God's Chinese Son

by Jonathan Spence

  It is on the very first page of his first tract that Liang introduces evil and its begetter. There is a god whose name is Ye-huo-hua, writes Liang, who created earth and all the living things. But of all the things created, the serpent is the most devious, for this serpent is none other than the god of evil, who has transformed himself into a serpent demon. This serpent demon lures a woman into eating a fruit that gives knowledge of evil ways; she in turn feeds it to her husband, for which both are cursed by the god and banished from the garden where they had lived. On the eastern edge of the garden, God places a being called a Cherubim, con­stantly watchful and grasping a blazing sword, to preserve the source of life and to stop the couple from ever returning to that land of happiness. Liang gives a source for this story, as a scholar should. It is the third chapter of a book he identifies as a "Sacred Text" (shengjing), entitled "The Book of Creation," chapter 3.19 This is what Liang writes and Hong reads. There is no way for Hong to tell that Liang has added to the Book of Genesis his own explanation that the serpent in Eden is the god of evil, the serpent demon.

  Liang repeats the story in the third tract, though this time in a different context. The serpent demon is still defined as being the evil god, but now the god Ye-huo-hua is called "the Highest God of Heaven." In the second tract, where the serpent demon's wiles are again discussed, God has yet another name, "Great Ruler of things created on heaven and earth." It is not until the beginning of the sixth tract that Liang removes what may be lingering doubt by explaining that all these names refer to the same true God. But whatever name for God one uses, the extent of the serpent demon's damage can now be seen in full. For when the first couple lived in their garden there was neither excessive heat nor excessive cold, no need for men to till the soil or women to spin, no floods or droughts, no sicknesses or death. In the beginning, human nature was good, and evil thoughts did not arise. But once the serpent demon spun his plans, evil entered the world, and now the nature of men holds more bad than good, and the numbers of the righteous and the pure of spirit are few indeed.21

  On the question of evil, Liang in his second tract thinks aloud an elusive and difficult problem. Since the Lord of Heaven clearly has the power to create all the myriad beings on this earth out of a state of nothingness, if he had wanted to he could have created a different set of beings with living souls. But because he loved his creatures as parents love their chil­dren, he sent his only and beloved son down to earth, to meet his death and thus expiate people's sins. God did not have to do this, Liang empha­sizes, it was something that he chose to do.22 So evil remains for now, and God's goodness with it.

  Liang tells how this Highest God of Heaven sent his own holy son down from the heavens to earth, placing the child's spirit in the body of a young pure woman, so that she would be pregnant and bring his body out into the world, even though untouched by man. She gave birth to the boy in a rustic hut, giving him the name Jesus, which translates as Saviour of the World and Lord. At the time of his birth, an emissary from God appeared in the sky, calling out that no one needed to fear, for he brought good and joyful news, of the birth of a saviour. And as he spoke, suddenly, from out of the clouds came a great celestial army of the emissaries of God, crying out, "Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth Taiping, Great Peace and good will toward men."23 Since this took place on the same continent as China, adds Liang, one might expect some traces of it to be found in China's own early classics. But that would be an erroneous expectation, for these events happened in the time of Emperor Ai of the Western Han dynasty, and the classics had been written long before. So though in China's earliest books there can be found hints of the actions of the Highest God of Heaven, one cannot expect to find in them similar traces of his son.24

  Liang's text, too, provides a key to the linked significance of age and action. Liang describes how Jesus was a studious and hardworking child, who already showed his intelligence by the age of twelve. But he took his time to find his calling, only slowly developing his mission as a teacher. It was not until the age of thirty, the age that Hong is now as he reads the tract, that Jesus cast aside his old life and began to preach openly, explaining how his holy father had sent him down to earth with specific orders, to exhort the people of the earth to repent of their lascivious and their evil ways, to get rid of all their idols and images of false and Buddhist gods, and to follow only the way of the One True God.25

  So Jesus taught, and gathered his disciples around him, till at the age of thirty-three he had completed his allotted span on earth and was vilified, tormented, and nailed to a cross, on which he seemed to die. At that time the sun and the moon lost their lustre, and terrible earthquakes split apart the earth. But after three days and nights Jesus reasserted the divine nature with which he had originally been endowed, a nature that let him attain everything, "attain completeness," and though lying in his tomb he brought himself back to life from his state of death. And in forty final days of preaching, he showed his followers how to spread his words, how those who believed God's teachings would attain an everlasting happiness, while those ignoring them, or refusing to believe, would suffer for all eternity. His mission done, Jesus returned to Heaven, being greeted there by countless numbers of his father's host.26

  The reference to the era of Great Peace, Taiping, in the angel's mouth at the time of Jesus' birth, fits with another passage in which Liang explains the phrase "Tianguo," Kingdom of Heaven. Liang shows that it can be used in two ways: one is the eternal happiness in Paradise, which will be enjoyed by the souls of all the righteous people when their physical bodies have died; the other is a community within this world, formed by congregations who believe in Jesus and worship the Lord of Heaven.27

  The words of Jesus are like nothing Hong has heard before, although Confucian virtue has been the object of his studies for two decades. Liang gives a transcript of a speech Jesus made while seated on a mountaintop, as the words have been preserved in another sacred book, this one called "Madou" (Matthew), chapters 5 to 7. In one section Jesus tells his people to rejoice, not grieve, over their misfortunes:

  Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.28

  Jesus also tells his followers how to pray to their God, with these words:

  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hal­lowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.29

  And Jesus issues warnings that evil is pervasive and perhaps innate:

  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.30

  Though Hong was not at the examination hall in 1841, when flying ink stones filled the air, in 1843, before reading the tracts, Hong Xiuquan has sat for the examinations a fourth time in Canton, and for the fourth time he has failed. In a passage in the first tract, Liang's words affirm to Hong that taking the examinations is a senseless and self-defeating pastime.

  This practice of Confucian teaching often is full of vanity or absurdity. The scholars pay reverence to the idols of Wenchang and Kuixing[1] and implore their protection, in order to broaden their knowledge and quicken their
intellectual skills, so that they will pass at the head of the examination lists. Most Chinese who study the Confucian texts feel they must pay obeisance to these two idols; they beg these idols' help in passing the provincial level examinations and then the national examinations, so they can be members of the capital's Hanlin Academy and receive official posts to rule the people. How is it possible that everyone always worships these two idols, and yet there are many people who have been studying and taking the exams since their childhood, and reach the age of seventy or eighty without even passing the very lowest levels of the exams and becoming licentiates, let alone passing at the higher levels? Haven't these men prayed to these idols every year? Why didn't they win the idols' protection, and pass successfully? From this we can see that these Confucian scholars are bewildered and obsessed by their ambitions, so they cling to their delusions and worship these idols instead of with a humble mind worshiping the Ruler of Heaven and Earth, the God who rules the entire world and all its wealth and glory, and thus being in accordance with the sacred principles of the Great Way.31

  As Liang says elsewhere in the tracts, our lives are fleeting—which of us can be sure he will live to be fifty or sixty, let alone eighty or a hundred?32 Hong absorbs this message too. He never sits for the exams again.

  To an extent, of course, as Liang's words tell Hong, the Confucian scholars and their idols are no more misled than other people. Buddhists and Taoists, and the gullible and careless from all walks of life, get caught up in the same frenzied search for security and reassurance. In olden days, people limited their worship to the spirits of mountains and of rivers, or to the images of loyal officials and worthy scholars. But now people of all walks of life—scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants—worship every kind of image: those painted on paper, invoked in calligraphy or woodblock prints, fashioned out of polished stone, carved wood, modeled in clay, in colored porcelain, squared stones, or pyramids and cones.33

  Wherever you look in China today, writes Liang, you find examples of this folly. Rich merchants and other wealthy families have the altars in their homes, to Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Mercy, to the gods of wealth, of childbirth, of the well, of the kitchen, of the locality—their incense and lanterns, their offerings of wine, follow in endless succession.34 The farm­ers pray to their gods of crops and grains, begging their help in matters of wind and rain, redoubling their prayers when blight or mice or insects strike their fields. Never do they invoke the true Lord of All, creator of everything that grows.35

  Similarly, the tailors say that Xianyuan, the Yellow Emperor, was the first to make humans clothes, so they worship him to gain the skills to prosper in their trade. The carpenters claim that Luban was the first to invent the art of exact measurement, so they erect their shrines to him, and greet his birthday with ritual plays, in order that they may prosper in their business.36 Sailors who roam the seas believe their fates are in the hands of the North Emperor, or the Heavenly Empress. They write their prayers out to these spirits and display them on their vessels, to keep them safe from storms and bring calm waters in every season, so that they too can profit from their ventures.37 As for the women and unmarried girls, for them it is any one of three spirits who gives protection, either Guanyin, or Madam Golden Flower, or the Minister of Births. They say that Guan­yin is a woman, and thus she understands their hopes and pains and the hardship of their lot, and brings them special solace. As for Madam Golden Flower, she as a woman bore many sons, so she will help them do the same. Those who are childless, especially, invoke her aid. The Minister of Births can bring to them a quick delivery, if he so chooses, and save them from the worst of pains.38

  If the Confucians are thus deluded, the craftsmen, and the women, one can expect no better from the Buddhist and the Taoist priests and nuns. The Taoists claim to know the triune secrets and forces of the universe, but which of us has ever seen them become immortal spirits and rise to Heaven? Humiliation is more commonly their lot.39 Chanting their sutras every day, yearning for the joys of the Western Paradise, what do the Buddhists pray to but a long dead man? He is unable to affect their fate, as some "dress beautifully in the very finest clothes, gorge themselves with food, indulge in lust and vice," while others lie ravaged with sickness in the beds of hospitals, beg in the streets, or "die of starvation on some mountain road, their putrid carcasses a breeding ground for maggots."40 Liang puts the lessons of these stories and the story of man's disobedi­ence both in the distant past and in the present. In ancient times, he writes, there was a sage named Moses, who led his people out of a foreign country into a desert. There, on a mountain with the name of Sinai, the Lord of Heaven gave him, in person, ten prohibitions that all his people should observe. Yet though Moses diligently tried to teach his people these divine instructions, they would not listen, and slowly, one by one, they died in the desert, often with the greatest suffering.41 So it is with those today who will not listen to Jesus' teachings. The factors of time and distance play a part, writes Liang; everyone cannot receive the message all at once. But as the rising sun sends out its first reflections, and later its full blazing light, the news will slowly spread. Now the truth has come to Canton city, brought by foreign people on their ships. To achieve this task, they do not grudge a cost of tens of thousands in cash and gold, and even learn the Chinese language no matter how much toil it takes so they can translate the sacred books, and bring the message to the Chinese people. Now that task is done, the translation is completed, so all can get the full impact of the holy text's complete decrees.42

  This theme of Liang's, though written years before, fits well with the realities around Canton, as the treaty settlement that ends the Opium War in 1842 is negotiated by the Manchus and the representatives of the British crown. The treaty ends forever the system of the thirteen hongs and for­eign factories crowded on the Canton shore, and opens instead five ports—Canton being one—to foreign residence and trade. In 1843, addi­tional treaties guarantee the rights of foreign Christian missionaries, both Protestant and Catholic, to build their churches in these cities, and freely to preach their faith. Buoyed by this concession, missionaries who had been sheltering in Hong Kong until the war was over, now move back to Canton. Gutzlaff is active once again, though busy translating for the British and even administering captured territories for them; and so is his good friend Issachar Roberts, who came from the Tennessee town of Shelbyville in 1837 at the age of thirty-five to work at Gutzlaff’s side. Roberts, a self-educated preacher, raised in the passionate religious world of tent revivals and covered-wagon services, independent-minded, free of supervision and bored with rules, is first to return, renting a little house just outside Canton's walls. Despite the treaty provisions the virulence of anti-foreign feeling still makes it impossible to reside within. Dressing in Chinese clothes, working with a local convert tied by loyalty to him in person as well as to his redeemer, Jesus Christ, Roberts restlessly prowls the countryside, preaching in the Hakka dialect he has been studying, and distributing religious tracts.43

  Liang does not say what ten prohibitions God issued to his servant Moses on the Mount of Sinai, and thus it is unclear what exactly Moses' followers did or failed to do before they died their desert deaths. But in two of the other tracts Liang outlines six groups of acts that the highest God considers as the worst of evils: in one the list consists of murder, rebellion, stealing and swindling, adulterous lust, magical arts, and disobe­dience to one's parents.44 In the other, Liang gives Jesus' own list, as he told it to a rich young man who sought to enter the Kingdom of Heaven: Not to kill; not to commit adultery; not to steal; not to bear false witness; to honor your parents, and to love your neighbor as you love yourself. And Liang adds one new prohibition of his own: not to smoke opium, a vice as bad as any of the others.45

  All human beings can recognize these actions to be evil, writes Liang. Why then, when all can see the harm, do people persevere in doing wrong? Partly because of human stubbornness, he answers, and partly because
of ignorance of history, disregard of sacred truth, and obedience to social conventions that give the highest praise to those constructing temples and making precious offerings to the idols.46 But booksellers are to blame as well, for along with their Confucian classics and their books of morals they sell all kinds of lascivious short stories, novels, and plays, leading people into evil ways as directly as if they had openly preached evil to them. It is a melancholy fact that however many exhortations to virtue one might publish, most people prefer to read tales of sex and sin.47 There are two categories of human actions that are not so different as they sound: some people spend money to do evil, whereas others do evil to earn money.48 As for the Buddhist priests with their deceitful teaching of reincarnation, and the Taoists with their "Great Jade Emperor" and "Old Master of Transcendence Lao Zi," they mislead the people even more than the pornographers do.49

  How does one show that one believes, and that what one believes is right? Liang tells the story of one man, Paul (who like Hong had changed his name). This Paul persuaded people to give up their books of magical arts, preached so well against the idols that the makers of silver images feared they would lose their livelihoods, and exorcised the evil spirits from a madman, when all the other magic makers had failed. Paul tells the faithful in a foreign land that they need to receive the Holy Spirit, and that to do that they must be washed or purified not just in the name of John but in the name of Jesus Christ, for John had said he bathed them in repentance until Jesus would be with them. And when Paul purified them with the water, they received the Holy Spirit, and not only that, they could all speak different languages, and make prophecies.50