Almost nobody in America has heard of Yueyang, but just about anyone who’s ever ordered take-out at a Chinese restaurant has heard of “General Tso’s Chicken.”  Well guess what, Zou ZongTang, aka General Tso is from Yueyang’s country side district known as “XiangYin.”

General Tso Tsung-t’ang (in Mandarin – Zuo Zongtang, 左宗棠), was a formidable 19th-century general who served with distinction during China’s most important (and the world’s largest) civil war, the 14 year long Taiping Rebellion, in which it is estimated 20 million people died.

His family — five generations later — is still in WenJiaLong (a rural village in Yueyang’s countryside.) They actually have a whole section of the village named after them “The Zuo Family Section.”

I’m sad to say though, there is no General Tso’s chicken in WenJiaLong or anywhere in Yueyang, but they still think fondly of his military exploits.

The Hunanese have a strong military tradition, and Tso is one of their best-known historical figures.  In America, General Tso, like Colonel Sanders, is known for chicken and not war. In China, however, he is known for war and not chicken.

Would you please take a moment to pray for the people of Yueyang, many of whom know war stories of General Tso and the bloody civil war he helped to fight, but have no idea of the blood that was shed on their behalf by Jesus Christ.

Make it a habit – every time you are in a Chinese restaurant and you see “General Tso’s Chicken” on the menu – say a prayer for Yueyang!