Christiana Tsai - Queen of the Dark Chamber

1953 edition by
THE MOODY BIBLE INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO

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ISBN: 978-0-8024-9169-5

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Dedicated to my loving godmother MISS MARY A. LEAMAN who led me to the road of peace along which we have walked together for over forty-five years

I want you to know you are never forgotten,

The Saviour is with you, He sees all your grief;

Remember, He cares, He will never forsake you,

And soon He is coming to bring you relief.

I think of you daily and pray for you always,

How often I see you in darkness and pain;

But tho you must suffer, His grace is sufficient,

And some day with Jesus forever youll reign.

The Lord will be with you, dear Queen of the darkness,

And all of earths shadows will soon pass away;

For you have been faithful and many in Heaven

Will praise you for turning their darkness to day.

Your book has brought blessing, it makes me unworthy,

For you have accomplished so much by His grace;

Some day you will step from your chamber of darkness,

For Jesus remembers; youll see His dear face.

With Christian affection, my sister from China,

I send you this messageyour prayrs He will hear;

I want you to know that Gods mercy is oer you,

Forgotten? no, never! your Saviour is near.

OSWALD J. SMITH

To Christiana Tsai,

Queen of the Dark Chamber.

I have seen the vision

And for self I cannot live;

Life is less than worthless

Till my all I give.

O. J. S.

Because the Spirit of God breathes through its pages I am glad to commend Queen of the Dark Chamber to Christian readers everywhere.

It witnesses to the adequacy of Christ in these crucial times. It emits the fragrance of faith in a world so polluted with the stench of sin. It demonstrates unmistakably that faith in Christ triumphs over every vicissitude and unfavorable circumstance of life. The blight of disease, the pangs of persecution, and the darkness of illiteracy flee before His power as darkness flees from the radiance of the noonday sun.

The author has made us feel the heartbeat of a nation and has done much to interpret the sufficiency of Christ to a great and needy people. In her furnace of affliction Miss Tsai has discovered the secret of spiritual refining. In her dark chamber of infirmity she has found the Light of the World.

May her testimony, her work, and her challenge as presented in this book enjoy wide reading and ready acceptance. May thousands of her people discover the Radiance which has kept her heart aglow, even in the dark chamber of suffering.

BILLY GRAHAM

It is a pleasure to acknowledge with thanksgiving the kind and sacrificial help of an old China friend,

MISS ELLEN L. DRUMMOND

for her patient attention to my story and her careful writing. Her knowledge of the background and acquaintance with most of the people have been invaluable, and her drawings are true to the life and times described.

CHRISTIANA TSAI

THE VERY NAME Christiana reminds us of the pilgrim in Bunyans immortal allegory. More than that, the life story of Christiana Tsai depicts the unusual experiences in the pilgrim pathway of a Chinese believer. The facts presented in this autobiography are truly stranger than fiction. How marvelous that in early girlhood Christiana, though the daughter of a wealthy Confucian official, should meet the Lord and respond to His claim! Her mind and heart were early impressed with the divine declaration, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Not only did Christiana appropriate this truth for herself, but she devoted her life to the making known of the One whom she recognized as Saviour of the world and the hope of her nation. Thus Christiana became a pilgrim of The Splendid Way.

As you see how through her the light-giving and life-giving power of the Gospel of Christ is made known, there will come a fresh realization of the infinite value of foreign missions. For Christiana is truly the fruit of missionary endeavor. Through the transformation of this life, scores within her own large family and clan were brought to know her Saviour. Through Christianas work and the promotion and translation of the Scriptures in phonetic script, hundreds have come to an experience of Gods saving grace; thousands of humble believers have learned to read Gods Word and to form Bible-reading habits.

Miss Mary Leaman and Christiana Tsai worked as colleagues in this monumental work of preparing the translations of the Scriptures in phonetic script. Their lifelong partnership in service for Christ and the people of China is a beautiful example of loving co-operation between Oriental and Occidental. Who can evaluate all that has been accomplished for Christ and His Kingdom by the sacrificial efforts of these devoted servants of the Lord?

Perhaps it should be explained that the percentage of the Chinese people, even among Christians, who are able to read their national language is comparatively small. This is not to be wondered at when one considers the thousands of ideographs and the years of schooling necessary for the acquisition of this difficult written language. The reduction of countless ideographs to thirty-seven phonetic symbols enables unschooled folk, even country women, after a few weeks of assistance in classwork, to read the Scriptures. As a result of the help of the phonetic script, many have acquired a working knowledge of the national language.

It is a privilege to commend the reading of this autobiography. It is Christianas desire that the Lord who called her receive the glory through this record of her life. Many have been blessed through Miss Tsais ministry. May many more be blessed through her testimony.

HERBERT M. GRIFFIN

Director for North America

China Inland Mission

Philadelphia, Pa.

MOST GIRLS in the Orient have no first name. As we read the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, we become acquainted with the names of the brothers in His earthly family, but we are amazed when we realize the sisters are not named (Matthew 13:5556). This fact was, and still is, true in China especially in the countryside.

Although Sister Seven has a very beautiful name, she is known to her family and relatives only as Sister Seven. Because of their background, the people of the Orient understand the Bible perhaps better than those of the West; and the quotations from Scripture used in this inspiring story are very adequate, because the author knows from Chinese culture, as well as personal experience, their real interpretation.

The only hope of the world today is our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other hope. American dollars cannot save the world, no matter how many we have. Atomic bombs cannot conquer the world, no matter how powerful they are. Salvation lies in the redemptive love of our Lord Jesus Christ. 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.