Cite
Tsai, Christiana. Queen of the Dark Chamber: The Story of Christiana Tsai. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1953.
Jeremy
Synth
Contribution::
Related::
Md
FirstAuthor:: Tsai, Christiana
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Title:: Queen of the Dark Chamber: The Story of Christiana Tsai
Year:: 1953
Citekey:: tsaiQueenDarkChamber1953a
itemType:: book
Publisher:: Moody Publishers
Location:: Chicago
ISBN:: 978-0-8024-9169-5
LINK
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Abstract
It is a time of heavy persecution in China. Christiana Tsai becomes a follower of Christ. An autobiography, Queen of the Dark Chamber exposes Christiana’s severe suffering because of her conversion. Through her, however, the light and life of the gospel and the glory of Christ is revealed. Step into her life and taste the bitterness of sin around her and the brilliant sweetness of Christ’s light in the midst of trial .
Notes
# Highlights and Notes
Preface
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How shall we lead more men and women to know Christ , and to live Christ ? Many reasons and excuses are given for our failure to do this . If you are excusing yourself , read this story and feel ashamed .
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We hav been given very clear Commands in following Jesus. Why are we comfcortable in doing nothing?
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Once a great scholar in China said , “ A sage seeks opportunities in difficulties , and a fool finds difficulties in opportunities . ”
1 The School of Adversity
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Noodles are a symbol of long life , and are always served on birthdays .
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The subjects always demanded a thorough knowledge of the Confucian Classics . The Board of Examiners read each essay and judged it on its own merits before they unsealed the author’s signature . Appointments were often given to those who received the highest grades . This system of examinations had been in operation in China since A.D . 600 .
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Such are the sweet uses of adversity !
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Father always had a deep affection for the poor and did much for them .
2 Inside High Walls
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During my early childhood , there were still eight unmarried children at home . Each of us had two special servants , and one of them always accompanied us wherever we went . The nurse stayed with the child for at least three years and was a mother to him . My nurse stayed with me for sixteen years , and we were devoted to each other .
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We had two men teachers for the boys , and two women teachers for the girls , a music teacher and a sewing teacher . Because my father wanted us to know Chinese history , he employed two storytellers to instruct us .
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Mother was in charge of all — sons , daughters , daughters - in - law , nieces - in - law , grandchildren and servants . The head servants reported to her and she gave orders through them . She had to administer all the discipline and keep order in this great family . The secret of her success was that though she exacted formal obedience , she gave each family freedom to live their own lives in privacy and according to their own desires . Every morning after breakfast each son and daughter ,
3 Golden Days
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CHINESE NEW YEAR was the happiest time of the year for us children . But it was also a great ordeal because we were afraid of committing an error in etiquette and being reprimanded . We believed that all the countless ceremonies must be carried out punctiliously if we were to have good luck throughout the year — any slip might bring bad luck .
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year . Blind people generally become fortunetellers because the Chinese say that since they cannot see this world they must be able to see the unseen world .
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Chinese calculate time in cycles of sixty years , and each cycle is subdivided into periods of twelve years , each of which is called after an animal .
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I was born in the year of the tiger , the twelfth day of the second month , at ten o’clock at night . Since I was born in the year of the tiger at night time , and a tiger goes out to hunt prey at night , the fortuneteller said I would be diligent and never lack for food , but girls born on the twelfth day of the second month , the birthday of the flowers , turn out to be either the very best or the very worst among women . So they are not likely to get married . A man’s family would rather take the chance of avoiding a wicked wife than of getting a paragon .
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These foolish superstitions reveal how slender is the thread of happiness that binds two lives together , and how blindly people grope in the face of the unknown future to escape the tragedies that lurk beside their pathway . In fact , we Chinese have a proverb that though a bride may ride in a red embroidered sedan chair , she may have picked up an unlucky ticket after all . But this incident also shows that a loving heavenly Father guards His child in all circumstances , working all things together for good , and used even a blind fortuneteller’s prognostications for my advantage .
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We lived in a fabulous fairyland and beautiful and costly things were given to us , but we were rarely allowed outside the high walls . Prisoners in the palace , we dreamed of the world outside . Going to a school just for girls , where a foreign woman would teach me English and piano , was my castle in the air .
4 Roots of Bitterness
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My father was charitable and loved the poor . At the end of every month we used to see a line of poor widows , each holding a receipt book , coming to receive their monthly support . On the hot summer days he ordered two five - gallon jars of fresh tea to be placed in front of our street door , for use of tired passers - by . He provided free medicine for travelers who became ill . On windy , snowy nights , groups of servants would be sent out to look for the poor in different parts of the city and give them rice coupons and coupons for a set of winter clothes . When a poor person was sick and had no money to see a doctor , or died without money to buy a coffin , my parents encouraged us children to take out our savings , or New Year’s money , to help them .
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My father was a liberal , and a conscientious leader as well . He sternly forbade Mother to accept any bribes whatsoever . When he had to decide the fate of any man , whether to condemn him to death or set him free , he often spent the whole night pacing up and down in his study . He was friendly to Westerners and risked his life to save them .
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Charles Leaman , the first Protestant missionary to buy land and establish work in Nanking , arrived there in 1874 . He wore Chinese clothes and had his hair braided into a queue .
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Finally they bought some land , a former battleground , which the Chinese considered unlucky for they thought it was haunted by the spirits of the dead . “ If you want this land , ” the magistrate had said , “ you can go and live with the devils there . ” Here they built two houses , a church , and a school . More missionaries arrived , and a third house was built . This was the beginning of the first Presbyterian mission station at Four Flagstaffs .
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In Nanking , Father received the Empress ’ order to kill all the foreigners in his jurisdiction . He was acting - viceroy while the viceroy was absent , and knowing that his superior also opposed this order , he decided to disobey it . He changed the words “ kill all foreigners ” to “ protect all foreigners . ” This was a dangerous step to take , for if his insubordination had been discovered , he and all his family would have been killed . Then he came home and told Mother , “ I will not kill these innocent people , and we may all be killed for disobeying the Empress ’ order .
5 The Deceitfulness of Riches
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month . Buddhism , which is a religion of escape from the realities of life , only deepened my pessimism , and I applied for entrance into a Buddhist convent near us ; but the Lord , who had planned my life , though I did not know it , took pity on me and prevented my taking this step .
6 Out into the World
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The kindness of the missionaries impressed me profoundly . Every day on my way home I used to pass a ricksha coming the other way . A tall foreign lady with curly hair sat in it , and she always bowed to me and smiled . This gratuitous kindness puzzled me , too , for we Chinese are taught to speak politely to others but never think of smiling at strangers .
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To this day that winning smile is one of my treasured memories , for it is the genuine evidence of God’s indwelling love which never fails to convey its message of cheer .
7 The Light of the World
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“ If a piece of wood is kept in a dark place , all kinds of ugly insects will hide under it . But if we expose it to the light , the insects will run away , for they love darkness and hate the light . So it is with our hearts : if we do not have Jesus , the Light of the world , in our hearts , they will be dark too , and harbor all kinds of evil thoughts . The moment we receive Him and the light He brings , the evil thoughts will all be driven away . ”
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“ That was a remarkable experience , ” he replied , “ I have noticed that in spite of the way we treat you now , you seem much happier than you used to be . I think I would like to believe , too . ”
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“ Seventh Daughter , I won’t have you here in this house deluding your brothers with your Christian religion . You must return to Soochow and finish your schooling there . ” My family saw the futility of keeping me a prisoner at home , and to my great joy sent me back to Soochow .
8 The Fruit of the Spirit
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“ Don’t say ‘ If Jesus will take it away , ’ just believe that He will , ” I said .
9 Seed Sown in Good Ground
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This was the worst threat a Chinese could make to his enemy . I tried to reason with them . “ Suppose I kept a shoe shop . It would be right to try to sell shoes to anyone who came to my shop , wouldn’t it ? But if I went out on the street and dragged people in and made them buy my shoes , it would not be right , would it ? Now you are the girls ’ mothers . It is your responsibility to forbid them to come here ! But if they come of their own free will , it is my right and duty as a Christian to try to persuade them to become Christians , for that was Christ’s commission to us . ”
10 My Watchtower
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Should I follow my hero and deny my Lord , or Should I follow my Lord and deny my hero ? My Lord or my hero ? My hero or my Lord ?
11 Out into the Highway
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But the Christian who looks back on his beginnings , finds that there was nothing accidental . There were no unfortunate incidents that marred his destiny ; God , according to the good counsel of His will , had planned all his life , circumstance by circumstance , to prepare him for the work He intended him to do .
15 Queen of the Dark Chamber
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attainment . Learning to read and write Chinese is so engrossing it becomes an end in itself . But – and here is the fatal flaw – it takes so much time to master the mere fundamentals that only the leisured few can ever enjoy it , while the unlettered masses can only hope to learn to recognize a few characters at most . That means that even under a modern educational system only two out of ten can learn to read and write . But Western culture introduced a new concept , namely , that writing is an indispensable means of communication for the masses , not a luxury for the privileged few . China’s new leaders saw that our greatest educational need was to wipe out mass illiteracy among the four hundred and fifty million people and unify the confusion of dialects that exists all over China . Without accomplishing these reforms , China could never take its place in the modern world .
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I lay on my bed too near death to have any pains , and saw a vision of a beautiful crown being lifted toward Heaven . I heard wonderful singing , and I thought to myself , “ What a welcome ! ” But I heard a voice , say , “ No , not a welcome , only a rehearsal ! ” And I awoke to hear Miss Leaman praying and sobbing at my bedside . I had sunk to the lowest depths , but now began to recover .
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Our old gateman who had been with our family for forty years never would answer me when I asked him to accept Jesus . He would only stand there without a word , neither refusing nor accepting . But on the day he heard the Chinese doctor say I had only three days to live , he ran over and sought the pastor , saying , “ I want to go along with Miss Seven . I want to confess my sins and go with her . ” So at last in this my extremity he turned to the Lord . Now I can say from the depths of my heart , “ My extremity has been God’s opportunity . ”
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During my illness a kind friend asked me whether I were lonely and tired spending my days in a darkened room . “ Oh , no ! ” I answered , “ the Lord is my constant Companion and real Friend . I am queen of this dark chamber and He is my King of Light ! ”
16 The Light That Never Failed
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DURING MY LONG ILLNESS , did Miss Leaman stop her work on the phonetic Bible to care for me ? Oh , no ! If you think that , you don’t know my godmother , Mary Leaman . Difficulties to her were only evidence of the supreme importance of her task , and they were faced calmly but with immovable determination .
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What seemed so easy to a Westerner , used to a phonetic system of spelling , was extremely difficult to the mind - set of my people . The Chinese were used to learning to recognize each character by memory alone ; and though they spoke in tones , they never recognized them as tones , thinking of them only as different words . With their minds directed toward the recognition of the character more than understanding of the subject , they often missed the meaning entirely unless it was put in extremely simple form .
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“ He is a stutterer , too , ” said the painter . But the stuttering teacher and the stuttering student were encouraged , rather than discouraged , by their mutual handicap .
17 Wanderings in the Wilderness
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As for Miss Leaman and me , who had lived in the shadow of Japan’s aggressive designs for many years , and had seen the tiger appeased again and again , we never knew just when it would spring . We went on with our lives just as usual , hoping for the best . Miss Leaman was trying to finish the printing of the Bible and at the same time shield me from worry . I did not know what was happening until a Chinese friend came into my room one day to tell me of the mass exodus and to urge us to go to the foreign concession in Shanghai , which the Japanese had not attacked up to that time .
20 Shades of the Prison House
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me . She promised to help me in this life , if I promised to help her in the next life . She faithfully carried out her part , helping me cook and keeping me company , and we became good friends . She and I sat in the dark room together , she counting her beads and I at my devotions . But she was willing to learn to sing hymns and read the Bible and pray with me . At the end of the year she and her daughter accepted Christ and He made them His children for eternity . So I was able to carry out my part of the bargain .
21 Just a Hunting Dog
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So the brother who tore up my Bible and persecuted me in the early days at last confessed my Lord . In all , fifty - five of my relatives , adults and children , have become God’s children and expressed their faith in Jesus . I have never been to college , or theological seminary , and I am not a Bible teacher ; I have only been God’s “ hunting dog . ” I simply followed at the heels of my Master , and brought to His feet the quarry He sent me after .
22 From Shanghai to Paradise
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I have indeed found peace out of pain , joy in suffering light in darkness ; after over twenty years in bed , I can say it is worth while to pass through the valley of the shadow of death for the joy of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ .