Since then, one of the Xu families has thrived in this generation, forming a village called Xu. So this is the intersection of Fahuajing, Zhaojiabang and Sanshui in caohejing, with convenient shipping and transportation. Some ethnic groups of the Qiao family are gathered here, most of which are surrounded by the land of the Qiao family, so it is also called "Xujiahui" in the village. In the tenth year of Xianfeng in Qing Dynasty, the Taiping Army marched into Shanghai, and refugees from four townships gathered, which led to a sharp increase in the regional population. Then, farmers and vendors from urban and rural areas flocked to the market. Therefore, it is named "Xuzhen" because it is close to Xujiahui Village, which is Xujiahui Town. It was once an important base for the spread of western learning to the east in Ming and Qing Dynasties, and also the center of Catholic culture in Shanghai. Until 1930s, some members of the Xu family still lived in xu zhen Old Street.
In ancient times, it was not uncommon to name a place after the surname of a family settlement. However, the name Xujiahui has been passed down to this day, and its cultural connotation is still constantly strengthening and enriching, which can be described as a feature.
Xujiahui Landmark: Catholic Church
Multi-label Xu Guangqi
Many people are familiar with Xu Guangqi. He has made brilliant achievements in astronomy, mathematics, agriculture, military and many other fields, which can be described as a special existence in Shanghai history. Xu Guangqi was born in Shanghai County, Songjiang Prefecture in Jiajing 41. In the twenty-fifth year of Wanli, he was promoted to Shuntianfu scholar, and later became a scholar in the thirty-second year of Wanli. He eventually became an official of Shangshu and Wenyuan University Library. Because of his official position and native place, Xu Guangqi is often called Lao, Xue and Xu Shanghai.
In the late Ming Dynasty, there was political chaos and social unrest. Instead of taking part in party struggles, he paid attention to people's livelihood and put forward a series of pragmatic ideas. His book "The Complete Book of Agricultural Administration" not only had a far-reaching impact on China's later generations, but also had a far-reaching impact on Japanese and Korean agricultural development. At the same time, Xu Guangqi studied western learning with Jesuits who came to China in the late Ming Dynasty, translated books and set them up, and actively participated in the calendar and military reform, leaving countless achievements. In addition, Xu Guangqi is one of the earliest Catholics in China. He not only taught himself, but also introduced Catholicism into Shanghai, which opened up the history of Catholicism in Shanghai for more than 400 years and laid the foundation for Shanghai to become an important Catholic center in the Far East.
Politicians, thinkers and scientists in the late Ming Dynasty, pioneers in spreading "Western learning" and one of the "three pillars" of Catholicism in the late Ming Dynasty, no matter which label, Xu Guangqi's name is enough to go down in history. However, the reason why Xujiahui became Xujiahui is not only his political achievements.
Xu Guangqi
Don't marry concubines and have children.
It is not a special case to name a place after the surname of a family settlement. As far as the Xu family is concerned, according to genealogical records, the ancestor of Xu Jie, another famous prime minister in Shanghai history, was from Huating County, who once lived in a place called "Xujiabang" in Huating County. However, this has nothing to do with Xu Guangqi's ancestors, but with the prosperity of his descendants.
In ancient society, whether there was an heir was a big problem for literati deeply influenced by Confucianism. Xu Guangqi and his wife Wu have only one son, Ji Xu, but they never marry and have children. This is directly related to Xu Guangqi's belief in Catholicism.
Xu Guangqi came into contact with Catholicism when he preached in Shaozhou in the 23rd year of Wanli, and was formally baptized into Christianity eight years later. Because Catholicism insists on monogamy and concubinage is forbidden, Xu Guangqi has only one wife, Wu. As for children, Jesuit Bai Yingli also recorded one thing.
However, Xu Guangqi's only son, Ji Xu, eventually raised five sons and four daughters, and the prosperity of his grandchildren undoubtedly laid the foundation for the prosperity of the Xu Guangqi family. According to the records in the Xu family tree, there are as many as 28 great-grandchildren of Xu Guangqi, which can be said to be full of children and grandchildren.
Matteo Ricci and Xu Guangqi
Unintentionally passed on to Xu.
Although Xu Guangqi eventually occupied a high position, his road to the imperial examination was not smooth. During the nine years from the tenth year of Wanli to the nineteenth year of Wanli, he failed in three rural examinations. However, after winning the title of China Jinshi in twenty-five years of Wanli, it took another seven years to be admitted to Jinshi. Therefore, Xu Guangqi once laughed at himself for "climbing the imperial examination all his life".
Probably influenced by Xu Guangqi's attitude of being an official, Xu's descendants were mostly indifferent to fame and fortune, ignoring the imperial examination and being an official unintentionally. For example, Xu Guangqi's son Ji Xu was born in Songjiang Prefecture. Influenced by Xu Guangqi, he studied the calendar, agricultural politics and the art of war. But he has never been an official in his life. He only taught China calligraphers to make a film system. Similarly, among Xu Guangqi's five male grandchildren, the eldest grandson Xu Erjue, the second grandson Xu Erjue, the third grandson Xu Erdou and the fourth grandson Xu Ermo all stopped at the status of living members. Although my grandfather Xu Guangqi was a China scholar, he was not an official. Only Wusun Xuer Road, a scholar in the 13th year of Shunzhi, was appointed as the magistrate of a county. He died at the age of 3 1. In addition, although Xu Guangqi's nephew Chen Yujie didn't achieve fame in the imperial examination, he has made great achievements in astronomy and military affairs because he studied western learning with Xu Guangqi since childhood. So, he entered the Beijing Calendar Bureau in the second year of Chongzhen, participated in the compilation of calendars, and was recommended by Shi Kefa to become a doctor of Qin in the twelfth year of Chongzhen. After the demise of the Ming Dynasty, Chen Yujie became the chief of the Ministry of Military Affairs of Nanming, in charge of supervising firearms. However, after the Qing army captured Nanjing, he committed suicide at the Jiming Mountain observation deck. As for Xu Guangqi's great-grandson, there seems to be no more outstanding person except Xu Chengzhi, the son of Xu Erlu, who inherited his great-grandfather's legacy in astronomy, entered the Calendar Bureau of the Qing Dynasty and became a doctor of Qin.
Since Xu's descendants do not pursue official career achievements, judging from the influence of a family in officialdom, perhaps as Ye said in "Reading the World", "After the rise of the family line, the family line gradually declined, and there are still many great-grandchildren who failed to achieve it." However, this did not affect the position of Xu Guangqi family in the Shanghai scholar society. In addition to the influence left by Xu Guangqi, this is also related to the fact that the Xu's in-laws are all famous families in Shanghai.
Shanghai Xu Guangqi Memorial Hall
A powerful in-laws family
Xu Guangqi's eldest grandson, Xu Erjue, is married, and his grandfather has been a scholar for five years. He worked as a doctor in the Ministry of War and in Shandong, so his father recommended him. Together with the famous Chen Jiru, he participated in the compilation of Songjiang Fuzhi during the Chongzhen period. Sun Xuer once married Qiao Shi, the daughter of Qiao Hui, the chief executive of does, and later had a second wife. Wang, wife of Dou, adopted daughter of Xu Guangqi disciple Sun. Sun was a juren in Wanli for forty years. Later, because of his outstanding military ability, he was appointed Governor Deng Se, an important promoter of the military reform advocated by Xu Guangqi. Sun's wife is Xu Guangqi's teacher, Shandong Deputy Xian, and Huang Zhenren's granddaughter. Although lutein was a kindergarten teacher in Xu Guangqi, she was frustrated in the exam, and didn't enter the Jinshi with Xu Guangqi until she was 60 years old. At that time, lutein got the opportunity to work in imperial academy, but she finally recommended Master Xu Guangqi to enter imperial academy instead of herself because of her advanced age. Subsequently, Xu Guangqi successfully passed the exam and was elected as the Jishi Shu of the hospital, which took an important step in his career. At that time, it was a much-told story that luteal phase gave way to sage.
Xu Guangqi's five grandsons, Xu Erlu and four granddaughters, were all married to the Pan Shi family, the first family in the late Ming Dynasty. The prosperity of Pan Shi family began with the loyalty of Gong Dingjiang's younger brother and was admitted to Kejia. Guan Gong was an imperial censor, experienced punishment and served as a second minister. "Paine has three sons, the eldest son YunZhe and the second son Yun Yun are both scholars, so they have the reputation of" a family of three scholars ". Lulu married Pan Yunduan's son and Pan Yunlong's daughter, and married Pan's grandson. In addition, Xu Guangqi's eldest grandson's son-in-law is the Nanjing general envoy Ai Tinghuai; The granddaughter married Xu Duyuan, the grandson of Xu Leshan, who also served as the general envoy of Nanjing; Third, the granddaughter married Qu Jia in Shanghai, her husband Qu Ye was a son, and her grandfather Qu Yin was a county magistrate in Haicheng, and she was also among the squires in Shanghai.
With the aura left by Xu Guangqi and the help of these famous in-laws families, the Xu family has always occupied a special position in Shanghai, although it is insignificant in official career.
Xu Guangqi tomb
Xu Family and Xujiahui's Modernization
The Xu Guangqi family is so conspicuous because of the Catholic culture it represents.
In the thirty-sixth year of Wanli, Xu Guangqi invited his father lazaro Catanjo to give lectures in Shanghai. In two years, more than 200 people were baptized, which opened the way for the development of Catholicism in Shanghai for more than 400 years. All family members of Xu Guangqi, from his father Xu Sicheng to his nine grandsons, and even some family members, were baptized and taught under his influence. Xu Guangqi family is one of the few famous Catholic families in Jiangnan and even the whole country. The reason why Xujiahui can develop into an important cultural exchange center between China and the West in Shanghai is closely related to the existence of Xu Guangqi family.
In addition to their own religion, the Xu clan actively spread the Catholic faith to the surrounding areas through various social relations including marriage, consanguinity and geography, making it "like a family, and the hard-working villagers and the educated gradually get better." In addition, Xu's descendants maintain very close ties with the Catholic Church in Shanghai. They not only introduced missionaries to officials in Songjiang and Nanjing with the help of Xu Guangqi's contacts, but also helped missionaries build many churches in Shanghai. In addition, the women's assembly in the earliest Catholic sorority in Shanghai was originally organized by members of the Xu family.
With the support of the Xu family, Catholic education in Shanghai developed rapidly in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. By the fourth year of Kangxi, there were 50,000 Catholics in Songjiang Prefecture. By the beginning of18th century, more than 80,000 members of over 65,438+10,000 churches in Jiangsu were concentrated in Shanghai and its vicinity.
But since then, the development of Catholicism in China has been full of twists and turns. First, because of the "etiquette dispute", it was banned by Emperor Kangxi, and then the Jesuits were persecuted in many countries. 1773, Pope Clement XIV dissolved the Jesuits, and the missionary work of Catholicism in Shanghai was once in a downturn. It was not until the 22nd year of Daoguang that the Jesuits, who had been silent for 70 years, returned to Shanghai. The Jesuit missionary area in Jiangnan was originally located in Hengtang, Qingpu County. However, considering the great influence of Xu Guangqi and his family on the Catholic Church, the Jesuits have been trying to return to Xu Guangqi's hometown, Shanghai County, to continue their great achievements. To this end, missionaries specially visited Xujiahui, where Xu's descendants lived, and in the 26th year of Daoguang, with the support of Jiangnan believers, they bought Xujiahui's land and established the Jesuit Society here. This move not only officially moved the activity center of the church into Xujiahui, but also opened the modernization process of Xujiahui:
Xuhui Middle School chongsi building
In the twenty-seventh year of Daoguang, Jesuits established a "big study room" in Xujiahui, and later developed into the earliest and most complete library in China-Xujiahui Library; In the thirty years of Daoguang, Shanghai Jesuits founded Daojue Academy, the earliest new middle school in China at that time, which was later Xuhui Academy. In the same year, Pierre Marie Heude, a French Jesuit, established the Natural Museum under the Jesuits in Xujiahui. In the eleventh year of Tongzhi, the Jiangnan parish of Jesuits established the Jiangnan Science Committee in Xujiahui. In the same year, Xujiahui Observatory was established. It is the oldest meteorological observatory in Shanghai and even in China, and is known as the "First Meteorological Observatory in the Far East". Four years later, Xujiahui Tushanwan Printing Factory was established. In the 29th year of Guangxu, Jesuits presided over the restoration of Xu Guangqi's tomb and erected a cross in front of it. In the second year of Xuantong, Shanghai Xujiahui Catholic Church was completed and became one of the largest and most famous Catholic churches in Shanghai. These buildings and institutions in Xujiahui are not only related to religion, but also write and witness the development of modern culture in Shanghai.