His Life. Miao pastor Wang Zhiming was little known
outside his home in Wuding County, Yunnan at the time of his execution on
December 29, 1973. Since then, he has received two unique honors. In 1981, he
became the only Christian martyr of the Cultural Revolution to have a monument
erected at his gravesite. Then in 1998, he was one of ten 20
th century Christian martyrs memorialized above the Great West Door of Westminster
Abbey with a statue. These statues represent those who died for Christ in the
century marked by the greatest number of martyrdoms in the history of the
church. Wang Zhiming was born in Wuding in 1907, the year after
Christian missionaries first began work there. Their work among minority people,
especially the Miao in Wuding, saw much fruit. By 1949, 130,000 Protestants,
nearly 20% of the total for China, were found among Yunnans minorities. Five
years later 1/2 of the Christians in Yunnan reportedly lived in the prefecture
which included Wuding. Wang was educated in Christian schools and later taught in one
for ten years. In 1944 he was elected chairman of the church council in Wuding,
and he was ordained in 1951 at the age of 44. During the 1950s Wang was one
of six Miao Christian leaders who accommodated some of the demands of the new
government by signing the Three Self Manifesto. Still, he refused to participate
in denunciation meetings held to humiliate landlords, saying, My hands have
baptized many converts, and should not be used for sinfulness. This was
undoubtedly one of the reasons that, even before the Cultural Revolution, Wang
was declared a counter-revolutionary. His Legacy.
During the Cultural
Revolution (1966-1976), at least twenty-one Christian leaders in Wuding were
imprisoned, and many others were sent to camps, denounced or beaten. One later
stated, I cannot recall how many time I was made to kneel on the rubble and
how much blood flowed from my knees due to their sharp edges. When I could not
hold out and fell to the ground, merciless beatings followed. Then I was pulled
up and forced to salute the portrait of Chairman Mao. My refusal to do so
resulted in another round of beating up. Vicious cycles went on and on. This
only paused for a little while when I almost lost consciousness. In 1969, Wang Zhiming and his wife and sons were arrested. On
December 29, 1973, Wang was executed in a stadium in front of more than 10,000
people. The largely Christian crowd was not cowed into submission by the
spectacle, but rather many rushed the stand where they berated the prosecuting
official. After the Cultural Revolution, official attempts to placate
the Miao included a compensatory payment of 1,300 (then $250) to Wangs
family. However, the real compensation for the great suffering of Wang and the
other Christians in Wuding has come in church growth. When Wang Zhiming was
arrested, there were 2,795 Christians in Wuding. By 1980 the church had grown to
about 12,000, and Wuding now has over 30,000 Christians and more than 100 places
of worship. Sporadic persecution in Wuding continues. His Last Words. You should not follow my example.
(A
humble statement meaning they should not waver in their faith in Christ.) You should follow the words from above and repent.
(A
statement pointing them to Gods Word as their authority.) In all of your work, you should pay attention to
cleanliness. (A statement reminding them to be
pure and holy.) References:
Photo used with permission from Hattaway,
Paul. Operation China. (Carlisle, UK: Piquant, ISBN 0-953575756;
visit www.piquant.net). Final Quotation from Wickeri, Philip L. The
Abolition of Religion in Yunnan: Wang Zhiming The Terrible Alternative.
(Cassell, 1998) pp. 137-138. Tien, Ju-Kang. Peaks of Faith. (E.J. Brill, 1993).