100 YEARS SINCE THE ORDINATIONS OF THE FIRST SIX CHINESE BISHOPS - Bishop Joseph Hu Ruoshan and the Diocese of Taizhou

One hundred years after the ordination of the first six Chinese bishops consecrated in modern times, (October 28, 1926), Fides News Agency is dedicating a series of documentary profiles to these Successors of the Apostles and the dioceses entrusted to them, which were at the heart of that crucial event in the history of the Catholic Church in China.

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by Professor Liu Zhiqing

Taizhou (Fides News Agency) – The Diocese of Taizhou (Taichow) was the fifth ecclesiastical circumscription in China to be entrusted to the leadership of a member of the Chinese clergy. It was established on 10 August 1926 as the Apostolic Vicariate of Taichow (now Taizhou). Its first bishop, Joseph Hu Ruoshan, was one of the first six Chinese bishops consecrated by Pope Pius XI in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome on 28 October 1926. He had been appointed Apostolic Vicar on 30 July 1926.

1. History of the Diocese

The Apostolic Vicariate of Taichow was separated from the Apostolic Vicariate of Ningbo, whose pastoral care had been entrusted to French missionaries of the Congregation of the Mission (Lazarists, C.M.). Archbishop Celso Costantini, the first Apostolic Delegate to China, recalled that on 23 May 1926 he had arrived in Ningbo to attend a memorial Mass for Bishop Zhao (Paul-Marie Reynaud, 1854–1926), a French Lazarist. Costantini also took the opportunity to visit the future ecclesiastical territory of Taichow, where he observed that the Catholic community was already active and flourishing.
According to statistics, in 1925 the Apostolic Vicariate of Ningbo comprised the cities of Ningbo, Dinghai, Shaoxing, Wenzhou, Taichow and Chuzhou. It was divided into three major deaneries: Ningbo, Taichow and Wenzhou. The vicariate had 41,221 baptized Catholics and 47 priests, of whom 28 were Chinese and 19 foreigners. Chinese clergy therefore accounted for 59.57 per cent of the total.
On 10 August 1926, the Apostolic Vicariate of Taichow was established. At that time, it had 4,383 baptized Catholics and eight priests, including the Chinese Apostolic Vicar, six Chinese priests and one foreign priest.
On 11 April 1946, the Apostolic Vicariate of Taichow was elevated to the rank of a diocese. In 1949, the diocese comprised five counties. Yuhuan County, originally part of the Diocese of Taichow, was transferred to the Diocese of Wenzhou in June 1949.
According to statistics cited by Zhao Qingyuan in Chronology of the Division of Catholic Dioceses in China and the Succession of Their Bishops, in 1949 the Diocese of Taichow had 40 churches and chapels, 15 priests, including four religious, and 7,618 baptized Catholics.

2. The Bishop of the Diocese

The first Bishop of Taichow was Joseph Hu Ruoshan (1881–1962), also a Lazarist. Originally from Ningbo, in Zhejiang Province, he was born on 22 February 1881 in Dinghai County into a Catholic family whose faith had been passed down for ten generations.
In 1894, he entered the minor seminary outside the north gate of Dinghai. In 1903, he transferred to the major seminary in Ningbo to study theology and subsequently continued his studies at the major seminary in Jiaxing.
On 6 November 1906, he entered the Congregation of the Mission in Jiaxing. He took his vows on 7 November 1908 and was ordained a priest in the Jiaxing community on 5 June 1909.
Following his priestly ordination, he spent six years engaged in missionary work in eastern Zhejiang. In 1911, he became headmaster of Yucai School, a Sino-Western educational institute, and rector of the preparatory seminary. In 1914, he was appointed parish priest of St Mary of the Seven Sorrows Parish in Yongbei. A year later, he was entrusted with assisting in the direction of St Paul’s Major Seminary. Until 1919, he also served as a counselor for ecclesiastical affairs in eastern Zhejiang.
He spent a total of 11 years at Ningbo Major Seminary, where he taught philosophy and theology.
In 1922, he travelled to Hankou to attend the preparatory meeting for the Primum Concilium Sinense. As a delegate, he subsequently took part in the work of the preparatory commissions for the Shanghai Council, held from 15 May to 12 June 1924.
On 30 July 1926, he was appointed Apostolic Vicar of Taichow. On 28 October 1926, he was consecrated a bishop by Pope Pius XI in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, becoming one of the first six Chinese bishops consecrated in modern times. He died in Huangyan Church on August 18, 1962 (according to another source, on August 28), at the age of 81. Some sources report that Bishop Joseph Hu Ruoshan “was orphaned at the age of five and raised by missionaries”. This account, however, has recently been called into question.
On 6 January 2026, Fr Wang Jiangfei of the Diocese of Ningbo stated that this account was incorrect and asked Bishop Hu Ruoshan’s descendants to provide documentary evidence.
In a letter dated 6 January 2026, Hu Ling, the Bishop’s great-grandnephew and grandson of his elder brother Hu Changrong, explained that it was not known when Hu Ruoshan’s father had died, while his mother lived to the age of 93.
Hu Ruoshan was the youngest of three brothers. His two elder brothers were Hu Changrong and Hu Changhua. Hu Ling is the grandson of Hu Changrong. Joseph Hu Ruoshan also had a sister who became a religious sister in the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity.

3. The Development of the Diocese

The Diocese of Taichow originated from the Taichow Deanery of the Apostolic Vicariate of Ningbo. After 24 years of development, the number of baptized Catholics had reached 7,807.
The Chinese clergy comprised 16 members, including one bishop. There were also 11 Chinese religious sisters.
Statistics on the development of the diocese and its pastoral activity during the period 1926–1950 are presented in the following table.

Table of the Pastoral Statistics of the Diocese of Taichow, 1926–1950

Periodo/Anno	Vescovi	Sacerdoti		Religiose		Popolazione (milioni)	Fedeli cattolici
		stranieri	cinesi	straniere	cinese
1926-1927	1	1	6		14	9	4383
1927-1928	1	1	9		13	3.4	4415
1928-1929	1	1	14		14	3.4	4574
1929-1930	1		13		13	2.4	4815
1930-1931	1		15		14	2.5	4941
1933	1		18		12	2.7	5205
1934	1		20		13	1.9	5479
1935	1		20		12	1.9	5654
1936	1		19		12	2.2	5970
1937	1		19		12	2.5	6928
1938	1		19		13	2	7489
1939	1		19		13	2	7947
1940	1		19		12	2	8128
1941	1		18		12	2	7798
1942	1		18		11	2	7874
1943	1		18		11	2	7921
1947	1		15				7618
1948	1		15				7618
1949	1		15		11	2	7813
1950	1	3	13		12	2	7807

Source: Les missions de Chine et du Japon, Les missions de Chine, Annuaire des Missions Catholiques de Chine.
(Fides News Agency, 19/10/2026)

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