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EVERLASTING PEARL
One of China's Women
by
ANNA MAGDALENA JOHANNSEN
For Sixteen Years a Missionary in China
With Preface by Walter B. Sloan
Second Impression
[Frontispiece: EVERLASTING PEARL. The photo was taken after her
marriage to Mr. Lü.]
China Inland Mission
London, Philadelphia, Toronto, Melbourne and Shanghai
Morgan & Scott, Ltd.
12 Paternoster Buildings, London, E.C.
MCMXVIII
First Edition October 1913
Reprinted January 1918
Completing 5000 copies
PREFACE
Thirty-five years ago missionary work was commenced in the city of
Yüshan, situated on the Kwangsin River in Kiangsi, one of the central
Provinces of China.
The conversion of "Everlasting Pearl," which is the subject of the
following narrative, is a part of the harvest which has been reaped in
later years by the missionaries of the China Inland Mission, who still
continue to carry on the work in this city and neighbourhood.
In April of last year I had the privilege of spending ten days there,
and of addressing the Church on the Sundays. On the first Monday
morning we watched, with great interest, the departure of some of the
country Christians to their homes. The party consisted of a
simple-looking company of men and women, clad in the plain blue
garments that the country people usually wear. The men were walking,
but the few women, with their diminutive feet, were perched on barrows,
and one of them was pointed out as being "evangelist, pastor, and
Biblewoman, all rolled into one," in the district from which they all
came. This was the woman, a part of whose life-story is told in this
book, and after reading the many striking incidents which it contains,
I gladly welcome the opportunity afforded me of writing a brief
introduction.
Even as a study of human life, the story is one that is full of
interest. It takes us far away from the ordinary beaten track right
into the heart of China; and so intimate is the writer's acquaintance
with the habits and customs of the people, that there are few, even of
those who know Chinese life well, who will not be able to learn
something from reading these pages.
The Chinese are a people of strong character; and although this woman
stands out as being possessed of marked ability and determination,
there are other lives of which we catch a glimpse in which similar
features can be clearly discerned.
It is, however, as an illustration of the power of the Gospel, in the
heart of one who was brought up in heathenism, that the narrative
possesses its supreme interest. In this case from the time when the
great decision was made, after long resistance, to yield to Christ and
trust in Him, there was no going back. We read of many trials,
sorrows, testings, but the onward and upward course is steadily
maintained.
The religious devotee, when converted, always makes a better disciple
than the person who has been entirely indifferent to the concerns of
the soul; and so it was in the case of "Everlasting Pearl." She clung
strongly to the vow that she had taken when she became a vegetarian,
and on this account she long withstood the claims of the Gospel; but
when at last she heard the call of Christ, then she turned to Him in
full surrender and whole-hearted obedience, and became a burning and a
shining light amongst her relatives and neighbours.
The reader will observe the record of not a few dreams and visions in
the story; but instead of these tending to discredit its truthfulness,
they will only confirm it to those who know the life of the people of
this class in China.
The statement is constantly being made that the Gospel spreads more
through the life and testimony of the converts themselves than by the
work of the missionaries. The way in which this woman was brought to
Christ, and the way in which she led others to Him, illustrates this
fact; but truth is many-sided, and here we also see how large a
ministry there still is for the missionaries to exercise, and how much
they are needed to help the people in the midst of their struggles,
perplexities, and sorrows, by their counsel, kind sympathy, and their
prayers.
I have only to add that the account of the early years is given just as
it has been told by the woman herself, and the account of the later
days is a simple narrative of the facts as they have come under the
observation of the writer.
WALTER B. SLOAN.
CONTENTS
CHAP.
I. BIRTH AND INFANCY.
II. FOOTBINDING
III. CHILDHOOD DAYS
IV. ENGAGEMENT
V. MARRIAGE--PART I
VI. MARRIAGE--PART II
VII. DARK DAYS
VIII. MISERABLE COMFORTERS
IX. BROKEN CISTERNS
X. WAYS NOT KNOWN
XI. THE MESSENGERS OF PEACE
XII. THE BEGINNING OF CONFLICT
XIII. THE BATTLE GROWS FIERCER
XIV. LIGHT AFTER DARKNESS
XV. SAVED TO SERVE
XVI. PERSECUTION AND TRIAL
XVII. LABOUR AND FRUIT
XVIII. FRUIT MORE ABUNDANT
XIX. PREPARATION FOR FURTHER SERVICE
XX. DAYS OF SHADOW
XXI. THE SHADOW DEEPENS
XXII. ENTERING THE VALLEY
XXIII. ANOTHER JEWEL WON FOR CHRIST
XXIV. CONCLUSION
ILLUSTRATIONS
EVERLASTING PEARL . . . . . _Frontispiece_
A PRECIOUS BUNDLE
PLAITING SILK BRAID
A SOURCE OF GREAT DELIGHT
WRITING THE ENGAGEMENT DOCUMENT
ADORNED AS A BRIDE
THE OUT-STATION OF KUCHENG
ANOTHER JEWEL FOR CHRIST
EVERLASTING PEARL
CHAPTER I
BIRTH AND INFANCY
It was a warm, close day in May, in Central China. The summer heat had
just set in, and the inhabitants of Kucheng (Ancient City) were
somewhat weary and languid, when a woman brought the news to her
neighbour--"A daughter has been born to the Tu family." The news soon
spread from door to door. All languor was shaken off, for curiosity
got the better of lassitude, and the women, now fully alert, hobbled on
their small feet to the little house where farmer Tu lived with his
young wife and parents.
The house was a small, unpretentious building, with mud walls and a
tiled roof. The interior was like that of all the homes around. If
you had seen one, you had a good idea of the appearance of the rest.
You entered the guest-hall, where on the wall at the farther end hung a
large centre scroll, representing the "Ruler of Heaven," before which
incense was lighted morning and evening. On either side of the idol,
and on all the pillars you would see paper scrolls pasted up, with
trite sayings written in flowery phrases, such as--
"If in your house you walk circumspectly, then when you leave your home
you will associate with virtuous friends only."
"If the house is clean and beautiful, an excellent wind will be wafted
through it."
"If the flowers give out their fragrance, a bright moon will shine upon
them."
On either side of the guest-hall were doors leading into the bedrooms.
Into one of these the women crowded eagerly, in search of the little
newcomer, shouting, as they entered, their congratulations, first to
the grandmother, and then to the parents of the child. On seeing the
precious bundle held out to them, decked out in all the new, gorgeous,
but uncomfortable clothes bought by the maternal grandmother, one
visitor could not help whispering, "What a pity it is not a boy!" But
the other women politely interrupted her, and the young mother looked
proudly at the "bundle of clothes" handed back to her. It was true she
would have preferred a son, so would her husband, and above all her
mother-in-law, but as it was their first child, even the little girl
received a welcome. Had she been the second or third girl in the
family, she would not have had the same kind reception. Very likely
she would have been given away to some other family, who would have
made her a drudge, and in later years have married her to one of their
sons; or she might even have been left to die from want.
[Illustration: A precious bundle.]
But now things were different. Her parents were ready to lavish all
their love and kindness on the little girl. They called in the
fortune-teller, asking him what her fate would be in after years. He,
having been told the day and hour of her birth, declared the child had
been born under a lucky star. Her heart was good, her disposition kind
and amiable; they need not worry about her, only, he added, she was
born to toil and hard work. Satisfied with his prophecies, Mr. Tu paid
him his wonted fee, fully believing in his skill.
After a month had elapsed, the relatives and neighbours were invited to
a feast in honour of the child. Candles and incense were lighted
before the gods, the babe was presented to them, and henceforward she
was regarded as under their protection. When the little girl was a
year old, the relatives assembled again. The grandmother had brought
another lot of presents, among them some beautifully embroidered shoes,
as the time had come for the child to learn to walk. She was old
enough to notice things, and the baby eyes looked delightedly at her
feet, that had never worn shoes before, now so beautifully adorned in
the gayest of colours. Again a thank-offering was given to the gods.
The grandmother carried the child forward, and this time the baby
fingers had to hold the incense that was lighted before the sacred
picture.
Thus, instead of being brought to the living, loving Saviour to be
blessed, the little Chinese boy or girl is led before the dead idols,
and dedicated to them. Do not say, "Oh, it will make no difference,
the idols are nothing." The idols _are_ nothing, but there is a
fearful power of darkness behind them. The longer one lives in China,
the more one feels that in a true sense the Chinese child is dedicated,
not to the idols only, but to the prince of darkness himself. And oh!
how one longs to lead the parents into the light of Christ, so that
they may bring their little ones to Him, who is waiting to bless them.