The Prime Minister was on boisterous from at PMQs today, welcoming the Labour Party’s new found support for an EU referendum in the division lobbies last night. Cameron described it as ‘the biggest mass conversion since that Chinese general baptised his troops with a hosepipe’. The green benches were left baffled to what on earth he was talking about.
Mr S, as ever, can shed some light on the matter. General Feng Yu Xiang was a Chinese warlord, known as the ‘Christian General’, who dominated parts of Northern China in the twenties.
Born an illiterate peasant in 1882 he converted to Christianity in 1914. Having conquered Beijing in 1928, Feng Yu Xiang was exiled in 1930 after an awkward relationship with Communist Russia.
According to the Chinese historian Michael Lynch, Yu Xiang was indeed famous for baptising his troops ‘en masse with a hosepipe; spraying them with water while shouting the baptismal prayer through a megaphone.’
Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in