CHINA – MEDALS， 中国 - 纪念章 ， Qing Dynasty 清朝 : John-Gabriel Perboyre (1802-40)， Priest， Missionary and Martyr in China， Small Brass Medal， on his beatification， 1889， by L Penin， Obv bust three-quarters left wearing mandarin’s cap， Rev legend in seven lines， 32mm， integral suspension loop. Extremely fine， scarce. Following a purge by the Mandarin of Hubei， Perboyre was taken to Wuchang， tortured and condemned to death， the sentence confirmed by the Emperor. On 11 September 1840 he was strangled to death on a cross at Wuchang. His body， which was retrieved and buried in the mission cemetery by a catechist， has since been returned to France. He was canonised in 1996.
