THE FINAL YEAR
A New Persecution
By the start of the 19th century the Chinese Empire had entered into a long period of decline. The government of the Emperor Kia-King was weak and consequently anxious about any organisation such as the christian church that did not fit easily into the pattern of government. For several years under the previous emperor a revolt had stretched the imperial army to its limits. The administration feared that such a thing might recur. In 1811, the emperor had banished most of the christian priests from Beijing, though the Vincentians had been able to hold on. A silly incident sparked a new round of persecution in 1818. An unusual weather phenomenon in the area of Beijing, probably a tornedo of some sort, frightened the emperor and his court. The emperor wondered if it could possibly be a sign of the anger of the gods at some failure on his part in his acts of government. In the end the easy scapegoat was found. The divine anger had been aroused by the continued preaching of the christian missionaries. They must be stopped once and for all.
Hunted
Father Clet had been fortunate in earlier periods of persecution in that the christians were not actively pursued by the mandarins in Hou-Kouang. This time, however, the persecution rapidly made itself felt in his province and in neighbouring Szechwan. In the latter province four Chinese priests were arrested and exiled. All too quickly the senior of the Chinese Vincentians, Father Chen, was arrested near Kucheng. This happened early in 1819. In what was becoming a pattern, Father Chen was betrayed to the authorities for a considerable reward by a disgruntled christian. The priests' house, which Father Clet had rebuilt in the previous years, was demolished. This was altogether a more serious matter than earlier bad times when it had been sufficient to go under cover for a brief period.
By this time Father Clet was 71 years old. For four months, together with a younger Chinese Vincentian, Father Ho, he was on the run. It was a question of finding any shelter that was secure, even for a few days. He mentions in one letter which got through to Father Lamiot at Beijing that
By the start of the 19th century the Chinese Empire had entered into a long period of decline. The government of the Emperor Kia-King was weak and consequently anxious about any organisation such as the christian church that did not fit easily into the pattern of government. For several years under the previous emperor a revolt had stretched the imperial army to its limits. The administration feared that such a thing might recur. In 1811, the emperor had banished most of the christian priests from Beijing, though the Vincentians had been able to hold on. A silly incident sparked a new round of persecution in 1818. An unusual weather phenomenon in the area of Beijing, probably a tornedo of some sort, frightened the emperor and his court. The emperor wondered if it could possibly be a sign of the anger of the gods at some failure on his part in his acts of government. In the end the easy scapegoat was found. The divine anger had been aroused by the continued preaching of the christian missionaries. They must be stopped once and for all.
Hunted
Father Clet had been fortunate in earlier periods of persecution in that the christians were not actively pursued by the mandarins in Hou-Kouang. This time, however, the persecution rapidly made itself felt in his province and in neighbouring Szechwan. In the latter province four Chinese priests were arrested and exiled. All too quickly the senior of the Chinese Vincentians, Father Chen, was arrested near Kucheng. This happened early in 1819. In what was becoming a pattern, Father Chen was betrayed to the authorities for a considerable reward by a disgruntled christian. The priests' house, which Father Clet had rebuilt in the previous years, was demolished. This was altogether a more serious matter than earlier bad times when it had been sufficient to go under cover for a brief period.
By this time Father Clet was 71 years old. For four months, together with a younger Chinese Vincentian, Father Ho, he was on the run. It was a question of finding any shelter that was secure, even for a few days. He mentions in one letter which got through to Father Lamiot at Beijing that
Capture
It was only a matter of time before the same fate overcame him as had happened to Father Chen - betrayal for reward by a dissatisfied Christian. The mandarins were anxious to prove their zeal in the eyes of the government in Beijing. The family who had been hiding him were in trouble too. something that caused him much additional suffering. It was mid June 1819. His experience over the next months until his execution on 18 February 1820 would make of his death a genuine release.
There would be a series of painful journeys, on foot. in chains, an object of abuse as a foreigner. an-yang-fou, the local market town, was the scene of his first interrogation. Here, under an unsympathetic mandarin. he learned the pattern of the Chinese legal system, a continuous process of interrogation under pressure of beating and torture. A beating of thirty blows from a leather paddle provided him with an initiation.
More prisons. More Interrogations
After ten days he was sent in chains and on foot to the provincial capital. Kai-feng-fou. a journey of over 200 kilometres. Again interrogations. again made to kneel on metal chains for long hours at a time. Imprisonment here lasted for a month. Always at night sleep was made difficult by the wooden stock in which one leg was inserted at end of day. Comfort was impossible to achieve.
It emerged in the interrogation that his normal residence had been in Koucheng in the province of Hupeh. so he was dispatched by the Honan mandarins to the capital of that province. Wuchang-fou. It meant a 5(X)
kilometre journey and took twenty days. Chained by wrists and ankles and neck, he was moved in a wooden cage. By this time he was verminous, his beard unkempt, and dressed in blood-stained rags. Not surprisingly he was greatly weakened. His condition on arrival at Wuchang was so disreputable that the authorities in one prison refused to accept him. He was so clearly penniless that he was not worth having.
In so far as it was possible to land on one's feet in his situation, he now experienced good fortune. Refused in one prison he was dumped in another, only to find there Father Chen and ten christians with a cell to themselves. One of the Chinese priests outside the prison was able to bring communion and they could pray and administer the sacrament of penance among themselves. Gifts of food from the christians outside made life tolerable. Compared with his earlier experience. the mandarin in Wuchang treated his prisoner with consideration.
Father Lamiot is implicated
It was at this stage, at one of the interminable interrogations, letters were produced from Father Lamiot, his superior in Beijing and director of all the Vincentian missions in China. The letters had been found when his house was ransacked by the authorities. Whether from his ingrained habit of honesty, or because exhaustion made him less wary. he admitted that the letters were from Father Lamiot. Father Clet never really forgave himself for this lapse of prudence. Reference to it appears in his letters to the end, even though Lamiot made little of it. It was, none the less, a serious setback for the mission organisation.
The mandarin summoned Lamiot from Beijing, over a thousand kilometres away. It was a serious matter, for Lamiot held high mandarin rank in the capital (not as a Vincentian priest but as a member of the imperial horology and astronomy service). As became his rank he travelled with two carriages, the second for his baggage. two drivers. several horses, a military escort. In Wuchang he stayed with his servants at a hotel. But in the courtroom he knelt on the ground with Father Clet and Father Chen.
Lamiot was to say afterwards that he barely recognised Father Clet - so changed both by his recent experiences and by his whole life in China. It was almost thirty years since they came to China together. destined forvery different lives. Lamiot found Clet had lost his old courtly ways, his .kin was darkened . his appearance countrified. Isolation had left its mark on him.There was an inevitability about the outcome of the trial. Father Lamiot was exonerated but ordered to leave China and was carried in his chair to his lodging. Father Chen was to go into exile. Father Clet was declared guilty of being a christian priest and preacher promoting the faith illegally in China. The penalty was death which would require the approval of the emperor. It was now the beginning of the January 1820. It would be some six weeks before the imperial warrant would reach Wuchang.hither Oct awaits the Decree of Execution
Meanwhile life stood still for Father Clet. It was the depth of winter. But the mandarin had issued padded coats and shoes to the prisoners. Father Lamiot had the resources to provide extra comforts for them. Within the prison he was comparatively free. Good news came to him that the Congregation of the Mission had been once more legally established in France. He was able to celebrate its foundation day on the 25th of January 1820 with a peace of mind only possible for one who lives from day to day. He wrote to his friends. He received the sacraments which gave him great comfort.
In his last letter, written to Father Lamiot a day or two before his execution, he said:
"Whether well or poorly accomplished, I trust that I have fulfilled all the tasks which you have entrusted to me. All that remains for me is to prepare to die. I desire this much more than to live. I assure you that I much prefer my lot to yours. I am. I hope. close to harbour, while you are still a long way out on the ocean. But have confidence..."
The imperial warrant, endorsing the death sentence, arrived in the early morning of 18 February and was acted on immediately.
There would be a series of painful journeys, on foot. in chains, an object of abuse as a foreigner. an-yang-fou, the local market town, was the scene of his first interrogation. Here, under an unsympathetic mandarin. he learned the pattern of the Chinese legal system, a continuous process of interrogation under pressure of beating and torture. A beating of thirty blows from a leather paddle provided him with an initiation.
More prisons. More Interrogations
After ten days he was sent in chains and on foot to the provincial capital. Kai-feng-fou. a journey of over 200 kilometres. Again interrogations. again made to kneel on metal chains for long hours at a time. Imprisonment here lasted for a month. Always at night sleep was made difficult by the wooden stock in which one leg was inserted at end of day. Comfort was impossible to achieve.
It emerged in the interrogation that his normal residence had been in Koucheng in the province of Hupeh. so he was dispatched by the Honan mandarins to the capital of that province. Wuchang-fou. It meant a 5(X)
kilometre journey and took twenty days. Chained by wrists and ankles and neck, he was moved in a wooden cage. By this time he was verminous, his beard unkempt, and dressed in blood-stained rags. Not surprisingly he was greatly weakened. His condition on arrival at Wuchang was so disreputable that the authorities in one prison refused to accept him. He was so clearly penniless that he was not worth having.
In so far as it was possible to land on one's feet in his situation, he now experienced good fortune. Refused in one prison he was dumped in another, only to find there Father Chen and ten christians with a cell to themselves. One of the Chinese priests outside the prison was able to bring communion and they could pray and administer the sacrament of penance among themselves. Gifts of food from the christians outside made life tolerable. Compared with his earlier experience. the mandarin in Wuchang treated his prisoner with consideration.
Father Lamiot is implicated
It was at this stage, at one of the interminable interrogations, letters were produced from Father Lamiot, his superior in Beijing and director of all the Vincentian missions in China. The letters had been found when his house was ransacked by the authorities. Whether from his ingrained habit of honesty, or because exhaustion made him less wary. he admitted that the letters were from Father Lamiot. Father Clet never really forgave himself for this lapse of prudence. Reference to it appears in his letters to the end, even though Lamiot made little of it. It was, none the less, a serious setback for the mission organisation.
The mandarin summoned Lamiot from Beijing, over a thousand kilometres away. It was a serious matter, for Lamiot held high mandarin rank in the capital (not as a Vincentian priest but as a member of the imperial horology and astronomy service). As became his rank he travelled with two carriages, the second for his baggage. two drivers. several horses, a military escort. In Wuchang he stayed with his servants at a hotel. But in the courtroom he knelt on the ground with Father Clet and Father Chen.
Lamiot was to say afterwards that he barely recognised Father Clet - so changed both by his recent experiences and by his whole life in China. It was almost thirty years since they came to China together. destined forvery different lives. Lamiot found Clet had lost his old courtly ways, his .kin was darkened . his appearance countrified. Isolation had left its mark on him.There was an inevitability about the outcome of the trial. Father Lamiot was exonerated but ordered to leave China and was carried in his chair to his lodging. Father Chen was to go into exile. Father Clet was declared guilty of being a christian priest and preacher promoting the faith illegally in China. The penalty was death which would require the approval of the emperor. It was now the beginning of the January 1820. It would be some six weeks before the imperial warrant would reach Wuchang.hither Oct awaits the Decree of Execution
Meanwhile life stood still for Father Clet. It was the depth of winter. But the mandarin had issued padded coats and shoes to the prisoners. Father Lamiot had the resources to provide extra comforts for them. Within the prison he was comparatively free. Good news came to him that the Congregation of the Mission had been once more legally established in France. He was able to celebrate its foundation day on the 25th of January 1820 with a peace of mind only possible for one who lives from day to day. He wrote to his friends. He received the sacraments which gave him great comfort.
In his last letter, written to Father Lamiot a day or two before his execution, he said:
"Whether well or poorly accomplished, I trust that I have fulfilled all the tasks which you have entrusted to me. All that remains for me is to prepare to die. I desire this much more than to live. I assure you that I much prefer my lot to yours. I am. I hope. close to harbour, while you are still a long way out on the ocean. But have confidence..."
The imperial warrant, endorsing the death sentence, arrived in the early morning of 18 February and was acted on immediately.
