Watchman Nee, Ni Tuosheng, or Nee T'o-sheng (; November 4, 1903 – May 30, 1972), was a Chinese church leader and Christian teacher who worked in China during the 20th century. His

evangelism In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are ...

was influenced by the

Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and non-conformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where they originated from Anglicanism. The group emphasizes ...

. In 1922, he initiated church meetings in

Fuzhou Fuzhou (; , Fuzhounese: Hokchew, ''Hók-ciŭ''), alternately romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute ...

that may be considered the beginning of the local churches. During his thirty years of ministry, Nee published many books expounding the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

. He established churches throughout China and held many conferences to train Bible students and church workers. Following the Communist Revolution, Nee was persecuted and imprisoned for his faith and spent the last twenty years of his life in prison. He was honoured by Christopher H. Smith ( R– NJ) in the US Congress on July 30, 2009.

Family and childhood

Watchman Nee was born on November 4, 1903, the third of nine children of Ni Weng-hsiu, a well-respected officer in the Imperial Customs Service, and Lin He-Ping (Peace Lin), who excelled as a child at an American-staffed Methodist mission school. His grandfather was a gifted Anglican preacher. During a stint at the Chinese Western Girls' School in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

to improve her English, Lin He-Ping met Dora Yu, a young woman who gave up a potential career in medicine to serve as an evangelist and preacher. Since Nee's parents were both Methodists, he was baptized by a bishop of the Methodist Church as an infant.

Early schooling

In 1916, at age 13, Nee entered the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

Vernacular Middle School in

Fujian province Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its ...

to begin his Western-style education. He then went on to the middle school at Trinity College in Fuzhou, where he demonstrated great intelligence and ambition. Among his classmates was Wilson Wang, brother of one of Watchman Nee's good friends, Leland Wang. The two boys completed college despite severe flooding which brought cholera and plague and hardship to their region. In the final examinations, the 2 boys scored almost the same marks with Wilson Wang topping the class, followed closely by Watchman Nee in second place.Against the Tide: The Unforgettable Story of Watchman Nee 'Across the Grain' (2017)Lee, Joseph Tse-Hei. Watchman Nee and the Little Flock Movement in Maoist China.'Church History'' 74:1 (2005)Lee, Witness. ''Watchman Nee: A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age.'' Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry (1991).

Conversion and training

In the spring of 1920, when Nee was 17, Dora Yu was invited to hold ten days of revival meetings in the Church of Heavenly Peace in Fuzhou. After Nee's mother attended these meetings, she was moved to apologize to her son for a previous incident of unjust punishment. Her action impressed Nee so much that he determined to attend the next day's evangelistic meetings to see what was taking place there. After returning from the meeting, according to Nee's own account: As a student at Trinity College, Nee began to speak to his classmates concerning his salvation experience. Later, he recounted: After his conversion, Nee desired to be trained as a Christian worker. He first attended Dora Yu's Bible Institute in Shanghai, though he was still a high school student. However, he was dismissed due to his bad and lazy habits, such as sleeping in late. Eventually, Nee's seeking to improve his character brought him into close contact with a British missionary Margaret E. Barber who became his teacher and mentor.Reetzke, James. ''M.E. Barber: A Seed Sown in China.'' Chicago: Chicago Bibles & Books (2005). Nee would visit Barber on a weekly basis in order to receive spiritual help. Barber treated Nee as a young learner and frequently administered strict discipline. When she died in 1930, Barber left all of her belongings to Nee, who wrote:

The Plymouth Brethren connection

Through Barber, Watchman Nee was introduced to the writings of D.M. Panton,

Robert Govett Robert Govett (14 February 1813, in Staines, Middlesex – 20 February 1901, in Norwich, Norfolk) was a British theologian and independent pastor of Surrey Chapel, Norwich, Norfolk, England. Govett wrote many books and brochures. His best know ...

, G.H. Pember, Jessie Penn-Lewis, T. Austin-Sparks, and others. In addition, he acquired books from

teachers like

John Nelson Darby John Nelson Darby (18 November 1800 – 29 April 1882) was an Anglo-Irish Bible teacher, one of the influential figures among the original Plymouth Brethren and the founder of the Exclusive Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern ...

, William Kelly, and C.H. Mackintosh. Eventually, his personal library encompassed over three thousand titles on church history, spiritual growth, and Bible commentary, and he became intimately familiar with the Bible through diligent study using many different methods. In the early days of his ministry, he is said to have spent one-third of his income on personal needs, one-third to assist others, and the remaining third on spiritual books. He was known for his ability to select, comprehend, discern, and memorize relevant material, and grasp and retain the main points of a book while reading. Nee derived many of his ideas, including plural eldership, disavowal of a clergy-laity distinction, and worship centered around the

Lord's Supper The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institut ...

, from the

. From 1930 to 1935, his movement interacted internationally with the Raven-Taylor group of

Exclusive Brethren The Exclusive Brethren are a subset of the Christian evangelical movement generally described as the Plymouth Brethren. They are distinguished from the Open Brethren from whom they separated in 1848. The Exclusive Brethren are now divided i ...

led by James Taylor, Sr. This group "recognized" the Local Church movement as a parallel work of God, albeit one that had developed independently. Nee refused, however, to follow their practice of isolating themselves from other Christians and rejected their ban on celebrating The Lord's Supper with other Christians. Matters came to a head when Exclusive Brethren leaders learned that during his 1933 visits to the United Kingdom and the United States Nee had broken bread with Honor Oak Christian Fellowship associated with the independent ministry of T. Austin-Sparks and with non-Brethren missionaries whom Nee had known in China. After a series of communications Nee received a letter dated 31 August 1935, signed by leading Brethren, severing fellowship with him and his movement.

Marriage

As a teenager, Nee fell in love with Charity Chang. Their two families had been friends for three generations. When Nee became a Christian, Charity ridiculed Jesus in Nee's presence. This bothered him. Eventually, after much struggling, Nee felt he needed to give up on their relationship. Ten years later, after finishing her university education, Charity became a Christian. She began attending church meetings in Shanghai in 1934. In the same year, during Nee's fourth "Overcomer Conference" in

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also Chinese postal romanization, romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the prov ...

, the two were married. Charity cared for Nee in his frequent illness and was the only visitor Nee was permitted during his imprisonment. They had no children.

Ministry

In 1936, before a group of fellow workers, Watchman Nee outlined the commission of his ministry: Nee began to write and publish at a very early age. In 1923, he began to publish the magazine ''The Present Testimony'', and in 1925, he started another magazine entitled ''The Christian.'' It was also in 1925 when Nee changed his name from Ni Shu-tsu to Ni To-sheng (English translation: Watchman Nee). At age 21, Nee established the first "local church" in Sitiawan, Malaysia while visiting his mother, who had moved there from China. In 1926, Nee established up another local church in Shanghai, which became the center of his work in China. By 1932, Nee's practice of meeting as local churches spread throughout China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. He maintained this pattern until his imprisonment. In 1928, Nee published a three-volume book entitled ''The Spiritual Man''. In February of the same year, Nee held his first "Overcomer Conference" in Shanghai. In January 1934, Nee called a special conference on the subjects of "Christ as the Centrality and Universality of God" and "The Overcomers". According to Nee, this was a turning point for him in his ministry. He said, "My Christian life took a big turn from doctrines and knowledge to a living person, Christ, who is God's centrality and universality." In February 1934, Nee gave a series of talks in which he defined and expounded the practice of the local churches, stating that in the Bible, the church is never divided into regions and never denominated based on a teaching or doctrine. These talks were eventually published in the book ''The Assembly Life''. In May of the same year, Nee encouraged Witness Lee to move to Shanghai from

Yantai Yantai, formerly known as Chefoo, is a coastal prefecture-level city on the Shandong Peninsula in northeastern Shandong province of People's Republic of China. Lying on the southern coast of the Bohai Strait, Yantai borders Qingdao on the ...

in order to join him and Ruth Lee in their work editing Nee's publications. In 1938, Nee traveled to Europe and gave messages that were later published as ''The Normal Christian Life.'' Upon his return, Nee gave a conference on the

Body of Christ In Christian theology, the term Body of Christ () has two main but separate meanings: it may refer to Jesus' words over the bread at the celebration of the Jewish feast of Passover that "This is my body" in (see Last Supper), or it may refer ...

. According to Nee, this was the second turn in his ministry. Nee recounted, "My first turn was to know Christ, and my second turn was to know His Body. To know Christ is only half of what the believers need. The believers also must know the Body of Christ. Christ is the head, and He is also the Body." In 1939, Nee became involved with his second brother's failing pharmaceutical company. Although acquiescing to family pressure, Nee also saw this as an opportunity to support his many co-workers who were suffering great poverty and hardship during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Nee took over full management of the factory, reorganized it, and began to employ many local church members from Shanghai. At this time, some of the elders from the church in Shanghai questioned Nee's involvement in business, causing Nee to suspend his ministry in 1942. Shortly afterward, the church in Shanghai stopped meeting altogether. On March 6, 1945, Nee moved to

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Co ...

to oversee the factory there. There, he delivered a series of messages on Revelation 2 and 3 published as ''The Orthodoxy of the Church'' as well as messages on the Song of Songs. On September 9, 1945, the Japanese army surrendered in China, ending the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific T ...

. In 1946, Peace Wang and Witness Lee began to work to restore the church in Shanghai as well as Nee's public ministry there. Nee purchased twelve bungalows at Kuliang to hold trainings for his co-workers in the Christian work. By April 1948, a revival was brought to the church in Shanghai, and Nee resumed his ministry there. When he returned, Nee handed his pharmaceutical factory over to the Christian work as an offering to God, influencing many others to hand over their possessions to the work. Within a short time, the church in Shanghai grew to over 1000 members.

Persecution and imprisonment

The rise of the Chinese Communist Party in 1949, with its doctrine of

state atheism State atheism is the incorporation of positive atheism or non-theism into political regimes. It may also refer to large-scale secularization attempts by governments. It is a form of religion-state relationship that is usually ideologically l ...

, caused Christians to come under great persecution. False charges and arrests were also brought against many foreign missionaries. Through intensive propaganda campaigns and threats of imprisonment, believers were influenced to accuse one another.Jones, Francis P. ''Documents of the Three-self Movement: Source Materials for the Study of the Protestant Church in Communist China''. New York: National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (1963). On April 10, 1952, Watchman Nee was arrested in Shanghai by Public Security officers from

Manzhouli Manzhouli (; mn, Манжуур хот; ) is a sub-prefectural city located in Hulunbuir prefecture-level city, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. Located on the border with Russia, it is a major land port of entry. It has an area of and ...

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...

and charged with bribery, theft of state property, tax evasion, cheating on government contracts, and stealing of government economic information. Nee was also "re-educated". On January 11, 1956, there was a nationwide sweep targeting the co-workers and elders in the local churches. Some died in

labor camp A labor camp (or labour camp, see spelling differences) or work camp is a detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor as a form of punishment. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons (espec ...

s, while others faced long prison sentences. On January 18, 1956, the Religious Affairs Bureau began twelve days of accusation meetings at the church assembly hall on Nanyang Road in Shanghai, in which many accusations were brought against Nee in large accusation meetings. On June 21, 1956, Nee appeared before the High Court in Shanghai, where it was announced that he had been

excommunicate Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

d by the elders in the church in Shanghai and found guilty on all charges. He was sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment with reform by labor. Initially, he was detained at

Tilanqiao Prison The Tilanqiao Prison (), formerly known as the Ward Road Gaol or Shanghai Municipal Gaol, is a former prison in Hongkou District of Shanghai, China. Originally built in the foreign-controlled Shanghai International Settlement, following the Chin ...

in Shanghai but was later moved to other locations. Only his wife, Charity, was allowed to visit him. On January 29, 1956, Public Security took over the Nanyang Road building, and many of Nee's co-workers were arrested, put into isolation, and forced to repudiate Watchman Nee. Some co-workers joined in the accusation of Watchman Nee while others, such as Peace Wang, Ruth Lee, and Yu Chenghua remained silent and were punished with life imprisonment. Following this, mass accusation meetings were held across the country to condemn the "anti-revolutionary sect of Watchman Nee".Sze, Newman. ''The Martyrdom of Watchman Nee.'' Culver City: Testimony Publications (1997).

Later imprisonment and death

One year before Nee's death in 1972, his wife, Charity, died due to an accident and

high blood pressure Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high bl ...

; Nee was not allowed to attend her funeral. Charity's eldest sister then took the responsibility to care for Nee in prison.Lee, Witness. ''Watchman Nee: A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age''. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry (1991) Nee was scheduled for release in 1967 but was detained in prison until his death on May 30, 1972. There was no announcement of his death nor any funeral. His remains were cremated on June 1, 1972, before his family arrived at the prison. Nee's grandniece recounted the time when she went to pick up Nee's ashes:

Beliefs

Nee believed in the verbal inspiration of the Bible and that the Bible is God's Word. He also believed that God is in one sense triune, Father, Son, and Spirit, distinctly three, yet fully one, co-existing and co-inhering each other from eternity to eternity. He believed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, even God Himself, incarnated as a man with both the human life and the divine life, that He died on the cross to accomplish redemption, that he rose bodily from the dead on the third day, that He ascended into heaven and was enthroned, crowned with glory, and made the Lord of all, and that He will return the second time to receive His followers, to save Israel, and to establish His millennial kingdom on the earth. He believed that every person who believes in Jesus Christ will be forgiven by God, washed by His redeeming blood, justified by faith, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and saved by grace. Such a believer is a child of God and a member of the Body of Christ. He also believed that the destiny of every believer is to be an integral part of the church, which is the Body of Christ and the house of God. Nee had a unique blend of Brethren theology, the exchanged life theology of the Keswick conventions and his own east Asian insights into Christian theology. His well-known book, "Sit, Walk, Stand" focused on the believer's position "in Christ," an important feature of the Apostle Paul's theology.

Publications

In addition to speaking frequently before many audiences, Watchman Nee authored various books, articles, newsletters, and hymns. Most of his books were based on notes taken down by students during his spoken messages. Some books were compiled from messages published previously in his periodicals. Watchman Nee's best-known book in English is '' The Normal Christian Life'', which is based on talks he delivered in English during a trip to Europe in 1938 and 1939. There he expressed theological views on the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

book of Romans. Some of Watchman Nee's best-known books include: *''The Spiritual Man'' (1928) Translated in (1969) *''Concerning Our Missions'' (1939) Translated in (1942) *''The Song of Songs'' (1945) Translated in (1970) *''The Breaking of the Outer Man and the Release of the Spirit'' (1950) Translated in (1961) *'' The Normal Christian Life'' () (1938/1939) Translated in (1957) *''The Normal Christian Church Life'' (1938) Translated in (1965) *''Sit, Walk, Stand'' () (1957) Translated in (1971) *''What Shall this Man Do?'' (1961) Translated in (1975) *''Love Not the World'' (1951) Translated in (1968) *''Let Us Pray'' (1942) Translated in (1949) *''A Living Sacrifice'' (1932) Translated in (1950) *''Authority & Submission'' (1941) Translated in (1950) *''The Spirit of the Gospel'' (1949) Translated in (1971) *''God's Work'' (1940) Translated in (1967) *''Back to the Cross'' (1931) Translated in (1956) *''Grace for Grace'' (1949) Translated in (1968) *''How to Study the Bible'' (1956) Translated in (1968) *''Practical Issues of this life'' (1938) Translated in (1970) In addition to publishing his own books, other spiritual publications were translated from English and published under Watchman Nee's oversight. These included books by T. Austin-Sparks,

Madame Guyon Jeanne-Marie Bouvier de la Motte-Guyon (Commonly known as Madame Guyon, ; 13 April 1648 – 9 June 1717) was a French mystic accused of advocating Quietism, which was considered heretical by the Roman Catholic Church. Madame Guyon was imprisone ...

, Mary E. McDonough, Jessie Penn-Lewis, and others."Books Translated." Publications by Watchman Nee. Living Stream Ministry. http://www.watchmannee.org/publications.html#translated

References

External links

Living Stream Ministry: Watchman NeeWatchman Nee's Biography Living Stream Ministry: The Collected Works of Watchman NeeLiving Stream Ministry: Additional Titles by Watchman NeeChristianWebsites.org: Watchman NeeBiographical Dictionary of CHINESE Christianity: Ni Tuosheng (Watchman Nee) 1903 ~ 1972
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nee, Watchman 1903 births 1972 deaths 20th-century Christian mystics Chinese evangelicals Chinese Protestant missionaries Chinese Christian theologians Protestant mystics Chinese Christian mystics Chinese Protestant ministers and clergy Chinese Plymouth Brethren Christian writers Chinese evangelists Local Church movement People from Fuzhou Prisoners and detainees of the People's Republic of China Persecution of Christians Protestant missionaries in China Religious persecution by communists