By: Ivy Chou
My father Mr. Chao-Chun Chou (周朝俊先生) completed an article in Taiwanese Min Nan entitled “George Gordon, Lord Byron: The Destruction of Sennacherib,” shortly before his passing at 90 in 2016.
Father introduces Byron and this poem to the Taiwanese people through this article, which is essentially a Biblical commentary on the passage in 2 Kings 18-19 that Byron’s poem is based upon. Imbedded within this work is father’s translation of this Byron poem in anapestic tetrameter into a Taiwanese Min Nan poem in the Seven Character Ancient Chinese Poetry format (七言古詩).
Byron’s poetic prowess transforms the Biblical story into a lively drama. The vivid imagery makes father’s commentary engaging to read. Father emphasizes on Bryon’s creative vitality, boundless imaginations, witty expressions, and across the lands eye-witness on-the-spot reporting style that captures the essence of the story about God’s miraculous deliverance of His faithful believers. Father briefly touches on Byron’s unruly personality and scandalous life, and concludes with positive affirmations of Byron’s heroism for the Greek cause.
The Taiwan Church News (TCN), the first newspaper in Taiwan founded by the British missionary Mr. Thomas Barclay in 1885, published my father’s work in the 1st issue of this year 2025(3801) in the paper form (please see the above photos) and the e-form: https://tcnn.org.tw/archives/227593.
Father was raised in a big loving family with more than a dozen siblings to grow up with. His asthma not only greatly limited his life experiences, but also cut short a promising English teaching career. He felt as if he’s running in a never-ending marathon, out of breath at all time, that his life could be snatched away at any given moment. My loving mother, a professionally trained nurse, was a true lifesaver to him whenever a severe attack required a shot to stabilize his condition.
Otherwise, my father, a gentleman scholar, was very much loved, supported, and respected by his big family, his students, and the church community where he served as an elder. It was this enormous blessing from all aspects of his life father received that propelled him to walk steadfastly with the Lord to safely sail through the vicissitudes of life. Father viewed his asthma a blessing like Apostle Paul’s” thorn in the flesh” that kept him humble before the Lord.
When every mortal being’s eventual Assyrian army, the horseman of death, finally arrived to take down the sacred Jerusalem within father, he resolutely kept his faith in God’s deliverance. The angel of the Lord came down and swiftly put everything in a standstill – ascending into eternity, father silently breathed out his last breath on earth. I like to think that wisdom gleamed in this broad stroke Byron poem played a part in father’s peaceful departure.
