1960s - Asia Harvest

1960s

The 1960s saw a dramatic change for the body of Christ in Zhejiang, and throughout the country. Persecution had been severe throughout the 1950s, but the new decade brought draconian changes as the government attempted to completely destroy Christianity.

For the next quarter of a century the Church in Zhejiang went almost completely silent. Very little news made its way out of China, and a concerned Christian world was left only with occasional crumbs and anecdotal stories. Many observers believed there would be no Christians left in the province after the Communists had finished their dire work, and that if missionaries were ever permitted to enter China again, they would need to restart their work from scratch.

One scrap of news did emerge from Zhejiang in 1961, when a Christian successfully mailed a letter out of the country. It brought great encouragement to those who had labored and prayed for the body of Christ in the province. The writer shared:

"It is impossible to describe all that I have seen in a short letter. But God's work is still going on gloriously in the lives of many faithful Christians. We must give praise and thanks to God for His gracious care and protection. In the past the Church was built upon sand, and now it is being built on rock. God does not make mistakes. I have been thankful to find brethren steadfast in their faith. This was seen particularly in many young people."1

A Decade of Madness

The diabolical Cultural Revolution, which commenced in 1966 and continued until the overthrow of the Gang of Four and Mao's death in 1976, witnessed probably the most intense persecution of Christians in China's history.

Years later, a prominent house church leader from another part of the country provided insights into the dark forces that overtook the Communists during the 1960s and 1970s, which resulted in him and thousands of other Christians spending years in prison for the gospel. He wrote:

"Communism does something very evil to a person. It takes away the personalization of individuals. In fact, any social institution that systematically removes belief in God does this.... When we are in Christ Jesus, it is not possible for us to torture others, because true Christians are conscious of a reversal of roles. It is impossible for a Christian to look into the eyes of a victim being tortured and not empathize with that person, even to the point of flinching with each blow.

Atheism takes that shared commonality away. Communism in China during those days dehumanized society. In accordance with evolutionary theories, people were devalued to the level of animals. People were no longer people; they were expendable. They were not thought of as sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, and brothers and sisters but as a collective, machine-like workforce that needed to produce more than it consumed."2

When new anti-religious regulations were implemented in 1966, Christians had no choice but to immediately cease all public meetings. Church buildings had already been seized by the government and turned into gymnasiums, warehouses, and other facilities. Believers broke into small groups of no more than ten people, and strategies were adopted to ensure security as far as possible. For example, if believers agreed to meet in a certain home, they worked out a plan for each person to arrive at intervals 15 minutes apart, so that neighbors would not be alerted that a gathering was in progress. At the conclusion of the service, the participants also departed individually at regular intervals.

During the house church meetings, loud singing and preaching was not encouraged, and many Christians who owned properties sound-proofed the meeting rooms as much as possible by hanging egg crates on the walls to deflect the sound inwards. Cracks were covered up around doors and windows, and believers were always on alert if strangers tried to attend a meeting, knowing they might be undercover agents.

In rural locations, believers often set up watch along pathways and roads leading to a meeting place. If any vehicle or unwanted visitor approached, a signal system was initiated to help attendees rapidly but calmly disperse in pre-determined directions. On many occasions the Red Guards arrived at a location to arrest the Christians, only to find the place empty and all Bibles, hymnbooks and other evidence of a religious gathering removed.

Pressure from the government ebbed and flowed during these years, as God's children learned to discern when things were at their tightest and when they were a little more relaxed. For much of 1966 the environment was so tight that even small home gatherings were suspended. One account of the Church in Zhejiang told how

"Small meetings resumed in 1967, but this provoked intensified opposition and fierce persecution. Christians were humiliated, tortured, threatened and subjected to 'struggle' sessions. Many died in prison, while others were either killed or crippled by savage beatings. The survivors, however, emerged as powerful disciple-makers, although sometimes the only kind of public witness possible occurred at well-attended Christian funerals where full advantage was taken to proclaim a living Savior and a living hope. Even so, the funeral organizers were often arrested."3

Another source recalled the great sacrifice that many Christians willingly made to allow meeting in their homes:

"Christian gatherings never ceased completely, even during the Cultural Revolution. When political pressure ran high, churches went underground. As soon as the pressures relaxed, gatherings immediately resumed.

Once, the police arrested a group of Christians gathered for prayer in a Christian woman's home. They left the woman free to take care of her household. However, as soon as she could find a friend to take her place, she hastened to join the arrested group. Such behavior bewildered the authorities, but she explained, 'We Christians who suffer for the Lord on earth will receive a crown in heaven. I don't want to miss that!'

The group was, as usual, paraded through the streets, but they had peace and joy in their hearts as their actions testified to the power and glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ."4

One young man from a Christian family gained a job teaching at a school in a nearby city. He was a believer in Jesus and had experienced His love and grace, but teachers were strictly forbidden to share religion with others, either in class or privately. If caught, the teacher would immediately lose his job and face prosecution.

After arriving at his new job, however, the teacher realized many of the students also came from Christian families throughout Zhejiang Province, and they needed fellowship with one another and Bible teaching if their faith was to survive. They met discreetly, and the power and presence of God was so strong in their meetings that they soon grew in number. While the entire social fabric of China was being torn apart, the Holy Spirit preserved this remnant of young believers and nurtured them in the faith. One of the participants later wrote:

"Some schoolmates of Christian students were killed in battles with different units of the Red Guards. But in Wenzhou, no God-fearing young people participated in the Red Guards' activities. They found safety at home with their families. At this time conflicts occurred not only on the streets between strangers, but also between husband and wife, father and son, brothers and sisters. Christians enjoyed love and care, not only within their own families but also with other Christian families."5

Plucked from the Fire

The Chinese government, despite all its efforts, was unable to quench the thirst that people had for spiritual truth. Indeed, it became evident that the disastrous policies implemented by Mao had caused a great spiritual hunger to rise in the hearts of many people, which ultimately resulted in a mighty harvest for the kingdom of God.

In the midst of terrible oppression and fear, the Holy Spirit roamed freely, blowing life into receptive hearts. One man named Li managed to flee to Hong Kong, where he spoke of the long and difficult path to salvation that he had walked down during the Cultural Revolution. When the Red Guards were doing their worst, Li recalled:

"Many were slaughtered. Stinking corpses were found alongside the streets and flowing down the river. Since there was nowhere to run, we waited for death at home.

On a dark and quiet night, I was awakened by a nightmare. In the dream I had seen my mother kneeling in front of her bed, whispering, 'Heaven, have mercy!'.... My mother had been severely beaten so that her body was covered with scars and she lost consciousness. Yet, she had refused to submit or beg for mercy before."6

Although he did not yet know the Lord, the young man paid attention to the dream and wondered what it meant for heaven to have mercy on someone. In 1967, a series of terrible incidents struck Li's life, which ultimately led to him finding Christ. He explained:

"The dormitory where I lived caught fire. My clothes and hair were on fire. My body suffered serious burns and later festered. The people who came to put out the fire intentionally ignored me, and passed by me several times. Instead, they tried to 'rescue' the works of Mao and his picture. My life wasn't even worth that of a tiny, pitiful beast....

My mother was living in the female dormitory, about 300 yards away. She was in bed, very sick, when suddenly a strong force made her get up from her bed. She rushed out and cried hysterically. Pushing and shoving the firemen and the people around, she threw herself into the fire and rescued me. She later said, 'There was a force moving me, but I didn't know what or who it was.' This was the mighty power of God, working and manifesting itself through my mother."7

After several nights in the hospital, the doctors warned Li that his nervous system had been permanently damaged and he would remain handicapped for the rest of his life. Three months later, however, Li was home alone in bed when suddenly

"Golden light flashed through our small and crude lodging.... At that moment, I had a feeling that I might be able to move. I moved left and right, and gradually I could sit up with the help of my hands.... I moved toward the edge of my bed, and let my left foot touch the floor. As I did so, I immediately felt a warm current, like electricity, running through my hands and feet.... I stood up on the floor and stepped forward. I was able to move slowly, away from the wall. When my mother returned home and saw me walking, she was astonished and for a long time could not utter a word. With her eyes wide open she stared at me and said, 'Heaven has been merciful!'"8

Some years later, Li heard about the Bible and tried to locate a copy, but all he could find in the county library was an old Russian Marxist book criticizing Christianity. After escaping to Hong Kong, he met other Chinese Christians who had fled the mainland, and he grew in knowledge of the truth. At the end of a long and difficult journey, Li joyfully declared, "In my lowly and ignorant state, I am absolutely unfit to be used by God. But His abundant grace and desire to save people caused me to be enlisted in His army. He gave me this opportunity to become His disciple. I thank God for His gifts, His selection, and His working through me."9

Another well-known Zhejiang church leader during this dark period was Hu Zhenqing, who was arrested and sent to prison in 1958. He was released in July 1969 after spending 11 years in a prison labor camp, and he immediately resumed preaching the gospel. Hu was re-arrested in 1973 and sentenced to another seven years behind bars. When he was finally released in 1980 at the age of 62, Hu courageously carried on his ministry, traveling widely and establishing churches throughout Zhejiang and Anhui provinces until his death in 1995. He is remembered as a man of God who was faithful even unto death, and whose zeal for the kingdom of God never waned.

At one place in the late 1960s, a group of ten Christian men and women were rounded up during a prayer meeting and hauled before an impromptu court. They were found guilty of 'counter-revolutionary activities' and arrested, bound, and viciously beaten in the public square as a warning to the rest of the community. As they were beaten, the believers preached the gospel at the top of their voices, imploring people to repent and believe in Jesus Christ before it was too late and they suffered His wrath.

When they could not be silenced, the guards flew into a demonic rage and blood flowed freely. The treatment meted out to the ten Christians was so savage that all the people stood still and watched in horrified silence. One account described the dramatic scene:

"Even the fortune-tellers were moved by the Holy Spirit and burst out crying. Many people hearing the Word forgot to eat, work, or even return home.

The brothers and sisters preached until they were exhausted, but the crowd would not let them leave. The authorities, however, came and dragged the Christians away one by one, binding them with ropes and beating them with electric batons, knocking them unconscious. When they revived they continued to pray, sing, and preach to the bystanders.

When the believers were bound and beaten, many people saw to their amazement that they were smiling. Their spirit and appearance were so lively and gracious that many were led to believe in Jesus by their example.... For more than three days they were left without food or water, beaten with sticks until their faces were covered with blood, their hands made black by the ropes—but still praying, singing, and praising the Lord.... In this area the flame of the gospel spread everywhere!"10

Of Whom the World was not Worthy

Throughout Zhejiang, many stories emerged of God's miraculous intervention on behalf of Christians who took a stand for Him during the 1960s. One young female science teacher refused to teach Darwin's theory of evolution to her students. For weeks the school tried to persuade her to change her mind, but she would not relent and constantly told them, "We are not monkeys. We are men and women made in the image of God."

When they realized their persuasions would not change her, officers were called in, and the young lady was forced to say the same words, this time through smashed teeth and bloodied lips. She was demoted to the role of school janitor, and the authorities forbade her from attending house church meetings with her fellow believers.

In another town, a respected doctor refused to say, "Chairman Mao is greater than Jesus Christ." Red Guards beat him unconscious and left him lying in a pool of blood on the hospital floor. When the guards returned a few days later, his reply was the same, "My Christ is bigger than Chairman Mao. My Christ is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. He has been given the Name above all names in heaven, on earth and under the earth."11

The elderly doctor was beaten for several days, but he still refused to renounce his Lord and Savior. Finally, the Communists had enough of his insolence and decided to end the situation once and for all. They stripped the disciple of Christ naked and made him stand on a narrow bench, barely 6 inches (15 cm) wide. They taunted him to continue balancing on the bench, and threatened to kill him if he fell down.

After quietly repeating the biblial story of three young Jewish men who were thrown into a fiery furnace, the doctor finally raised his voice to address his tormentors:

"They were not burned because the Lord stood with them, and He is with me now.'

The hours passed, and not a muscle in his body trembled. Five hours, ten hours—people began to take notice. 'Where does this old man get his strength from?' they asked. His very presence was becoming not only a witness to Christ, but a source of conviction and embarrassment to the others who saw him standing, naked, on the bench.

Finally, the cadre could stand it no longer. Naked, and without a whimper, the man...had stood, balancing himself on a narrow bench, from seven in the evening until ten o'clock the next morning. After 15 hours of what the doctor called 'peace and fellowship,' he was pushed to the floor. The Red Guards promised him that there would be another day. It came a week later. Dragging him away from his patients, they hanged him.

The guards fought among themselves. They were frightened. Some wanted to cut him down before he died. After a scuffle, one cut the rope. He fell to the floor and preached his last message: 'As I was hanging there, my heart was melting for you.' He then died, as his predecessor, Stephen, had done before him."12

A Zhejiang Christian named Chen was both an accountant and a gifted evangelist. Even in the midst of the Cultural Revolution, he shared his faith with his co-workers and sought to lead them to Christ. Chen even shared the gospel with a leader of the notorious Red Guards, a man who was deeply feared for his vicious and inhuman acts.

Chen invited the man to a house church meeting so he could hear the gospel and meet other Christians. Understandably, many believers were hesitant, but Chen finally persuaded them to trust God, much like Barnabas had once encouraged the early Christians to accept Paul into their midst.13 At first, the man carried a pistol with him to the meetings, but after he accepted the Lord,

"His life was completely changed. He turned in his gun and resigned from the Red Guard organization. Not surprisingly, this action infuriated his superiors, who staged a public meeting to 'struggle' against both him and Chen. They demanded that they either renounce their faith publicly or be demoted to sanitary workers.... Sanitary work was a filthy and disgusting occupation. It required getting up at midnight to collect human excrement from each house and then carry the heavy load to designated locations."14

Both men accepted the demotions, and they were mocked as they began their new careers. Chen's family was deeply concerned about his health as he had never worked in a job involving heavy labor, and he had recently undergone major surgery. The duo committed themselves to the Lord, however, and each day they returned home and enjoyed rich fellowship, strengthening one another in the faith. Chen continued his job as a sanitary worker for 12 years until his retirement, and during that time he never once fell ill.

While many overseas observers believed that Christianity had died in China, as Marxist theory dictated, the truth gradually emerged that Jesus Christ was alive and well, and was living in the hearts of multitudes of followers throughout Zhejiang. Even during the darkest hours of the Cultural Revolution,

"Stalwart believers in dank prison cells and desolate rural fields were refusing to bow the knee to 'Caesar'. Choosing obedience to God rather than life itself, they persevered under unimaginable trials.... Slowly, stories began to trickle out of brave Christians who had stood their ground through those long, lonely years. More than that, we began to hear about large-scale turnings to Christianity in rural areas where Mao's movement had once been strongest."15

Footnotes:
1. Leslie T. Lyall, Red Sky at Night: Communism Confronts Christianity in China (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1969), pp. 36-7.
2. Zhang Rongliang with Eugene Bach, I Stand with Christ: The Courageous Life of a Chinese Christian (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2015), p. 59.
3. Lyall, God Reigns in China, p. 168.
4. Lyall, The Phoenix Rises, pp. 68-9.
5. Lyall, The Phoenix Rises, p. 72.
6. "Trial by Fire," China and the Church Today (November-December 1983), p. 10.
7. "Trial by Fire," p. 10.
8. "Trial by Fire," p. 11.
9. "Trial by Fire," p. 11.
10. dc Talk and The Voice of the Martyrs, Jesus Freaks: Stories of Those Who Stood for Jesus, Vol. 2 (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 2002), n.p.
11. Carl Lawrence, The Church in China (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 1985), p. 43.
12. Lawrence, The Church in China, p. 43.
13. See Acts 9:26-28.
14. Lyall, The Phoenix Rises, p. 70.
15. Doyle, Builders of the Chinese Church, p. 2.