Back to Jerusalem: Uncle Simon

by Tony Lambert

In the 1940s God gave a burden to evangelize "Back to Jerusalem" to several very different individuals. One of these was Simon Zhao, often known as "Uncle Simon."

Uncle Simon was born on June 1, 1918 in Shenyang, then called Mukden, in Liaoning province in northeast China. His original Chinese name was Zhao Haizhen. When he was young, his father was away from home for long periods on business. Left alone, his mother suffered constant harassment from local officials. Seeing the injustice of society, Zhao burned with indignation and when he grew up began to write articles for newspapers and radio stations to help mold public opinion.

But soon after, he became a Christian and was excited by reading the Psalms, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. He came to see that everything in the world was transient, like "dew on the grass." After his conversion he wanted a life of total commitment to Christ. He placed his life on the altar and changed his name to Simon.

At this time he attended the Dongguan American Presbyterian church in Shenyang. (Today this is one of the largest TSPM churches in China with 20,000 members.) He joined a prayer group which met in the church tower regularly. There he learned the four steps necessary for a life committed to Christ: 1) Salvation 2) God's call 3) Commitment 4) Being sent out.

He knew the first three in his own experience, but was still unsure where God would send him.

One day when it was his turn to pray in the tower, he was still wrestling with this question, so he brought a large map with him. It had been snowing hard so he opened the door of the prayer-tower with some difficulty. Alone in the vast silence, he laid out the map and prayed.

He was drawn to Xinjiang with its strange-sounding place-names. Was this the place the Lord had for him? The more he prayed, the more Xinjiang imprinted itself in his mind. But Xinjiang was far away, plagued with many political, religious and racial problems, so he could not help feeling afraid. But had he not placed himself on the altar? Had not Christ given up his life for him? He ceased to resist any longer.

China was torn apart by the civil war between Nationalists and Communists. Everywhere there were refugees. Uncle Simon had already prepared himself for suffering, even prison, so did not complain about the hardships of the journey. Eventually they reached Hami on the eastern edge of Xinjiang and joined members of the North West Evangelization Band who had arrived there a year or two previously.

He married Wen Muling, a fourth generation descendent of a Qing dynasty first-rank imperial councilor. They both went to study at the Taidong Seminary in Nanjing. There they met two women from Jinan who shared their vision to preach the gospel in Xinjiang. Zhao was very moved and determined to go there. In 1949 he, his wife and the two sisters set sail up the Yangtze from Nanjing. They were seen off personally by Rev. Yang Shaotang, one of China's leading preachers. This raises the fascinating question as to how much Rev. Yang may have had a burden for the evangelization of the far Northwest and "Back to Jerusalem."

China was torn apart by the civil war between Nationalists and Communists. Everywhere there were refugees. Uncle Simon had already prepared himself for suffering, even prison, so did not complain about the hardships of the journey. Eventually they reached Hami on the eastern edge of Xinjiang and joined members of the North West Evangelization Band who had arrived there a year or two previously.

Eager to plant the gospel on virgin soil, Zhao headed south with five fellow workers to Hetian, a remote oasis town in the far south of Xinjiang, in the winter of 1950. But two weeks after they arrived the Public Security Bureau ordered them to leave. So they were forced to move even further west to Kashgar, where in September 1949 the Band had set up a preaching station at Shule and where there were quite a few Han Chinese. (In those days the vast majority of the population of Xinjiang were Uygurs or other mainly Muslim minorities.)

They arrived in January 1950 to a chaotic situation. The gospel compound had been taken over by armed soldiers who claimed there had been a “counter-revolutionary incident.” Uncle Simon did not know what to make of it. But within a few days he was arrested and placed in prison. He had with him only a pocket Bible, a notebook and a pen, but even these were confiscated. Not until his release thirty years later in 1981 did he see a Bible again.

Uncle Simon thought his arrest must be a mistake and that he would soon be released. But later, when let out of his cell briefly, he saw two of his co-workers had also been arrested and only then realized his situation was grave. Two years later he found out that members of the Band back at Hami had also been arrested. Clearly the arrests concerned the whole Band, not just him personally.

In 1954 he and the other members arrested in Kashgar were transported to Urumqi where he met those arrested in Hami in 1952. The Public Security, People’s Procuratorate and People’s Court set up a special committee of investigation. Uncle Simon knew that as he and his co-workers were innocent the whole matter would soon be solved. But he was wrong.

Not only was he not speedily released, but it was 36 years before he was able to meet up with those members of the Band who had survived prison. Some had died in prison or labor camps. For years he was separated from family and friends, and through the endless suffering he often called on the Lord's mercy in his utter loneliness.

Day after day, year after year Simon toiled in the reform-through-labor camp, tilling the land and repairing dikes. He carried endless baskets of earth, dug up by hand, on shoulder poles for miles on foot. Often he was so exhausted his legs gave way and he could only crawl on the ground with his load. His body deteriorated, but his mind became sharper. He had not forgotten his commission and so secretly told the other prisoners about Christ.

In 1956 he was sent to the Urumqi Exhibition Hall and told to paint pictures for the Public Security to help educate the prisoners. He painted many pictures but they were never hung up and he wondered why. One of his pictures depicted Christ on the cross at Calvary. This was considered sufficient proof of his thoroughly "counter-revolutionary" nature. He was beaten up with fists and wooden benches and collapsed in a dead faint. When he regained consciousness his head was still bleeding. He had no idea where he was, but was conscious throughout that the Lord was with him.

From that day on, Zhao stood convicted of being the leader of a counter-revolutionary organization and was brutally beaten daily. They produced a name-list and demanded he give clarification. But as it was sheer fabrication, how could he reply? He was locked up for a further two years. Once he was dragged out for further interrogation. The accusers took turns to rest but he was forced to stand upright for seven days and seven nights, with only two hours off each day to eat or relieve himself. Whenever he faltered he was beaten. He remembered that “man cannot live by bread alone,” so he straightened his back, preferring to die standing before his accusers rather than to admit guilt.

He was interrogated again in mid-winter. The courtyard was frozen and the interrogators chain-smoked, making the atmosphere stuffy. Beating became routine. During one such session the time dragged on and the accusers all dozed off. Suddenly one of them woke up, saw Uncle Simon still standing motionless and became infuriated. He stripped Simon of his clothing and pushed him into the icy courtyard. The interrogators all wore padded jackets and thought they would have some fun at his expense. But it was so cold they all beat a hasty retreat, leaving Simon half-naked in the open, unable to move. But Simon knew that God was not only with him in that courtyard, but was inside him. He felt a fire glowing within; he survived!

Through all these experiences he advanced in understanding the deep sense of Calvary and of Christ’s sufferings on the cross. Such understanding is vastly different from mere book knowledge.

All this time in prison and labor camp he was totally cut off from the outside world. He kept praying for his wife but had no idea where she was. But in 1973 he got some bad news. In 1959 their compound at Shule had again been raided and his wife arrested. The next day people were allowed to bring her food and clothing but not thereafter. No one ever saw her alive again. In 1960 the police summoned an elderly Christian to sign to identify her corpse. She only signed her name and did not go into the mortuary. Many years later Uncle Simon let his tears flow as he recounted his wife's death. Before their departure for Xinjiang, he and his wife had dedicated their lives to the Lord and expressed their willingness to suffer. But who could imagine the reality of that "bitter cup"?

In 1981 Simon was finally released. But he was utterly alone and could find no other Christians. He wrote the following hymn:

How many years of wailing wind and weeping rain?
How many times of storm and hurricane?
The temples of God disappear in wind and rain,
Fresh blood of Abraham does the altar stain.
O vine of God, where are you? Oh, cedar of God where are you? Where?
Jerusalem in my dreams, Jerusalem in my tears,
I long for you in the altar fires,
I seek you in the cross, its nail-hole scars.
How far is it out of the valley of tears,
How far is it to return to our home in heaven? How far? How far?

It was not until 1986 that Simon met up with other Christians after searching diligently. In 1988 he returned to Kashgar and Shule and found fellowship with Christians there. The Lord told him, like his namesake Simon Peter, "when you have returned, strengthen your brethren." (Luke 22:32) For the last fifteen years of his life he did just that. He encouraged Christians to be united in the Lord and to pray fervently. True surrender will lead to preaching the gospel. To do that well, Christians must love the Lord fervently and be of one heart and soul. He know that the quality of church workers is vital, for without good leaders the church can be lead astray. Through his teaching, Christians in Xinjiang have been enabled to resist cults. In his own experience he knew that suffering always heralds the revival of the church. The Bible teaches that death precedes life. If Jesus had not died on the cross there would be no resurrection and no salvation for mankind.

In his last years Uncle Simon traveled to Henan to pass on the vision of “Back to Jerusalem” to the new generation of house-church leaders. In 1995 one of these was speaking at a house-church meeting and sang a song he had learned from an old book about the Back to Jerusalem Movement. He noticed an old man at the back of the meeting weeping. The old brother crowned with white hair and white beard slowly walked to the front of the room and said: “I am Simon Zhao, a servant of the Lord. Forty-eight years ago my co-workers and I wrote the words you just sang. All of them were martyred for the name of Jesus. Every evening for 30 years in labor camp I faced towards the west in the direction of Jerusalem, and cried out to the Lord, ‘Oh God, I’ll never be able to reach Jerusalem on foot. Our vision has perished. Heavenly Father, I pray you will raise up a new generation of Chinese Christians who are willing to lay down their lives to take the gospel all the way back to where it started in Jerusalem.’” The young house-church leader responded: “The vision God gave you has not died! We will carry on the vision!”

Simon Zhao passed away peacefully in Henan on December 3, 2001. He was aged 83. His vision of "Back to Jerusalem" lives on among a younger generation.

Sources

Bridge Magazine, October-November 1988. This was published in both English and Chinese editions. As the Chinese edition had significant information not translated in the English version, I have re-translated much of the Chinese edition for the basis of my report as the original interview with Simon Zhao would have been in Chinese.
The Heavenly Man, Paul Hattaway with Brother Yun, Monarch, 2003. pp 284-288.