Free God Is Red by Liao Yiwu Page A

furniture, old scrolls of paintings, and even the pipe organ that was brought there by Western missionaries. You know, there used to be a gigantic bell installed inside the church’s top tower. They took it down and tried to break it but couldn’t make a single crack. In the end, they took it away. Nobody knows where it is now. Such a shame. The bell was made in London and transported to Dali in 1905.
    They were thorough. Nothing was left. One of them thought that because we were spies we might have hidden a telegraph machine or weapons. My husband insisted we were not spies. But their leader wouldn’t listen. “When those imperialists left, they planted you here. They assigned you special tasks. You’d better confess if you want lenient treatment.” I stepped up and explained on behalf of my husband, “We are not allowed to hide anything illegal in the church. It is a holy place.” They scolded me for being as stubborn as granite. They got hold of some shovels and electric drills. Within a few hours, they destroyed the floor and had dug a big hole in the middle of the chapel.
    Liao: They must have seen too many spy movies.
    Zhang: Later, the church was occupied by a dozen or so local residents who decided to live there. The chapel was converted into workshops for blacksmiths, stove makers, pottery makers, and carpenters. We were detained and tortured. Each time we were released, we went back to work at the hospital and continued to take care of patients. One day, a group of peasants put up a poster saying “Thank you.” The poster was next to a bunch of slogans: “Smash the dog heads of Wu Yongsheng and Zhang Fengxiang.”
    We tried to make the best of a bad situation. We accepted the humiliation without resistance.
    My husband mentioned Reverend Duan Liben, who headed the local Three-Self Patriotic Committee. In 1956 he traveled to Beijing for a national conference on reforming the Christian churches in China. In July 1966 the local government ordered all the local Catholic and Protestant leaders to attend a “religious conference.” It turned out to be a trap. For forty days they were detained for interrogation. Then, Reverend Duan was sent to the countryside to “reform his thinking through hard labor.” He suffered a lot, more than ordinary Christians like us. He’s no longer with us.
    In 1980 the United Front Department notified us that we could hold Sunday services. The worshipping service had been banned for more than two decades. They did not return many of the church’s assets, and we doubt they ever will.

Chapter 5
The Episcopalian
    In 1937, after Japan invaded China, Cai Yongchun and Wu Shengde, two professors from Huazhong University in the central city of Wuhan, relocated to Dali and founded the Dali Episcopalian Church. In 1943 the two founders received funding from the dioceses in Shanghai and bought twenty buildings and houses on one and a half acres of land. They converted the properties into a chapel, an orphanage, and an elementary school to accelerate the spread of the gospel. In 1948 Hou Wuling, a young priest, took over the church. In 1964, during a political study session, Reverend Hou took out a cross hidden in his breast pocket and slipped to the ground. He died of an aneurism.
    Wu Yongsheng, The History of Christianity in Dali
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    W ho was this young priest, Hou Wuling? His mention in Wu Yongsheng’s book was so brief that it didn’t shed much light on the man’s life or the circumstances surrounding his death. How could such a religious leader, for he clearly was that, pass like a meteor, flashing momentarily and then disappearing with scarcely a trace? What happened to him under Communism? What prompted him to bring out the hidden cross at that political study session? I was intrigued; I like a good mystery. I began by examining existing church records but could find nothing about Hou.
    In Wu’s book, I also