Xi Shengmo ( zh, t=席勝魔, w=Hsi Shêng-mo; c. 1836–1896) also known as ''Pastor Hsi'', was a Chinese Christian leader.
Life
He was born ''Xi Zizhi'' in a village near
Linfen
Linfen is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shanxi province, China, bordering Shaanxi province to the west. It is situated along the banks of the Fen River. It has an area of and according to the 2020 Census, a population of 3,976,4 ...
, became a
Confucian
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...
scholar, and, after his
conversion to Christianity
Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to Christianity. Different Christian denominations may perform various different kinds of rituals or ceremonies initiation into their community of believ ...
, changed his given name to Shengmo or ''Conqueror of Demons''. Having been an
opium
Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...
addict himself, he ran a ministry to opium addicts in many locations over a considerable area. There is more written about Xi than any other 19th-century Chinese
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
, due largely to the two-volume biography written about him by
Geraldine Taylor
Mary Geraldine Guinness (; 25 December 1862 – 6 June 1949), often known as Mrs. Howard Taylor, was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China, and author of many missionary biographies on the history of the China Inland Mission ...
of the
China Inland Mission
OMF International (formerly Overseas Missionary Fellowship and before 1964 the China Inland Mission) is an international and interdenominational Evangelical Christian missionary society with an international centre in Singapore. It was founded i ...
.
David Hill, an English Methodist missionary, was instrumental in introducing Xi to Christianity. After his conversion, Pastor Xi fabricated his own medications made of
morphia
Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. The ...
to treat opium addicts, and many sick people were brought to him for healing. Prayer was a major factor in his treatments, and a number of the recoveries were considered miraculous:
[''Days of Blessing Inland China''](_blank)
, Chapter 12, August 1886, includes the report provided orally at two meetings by Hsi
:''At this time I still smoked opium. I tried to break it off by means of native medicine, but could not; by use of foreign medicine, but failed. At last I saw, in reading the New Testament, that there was a Holy Spirit who could help men. I prayed to God to give me His Holy Spirit. He did what man and medicine could not do; He enabled me to break off opium smoking. So, my friends, if you would break off opium, don’t rely on medicine, don’t lean on man, but trust to God.'' (Transcribed oral testimony of Xi from "Days of Blessing in Inland China")
Xi also wrote numerous Chinese Christian
hymns
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
, which were considered more to the liking of the local people than the hymns introduced by the missionaries. But perhaps the most notable thing about him was the way in which he led out in the Christian missionary work in his area. The general pattern was for Western Christians to enter an area, raise up churches and then train local people as pastors and evangelists. Xi Shengmo took hold of the work with such skill and energy that the missionaries stood aside, to a considerable extent, as he established clinics and churches. One of the towns where he worked was Hwochow (modern
Huaxian) in Shansi; after his time,
Mildred Cable and
Evangeline
''Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie'' is an epic poem by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, written in English and published in 1847. The poem follows an Acadian girl named Evangeline and her search for her lost love Gabriel, set during t ...
and
Francesca French
Francesca Law French (; 12 December 1871 – 2 August 1960) was a British Protestant Christian missionary in China. She served with the China Inland Mission.
Early career
French was born in Bruges, Belgium, the second daughter of English parent ...
worked there as missionaries for 21 years until they left in 1923. "The ramifications of the Church under the direction of the Chinese Pastorate, in immediate succession to the foundation as laid by Pastor Hsi ... were the joy and gratification of the whole community." (''Through Jade Gate and Central Asia''; by M. Cable & F. French, p. 16).:)
See also
*
Charles Studd
Charles Thomas Studd, often known as C. T. Studd (2 December 1860 – 16 July 1931), was a British missionary, a contributor to ''The Fundamentals'', and a cricketer.
As a British Anglican Christian missionary to China he was part of the C ...
*
Dixon Edward Hoste
Dixon Edward Hoste (23 July 1861 – 11 May 1946) was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China and the longest lived of the Cambridge Seven. He became the successor to James Hudson Taylor as General Director of the China Inland Missi ...
Bibliography
*
Taylor, Mrs Howard:
One of China's Scholars: The Culture & Conversion of a Confucianist'. London, China Inland Mission, 1900
*
Taylor, Mrs Howard:
Pastor Hsi (of North China): One of China's Christians'. London, China Inland Mission, 1903
*
Alice Mildred Cable:
The Fulfilment of a Dream of Pastor Hsi's: The Story of the Work in Hwochow', Morgan & Scott (1917)
* Alvyn Austin: ''China's Millions: The China Inland Mission and Late Qing Society, 1832-1905''. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007.
*
References
External links
– Biography page at Pray For China site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xi Shengmo
Methodist missionaries in China
Chinese religious leaders
Chinese evangelicals
Chinese evangelists
Chinese Methodist missionaries
Chinese scholars
Chinese Confucianists
1896 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Converts to Christianity