God Is Red by Liao Yiwu

ago, soldiers from the Lamaseries constantly engaged in fights against the Chinese troops. The war lasted many years and left many villages in poverty and chaos. Old folks would tell me that in the war-torn region, people died all the time. In the mid-nineteenth century, several priests with a Catholic organization called Foreign Missions of Paris arrived. They changed the lives of many ordinary people.
    Liao: Are there more Buddhists or Christians in the Cizhong area?
    Jia: I think it’s half and half. We all live in the same village, share the same skin color, wear similar goatskin coats, and herd goats and farm together. So it’s quite harmonious. When we get together for dinner with our friends or neighbors, they chant their Buddhist sutras and we say our prayers to seek God’s blessing. Then we toast each other with liquor. Occasionally, we would take off our necklaces and compare whose pendants are prettier, the cross or the miniatures of Buddha. You have probably read about the meeting between Pope John Paul II and the Dalai Lama? They praised each other warmly during their meeting. It is good to promote interfaith harmony, don’t you think? Four generations of my family have been Christians. I’ve been a Christian all my life.
    Liao: Your name doesn’t sound Tibetan.
    Jia: You are right. It’s a Western name. I was baptized in a church. The priest named me “Gabriel.” Gabriel is one of God’s angels, and the name means “man of God.” As you know, we Tibetans name our children quite spontaneously. A father is supposed to come up with a name immediately upon the birth of his child. Many times, he gets his inspiration from whatever he sees first when he steps outside the house. If it’s a Kalsang flower blooming on the grassland, he will name his baby girl Kal Sang, or Ge Sang. If it’s a windy morning, he’s very likely to name his baby boy Anil, which means “wind” or “air.” I like my biblical name a lot.
    Liao: Where were you baptized?
    Jia: In the Cizhong church, which was built by French missionaries about 150 years ago.
    Liao: Is it the oldest church in Yunnan province?
    Jia: Probably. When you are in the valley area, you can see from a distance its Western-style steeple against the snow-covered mountain peaks, surrounded by Buddhist temples. The Lancang River flows by and then curves around the villages there. Old folks in my village used to say that Cizhong was a borderland for Christian missionaries. From the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries, missionaries hoped that the gospel would filter into Tibet, but the lamas didn’t like religious competition and many priests were killed. The Kashag, or the governing council of Tibet, placed thousands of troops at key mountain passes to prevent outsiders from entering Tibet. It didn’t matter whether you were a Han or a Westerner, and it didn’t matter if you carried a gun or a Bible. The troops would arrest you or kill you. Many people went and never returned. In the end, the missionaries established bases in Cizhong from which to serve the Tibetan villages.
    Liao: Are there many Christians in Tibet?
    Jia: No. I think there are only about seven hundred or so. In Cizhong, the Catholic missionaries were the first to arrive, but as travel has become easier the Protestant churches have also been expanding. In recent years, Cizhong has become a popular destination for tourists from France, America, Britain, Canada, Australia, Sweden, and New Zealand. On their way to climb the Meili Snow Mountain, many stop and worship at the Cizhong church.
    Liao: Have you heard any stories about early Western missionaries in the region?
    Jia: Yes. I’ve seen their tombstones. Some of them were damaged during the Cultural Revolution, but now they have been restored and are protected. I’ve also seen trees planted by foreign missionaries at the beginning of the last century. The