1962 - Mary Zhang Yinqiu

July 28, 1962

Baihu Prison, Anhui

Mary Zhang Yinqiu.

Zhang Yinqiu, who later adopted the Christian name Mary, was born in Shanghai on February 10, 1926. The Zhang family had been Catholics for three generations, so during her formative years Mary was a faithful church member at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in the Honggou area of Shanghai. In the summer of 1940 disaster struck the Zhang household when Mary’s mother suddenly died, and her father lost his job. Because of her family’s financial difficulties, Mary was forced to quit school and get a job as a bus conductor in the city.

From the time the Communists came to power in China (1949), Mary had a strong feeling that severe persecution would come upon all faithful believers. As a teenage girl she had already expressed a desire to be a martyr for Christ. Since childhood “she had thought of dedicating her life to Christ, giving herself completely to serving the Good Lord and following His will in all things…. After constant prayer and meditation, Yinqiu finally decided to observe purity and chastity all her life and devote her whole life totally to God.”[1] Later, difficulties brought about by the anti-religious fervour of the Communists “could not affect in any way Yinqiu’s total loyalty and commitment to God and were unable to quench the burning ardour of her love for Jesus Christ.”[2]

On September 9, 1955, Mary and her younger brother were forced to attend Communist ‘re-education’ classes every day. Mary’s elderly father feared the worst, and knew it was a matter of time before his beloved daughter and son would be arrested and sent to prison for their refusal to deny Christ. On one occasion, Mary’s father burst into loud and uncontrollable sobs in the middle of the night,

“startling the whole family and even awakening those living nearby. Yinqiu…and finally the whole family gathered together in their father’s bedroom…and [knelt] in front of their old father to try and comfort him. Yinqiu firmly said to him in tones of deepest filial piety, “Papa, we shall meet again in Paradise!”[3]

Mary Zhang Yinqiu was one of many Catholics rounded up in Shanghai and interrogated on September 28, 1958. During the questioning she refused to acknowledge that the Legion of Mary (a zealous Catholic mission organization) was counter-revolutionary, and also refused to say anything against Gong Binmei, the recently-arrested Bishop of Shanghai. As a result, Mary was arrested and sentenced to six years hard labour. She was taken by armed guard to the Baihu Prison Labour Camp in Lujiang County of Anhui Province.

Her arrest did not catch Mary by surprise. She had “already prepared a small bundle of change of clothing, comb, toothbrush, face towel, etc. which she kept next to her pillow, so that should the Public Security agents come to fetch her, she would be ready to go.”[4] Despite the harsh conditions of the prison camp, Mary continued to pray and speak about God, much to the anger of the guards and wardens. She always knelt down to pray, regardless of the location. As a result, “both her kneecaps had developed calluses. For her, prayer was an intimate conversation with her Divine Spouse; her secret dialogue with her deeply loved One.”[5]

Because of her tall and strong physique, Mary Zhang Yinqiu was always assigned to the prison team with the heaviest physical work. Her health quickly deteriorated. By the start of 1961, Mary’s stomach was giving her major problems, but she refused to be replaced on the work team taken by another woman, preferring to shoulder the heavy burden rather than add to the misery of another prisoner. In January 1962, Mary was sent to the hospital where it was discovered she had advanced bowel cancer. Just how she had found the inner strength to continue her work until that time amazed all who thought about it. When it became clear that death was knocking at her door, two Catholic inmates asked Mary if she had any last words to say to her family. She replied, “I have been chosen by God. While alive, I have lived for the Lord and now approaching death, I will die for the Lord.”[6]

By June 1962 she was barely able to swallow water as her body was consumed by the cancer. At noon on July 28th, six Catholic women hurried to her bedside and saw her draw her final breath. Such was the impact of Mary Zhang Yinqiu’s life, that when she died the female Catholic prisoners gave her a religious ceremony, despite the threat of punishment from the prison authorities. An investigation was conducted to find out which woman had been the ring-leader of this ‘counter-revolutionary’ ceremony. When they asked who the leader was, all six women immediately replied, “It was me!” Deeply moved, the prison director said,

“I have never met a counter-revolutionary group such as yours. Each one of you wishes to be the first to own up to responsibility and complicity in this affair. I believe that basically all of you are good citizens. It is impossible to imagine any one of you being guilty of betraying your country or endangering the people.”[7]

1. September 8th Editorial Board, Twentieth Century Outstanding Women, 91.
2. September 8th Editorial Board, Twentieth Century Outstanding Women, 92.
3. September 8th Editorial Board, Twentieth Century Outstanding Women, 99.
4. September 8th Editorial Board, Twentieth Century Outstanding Women, 97.
5. September 8th Editorial Board, Twentieth Century Outstanding Women, 94.
6. September 8th Editorial Board, Twentieth Century Outstanding Women, 104.
7. September 8th Editorial Board, Twentieth Century Outstanding Women, 105-106.