Unknown to many Western Christians, Mr. Wang Mingdao (1901-1991) is one of the most influential and respected Chinese Christian leaders of the 20th century. He was pastor of an independent church in Beijing based on the "Three Selves principle." He was the conscience of the Chinese Church which boldly confronted the false teachings and evils of his time. He was a prisoner for Jesus Christ and spent two decades in prison suffering for his faith. Wang Mingdao was born in Beijing where his parents had taken refuge in the foreign districts of Beijing during the Boxer Uprising in 1900. This uprising was a xenophobic reaction against the "foreign devils" in general and Christians in particular. An estimated 30,000 Chinese Christians and 200 foreign missionaries were massacred during this uprising. Terrified at the sight of the rampaging Boxers, Wang's father hanged himself a few weeks before his birth. Wang was raised by his widowed mother in extreme poverty. Wang had a sharp mind and did well in school. From a young age, Wang aspired to become a great political leader and to hang a picture of Abraham Lincoln in his home as a reminder. However, Wang became a Christian at the age of 14 and abandoned his personal ambition to devote himself to Christian ministry. In 1919, Wang became a teacher at a Presbyterian mission school in Baoding, one hundred miles south of Beijing. Later he came to the conviction of believers' baptism by immersion. He and his five friends broke the ice in a creek in January and plunged into the frigid water in obedience to their conscience. As a result, he was promptly expelled from school in 1920. Later, Wang retired to the western hills of Beijing and read the Bible six times in sixty-two days, which...... middle paper......Christian life. He has written extensively on these topics in Chinese and I would like to read more primary sources from him. I want to further explore the relationship between state and church, as the Chinese government's religious policies that Wang resisted are still in effect. I think this has practical implications for how Christians live out their faith in an atheistic and materialist society.BibliographyAikman, David. Jesus in Beijing: how Christianity is transforming China and changing the global balance of power. Lanham, MD: Regnery Publishing, 2003. Cook, Richard R. “Knowing Sorrow: Wang Mingdao's Position for the Persecuted Church in China.” » Fides et Historia 37 (December 1, 2005): 149-151. Lyall, Leslie. Three of China's powerful men. London: OMF, 1973. Wang, Mingdao, A Stone Made Smooth. Mayflower Christian Books: Southampton, Hants, 1981.