1900 - Sister Tang

June 1900

Sister Tang

Tongzhou, Beijing

Sister Tang.

Even before her martyrdom, the life of Sister Tang was one of pain and difficulty. Her mother was a notoriously wicked woman; her husband an abusive drunkard, her daughter-in-law was partly mentally retarded, and her son worked in an idol temple and was one of the first men in Tongzhou to volunteer to join the Boxers. The only bright spot in Sister Tang’s life was Christianity. She gained peace and joy from reading her Bible and singing hymns to the lover of her soul. Blind in one eye and nearsighted in the other, she was often seen holding her beloved Bible as close as possible in order to make out the words.

Tang’s abusive husband once stormed into a Bible study in a drunken rage, and severely beat his wife as he dragged her back home. Her small collection of Christian books had to be replaced several times after he burned them. Sister Tang refused to hate her husband, and often prayed for his salvation during church meetings.

After the Boxer massacres begun in Tongzhou, Tang’s wicked son came to her with a pot of opium, encouraging her to commit suicide by swallowing it, rather than be cut to pieces by swords. She steadfastly rejected his idea, telling him it was a sin for Christians to take their own life, and that she would rather endure the Boxer’s wrath. The next day the Boxers came to her house and took Sister Tang away. As she was dragged through the streets she called out in a loud voice,

“‘This is my time of suffering, but it will be brief; then I shall have an eternity of joy. But for you who are killing me, there will be everlasting sorrow.’ Perhaps it was because of these words that they hacked her poor body into little fragments. Mrs. Tang was beyond caring for that; her ‘eternity of joy’ had begun.”[I]