St. Joseph Zhang Dapeng
St. Joseph Zhang Dapeng (1754 to 1815) was a silk merchant of Guiyang, in China's Guizhou province, who became a Christian late in life, served as a lay catechist and was strangled for the faith on March 12, 1815. He is one of the 120 Martyr Saints of China, canonized in 2000 and honored together on July 9.
Who was St. Joseph Zhang Dapeng?
St. Joseph Zhang Dapeng was a Chinese silk merchant who came to Christ in middle age, gave the rest of his life to teaching the faith in the city of Guiyang, and was strangled for it in 1815. The Vatican's account of the Chinese martyrs says simply that he "had become the heart of the mission" in his city. He is one of the 120 Martyr Saints of China whom Pope John Paul II canonized on October 1, 2000.
Not much is known of him, and the sources do not always agree. What follows keeps to what they share and says where they differ.
The life of St. Joseph Zhang Dapeng
A merchant in Guiyang
According to Chinese Catholic accounts gathered by Paul Hattaway, Zhang Dapeng was born in 1754 at Duyun, in the mountainous southwestern province of Guizhou, into a family that was not Christian. As a young man he was drawn to Taoism. He moved to Guiyang, the provincial capital, and went into the silk business with a partner named Wang. It was Wang's eldest son who first told him about Jesus Christ.
He believed, but he was not baptized right away. Like many wealthy men of his time, he kept a concubine, and the Church could not baptize him while he lived that way. Around 1797 a catechist named Hu Shilu persuaded him to send her away. Three years later, in 1800, he was baptized and took the name Joseph. He was about forty-six.
The heart of the mission
His own brothers were furious that he had joined a foreign and forbidden religion. Joseph did not hide. The same accounts say he bought a house on a busy street so that he could teach the faith there, and in 1808 he was asked to run a Catholic school. In a province with few priests, lay catechists like him held the Church together: they taught the prayers and the catechism, prepared people for baptism, and kept the faithful in touch with the missionaries.
Persecution and prison
Christianity had been banned in the Qing empire for decades. In 1815 new imperial decrees made the persecution worse, and the Vatican notes that the same year saw the execution of Bishop Gabriel Dufresse in Sichuan. In Guizhou, Joseph went into hiding but was betrayed. Hattaway's account says it was his brother-in-law, who had opposed him since his conversion.
In prison, the accounts say, he encouraged other Christians to stay faithful and spoke about Christ to the prisoners who did not know him. His family came and begged the officials to release him. They agreed, on one condition: he must first renounce his faith in Christ. He would not.
March 12, 1815
The Vatican's biography says he was strangled on March 12, 1815, and that is the date the Church keeps. Hattaway's account gives February 2, 1815, and says he was buried at Xijiaotang. We follow the Vatican's date.
Canonization and miracles
Joseph Zhang Dapeng was canonized by Pope John Paul II on October 1, 2000, together with St. Augustine Zhao Rong and 118 other martyrs who died in China between 1648 and 1930. As a martyr, he did not need an approved miracle to be beatified, and we know of no individual miracle formally approved through his intercession.
Why St. Joseph Zhang Dapeng is honored by catechists
Joseph was never a priest. He was a layman with a trade and a family, who came to the faith late and spent his remaining fifteen years teaching it. That is why he is a natural patron for catechists, for converts and for Christians who work in business. His story also shows how much the Church in China owed to its lay teachers in the long years when priests were few and the faith was against the law.
Symbols of St. Joseph Zhang Dapeng in art
There is no portrait of him from life. In modern group images of the Martyr Saints of China he appears as a Chinese layman.
- A long Qing-dynasty robe and skullcap: the dress of a respectable merchant and teacher of his time.
- A book: the catechism he taught.
- The palm: the sign of a martyr.
- A rope: a reminder of his death by strangling, sometimes shown in martyr images.
Look for him among the laymen in pictures of St. Augustine Zhao Rong and companions.
Feast day and prayer
We honor St. Joseph Zhang Dapeng with all the Martyr Saints of China on July 9, and on March 12, the day he died.
There is no traditional prayer to him alone. On July 9 the Church prays the collect of St. Augustine Zhao Rong and companions from the Roman Missal. Let us ask St. Joseph Zhang Dapeng, in our own words, to pray for the Church in China, for catechists everywhere, and for all who are pressed to deny Christ to save themselves.
St. Joseph Zhang Dapeng, pray for us.
Frequently asked questions
Who was St. Joseph Zhang Dapeng?
A Chinese merchant and lay catechist of Guiyang, in Guizhou province. Baptized in 1800, he became, in the Vatican's words, the heart of the mission in his city. He was imprisoned during the persecution of 1815 and strangled on March 12, 1815.
When is the feast of St. Joseph Zhang Dapeng?
He is honored with all 120 Martyr Saints of China on July 9. He is also remembered on March 12, the day he died.
Why was Joseph Zhang Dapeng put to death?
Christianity was banned in Qing China, and in 1815 the persecution grew worse. Chinese Catholic accounts say his family begged for his release and the officials agreed on one condition, that he renounce Christ. He refused, and he was executed.
Keep exploring
Sources
- Holy See, Augustine Zhao Rong and 119 companions, martyrs in China (biographies for the canonization of October 1, 2000), vatican.va. His baptism in 1800, his role at Guiyang and his death by strangling on March 12, 1815
- Paul Hattaway, China's Book of Martyrs (extract: "1815, Joseph Zhang Dapeng"), Asia Harvest. Birthplace, silk trade, conversion, the school, the betrayal and the offer of freedom; it gives a different death date (February 2, 1815)