"And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentiles; and the people fled from the Philistines. But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it... and the Lord wrought a great victory." 2 Sam 23:11, 12.
These verses I always felt described my work in the Christian Book Room. It was a very small, insignificant place. Most of our furniture had been lost during the Japanese occupation, and we had opened shop again with a collection of cases from the Red Cross; and with conditions always uncertain we had never replaced them. But the shop contained food for the people of God, and so must be defended against the enemies of God's people. There was nothing much I could do, but for ten years God enabled me to stand in the midst of that piece of ground, and I wish to record what the Lord wrought. The special Scripture the Lord gave me was "Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it". Rev. 3:88I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. (Revelation 3:8). When people said, You will never be able to carry on; when my own heart said the same; when formidable obstacles arose; again and again I fell back on my promise, the promise given by the One "That openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth". Rev. 3:77And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; (Revelation 3:7). And so, when at last the door was closed, I knew it was He Who had done it, and He gave grace to accept it.
That first summer there was very little business. Everything and everyone was so unsettled, one hardly expected to do business, and a customer was a pleasant surprise. I was fairly busy, getting reacquainted with our stock, both at the shop and at the godown, and unraveling accounts. Next door was the Alliance Press, and we had always worked together. It was now being carried on by a competent Chinese woman; we used to discuss what the Communists might do, and wondered how we might be able to continue. We had no idea of the amount of interference and red tape they would introduce, but our worst fears were not realized, not then, anyway.
There were several other Christian book stores still functioning and there were still missionaries who came in to visit, and we had dealings with the Publishers Association. We were not members, and it may have been a mistake to have anything to do with them, even though it was only for advertising. They were feeling the difficulties also. At one of their meetings some one summed up the situation somewhat to this effect: All Chinese things are good, all foreign things are bad-Protestantism, the Bible and most religious books are foreign: so how about it? One is reminded of "Animal Farm", and how the sheep were taught to bleat "Four legs good, two legs bad.”
In the autumn conditions improved. Communications were reestablished with the outside world, and it was a great comfort to receive letters once more, especially the regular letters from my sister. She and her husband and their fellow worker had been obliged to come out from their work in South China, and were finding various openings in Hong Kong. They did much for me there; my brother-in-law looked after all my complicated money matters, and constantly helped with the import and export of books, as long as this was possible. I could never have carried on in Shanghai without their help in Hong Kong.
Business improved in. the Book Room. We were not yet able to get possession of the shop on the ground floor which we had occupied before we were interned; but I was allowed to use the window for display. I set up our big Dispensational chart-about 15 feet long and five feet high-all around the back of the window. There was much interest, and a big demand for the small one like it, 31 inches long, and I had it reprinted. I must explain this chart, for it caused trouble later. One line on it represented Chinese history, so it might be compared with the periods in Biblical history. This line of course had ended with the People's Republic. At the end of this I squeezed in the communist regime, thinking they would be pleased to be recognized. By no means! The space allotted to them was small, and their opinion of themselves is enormous; also it came of course just at the end, before the symbols representing the end of the world, the Resurrection and the judgment. It is always a mistake to try to propitiate the ministers of evil.
I did a lot of other printing. The Lord provided me abundantly with money. I did not know how long there would be liberty to print, and I felt that even if I were not allowed to remain, the books might still be used. At that time, I had the most vivid sense of the immanence of the Lord's return; it seemed that it must be within the year, and I hoped that when all His people had been caught away, these books might still witness for Him, to those who had never had a chance to hear. That was not His way, but perhaps even now the books are being used in some way. Of course, I was very thankful to have those full stocks on which to draw during the ten years that the Lord held open the door. The "blessed Hope" of the Lord's return was a very great comfort during those dark days. How often sad faces would brighten as we spoke of the coming of our Savior. The Communists hated the subject, and in some places the Christians were forbidden to mention it. They studied Revelation behind locked doors. Several times I was asked how I dared to sell expositions of Revelation, and books on the Lord's Coming. But it was most important for us to sell them, as no one else would; we sold a great many, and I reprinted our big exposition of Revelation.
There was one dear old gentleman, a business man, who was especially interested in Prophecy. He bought or borrowed all the books we had on the subject, in both Chinese and English. He was quite sure each year that the Lord was coming at the Feast of Trumpets. Early in October he would come in to tell me the date on which the Lord would come. Later, when He had not come, he would come in to explain the mistake he had made in his calculations, and that He would certainly come the next year. One does not want date-setting but it is very good to live in this constant expectation, not only in October, but every day of the year.
I was very busy that year. I have a record of the Income Tax report for 1950, and it gives some idea of what we were doing. Our sales were 182 million, increasing from 4,300,000 in January, to twenty million each month in October, November and December. Our printing expenditure was just under 148 million, and included half a million sheet tracts, 12,000 big Gospel posters, the reprinting of about 2000 each of twenty-three books (mostly small), and three new ones, one of them a translation of "Ben and Kit". That was the last printing we did except for some sheet tracts in 1957. Money changed value that year: in January $1.00 U.S. equaled 21,000. In April, it equaled 42,000. Then it went down to 31,000, at which it remained for some months. The next year it dropped again to 22,000, at which it remained. So a million Chinese dollars then was equal to about $45.00 U.S.
I was very happy that year, but there were many perplexities; and no sooner was one difficulty surmounted, than another would arise. I used to feel that I was being dragged from one mountain peak to another; but it was very exhilarating, and there was generally some fun to be got out of it. The Communists were so frightfully self-important, and many of their arrangements were so silly! I used to long for some one to consult. Most of the problems I dared not mention in letters which almost certainly would be censored; and there was no one in Shanghai who knew or cared enough to be able to give advice. But I have the date April, 1950 against Luke 21:15,15For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. (Luke 21:15) "I will give you a mouth and wisdom". Sometimes as I waited in the magnificent building of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, or looked across at the beautiful grounds of the British Consulate, opposite the shop, I am afraid that I envied them, and longed for an arm of flesh on which to lean. But my very loneliness made me turn to the Lord. The special promise He gave me for 1950 was "My Presence shall go with thee". Ex. 33:1414And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. (Exodus 33:14). Then in April He gave me the further word "Now shalt thou see what I shall do." There was also a warning, They "asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord". Josh. 9:1414And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord. (Joshua 9:14). I pinned this sentence up over my desk, but too often I spoke or acted first, and asked His counsel afterward. My very weakness was an asset, for "He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness" 2 Cor. 12:99And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9). I once lamented to a very knowledgeable Chinese friend how much better it would have been if my brother had stayed, he could have done so much more. No, he said, your brother would probably not have been allowed to stay. And though he did not put it so bluntly, he implied that they thought an old woman could not do much harm with a book room which was connected with no big organization. Our lack of organization, our shabbiness and poverty, all stood us in good stead. Even my inability to speak the language was an advantage; for after the police had questioned me a little, they certainly knew it was not possible for me to do propaganda in Chinese. And they had no idea of the power of the Word of God in those books.
Besides increasing business in Shanghai, and some shipments inland, I was still able to send a good many shipments abroad. Big orders came in from Hong Kong for Chinese books; and my brother could use the English books in Canada, for which there was no demand in China. It became increasingly difficult to send parcels. For every shipment there were endless forms to be filled in; every time there was some new regulation, and I went back and forth from one office to another; most of them seemed to be on the eighth floor, and no elevator! Then there were import licenses to get for the books coming in. But I was glad to get them, for I was the only one able to bring in Christian books, and there was an eager demand for them, especially for books on the study of the Bible, and Greek grammars and dictionaries.
One thing from which I was delivered as a foreigner: I did not have to attend meetings, as most of the Chinese have to do. But I could not escape filling in forms. There was long anxious consideration about joining a guild, as all shops and workers were compelled to do. I finally decided I could not be so yoked together; it would be better to close the Book Room. The Lord gave the verse, "Say ye not a confederacy to all them to whom this people shall say a confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid." Is 8:12. And then we were told that being foreign the Book Room could not join a guild. So that was that.
But there were endless forms to fill in, for registration and reports. Night after night I spent over it; first, it must all be translated from Chinese into English, and very hard it was to understand. Then I looked up the required information, and prepared an English version. This was translated into Chinese, and carefully studied to be sure my not very efficient translator had grasped the meaning. Then it had to be copied out, several copies to hand in, and one to keep for future reference, so we might always give the same answer to the same question.
We were so ignorant and inefficient; and yet I do not remember that I ever had any serious trouble because of making mistakes. The Lord "held my right hand".
Complications of the business continually increased. First, we had to pay business tax monthly. Then we had to pay income tax twice a year, with a report on the whole year's business. The accounts were a perfect nightmare. I had never had any training in book-keeping. My Father had arranged a very simple system of accounts for the Book Room, which was quite sufficient when there was no income tax report, and we were not responsible to anyone. But this was not enough, when we had to fill in pages and pages of reports. At the head of my account book I pasted the text "Be not afraid: remember the Lord" Neh. 4:1414And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses. (Nehemiah 4:14). I used to feel quite sick with fear when the inspector arrived, about twice a year, and went through the account books, checking and comparing. They always found a few mistakes, but never anything serious. I used to remind my Lord of His promise, repeated so many times, "They shall not be ashamed that wait for Me". Is. 49:23. And He did keep me from ever being ashamed before those inspectors. It certainly was only His keeping, for I had no skill or knowledge in those accounts.
Income tax was charged, quite regardless of whether there was a profit or a loss. There were a great many taxes-house tax, land tax, shop tax, stamp tax, business tax, sales tax, income tax, etc. There was a Chinese joke about it: the words of the greeting Long live Mao Tzu Tung, literally, Mao Tzu Tung ten thousand years, could also be understood Mao Tzu Tung of the ten thousand taxes, by reading the same sounds but different characters. I had been troubled about these taxes, for the house and land tax were particularly high; but I found that the only time we read of our Lord providing money to fill a need was when He was called upon to pay the Temple tax. Matt. 17:24-2724And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? 25He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? 26Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. 27Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee. (Matthew 17:24‑27). He was just as able to provide a "fish” for me in Shanghai, as for Peter in Galilee, and so He delivered me from any worry about those taxes. It is a wonderful thing to be delivered, not only from our "troubles", but even from our "fears". Ps. 34:4-6.
In August 1950 at last we were given back our shop on the ground floor. The boys dragged the books and furnishings down from the fourth floor, while I arranged them in place. It was a tremendous job, and of course came at the hottest season of the year; but it was a great convenience to be downstairs, and we had more customers, people dropping in who did not know we were there, when we were on the fourth floor, or who would not climb the stairs. But there were disadvantages: the greatest was the danger of flood. We were just one block from the Bund, the broad street along the Whangpoo river; and we were only a half block from the Soochow creek. During the summer months, especially August and September, there was danger of flood with every high tide at new moon or full moon. If there were a north wind, especially if there were a typhoon, at these times, there was certain to be a flood.
There had been a bad flood in the summer of 1949, and much damage done. But we were then safely upstairs. In 1951, just after we had moved downstairs, there was again danger of flood. Our shop was very small; every corner was filled from floor to ceiling. We moved books and paper, etc. off the floor, and from the lower shelves, a great labor! But alas! we stopped too soon. I came down the next morning to find the floor awash, with nearly a foot of water, many books and posters, and about two reams of our precious paper were soaking. The room we had just moved out of upstairs was still empty, and they allowed us to spread out our posters and paper there to dry but of course much was destroyed.
Before the next flood season we had boards prepared to fit into sockets at our door, and the cracks could be filled up with putty. Practically every building in the lower part of the city was thus equipped. This barricade proved its worth in the next flood. It was a very exciting experience. At noon the flood was over the road, and lapping at our door. Then the tide retreated, but we knew it would rise again at midnight. I quote from a letter describing it, written to my sister August 18, 1954.
"I went home and had dinner and a bath, collected a thermos of coffee, an old dress, a rug and a pillow, and came back to spend the night. No buses or trams run between ten and five thirty so one cannot come and go as one likes. I tried to get some sleep, but the young people were making a regular frolic of it, and there was a great row. About twelve thirty the waters began to rise, and soon there was a raging torrent rushing along the road, getting higher every minute. There was bright moonlight and the street lights, so it was almost as light as day, and the young people were prancing around in the water having a great time. Our boy was out with them, and said that on some streets the water was up to his chest, but on our street, only a little above the knees. I kept putting in more putty, wherever a trickle of water came through; but when it got up to the show window, there were trickles everywhere. Next door their barricade was not high enough, and the whole stream came pouring over into their shop, and soon the water inside was the same as outside; and from them it leaked through to us. Soon we had to take to bailing, and pail after pail we emptied out. All the stock had been moved up, so no harm was done. At last it stopped rising, about three inches below the top of our boards. By that time, it was four A.M., the moon was gone, the stars were shining, and there was a glimmer of dawn coming up. At last the water fell below the level of the shop window, so we knew we were all right. The boy went off to his bed, and I spread my rug in the shop window, which was fairly dry, and slept till the noises were too loud outside.”
Worse was expected the next night, and again I kept watch. The water swept up, rising an inch a minute, but it stopped a good deal short of where it had been the night before. Ten days later, at the new moon, again there was a typhoon. Friday night there was a wild wind, and the waters were rising all Saturday. Suddenly the wind changed and all danger was over. The verse on the calendar that Saturday was "He rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm". Mat. 8:26. The verse the day of the flood had been "He took me, He drew me out of great waters". Ps. 18:16 N.T. There were other floods, and threats of flood, and fear of them every summer, but we did not have another really bad one till 1958, and that is another story.
With the outbreak of the war in Korea, at the end of 1950 everything became infinitely worse. There must be no more foreign aid to Christian work. It seemed it must be only a matter of time,-and a pretty short time-till the shop must close up for lack of funds. The Book Room had a few million in the Bank, but never had it existed on its own resources, even when business had been at its best. It certainly was the Lord's doing, and marvelous in our eyes, that it carried on, and still had a surplus, when it was taken over.
In May of 1951 all book stores had to examine their books; every book they published or sold must be gone over to make sure there was nothing unsuited to the new regime. We had always avoided anything to do with politics, and I knew pretty well what was in our books, but I had various people read all the books. Two small Chinese booklets we destroyed, and one English book on prophecy, that said too much about atrocities in Russia. Quite a few English books I sent away, or concealed in the attic. One Chinese book, the translation of "Things which Must Shortly Come to Pass", we did not sell, though I sometimes gave away copies. Some of the secular book shops destroyed as much as 85% of their stock; and I think most of the Christian bookshops destroyed, or sealed up, nearly 50%. We had to send samples of all our books to the Christian Publishers Association, and to the Three-self, and to several other places. We were told that someone had criticized five of our books-The Scripture of Truth, The Bible and Science series, etc. But some of these had been passed by the Government Censor, when we had been getting them approved for export, so I continued to sell them. No one else was selling books proving the truth of the Bible, and the existence of God, so I felt it was essential I should do so. It was much less dangerous for me than for the Chinese bookstores.
Another doctrine hated by the Government was the "universal Church", as they expressed it. The Chinese Church must be separate, cut off from the Church of western lands, which is "controlled by Imperialism". What could a Board of Religion, controlled by atheists, know of the unity, the Mystery of the Body of Christ? It was a great comfort to the true Christians that they were still one with their brethren in other lands, and upheld by their prayers. We did not sell many of our Chinese books on the Church. But there were a good many young men, students, who were, keenly interested in the subject. There was a steady demand for books by Mr. Darby; the Christian Book Room supply soon came to an end, but I sold a good many of our personal books, and lent a good many.
In May of 1951 a young man came to the shop, who I am sure was a spy. He came every morning for a month, professing to be an inquirer, anxious to learn the truths of Christianity. He read almost all the books in the shop, made friends with my shopboy, and went with him to pay the taxes etc. I would find him looking over my shoulder when I was doing accounts: that was easily settled, for I did not do accounts when he was there. I got a Christian man to meet him there, partly because my Chinese was poor, partly because a foreigner was not supposed to make proselytes. But I noticed that after one morning's talk, he slipped out of the shop when he saw the Christian entering. He talked to me about many things, and I made no effort to conceal things from him, and urged him to read our books. The only one he criticized was a story in a magazine about the conversion of some Russian prisoners. One interesting thing he said was that the Chinese did not really like the Russians. This I am sure is true. At the end of the month he suddenly stopped coming, and I never heard anything more of it.
In 1949 and 1950, I had printed the Light and Love twelve-page Gospel picture calendar which we had printed yearly for nearly twenty five years; and which had been the basis of our picture tracts and posters. In 1951 I prepared the twelve designs, and had them drawn by an artist. We still had enough paper, and there were printers willing to do the work. Another Christian publisher, an old friend, came in one day asking about our calendar. I showed him the designs, and told him our plans. Not long after we were told we must send the designs of the calendar to the Three-self Committee for approval. Word came back that they could not be published unless there were some political slogan on every page; so of course that was the end of the calendar in Shanghai. Other Christian book shops put out calendars, one with a Bible picture, and a patriotic slogan. There was a sheet calendar with a picture of a Church; it had quotations from patriotic resolutions of the Three-self committee, but not one word from Scripture, or one reference to God. The Light and Love calendar was published in Hong Kong, but of course it could not be sold in China. It was a bitter disappointment. I do not know that I was betrayed by that Publisher, but it was what happened again and again. The Christians shared our Lord's heartbreak many times: "It was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it... but it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide and mine acquaintance." Ps. 55:12-13.
Another sorrow in 1951 was that our import of books was forbidden. Since the beginning of 1950, we had to get import licenses, and submit samples of all books imported. But the officials had been polite, and made no more trouble than necessary. In 1951 a shipment of Mr. Darby's translation of the Bible came in, perhaps a dozen copies. Our tenure was too uncertain to order large quantities, but this translation was always in demand. among the Chinese who wanted the most accurate translation of the Bible. This time I had to interview a new man at the import office, and he was one of the few officials who was not polite. Of course, he knew nothing about the Bible, and could not understand when I explained why this particular translation was wanted. But at last he came out into the open, and said bluntly, We do not want that kind of thing. So I had the Bibles redirected to Hong Kong. We had permission to bring in single copies, so my brother-in-law sent them in one by one, a slow business, but anything was worthwhile to get the Scriptures in. We continued to bring in single copies of books for another couple of years, and a good many needs were filled. Then the Customs made trouble about this. Of course, my permission was not in writing: the Communists never gave a promise in writing. The only way was to write out what had been agreed upon, and send a copy by double registered post to the office, saying that this is what we understood had been arranged. This was done by large firms, who had just the same difficulty. However, I had no proof of my permission to import single books, and they said it had never been given, it had been altered, and anyway I must not do it any more. I had to make out a report of all the books imported in the last two years, and had to pay a fine. So that was the end of importing books. They also refused export licenses. But it was very important to get out the stock piled up in the godown; there were hundreds of English books, and tens of thousands of English tracts. These tracts had been prepared before the war, when there was opportunity to go every week to the barracks of the British troops, and give each man a copy of the Gospel paper "the Trumpeter", a sheet printed weekly for them, and a tract. I was also very anxious to get more money into the Book Room and I was not allowed to give money to it. I found that a two pound parcel of books was just small enough to slip into the post box without troubling the parcel office. Money was pretty short at that time when all supplies were cut off from home; but many friends sent Post office coupons, which could be exchanged for stamps. I bought the English books from the Book Room, and sent out two pound parcels of books and tracts to any one who could use them. I had to be careful not to send too many at once, but I continued to do this for several years, till this too was stopped one Christmas season, when I had sent more parcels than they liked. But several hundred pounds of books must have gone out, and it was a great help to the Book Room finances.
We also sent out parcels of books inside China. We could send ten pound parcels generally without difficulty, and many doors were opened for them, and when one closed, another would open. We had Tibetan picture tracts, and Arabic-and-Chinese tracts and Travelers' Guide. Some of these went out to the far west and we heard of blessing on them. Different ones gave us addresses of church workers, especially those in distant parts, and we sent parcel of shopworn and other books. Some of the letters back were very interesting. One Bible woman wrote, very grateful for the books for her own use, but she said that those who came to her meetings were mostly country women who could not read; that those who could read had mostly fallen away; but she said that an average of three new people a night came to the meetings and now there were about 600 Christians in the district, with an average attendance of 140. Not far from this there was a work among the tribes people. After their own meeting, Sunday morning, the Christians would go into the mountains, and visit in the villages, and every week there were souls saved. In another place a brother and his sister had gone to open up work. They told us that sometimes 100 or 200 came to the meeting, 80% strangers, mostly young people and students. This was in 1954. Later this brother and sister suffered for their courage.
I was especially interested in a work among the Miao Christians in a mountain district of central China. Within a radius of 52 li (a li is one third of a mile) were 5 Miao tribe churches, each with 300 or more members, and at least 200 present each Sunday. We sent thousands of books, which were distributed among them. We had some Miao picture tracts, stories of the Parables, printed for the S.G.M. And we had a few Miao Old Testament stories; they loved these, and said they could use ten thousand, but we had only a few. One morning I went over to search for them in our godown, and as I went I prayed that I might find some, for I had not even a sample copy left. I searched thoroughly, but could not find even one on the high shelf where they had been, so I turned to get some other books from a lower shelf; I heard something fall, and there on the floor were six copies of the Miao Old Testament stories. I might have thought that they had fallen straight from Heaven, but two of them were rat eaten. The Miao Christians wanted only books true to the Scriptures, and they especially asked for Bibles. We sent a lot of Miao New Testaments, which were eagerly received, for theirs were worn out with much study. But there was no Miao Old Testament, and they wanted the whole Bible, so they asked for Chinese Bibles. They were very poor, money was almost non-existent, and they would bring a bowl of lard, some flour or pork, and exchange it for posters and books. But somehow they would get hold of money to buy a Bible, and they wanted reference Bibles, so they could really search the Scriptures. The old colporteur who handled it said that on Sunday he had not time to eat his meals, he was so thronged with people wanting Bibles and books. I do not know what has happened to them. The worker with whom I corresponded was indoctrinated by the Three-self. I sent him as a great treasure a book I had received from Hong Kong. He wrote back indignantly, asking, where was my political training, that I should deal in such stuff? (Of course, he did not know I was a foreigner) He would have no more to do with me, and denounced me to the Three-self.
About this time, I heard rumors of a wonderful work among the Lisu. We know something of the tragedy and persecution in which that has gone down; perhaps it is the same with these Miao. But all are in the Lord's hands, and He has His good purpose.
It was in the summer of 1951 That the Government held their two great reform movements-the San-fan, and the Wu-fan. The first, meaning Three opposings, was an effort to stamp out corruption, bribery, etc. in Government offices. The second, the five opposings, was to do away with cheating, false returns, unpaid taxes, etc. in all business. There were huge posters everywhere, calling upon people to repent and confess. It was said that those who confessed would be forgiven, and people were harried to confess. It was a terrible time. The victim, nicknamed the "Tiger", would be placed at a table round which all his fellow workers were seated. All would point at him and shout, Confess. No definite charges were made, but he would be told, We know you have committed a crime; confess, and you will be pardoned. This would go on and on until he had confessed everything his accusers knew, and probably much more. Sometimes they would make up charges against themselves when they were innocent, so as to escape. These might be forgiven at the time, but were brought up against them later. It was a wonderful opportunity for anyone who had a grudge, and many false accusations were brought. The tension in the city was terrible; business was paralyzed for months; many businesses failed. There were endless suicides; the favorite way was to jump off a high building, till people were almost afraid to walk along the streets. I think it was forty suicides a day were taken to one hospital alone, and there are dozens of hospitals in Shanghai; and many more were taken straight to the morgue. Finally, the Government had to stop the inquiries. The idea was good, and much corruption was cleared up, but the methods were terrible.
One of the Christians pointed out that we too must have our "san fan", oppose the world, the flesh, and the devil. The verse given to me was "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" Ro. 8:33. "The accuser of the brethren" is always ready to bring charges against us, but we have the Christ, the Man ordained to judge the world, at the right hand of God, making intercession for us.
Towards the end of the inquiry some one came to inspect our accounts. I think our shopboy had informed against me about a lot of books we had got from some one in exchange for our books; for when the inspector came to my entries about them, which proved I had paid the full tax, he exclaimed, That is the way to keep accounts; and he called the boy over to see. At the bottom of another page I had written "This is the Lord's doing and marvelous in our eyes". Ps. 118:23. That month the Lord had provided in a marvelous way, when it had seemed impossible that we could clear expenses. When the inspector came to that page he said, "Well, you foreigners are honest", shut up the books, and went away. I always thought there was an angel sitting on that page, in fact, watching over all my accounts. "And the Angel did wondrously" and the woman "looked on" Jud. 13:19.
Business was very small in 1951, but we still had enough in the Bank to carry us safely through, and the Lord sent special help as needed. For example, in August our sales were only two million, and our expenses were five million; but some old accounts we had never expected to see were paid up, so we had more at the end of the month than at the beginning. In 1952 it was a little better; our sales for the year were 33 million, about $1500 gold. In 1953 the sales doubled; we did a total of 63 million. And in 1954 they were 70 million. It was essential that we should cover Our expenses each year; if there had been a shortage there certainly would have been trouble, probably we would have been accused of depending on Imperialist support, and have had to close. One year we cleared with just $2.00, but it was a credit. The bank account had long ago vanished.
At the end of 1952 Things looked very dark. I have a letter about it, dated Jan. 1, 1953, and I will quote. "Now I must tell you how wonderfully the Lord has brought us over the year ending. Business has been very small from the beginning of November, and at the end of November we were short for the first time. December was not much better. On the twentieth I reckoned things up, and found that we must have two million before the end of the year if we were to clear. And if we did not clear, I could only feel that the Lord no longer wanted us here. We seldom take in as much as 100,000 a day, and there were only eight business days left; and in that time last year we took in only 1,065,000. So I spread it all out before the Lord, that it was a real need, and He promised to supply all need. It has been most exciting to watch how He has provided. We have been so busy, and such a variety of customers, some who had never been in before. Tuesday night I added up, for I wanted to pay the wages and the bonuses, and already, at the end of seven days, there was more than two million. So I have had a very happy year ending, and can enter on this year quite sure that the Lord wants us here; and so He will provide all that is needed. In the eight days we took in 2,749,400." (This is about $125.00 gold).
When one source of supply failed, the Lord always had another ready. At the end of 1950, just before the outbreak of the Korean war, a Chinese Christian bought a very large proportion of our English stock-about 800 books-to form a library in his church. The several million he paid formed the backbone of our surplus to start with. Soon after that no one dared to buy English books. When our sales of English books failed, and we were no longer allowed to import from abroad, then there was the demand for Greek books, and in February 1954 we sold the Greek Grammars mimeographed for the students, and the Analytical dictionaries, printed by offset. That did not last very long, but it established contacts with students and Bible schools. In November 1954 I had a new catalog printed, and sent out to all the Pastors in Shanghai, with a tract enclosed, and to various other places. This brought in some good orders (not from the Pastors) especially from Bible school students, to whom I offered any of our books at half price. They ordered especially Bible commentaries. There was a great demand for Church histories, but our stock was finished. We had these books all in stock, so any sales were clear gain, and I was very thankful to see them go out, as I never knew when all sales might be stopped, and the stock seized. Later we were asked to sell a very popular old hymnbook which was reprinted. We sold thousands of them, and it was a great help in our expenses. It was hard to get hymn books. The old popular ones were out of print, and the Three-self did not want to reprint any of the hymns with old fashioned ideas, such as sin and judgment, salvation through the blood of Christ, the sorrows of earth, or the hopes of Heaven, and of the Lord's return.
The end of 1954 and the beginning of 1955 there was a great falling off of business, due to the attacks being made on Wang Ming Tao. The first nine months of 1954 we took in 58,494,900, and only about twelve million in the last three months. I was told that it was said that our shop was distributing poison-a favorite description of teaching which did not suit Communist ideas; but that they did not dare to get rid of it. I do not know what they feared, but of course they could not shut the door so long as it was held open by the Lord of Hosts.
We had many interesting visitors at the shop. They came especially at noon, when they knew that I would be alone; but sometimes I would be occupied with visitors all day long. There was an old gentleman who was preparing a book on Heresies. He borrowed books, and got me to read over and correct his English. He was a very true and courageous Christian. He handed over his business to his sons, so that he might devote his whole time to the Lord's work. One morning he came in, and greeted me in the usual way, "How is your business?" I responded with, "How is your business?" "Oh," he replied, "I am only doing the Lord's business now, so it is always good." He was a friend of Wang Ming Tao, and went up to Peking to see him when he was released, but he saw only his wife, as Mr. Wang was not well enough at that time to see visitors. Fortunately this old gentleman died before the outburst of persecution in 1958, for he was one of those blacklisted by the evil powers.
There was another business man, a middle-aged man who had a very large business. For more than ten years he had met every morning from seven to eight for Bible study with a group of business men. They used John Sung's Bible study course and went methodically through the Bible. He told me at this time that business was so bad he had almost nothing to do; he went on, "This is just the Lord's goodness to me; I spend all my time studying the Bible." He
borrowed almost all our English commentaries on the Bible, and was anxious to translate some of Bishop Moule's books into Chinese. Later he was taken over by the Communists, and educated, and kept very busy in Government business. I seldom saw him, but I trust he has held fast his faith. He told me that in his "education" they said that as he was a Christian he need not subscribe to the truth of evolution-one of the doctrines especially pressed by them.
Another visitor who came in periodically was the young policeman who seemed to be responsible for foreigners. He spoke a sort of English, and we used to have long conversations. He did his best to convert me to Communism; and enlarged upon the wonderful things accomplished by it. And I tried to make him realize that death must be considered and prepared for as well as life. That was always my answer to the people who questioned why I wanted to stay: the Communists were doing much to improve this life, but death comes to everyone, and they made no preparation for that; they provided for the body, but I provided for the soul.
The most interesting of all my visitors was an elderly man who had been an extremely wealthy stock broker. He had been sent to the States as a boy, and educated there, so he spoke and wrote English more fluently than Chinese, but not always correctly. He had been a professing Christian from the time he was a boy, but he was truly converted in middle age by contact with the Oxford Group. He then devoted himself and his great talents and his great wealth to the service of Christ. He supported a missionary to work in his native village in Kwang Tung; he started an evening Bible school for business men, because he wanted more instruction in the Scriptures for himself. His great vision was to have Christian broadcasting stations all over China. The war interfered with this, but he maintained one in Shanghai for years. With the coming of the Communists of course his activities were cut short. The Christian broadcasting station was closed, and he had to pay a heavy fine. He did not grudge suffering for Christ, but he did grieve over the silence imposed on him, and the destruction of the plant he had so carefully built up. But it was not all destroyed; for in 1957 with great delight he heard some of his records being used to broadcast Christmas carols.
For a time, he settled down to inactivity. He still used his wealth to support many Christians who were suffering for the Truth, but his time he devoted to raising canaries. Then a Pastor whom he had helped stirred him up to fresh exertions. He could no longer broadcast over the air, but he could still use books. He broadcast Wang Ming Tao's books; then he found a book in my shop on the existence of God. He not only broadcast that himself, but he compelled his Christian friends to do the same. Over four hundred copies went out in a very short time, and they were so eagerly demanding more, that in 1957 we tried to reprint it. But when the book was half ready that brief season of freedom closed, and no more could be done.
He also prepared books himself. One of his friends was working on a translation of the Bible into Chinese from Hebrew and Greek. This scholar believed that the Wise men who came to worship our Lord were really from China. My friend took this up with the greatest enthusiasm, and wrote a book about it. Almost every day he brought me what he had written for help with the English construction. It was extremely interesting, for he had most ingenious arguments, and he found several references in ancient Chinese history to a remarkable star just at the time of the birth of our Lord. His object was to establish a special claim on Christianity for the Chinese people. He concluded his book with a very beautiful prayer that the Light of Christ might arise upon the darkness of the people. After finishing this bock, he worked on a book on the wonders of science as proving the existence of God. Then he revised an autobiography which he had written, a fascinating story telling of the wonderful deliverances and guidance of God. His almost daily visits were a very great pleasure: he was always interesting, had a delightful sense of humor, was charmingly courteous. He would bring me an exquisite rose from his garden, or strawberries, beautifully prepared.
When the autobiography was almost finished he stopped coming. A doctor friend told me he was ill, very ill with swiftly developing cancer of the lung. It was August, and unusually hot, even for Shanghai, and an operation was not possible. They would have arranged radium treatment, but he said, No, he felt the Lord had sent this, and he would not take himself out of the hand of the Lord. For a time, he seemed to improve, and he even visited me once more at the shop. But his condition worsened, and he was confined to bed. His book on the Wise Men could not be published in Shanghai, but it had been sent to Hong Kong, and published there in Chinese and in English. Now copies of it began to arrive, and he took great delight in distributing them. But the authorities were not pleased. Of course, a rich man was always under suspicion; especially a rich man who had arranged to have his wealth safely outside China; so they were delighted to have a handle against him. Why had he published the book in Hong Kong? and how did he dare to suggest that China was in darkness, when it was basking in the light of Communism? If he had not been ill in bed he would certainly have been brought to trial. Feeling against him increased; no matter if he were ill, he must be brought in his bed to prison, and his wife could come with him to nurse him. And just then he died. With Samuel Rutherford he might have said, "I am summoned before a higher Judge and judicatory: that first summons I behoove to answer; and, ere a few days arrive, I shall be where few kings and great folks come.”
I had formed my most valuable remaining English books into a little library; quite a few Pastors and students came in to borrow books. There was a young teacher of Mathematics in a Teachers' College in another town, who always chose a few good books to take with him, as he passed through Shanghai. And there was a splendid young man, a teacher of science, who borrowed many books on the truths of the Bible, and spoke boldly on the subject. The last books he borrowed were returned to me by his Father, who said it was not safe for him to come any more. There was an older man, who had been five years in prison. He said it was not so bad, except for the questioning; he told me how he divided up his time, so much repeating hymns, so much meditation, and trying to recall Scripture; so much exercise. He wanted books to translate, and took several. The last time he came in he was having visits again from the police. Another young man, a teacher in an engineering college did not know much English, but wanted the deepest books, and had long discussions. He was living in great fear, but holding fast the truth. There was a middle-aged man, very highly educated, in a good position; he was accused of being a "rightist", and was degraded from manager to do menial work, and his salary more than halved. But he was busy translating the Psalms from Hebrew, and finding great comfort in "Jehovah the gladness of my joy". And many others I remember, thirsting for the good teaching which is so plentiful in these favored lands. Several little groups came for English Bible study, but none of them continued long, I think it was not safe to come to the foreigner. There were some very interesting medical students who used to come in to talk about the Church. Many were seeking for some group which would truly follow the teachings of the Scriptures. One young man came in to buy hymn books. He told me that several met together every Sunday evening to take the Lord's Supper, and he was trying to get hymns suitable for that. One young man in his search was turning to the Roman Catholic Church, and he often came in to talk to me about it. I believe he finally saw that he could not worship a woman, and could not accept the teaching of the mass-that man can make God. None of these felt that they could conform to the state-controlled church. I do not know what became of them. One does not know the Lord's plan: some evidently need suffering, perhaps because they are capable of higher training; others not. Some "through faith subdued kingdoms... obtained promises... turned to flight the armies of the aliens... and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea moreover of bonds and imprisonment" Heb. 11:33-3633Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 36And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: (Hebrews 11:33‑36). The mockings and "the scourge of the tongue" were perhaps the hardest to bear, and I suppose almost all the Christians had to bear them. I do not know why some were chosen for bonds and imprisonment. I know that many so chosen rejoiced to be "counted worthy to suffer shame for His Name". And I have heard others, who were spared, say that it was because they were not worthy: but I hardly think so.
Business in 1954 was quite good. I have a list of our sales: 835 Bibles; nearly ten thousand of our own books and booklets; about seven thousand from other publishers; over four thousand posters; and two hundred and fifteen pounds of sheet tracts-this would be about 86,000 sheets. Besides these, there would be a few English books, wall texts, etc. and many books had been lent. Other book shops also had good sales, and three sound Christian publishers printed a number of good books. Wang Ming Tao put out several books, besides his quarterly magazine, and they sold very quickly. This good business continued into 1955. We sold over 14,000 of our own publications, but about eight thousand of these were booklets of five cents or under, such as Safety, Certainty and Enjoyment, the Lord's Coming, by C.S., little Gospel primers, etc.; over six thousand books from other publishers, all books of a fair size, 175 pounds of tracts, several thousand Gospel posters. Then came Wang Ming Tao's arrest, and all the trouble connected with that, and sales dropped to one half. Another reason for the drop was that people were feeling poor, as all salaries were to be reduced in November.
On March 1, 1955, money was changed from millions to dollars and cents, and new currency notes issued. Everything was divided by ten thousand, so a book that had sold for a thousand, was now priced at ten cents. An American dollar was valued at $2.20 in the new money, where it had been 22,000. There was not any change in value. It was very much easier to reckon, and it was very pleasant to have clean new money to handle. The old money had been falling to pieces, and almost every note had to be patched with a strip across the middle. I had a little woodblock carved, just the size to fit the patch, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" Acts 16:31,31And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31) just seven characters in Chinese, and stamped each note that I mended. After a time the Bank objected, but I still used the stamp on my letters.
At the beginning of 1956 all shops and business firms, not already taken over, entered into joint ownership with the Government. This was accomplished with endless parades, with drums and bands and Yangko dances, with red silk banners, and tissue paper flags, and everywhere the "double happiness" sign used in weddings, all to show the joy of the shops in being married to the Government. For prosperous shops it was a very bitter pill; it often meant being reduced from a comfortable living, to trying to exist on a wage of about $85.00 (Chinese) a month. But business had become so difficult for many under Government regulations and restrictions and taxes, that some had really asked to be taken over. It was not only the city shops that were taken into joint ownership; farms also were affected, but I do not know just how. The owners of large shops were to receive a certain percentage for five years, but later they were asked to forego this.
Among the other shops was one of the Christian publishers which specialized in printing for Christian hospitals and Medical schools. They were now giving up all retail business, and joining the group of Medical publishers. They asked me to take over their stocks of Christian books. This was a big undertaking, and I had to arrange with the Bank of China permission to make a loan from my personal funds to the Book Room. There were some excellent books, including a Chinese translation of the notes in the Scofield Bible, quite a large book, and not very acceptable to the Communist regime because of its teaching on Prophecy. There were some very good and popular Gospel primers in Chinese, and many beautiful English Bibles, English concordances and Bible dictionaries. I could not bear to think of their all being destroyed as scrap paper. They were offered to me at about one quarter of their sale value, and I was able to arrange to take them. At the last moment there was a difficulty; some of their committee thought that the good old-fashioned catechisms and books against idolatry were unsuited to the Communist regime, and should be destroyed. Although articles were allowed to be published against Christianity, trouble was made if Christianity attacked idolatry. We were warned against a tract we had on the falseness of Buddhism; they said it offended against the constitutional rights of "freedom of religion". Even the Heavenly Wind objected to this discrimination. So I was allowed to buy only a limited number of these books, but it was a good many hundred. These books brought me in more business; they more than paid for themselves, and I was finally able to clear off the debt, though it was rather an anxiety for a time.
It was in 1956 about this time that the Nanyang Road Book Room was closed, after the trouble in the "Little Flock". The alarm caused by this brought a falling off in our sales; in June our sales were $490 and expenses were $486. August was the smallest business for years, but we just covered expenses, by the Lord's goodness.
Another change in 1956 was that my shop boy left. His heart had long been entirely occupied with the "youth group", one of the preliminary branches of the Communist party, so he was not much use. I was pretty sure that he spied on me and my customers, and some were afraid to come to the shop because of him. It was impossible to dismiss him-against the law-so I felt very thankful when he left of his own accord to become an apprentice in engineering. In his place I got a Christian boy who came only half day. There was not enough work to occupy an assistant for even half a day, but I needed some one who could take the numerous Government taxes and reports to the various offices, and so that I could get out to the Post office, etc. This boy was much more use, kept the shop clean, and was very acceptable to the customers. He had T.B. which was keeping him out of school; later he had a hemorrhage, and had to give up work, and his Father took his place.
In May of 1956 the Christian Literature Society, the Y.M.C.A. book shop, the Sunday School Union and the Baptist bookroom were united in one under the Three-self. The first two were strongly modernist, the others soundly fundamental. The founder of the Sunday School Union had made great sacrifices to keep it true. But now all was swept into one; the old books were mostly destroyed, and modernism triumphed. The Bible Society did not join. But the Three-self got control of it. I heard that they came in and locked the safe, so that there was no money for salaries, or to carry on; when they were asked to release the funds, they claimed that this was an invitation to take over, and promptly took control.
When making these changes, they said that they needed my shop, which was in the same building as the Baptist Book Store and the C.L.S. I pointed out that there were other shops empty in the building, and I thought it was not necessary for me to move. The end of 1956 I received notice again from the landlords, now under the Three-self, that I should leave my shop. It was a great blow when it arrived; but the Lord said, "Be not afraid nor dismayed... for the battle is not yours but God's." 2 Chron. 20:1515And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. (2 Chronicles 20:15). So again I wrote back that it was not convenient for me to move, and I hoped they would be able to expand into some of the other empty rooms in the building. It was illegal to turn anyone out, as I knew to my cost, for I would only too gladly have turned out the tenants at my house who paid no rent. So I heard no more of it then. A few months later I received notice again. At the same time I received a summons to the Board of Trade. Then I was really troubled, for I thought the Government was turning me out. With great anxiety, I went to the Board of Trade at the appointed time. I waited more than an hour. At last I was called in, I showed the figures of my business, that we were able to carry on, and in ten minutes I was out again with the assurance that they were satisfied. And again I cheerfully wrote, refusing to move. It would have been impossible to rent another shop; no shop could be rented to those who were not in joint ownership with the Government, and of course we could not do this.
I have my income tax figures for 1956. We sold 695 Chinese Bibles, and 113 English, Russian and other Bibles. In Chinese we sold 12,610 of our own publications, and 2,131 from other publishers; 2997 Gospel posters, 181% pounds of sheet tracts (about 350 tracts to a pound) 1020 Scripture texts; in English 275 books published by ourselves, 75 imported books, 269 cards, etc., and 3'73 booklets, a total of $4,608.48. I reckoned that we still had 197,000 books in the godown; and we had endless Chinese sheet tracts, and English booklets.
1957 was another good year. A change had already come at the end of 1956 when Wang Ming Tao was released, and several others. The Nanyang Road Bookshop was allowed to open again in January. One significant change was that the tax inspector conversed with me in English. As a Chinese doctor had told me, Russian had been found very difficult to learn, and very little use when it was learned; so the study of English was reintroduced. The doctrine of "Let a thousand flowers blossom, and different schools of thought contend" was tried out for a few months. As a result, printed matter came in more easily. Samples of the new Gospel magazine, The Lighthouse, published by the Christian Witness Press, came in, and were eagerly read. I received several copies each month, and each one was passed round, and read by several hundred, I think. The Christian Witness Press and the Alliance Press also sent me a lot of the new books they were publishing, and these were enthusiastically welcomed, especially biographies and Church history. They also wanted books for children; the Communists were bringing out quantities of beautiful stories and picture books for children, all propaganda, of course. No new Christian books had been published in China for about two years. One man wrote asking for books, "to take away my spiritual starving".
I tried hard to get a permit to import these books for sale; I went from office to office, making applications and filling in forms. The answer at last was that that there were already such books in China, and no more were needed; but I might receive them for my own use. So I gladly received what were sent, and used them to lend to Christians.
Everywhere there was a feeling of relaxation. Letters came in from the country ordering tracts and posters. We sold hundreds of posters to various districts that year. We were even able to do some printing, twice we printed tracts, 32,000 each time. We arranged for a reprint of the book on the existence of God which had been selling so widely. Our sales increased. In May 1957, we had the best month’s business for years, $800.00 and much of this was orders from up country; and in July we sold over $1200.00. At the end of the year a daily text block calendar was printed, which we sold. It was an edition of 5000, and was a great venture. At first there promised to be a good demand, but already there was a change. The Conference of Christian leaders was called in Peking, and people were warned against both the calendar and the Christian Book Room. All the calendars were distributed, but a good many were given away. The business for 1957 was about $9000.00 almost exactly double that of 1956, and there were twice as many orders from up country.
1958 was the beginning of the end. The criticism meetings were being held, and Churches being closed. Everywhere troubles were pressing on the Christians. My business dropped steadily, and I was very thankful for the surplus the Lord had provided the previous year. We were not allowed to print the book on the existence of God. The sale of tracts and posters stopped. We had one order from the north for a hundred posters, but two days later an urgent letter telling us to cancel the order. We were told that in the meetings for Church workers accusations were being brought against us, against some of our publications, against our connection with Wang Ming Tao, and especially against our dispensational chart. Many were afraid to come to the shop, afraid to borrow the books.
The beginning of September I had to apply for the renewal of my residence permit. This was granted very promptly, without any difficulty. Then the middle of September I was summoned to appear before the Board of Commerce. This was again an anxious time, but all passed smoothly. I showed my figures, that we had sufficient to carry on our business. They said all was well, and since there was liberty of religion there was no reason why I should not continue to sell Christian books. I felt greatly encouraged. There had been so much criticism and fear, but now it seemed as though all was well.
The next trouble was another flood, the worst flood in the history of the business section of Shanghai. It swept up one night in the second half of September, unexpected, and unprepared for. Our stock had been moved from the lower shelves, as we did each summer. But the water was several feet deep, and quantities of books were submerged. For days we worked over it. The water had entered the safe, and our documents and money were soaked; it had entered the drawers of the desk, and our papers and accounts were soaked. Several reams of paper, the posters, and a good many books we took out to my house, and spread out to dry in the big room. In the Book Room, we put up a spider web of lines and hung the books up to dry. Along the street in front of the shop, and along the British Consulate wall opposite, we set up our window shutters each morning and spread out books to dry in the sun. Almost every shop in downtown Shanghai was doing the same. We were still in this confusion when the blow fell. October 14 I was called up by the police, and the Book Rooms were sealed.