1900 - Brother Zhang

June 1900

Brother Zhang

Tongzhou, Beijing

Brother Zhang was a Christian businessman who lived in a village near Tongzhou, yet he spent much of his time doing business in Beijing, 14 miles (23 km) away. When the Boxer insurgents started to go house-to-house to slaughter the Christians in Beijing, Zhang immediately departed the capital and rushed home to protect his family. He gathered them together and encouraged them to be faithful to God regardless of what fate awaited them.

Neighbours began to warn the Zhang family, saying that the Boxers knew they were Christians and they would soon come to hack them to pieces and burn their house down. Zhang decided he and his family should flee into the mountains, but as they were leaving the village the Boxers arrived and seized Brother Zhang. They stripped him naked and bound him with ropes to a cart and led him to their headquarters. One account says, “The cords had been bound so tightly round his body that they had cut into the flesh, and when brought up for trial Mr. Zhang’s body was already covered with bleeding wounds. Upon being questioned he bravely and clearly stated his faith.”[I]

Zhang continued to give a clear testimony of how he had become a Christian—explaining that he had come into contact with the Christians of the London Missionary Society in Beijing, and how his heart had been attracted to the message of salvation he heard preached. Ultimately, he believed and was baptized. “‘This is my faith,’ he said in conclusion: ‘I am not afraid and am quite ready for death. Whatever happens I shall not give up my religion.’”[II] The statement was recorded by the magistrate’s secretary and given to Brother Zhang, who signed it, even though he knew that by doing so he was effectively signing his own death sentence. After this Zhang knelt down in court and began to pray. The magistrate seemed perplexed about what to do. He didn’t want to kill such a brave and honest man. Finally, like Pilate of old, the magistrate was not willing to stand up for the truth. He turned around and left the court, and a few seconds later Zhang’s body was hacked to pieces by the Boxers. Zhang’s martyrdom made a great impression on the magistrate and other officials who witnessed it. The magistrate later said, “How could I save his life when he so boldly right out before them all said he was a Christian?”[III]