1928 - Preacher Zhong

1928

Hadong, Guangxi

The grieving wife and child of Preacher Zhong – killed by the Communists.

In 1926 it appears the Soviets instructed the Chinese Communists to stir up people against Christianity, for that year saw a marked increase in hostility towards both missionaries and their Chinese converts. In the city of Longzhou, located in the extreme southwest part of Guangxi, a mob of several hundred people attacked the chapel of the Christian & Missionary Alliance, severely damaging the building and its contents. The rioters then made their way to the residence of the missionary, where

“they carried on an orgy of destruction. Windows were smashed; doors were torn off their hinges; shutters were wantonly destroyed; partitions were torn out and broken into firewood; while everything that the missionaries owned of household furniture and personal effects were either stolen or destroyed. Chinese workers also lost heavily, but all managed to escape without bodily injury.”[1]

The general populace seemed to be emboldened by the riot of 1926, and further attacks against Christians were commonplace in the following years. In 1928 a second Communist uprising took place at the market town of Hadong, not far from Longzhou. The mission station was attacked by the Reds, who this time did not confine their attacks just to the Christians, but decided to destroy two-thirds of the town by fire. The Alliance chapel was also destroyed. The Chinese preacher in Hadong was a man named Zhong, who had faithfully followed Christ for more than 20 years. He had a devoted wife and a small child. Many thousands of people had heard the gospel from Zhong’s mouth. W. H. Oldfield recalls what happened to Preacher Zhong:

“Whether he was shot by the ‘Reds’ or burned to death, could not definitely ascertained. When last seen, he was standing at the chapel door while the ‘Reds’ were closing in on every side. Bullets were pouring in from all directions, and a number of citizens had already been killed. When the fighting had ended, and the fire was extinguished, the preacher’s bones were found among the debris where the chapel had stood.”[2]