VIRTUAL London Heritages Conference

Abstract

The Harbin Confucian Temple (1926–1929), a distinctive architectural heritage of early 20th-century China, epitomizes the interplay of cultural resistance, technological adaptation, and architectural hybridity in a semi-colonial context. Situated in Harbin—a frontier city shaped by the Chinese Eastern Railway—the temple’s construction emerged as a strategic assertion against foreign cultural encroachment. Orchestrated by the Beiyang government, it sought to reclaim symbolic sovereignty through Confucian ideology while adapting to imported construction techniques. Architecturally, the temple embodies paradoxical dualities. While adhering to the Qing official architectural style and claiming the rare “Grand Sacrificial” (大祀) status—a ritual rank reserved for imperial ceremonies—it subverted classical norms through experimental hybridity. Its eleven-bay main hall (大成殿) exceeded conventional proportions, and the use of reinforced concrete columns clad in wooden veneer exemplified adaptation to material constraints and colonial modernity. As a post-imperial project built after the abolition of the civil examination system (1905), the temple transcended its liturgical role, evolving into a contested symbol amid anti-feudal movements and colonial entanglements. This study employs comparative analysis to situate the temple within broader architectural and historical frameworks. By contrasting its spatial hierarchy, structural innovations, and symbolic narratives with canonical Confucian temples in Qufu and Beijing, the paper reveals how vernacular traditions were reinterpreted through foreign technologies and shifting sociopolitical agendas. Examining its later trajectory, from instrumentalization during the Manchukuo era to its current function as a museum, the study highlights the mutable values of hybrid heritage and argues that technological adaptation served as a medium of symbolic resistance in transitional societies.