1900 - Zhou Fe'ngen

June 1900

Duliu, Tianjin

Zhou Feng’en graduated from the Theological school at Tianjin just before the Boxer persecution began. In June 1900 he set out on a journey to his home in Xiaochang (Hubei Province), travelling with his uncle, who was the mission courier of the district. Zhou obtained passage on board a boat going to Hengshui. His uncle thought the mailbag would be much safer travelling on the boat than by land, so he gave it to his nephew, asking him to deliver it to the missionaries upon his arrival. Zhou never completed the journey.

Another passenger provided information about what happened. The boat stopped at Duliu, a town on the Grand Canal south of Tianjin and a headquarters of the Boxers. A group of them came to the boat and asked the captain if there were any Christians on board. The captain declared there were none, but the Boxers were not satisfied, and conducted their own search. Each passenger was bound, and swords waved in their faces to search for any sign of fear, or for the mystical ‘cross’ they claimed they could see on the foreheads of Christians. While this was taking place,

“one of the passengers, fearing for his life, betrayed Zhou, pointing him out as a Christian to the Boxers. The Boxers immediately searched the young man’s bundle, and finding in it several Christian books, together with the foreign mail bag, dragged him on shore for execution. The martyrdom took place just in front of a temple, where many other Christians suffered. The young preacher met his death bravely and unflinchingly, placing his trust in the Lord.”[1]