1946 to 1948 - Carnage at Chifeng

1946 - 1948

Chifeng, Inner Mongolia

A procession of nuns from the Scheut Mission in Inner Mongolia.

As the Communists gained control of the towns and villages of Inner Mongolia they launched a programme of systematic destruction and murder. Catholic missionaries had laboured in Inner Mongolia for centuries, and their work was already well established in several key areas. Some of the worst carnage took place at Chifeng in the southern part of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, where the believers seem to have been specifically targeted by the Communists. One prominent Catholic, Zhang Yunsing,

“was hung up by his thumbs to induce him to bear false witness against one of the priests. Zhang Ruixiang had his face and body smeared with gasoline, which was set on fire, for the same purpose. Instead of yielding, however, the Catholics passed secretly, from hand to hand, the new prayer, ‘In preparation for Martyrdom,’ which had been…approved by their Archbishop.”[1]

In October 1946 two Chinese priests, Paul Xing and Paul Liu were murdered after being falsely accused of being spies. One account says, “The first priest was taken out of the jail where the Reds had tortured him, was shot by the side of a road, and left there for the vultures to devour.”[2] Frightened by the events in Chifeng, a group of two priests, 20 nuns and dozens of other Catholics decided to flee the area by foot. They left towards Chahar, but the severe winter temperatures soon took their toll. After travelling for nine days and nights, three of the children had died from exposure to the elements. On August 31, 1947, imprisoned priest Paul Shi Guangjiu was stripped to his waist by the prison wardens. A large man

“sat on his chest while others dragged him by a rope tied to his feet. He was dragged over rough paths, rocks, and gaoliang (sorghum) stubble for two hours, part of the time by Christians who were forced to participate. Finally, he was shot dead.”[3]

Joseph Zhang (Chang) was a fellow priest and friend of Paul Shi Guangjiu. He was arrested and treated cruelly by the Communists, who offered him an office job with the Communist Party if he would denounce his faith. Despite this chance to gain his freedom, he refused to do so. Consequently, Zhang

“was made to stand motionless for days and nights, and then to sit over a coil of burning cord until his skin blackened and cracked. Finally, along with Father Shi, he had a rope tied around his ankles and was dragged over rough ground until he died.”[4]

Francis Zhu Yunxin, the Catholic priest of Guandi village near Chifeng, was arrested and dragged behind a horse for more than 12 hours in a failed attempt to make him deny Christ. Somehow he survived the ordeal, but was later slaughtered by the merciless Communists. Camille Xia, a 70-year-old priest, was tied to a mule and dragged around the fields in a similar manner. Witnesses said his flesh was torn and his body was covered with blood by the end of the ordeal. A priest named Ho was tortured for refusing to join the Communist army. Just before he was shot dead he told his tormentors, “You are loyal to revolution, I to religion; I cannot give up my loyalty for yours.”[5]

Catholic missionaries in Inner Mongolia struggling through the sands of the Gobi Desert.

Still the attacks continued. John Ren of Haobedu was dragged to death through the crowded streets. Hundreds of Christians were forced to watch the spectacle. Up to his last breath Ren continued to pray for his persecutors. Joseph Liang, a priest from Wangzenai, was thrown into prison for the ‘crime of celibacy’. His church was turned into a granary and the other mission quarters were used as barracks for the Communist soldiers. Liang’s

“tortures were numerous; he was hung from a beam almost daily for ten months and beaten until the bones of his body stuck through the flesh. When he was urged to apostatize and win his liberty, he said, ‘Not only am I a Catholic, but I am also a priest. And if you cut off my head, I shall always be a Catholic, and always be a priest.’ He was killed by beating.”[6]

Other believers in the Chifeng area simply vanished and were never seen again. Joseph Han—the priest at Zhuizeshan—disappeared, as did three nuns from the mission. After two years of searching, they were given up as dead. In another location 300 Catholics who refused to denounce their priest were locked in prison, where “12 of them died of cold and hunger.”[7]

Another man named Zhang served as a catechist for a Chinese priest. When the Communists invaded his district a confrontation developed, and Zhang rushed in and delivered several punches to an official. The authorities quickly arrested him and threw him into prison, along with another believer. In the solitude of the prison, Zhang

“reflected sadly on the prospect of dying for the sake of a fit of high spirits and a few punches…. A little while later Zhang was summoned before the tribunal…. The tribunal had condemned him to death, but offered him a reprieve on condition that he confessed to having struck the official at the orders of his priest. By refusing to make this ‘confession’ the catechist condemned himself to die, not for a few punches, but for love of the truth and love of Christ.”[8]

Several days later Zhang was again summoned, this time along with a believer who shared his cell. The judge showed them a piece of paper which read: ‘We both testify that it was on the orders of our priest that we performed acts of violence against the People’s official.’ Both men refused to sign the paper and were immediately taken out of the court and shot.

1. Palmer, God’s Underground in Asia, 30-31.
2. Palmer, God’s Underground in Asia, 30.
3. Myers, Enemies Without Guns, 14.
4. Myers, Enemies Without Guns, 14.
5. Palmer, God’s Underground in Asia, 32.
6. Palmer, God’s Underground in Asia, 32.
7. Palmer, God’s Underground in Asia, 35.
8. Monsterleet, Martyrs in China, 146-147.