1861 - Paul Chen Changping

July 29, 1861

Yaojiaguan, Guizhou

Paul Chen Changping. [CRBC]

Chen Changping was born in 1838 at Xingren County, Guizhou Province. His family would these days be labelled dysfunctional. While Chen was still young his father left home after a family feud. His father later met a Catholic priest, Lee Wanmei, who urged him to return home and reconcile with his family. When he arrived in Xingren, however, he found his wife had remarried, and he was only able to gain custody of his son, Changping. Soon discovering he was not able to raise the boy alone, Changping’s father took him to the Catholic priest, who brought him up in the Holy Infant Society, a branch of the Catholic Church. By the time he was a teenager, Chen Changping had become a fervent follower of Christ. He took the Christian name Paul when he was baptized at the age of sixteen, on Christmas Day, 1854.

In what may seem strange for a 19th century Chinaman, Chen was taught Latin, although the study proved difficult for him. One source says, “Intellectually, Paul had only average talents. Very good at Chinese, he had difficulty with Latin. Always friendly, he treated others with respect, but was not one to socialize. Often alone, he read and sculpted.”[1]

Chen’s peaceful and gradual progress towards becoming a Catholic priest came to an abrupt end when his father suddenly turned up at the seminary in 1857, demanding his son return home. Chen was determined not to go, and a loud argument ensued. The seminary leaders decided not to intervene, preferring to let the young man decide for himself. He decided to continue his studies.

In 1861 a widespread religious persecution was launched and hundreds of Christians were arrested and thrown into prison. Most of the seminary students fled to Yangmeigao. Paul Chen Changping and Joseph Zhang Wenlan had left that morning to buy supplies for the seminary at the local market, and so they knew nothing of what had occurred. As they joyfully walked back towards the seminary they were arrested, and together with John Baptist Luo Tingyin were held in an old temple and tortured mercilessly. On July 29, 1861, they were paraded through the streets on their way to being executed. The trio was joined by the courageous Martha Wang-Luo Mande, “who had cared for their needs in prison and now wanted to die with them. All four showed such courage that their faces shone with peace and joy. They prayed all the way until the last moment before they were beheaded.”[2]