Eric Lidier, Chinese name Li Airui (1902-1945). His father is Pastor James Danlupa Lidell, and his mother is Mary Layden. He is a nurse and his parents are both Scots. He is a missionary sent by the London Society of England to China.
Pastor Liddell entered China in 1898, preaching the gospel in Shanghai, and married Miss Layden the following year. Later, due to the influence of the Boxer Movement at that time, Pastor Lidi and his wife left Shanghai and headed north. On January 16, 1902, their second son, Eric Lidil, was born in Tianjin’s famous Doctor Ma Hospital. In 1907, when Lidier was 5 years old, he returned to China with his parents on vacation. The following year, Pastor Liddell returned to China to join the church. The pastor suffered from family separation due to his missionary career and left his two sons, Robert and Liddell, in the UK.
After his age, Lidil studied at the London High School in Stalingshire, Scotland. Almost all students in this school have the same background: the children of missionaries are serving God and growing up in extremely pious families, because their parents are busy with church service and the gospel. Sending, no time to take care of yourself. When Lidil was in school, he was outstanding in sports. Moreover, the school also attaches importance to sports. Principal Almend once wrote in the sermon: “Why is there no sacred connection between athletes and Christians? In fact, this sacred connection can counteract the two. The common enemy can resist some bad virtues, such as: intemperance, laziness, idleness, weakness, indulgence of flesh, acrimony sarcasm, and all the elements in our lives that violate nature and immorality."
After graduating from high school, Lidil entered the prestigious University of Edinburgh to study for a degree in natural sciences. In addition, Lidil also joined the University of Edinburgh football team and became the number one player in the team. Later, he listened to the advice of the well-known British coach Tom McGregor, specializing in track and field. Liddell's subsequent performance proved that the coach has a unique vision. In his college life, in addition to rugby, track and field, and his studies, Lidil also participated in the ministry of evangelism in the church to testify for the Lord. In normal times, he has been attending weekly bible studies on time; he has also been in The school’s Eslington Medical Gospel Agency works. His faith was firm and godly. In his faith, he kept the seventh day as the Sabbath, and because of his determination to keep the Lord's Day, he quickly became the focus of worldwide attention.
In the summer of 1924, the Eighth Olympic Games were held in Paris, with 44 countries and regions participating. Lidil represented Britain in track and field competitions. At the Paris Olympics, because the 100-meter race he originally signed up for was scheduled to be held on July 6th, and Lidir had to attend the church’s Sunday worship on that day, he decided to abandon the race. Lidil was the person with the highest call for the British to win the Olympic 100m gold medal. At this time, members of the British royal family came out to persuade him to fail, and many Chinese people also accused him of being a traitor. And Liddell made the decision as soon as the schedule was released, "Everything seemed very peaceful." At the time, athlete Neil Campbell, who was competing with him, said: "Liddell doesn't like shouting things the least. , He just said:'I won't play on Sunday'".
When the situation reached a stalemate, another British athlete, Sir Lindsay, transferred his qualification for the 400m on July 11 to Liddell. Lidil worked hard in the shortest time. Although this "flying Scot" was not used to long distance races, he worked hard for his faith in the glory of God. In this event, Lidir not only won the 400m championship, but also broke the world record with a time of 47.6 seconds. At this time, he was only 22 years old, and his record was maintained for 35 years, which was not broken until 1959. Later, the British used this as the script to shoot the Oscar-winning film "Chariot of Fire".
After winning the 400m gold medal in the eighth Olympic Games, Lidil was in full swing in Britain. At this time, he also got a degree in chemistry from the University of Edinburgh, and became a target for many British companies to hire. However, Liddell, who has become an internationally renowned athlete and sports star, bid farewell to the United Kingdom and the various honors he might receive in the United Kingdom, declined all invitations, and returned to his birthplace in the summer of 1925 with nostalgia for China. Tianjin, worked as a middle school teacher in Xinxue Middle School (now Tianjin No. 17 Middle School), a mission school founded by the London Society of England, in order to serve China and serve God. He said that this is the dream land God gave him, and he loves this country. At this time, he was only 23 years old, and he was at the peak of track and field.
During the teaching period of Xinxue Middle School, Lidi was full of love for Chinese students and was responsible for teaching. He served as the school's science and physical education teacher. After each lecture, Lidil never left the classroom first, but politely let the students go first. After stepping off the podium, if there are still students in the classroom, he sits among the students and talks to them. Lidil was responsible and careful, even if only one student could not understand what he taught, he would repeat it without hesitation. Once, a student arrived a few minutes late because his bicycle broke down during school. After Lidil asked about the situation, he repeated what he had said a few minutes ago for the student.
In 1928, Lidier received an invitation to participate in an international sports meeting in Dalian. In this competition, Lidil won gold medals in the 200-meter and 400-meter runs. After the game, Lidil was anxious to return to Tianjin in order not to affect the school curriculum. When he arrived at the dock, the ship had just set up anchor and was already a long distance away from the shore. So, he ran to the shore closest to the ship and threw his luggage onto the ship with all his strength. Then, he backed up a few steps before starting with all his strength, and jumped onto the stern of the ship. The passengers on the ship were dumbfounded. At this time, Lidier was still wearing sportswear. This is a good story, and Lidil's loyalty to China's education and the ministry of God can also be seen.
In 1929, Tianjin Minyuan Track and Field Stadium hosted the World Track and Field Competition. At the invitation of the organizer, Lidil presided over the design and construction of the track. The level of construction was first-class in Asia at that time. In this event, Lidier defeated the 500-meter world record holder German athlete Otto Fersa and won the last gold medal of his life. Sixty-two years later, in June 1991, his three daughters presented the gold medal to Xinxue Middle School, the school where his father had taught, today's Tianjin 17 Middle School, as a permanent memorial.
Although Lidil was very diligent in the service of the church and school, he had no time to take care of his personal problems. It was not until the age of 32 that he married a Canadian lady named Florence Mackenzie, and the couple gave birth to two girls. A few years later, Eric Lidil was sent by a mission to preach in Xiaozhang County, Hebei Province. Prior to this, Lidier's brother Robert had already been doing evangelism work in Xiaozhang County as a missionary. At this time, during the Chinese War of Resistance, Xiaozhang County suffered from Japanese aggression. In May 1941, Lidil sent his wife and daughter back to Canada, when his wife was pregnant again. In September, the three daughters were born in Canada. I don't want to, Lidil actually bid farewell to his wife and daughter during this trip. It was also at this time that Lidier was detained by the Japanese and sent to the Japanese Concentration Camp in Weifang, Shandong Province—Weixian Ledaoyuan.
Weixian Ledao Academy was the largest missionary base established by the North American Presbyterian Church in China at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. It was founded in 1883 by the missionary Di Lebo (the fourth brother of Di Corwin) and his wife Ding Zhenzhu and his wife. It originally included a church, a school, and a clinic. In March 1942, the Japanese gendarmerie occupied Rakudoin Temple and converted it into a concentration camp for Western expatriates from various parts of North China. Among them are many celebrities: Dr. Hesch, Dean of North China Theological Seminary, Lei Zhenyuan, who was a former adviser to Chiang Kai-shek, Deweisi, Provost of Qilu University, Stuart Leighton, Dean of Yenching University, and Fu Jen Catholic University, who later served as the U.S. Ambassador to China Among them, Heng An Shi, a teacher in the attached middle school, is advantageous to Dier.
Life in the concentration camp is extremely difficult, but Lidil still helps dozens of young people learn chemistry. Because there is no teaching material, Lidil compiles chemistry textbooks based on his memory. Dr. David Michao lived in a concentration camp and was also a student of Liddell. He still keeps the chemistry textbooks compiled by Liddell. Lidil will always be a popular person, even in the concentration camp. The children think he is a kind father, and affectionately call him "Uncle Eric". Older people regard him as a reliable friend and an absolutely trustworthy person.
At the beginning of February 1945, Lidil did not teach his students for a week, and afterwards everyone learned that he was sick. On February 20th, the day before Lidil's death, he still talked with his classmates on the baseball field, and no one could see the huge pain hidden in him. In the morning of the next day, a tumor in Lidil's brain killed him in his prime. The inmates erected a simple cross in front of Lidil’s grave. As they could not find the paint, they wrote Lidil’s name on the cross with black shoe polish. At this time, Lidil was 43 years old. .
Many years later, in 1995, on the 50th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, a Japanese professor discovered a well-preserved death certificate of Eric Lidil in the Japanese concentration camp in Weifang, Shandong Province, which had been sleeping for half a century. This death certificate has 3 pages and records that Lidil was 43 years old and one month old at the time of his death. The date of death was 9:20 in the evening on February 21, 1945, and the doctor’s signature date was February 22. Today, this death certificate is kept in the Eric Lidell Foundation in Hong Kong.
In 1988, a group of Chinese and foreign friends gathered in Weifang, Shandong Province to hold the unveiling ceremony for the monument to the Eric Lidil cemetery established there. The monument is made of granite from the Isle of Mull from his hometown of Scotland. It is engraved with Chinese and English inscriptions. Never talk about fatigue". The glorious and short life of Lidil is recorded behind it. In 1990, to commemorate Liddell, a civil engineer born in Scotland and later living in Hong Kong, Mr. Qiu Jia, initiated and established the Eric Liddell Foundation.
As far as the author is concerned, the first thing I know about Lidil is when I heard it from our head teacher, Pastor Wang, in 2005. At that time, Pastor Wang also recommended the movie "Chariot of Fire" to us, and gave us a brief introduction to Lidi's life, showing us that he was a servant of a loyal and loving God. The other time was when we visited the Weifang Church in 2007. Pastor Shi of the Weifang Church received us to visit Le Daoyuan. We saw the granite monument to commemorate Lidir in Le Daoyuan, and we were even more impressed with the servant of God. Intuitively, he understands his love for China and his dedication to life in China.
Today, on the occasion of the Beijing Olympics, we recall the memory of Lidil, the former Olympic champion. With a kind-hearted and great heart, he came to the remote areas of China when his career was in full swing, and suffered the pain of war and the parting of his wife and daughter. He was born for China and he was born to adore and never leave this land; he died for China, but after death he did not even know the place where his bones were buried. Atheist friends can assume that Lidil’s transcendental charm of life, and brothers and sisters who believe in Jesus Christ, our brother in the Lord, is enough to make us proud and grateful, as the Bible says: "He is relieved of his hard work, and the results of his work have always followed him." Finally, it ends with Lidi’s own words:
from birth to death,
although everyone seems to be standing on the same track,
everyone does different things.
Therefore, the meaning of life is also different. different.
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