fight and several people were injured in the subsequent crackdown by the Qing government. In the end the dispute was solved as the local community compensated the church for the alleged damaged houses and stolen property in the chaos.
Due to the site chosen by the church, construction of the cathedral as well as its affiliated school, hospital and orphanage required the demolition of many houses and relocation of local residents. Meanwhile, in the 19th century, almost all houses in Canton were no more than 2 storeys high, so the high-rise cathedral and its pointed twin spires created an unusual scene among the city's skyline, which locals feared would influence the city's feng shui and consequently bring misfortune and disasters to its people. This resulted in more suspicion and resentment towards the church.
The cathedral was mostly funded by Emperor Napoleon III. When bishop Guillemin met him in Paris in 1858, the Emperor, urged by his wife Eugénie de Montijo, offered a personal grant of 500,000 francs. In 1873, a bill was passed in the National Assembly of France with 491 ayes against 100 nays, allocating another 75,000 francs to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be used on the cathedral.
The cathedral was finished in 1888 after 25 years of construction.
Read more about this topic: Sacred Heart Cathedral Of Guangzhou
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