1857 - Lawrence Wang Bing & Parents

December 14, 1857

Guiyang, Guizhou

Lawrence Wang Bing. [CRBC]

Lawrence Wang Bing was a native of Guiyang in Guizhou Province. Although today Guiyang is a large industrial city of more than two million people, in the mid-19th century it was little more than a small town which served as a military outpost for Chinese soldiers sent to control the numerous minority tribes scattered throughout the province.

Born in 1802 to Catholic parents, Wang was the only boy of several children. During an earlier anti-Christian persecution, Wang’s parents were arrested along with many other Catholics. They were sentenced to prison, and then sent into exile at Ili, where they died. After his parents were arrested, young Lawrence was sent to live with his elder sister, but some time later she too was arrested, so Lawrence was sent to his aunt. Despite seeing his own family members unfairly treated, Lawrence Wang Bing remained a firm believer in God.

At the age of 20 Wang married, and together they had two sons and three daughters. God blessed the work of their hands and over time they became reasonably well off, and owned a few acres of land. The other Christians who knew Wang considered him as a godly man who treated others generously. He was subsequently appointed the Catholic leader of his community, even though he had never studied to be a priest.

Lawrence Wang Bing was a gifted evangelist. In 1854 he was sent to Pingyue and Weng’an to preach the gospel, and many people came to Christ. The following year Wang went to Pu’an, where the same thing occurred. All throughout Guizhou, wherever Wang travelled he left behind new believers in the faith and strengthened the Christians.

Satan opposed Wang’s ministry, and soon false accusations were made against him. The authorities searched for him, so he fled to Maokou where he joined with his good friend Jerome Lu Tingmei. The local officials came to the evangelists and demanded a bribe, as was customary in the day. Wang and Lu refused to pay one, and consequently their names were placed on the officials’ black list. On December 13, 1857, Wang and Lu were arrested while they were saying their evening prayers. Without any trial,

“they were at once sentenced to death along with Lin Zhao. They were taken to the execution ground the next day where they were stripped and decapitated. Some of their friends came at night and took the bodies away for burial…. Some non-Catholics from a distance said they also saw three balls of light in the heavens.”[1]

Lawrence Wang Bing was 56-year-old when he gained a martyr’s crown at Guiyang.