1900 - Dou Lianming

July 1, 1900

Baoding, Hebei

Dou Lianming.

Revival services were held in Beijing in April and May of 1900, in which numerous young students were deeply touched by the Holy Spirit. There was an unusual presence of God in those meetings, which later led one attendee to comment, “God anointed us for burial.” A teacher’s report of the revival said, “Of all the boys in the Beijing University, no one received a greater blessing than Dou Lianming. His face never lost the light that came into it at that time, and through the months that followed before school closed, he was instant in season and out of season.”[1] When the school term ended Dou returned to his home in Baoding, Hebei Province.

Within hours of the Boxers entering Baoding, they arrived at Dou’s home and seized the young man. Dragged to a local temple, his captors ordered him to bow down and burn incense before the idols. Dou Lianming refused to do either, which led to one of the ruffians shouting, “He is a devil!” The composed Dou replied, “I am not a devil, but a Christian,” and he started to explain to the crowed what it meant to believe in Christ. Unimpressed by his sermon, the crowd shouted, “Kill him! Kill him!” He was bound and dragged away to a street in Baoding that had been set aside for slaughtering Christians and other people the Boxers deemed unfit to live. On the way, Dou continued to exhort the crowd, urging them to repent of their sins and follow Jesus Christ. Just before they executed him, Dou Lianming shouted his last words in this world:

“‘Though you can destroy the bodies of the Christians you can never destroy our souls. Hereafter we shall live eternally in the Saviour’s presence.’ Then the bright swords flashed in the sunshine, as with many strokes they sent to his heavenly home this brave young martyr of Jesus Christ.”[2]

Dou’s death had a profound impact on his fellow students. They spoke of it as a triumph of faith, and told their teacher: “Do not weep for him. Think what a glory it was to die like a man, bearing witness for Christ, rather than to be killed like a dog in the street. We would all be glad if our death could be like that of Dou Lianming.”[3]