Wang Mingdao and Liu—reunited after many years.

“A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.” (Ecclesiastes 7:1).

The Lowest Point

In 1957, the government’s patience finally ran out. Wang continued to refuse to join the Communist-approved Three-Self Church, and both he and Jingwen were rearrested and sentenced to decades in prison.

The veteran missionary Leslie Lyall, wrote:

“Wang Mingdao was the chief thorn in the side of the Three-Self Movement because he represented all that they opposed, and he became the main target of their attacks.

If they could break him, then the back of all resistance in the Chinese Church would be broken. Through Wang’s notable stand, he became a symbol of courageous resistance to the Communist tyranny and its pathetic puppets.”

Wang and Jingwen were placed in the men’s and women’s prisons respectively, and although he was given permission to write to his wife, she was not allowed to read the letters. This was not told to Wang, who continued to write to her for years.

The prisons were located near each other, and over the years, Jingwen caught glimpses of her husband from afar. He was never able to see her, however, as his eyesight and general health had deteriorated. In 1963, after six years of incarceration, Wang’s health reached rock bottom. Coughing blood, he was taken to the prison infirmary, where he wished he would die.

At his lowest point, the now 63-year-old pastor was touched by God’s grace. The Holy Spirit illuminated Scriptures that he had memorized, and for the first time in years, he felt hopeful again. He sensed that God had not forgotten him, and that an overarching purpose existed for the years of suffering he was enduring.

As his health improved, Wang took a pen and paper and began to write a record of his arrest and imprisonment. The process helped him realize that he was not behind bars for being a criminal, but for faithfully preaching the Gospel.

After extending Wang’s sentence to life in prison, the authorities decided to move him to a labor camp. Because he refused to agree that he was a criminal, he also refused to submit to the punishment and would not perform hard labor.

Infuriated by his insolence, the government put Wang in solitary confinement for four months, and in 1968 he was transferred to a coal mine, where he spent the next five years.

During this time, rumours circulated that Wang had died in prison. He had not died, however, although he was regularly beaten and kept in handcuffs for months at a time.

He was often tortured until he fell unconscious on the floor, only to be revived with cold water and beaten again. By the early 1970s, the authorities recognized that Wang was too stubborn to change, and his handcuffs were removed.

Jingwen, meanwhile, was released from prison in 1973 and moved to Shanghai to live with her son. Wang was permitted to write to her, but they hardly knew what to say after so many years apart.

Wang was certain that his life would end behind bars, and he hoped his faith would endure until the end, when he would be taken to be with Jesus Christ forever.

In January 1979, Wang’s son Tianduo was instructed to collect his 79-year-old father from prison. The People’s Republic had decided to show “compassion” by releasing him early from his life sentence.

Despite being toothless and nearly blind and deaf, Wang recognized his son but didn’t understand why he had come. When he was told that he was free to go, Wang refused to budge and declared:

“I cannot leave here until my affairs have been properly settled. I am not a criminal and have been held for over 20 years solely because of my faith.

I require three things from the government: first, an admission that my arrest was in error; second, that my sentence was unjustified; and third, an apology for 20 years of wrongful imprisonment. Then I will leave!”

The next day, Wang was summoned to the warden’s office and told he must return to Shanghai with his son. A release form announcing the commutation of his crimes was placed in front of him to sign, but he  refused to sign any document that described him as a criminal.

Both the prison warden and Wang’s son had run into Wang Mingdao’s iron will. He would not bend. The prisoner was returned to his cell, and Tianduo felt he had no option but to return to Shanghai without his father and report the astonishing events to his mother.

Later, the warden tricked Wang by sending him to a temporary facility that was about to be closed. An old friend collected Wang and took him to Shanghai.

Wang Mingdao was released without signing any document that described him as a criminal.

News of Wang’s release soon spread throughout China and the world, and many Chinese and foreign Christians began to visit Wang and Liu in their tiny apartment. The most famous visitor was Billy Graham, who said he had traveled to China for two purposes: to see his wife’s birthplace, and to visit Wang Mingdao.

The number of visitors caused embarrassment to the government, and in 1985 they demanded a list of all the visitors’ names and details of their discussions.

Unsurprisingly, Wang refused. He said if they wished to arrest and imprison him, he could not stop them, but they would still get no information from him. The authorities gave up and left him alone.

Finally, God granted Wang and Liu a period of rest, and they were able to live out their days together in Shanghai, passing on their wisdom to a new generation of believers who thirsted for godly guidance as powerful revival spread throughout China.

Unconquered- Wang and Liu near the end of their journey

Legacy

Wang Mingdao died peacefully at his home in Shanghai on July 28, 1991, aged 91. His life had spanned nine tumultuous decades of Chinese history, during which he had experienced the collapse of imperialistic rule, wars, the arrival of Communism, times of revival as the leader of

Beijing’s largest church, over 20 years in prison, and 35 years when his voice was silenced by the petrified government, who were never able to fathom Wang’s inner strength and uncompromising faith.

Liu Jingwen followed her husband into the presence of God nine months later, in April 1992.

The might of the Chinese government had spent decades trying to break Wang Mingdao’s iron spirit. He had been through many dark times when his flesh and mind were weak, but he remained unconquered.

It could be said that Wang had broken the Chinese Communist Party with his unshakable faith in God. Multitudes of Christians have since followed his example by refusing to submit to the Three-Self Church, and in the years since the ascent of Communist rule, the number of Christians in China has risen from less than one million to approximately 100 million today.

Today, Wang is respected by multitudes of believers as one of the greatest Chinese Christians in history.

His resistance, persecution, suffering, and perseverance have come to symbolize the faith of tens of millions who now worship outside state-approved churches.

Tens of millions of people in China today are committed Christians because of the examples of men like Wang Mingdao.