Pearl of China by Anchee Min Read Free Book Online

Papa.
    I didn’t know how to deal with the Baptist when I met him outside the church. By walking away, I would insult him. So I waited until he finished his preaching about immersion.
    Our encounter upset Absalom. He vowed revenge.
    NaiNai predicted rather gladly, “The fisherman profits when a crab and a lobster are locked in a fight.” By fisherman, she meant Papa.
    Papa agreed. “I heard Absalom shout at his wife,” he reported, mimicking Absalom. “‘I have taught, labored, and suffered all the troubles of instilling the fundamentals of Christianity into the heathens! It is nothing short of religious thievery when my future members would be added to the Baptist’s glory!’”
    “Is it that serious?” NaiNai wondered.
    “Oh, yes, for Absalom,” Papa said. “How otherwise would I receive my promotion as a Clergy? Absalom is no fool.”
    “You’d better not meddle,” NaiNai warned.
    Papa smiled. “I would benefit more if their fight continues.”
    NaiNai shook her head and said, “Being a crippled donkey walking on a broken bridge—you are going to fall sooner or later.”
    “I am no longer the same rotten character you think,” Papa said. “I’ll not be the one to bring Absalom’s church into contempt. Absalom will win.”
    “I just want to be able to have a clean conscience when I die.” Tears filled NaiNai’s eyes. Papa took out a string of copper money and laid it by NaiNai’s pillow.
    “Absalom paid me for your medicine, Mother.”
    NaiNai cupped her face in her palms and began to weep.
    “Where is Absalom now?” I asked Papa.
    “He is touring the countryside. Perhaps he is in the middle of conducting a study class.”
    “Does he teach?”
    “Yes.”
    “What does he teach?”
    “Absalom teaches Bible history, philosophy, religions, Greek, and Hebrew. He spreads the Gospel.”
    “Does he take women disciples?”
    “No, Absalom’s disciples are men only.”
    “How far does he travel?”
    “As far as he is able to reach.” Papa paused for a moment and then added, “The man is ambitious. I have little doubt that his Christian God will conquer China one day.”
    Papa told me that he was amazed by the fact that educated Chinese youths were willing to follow Absalom.
    “Absalom has converted even Chinese Muslims.” Papa scratched the back of his head in disbelief. “I believe it is the way Absalom wages the war of God that attracts young people. He is absolutely committed and stubborn. A zealot, so to speak. The young worship his energy and determination. More than anything else, he sells God’s victory. People want to follow a strong man, a leader.”
    I asked Papa, “How can you be a Clergy if you don’t believe in God one hundred percent?”
    “Keep your voice down, my daughter.” Papa was embarrassed. “Be the keeper of my secret. According to Absalom, God will call.”
    “Have you been waiting?”
    “Yes, I have, and I must be patient.”
    “I hope you mean it.”
    “I do,” Papa swore.
    The winter of 1899 was brutally cold. Sky and hills merged in one bitter whirl of wind and snow, which was rare in southern China. In the mornings the valleys were silent under their blanket of whiteness. The weather helped Papa achieve the attendance he had promised Absalom. Attracted by the church’s warm fire, the poor gathered under the portrait of Jesus Christ and prayed.
    The way Papa preached the Bible was different from Absalom. Papa told it the way he would a Chinese story. He prepared his material carefully so that it would always have a suspenseful beginning and a satisfying end.
    When Absalom returned from his trips, he was bothered by Papa’s exaggeration and invention. Especially when Papa compared Jesus to the Chinese folk heroes, even the fictional Monkey King. Papa argued that the Monkey King had the same kind heart as Jesus. Papa’s aim was to do whatever it took to keep the audience coming back.
    “Stick to the Bible from now on,” Absalom ordered Papa.