On the occasion of the sixth World Braille Day, January 4, 2024, Guangzhou CC&TSPM displayed the braille manuscripts of the music score of Hymns of Universal Praise and the lyrics of the New Hymnal, extending wishes to the Mingxin Fellowship of Fangcun Church.
According to Guangzhou CC&TSPM, the Guangzhou Christian History and Culture Center currently houses these two braille manuscripts and presents them in its exhibition hall. The manuscripts were first copied, punched holes, and bound with threads into volumes by the hands of various believers of Fangcun Church’s Mingxin Fellowship, and have been used in “reading” music scores and lyrics while praising at gatherings for nearly 40 years.
A deacon of the Fangcun Church initially held them before giving them to her close friend, Sister Guo Ci, who was also a member of the Mingxin Fellowship, for safekeeping. Guo's family members donated them after she passed away in 2022.
Both manuscripts are equipped with front and back covers, endpapers, and spine guards to protect the braille within. The content was years of united effort from the members of the Mingxin Fellowship, who copied the music scores and lyrics point by point, line by line, and page with Braille writing pens and writing boards onto the Braille papers.
When reading the Brallie, it goes from left to right with a light touch on the raised dots. However, it’s the reverse for writing, which is a process of forming concave spots at the back of the paper from right to left so that the raised dots are in the correct reading order when flipped over for reading. Each cell of Braille is composed of six small dots, and each character is composed of one or more cells of Braille.
The piano score manuscript for Hymns of Universal Praise contains nearly a hundred hymns from the collection, totaling 148 pages. Similarly, the manuscript for the lyrics of the New Hymnal consists of the corresponding lyrics, with a total of 264 pages bound using the "four-hole binding" technique.
On September 9, 2023, the Guangzhou Christian Historical and Cultural Center hosted a donation ceremony for the Mingxin Fellowship's Braille manuscripts at the Guangzhou Fangcun Church.
Dr. Mary West Niles, a North American Presbyterian missionary, established the Ming Sum School for the Blind (also known as the School of the Understanding Heart) in a rented structure on Renji Street in 1891. In 1912, Mingxin School built a school for blind children in Shangfang Village, which was named "Mingxin Academy" after its completion.
The government took over Mingxin Academy in 1951 as a facility for the disabled and visually impaired. The Mingxin Fellowship was later established with the approval of the authorities, and gatherings began at the Pingmin Church (now Fangcun Church) near the Mingxin Academy.
Mingxin Fellowship has resumed gatherings since March 1983, with the maximum number of congregants exceeding 40. Mingxin Fellowship served the piano performance during gatherings, singing in Sunday worship, and sacred music worship on festivals from Fangcun Church's resumption in 1986 to the end of 2001. Due to older members passing away in recent years, only about 10 members attend the church. The pastoral staff of Fangcun Church distributes the Holy Communion and leads fellowship meetings at the Mingxin meeting point on the afternoon of the first Saturday of each month.
- Translated by Poppy Chan
