Dr. John Sung was a famous evangelist in the history of the modern Chinese church. His sermons had influenced many people and changed their lives. However, as a Putian native, his sermons were quite confusing to many people when Mandarin was not as commonly spoken, so his colleagues, who worked as his interpreters, formed the translation ministry.
When Sung preached in Fujian and Taiwan, he always brought with him Pastor Wang Zongcheng and his brother Wang Zongren. It was them who passed on Sung’s message to the audience. They were Dr. Sung’s close colleagues.
On October 14, 1900 (lunar calendar), Wang Zongcheng was born in Yindou Village, Xingcuo Township, Hui’an Province. He was the firstborn son of his father, Wang Zhende, who was also a preacher.
Wang studied in Xiamen and Nanjing. In 1922, after graduating from a seminary, Wang began to serve in Taishan Church in Xiamen and served as a teacher in Haicang Youth Association Primary School and Gulangyu Women’s Normal School. In 1926, after passing the examination for the Chinese Christian Minnan Conference, he became a co-worker of Taishan Church and was appointed as a pastor in 1933.
Wang was best known as a translator. At a time when Mandarin was not widely known, many people used various dialects, which caused communication barriers. When some famous evangelists and well-known public figures from other places came to Xiamen to carry out church activities, they all needed someone to act as a translator, and Wang had always been responsible for that. On the afternoon of April 17, 1933, the American Bible Society’s centennial celebration meeting in China was held in Xiamen. General Zhang Zhijiang, a famous patriotic Christian general, and one of Feng Yuxiang’s “Five Tiger Generals” in the Northwest Army, was invited to deliver a speech. Wang acted as the interpreter and passed on General Zhang’s exhortation to the church to the churches in Xiamen.
In July 1936, the second National Christian Bible Study Conference was held in the newly built Sanjie Church in Gulangyu. This conference was led by Dr. Sung, and Wang Zongcheng and his brother Wang Zongren worked as interpreters. Dr. Sung examined the whole Bible in a month. Sung’s activities in Xiamen were unprecedented at that time, with a large number of participants, which caused a great sensation in Xiamen and even in the Minnan church.
Soon, Sung decided to go to Taiwan to preach and took Wang and his brother with him. While the Japanese authorities which occupied Taiwan made great efforts to prevent it, they could not stop Christians from both sides of the Taiwan Strait from coming together. According to John Sung’s words, “I only took the simplest luggage, Wang Zongcheng and Wang Zongren to Taipei on April 15. Every day I prayed and prayed, begging the Lord to nail ‘myself’ completely.” He continued, “During my 25 days in Taiwan, seven or eight thousand people received the grace of God. Thanks to the power of God. And thanks to the hospitality of these believers. That is really a great achievement for me.”
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War and Taiwan’s liberation, Wang went to Taiwan and communicated with local churches, which strengthened the relationship between the churches on both sides.
In addition to serving as an interpreter, Wang was also a well-known educator and a long-time board member of the school. He was also a passionate pastor of literary ministry and was responsible for Taonan, which was an important newspaper of the Minnan church. In addition, he participated in social charities, especially, in China’s massive flood in 1931, he was an important commissary in charge of disaster relief in Xiamen.
In 1949, when the People’s Republic of China was founded, under the call of Y. T. Wu, the Chinese Church launched the “Three-self Patriotic Movement” (TSPM). Wang served as vice chairman of the preparatory Committee of Xiamen Christian Three-self Movement. He said, “We must carry out the spirit of three-self spirits and change the authority of the church from the control of foreigners to the cause of the Chinese people’s own religion. We must make sure that the church’s ministries will never again serve imperialism, put the Chinese church on the right track, and make Chinese Christianity the true Christian church of the Chinese people.”
He successively served as chairman of Xiamen TSPM, vice-chairman of Xiamen TSPM, member of the national TSPM, deputy of Xiamen Municipal People’s Congress, and as a member of the provincial and municipal CPPCC. The man passed away in 1975.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
宋尚节博士是中国近代教会历史上著名的布道家，他的讲道感染了不少人，让他们的生命得以改变。然而宋尚节作为莆田人，在普通话并不普及的时代里，其说的话确实令不少人难以听懂，于是为他翻译的事工就应运而生。
宋在闽台等地布道时，总是带上王宗诚牧师以及他的兄弟王宗仁，正是他们把这位布道家的信息传递给广大弟兄姐妹，是宋博士的亲密同工。
1900年10月14日（农历），王宗诚生于惠安型厝乡吟兜村，其父王振德为传道人，他则是家中长子。
王宗诚先后在厦门、南京等地求学，1922年，神学院毕业后，王在厦门泰山教会开始了侍奉生涯，并在海沧青年会小学与鼓浪屿女子师范担任教员。1926年经过中华基督教闽南大会考核，正式成为泰山堂传道，并于1933年被按立为牧师。
王最令人熟知的事工，就是担任翻译。在国语没有普及的时代里，很多人都是使用方言，这就造成了交流上的障碍。一些外地著名的布道家、知名人物来到厦门开展教会活动时，都需有有人担任翻译。而王一直是担负此项事工。1933 年 4 月 17 日下午，厦门举行美华圣经会在华百周纪念庆祝大会，著名爱国将领、基督徒、冯玉祥西北军的“五虎大将”之一的张之江将军应邀演讲，王宗诚担任译员，他把张将军对于教会的劝勉传递给了厦门教会。
1936年7月，全国基督教第二届查经大会在新建不久的鼓浪屿三一堂举行，由宋尚节博士带领，王与弟弟王宗仁担任翻译，每日查经二次，上下午各一次。他在一个月时间里，将整本《圣经》查考完。宋在厦门的活动在当时盛况空前，参与人数众多，在厦门乃至闽南教会中引起了巨大轰动。
不久，宋决定前往台湾布道，并带上了王家兄弟。尽管占领台湾的日本当局极力阻扰，但这挡不住海峡两岸基督徒走到一起。据宋尚节回忆：“我只带最简单的行李在四月十五日与王宗诚、王宗仁两人赴台北，每天儆醒祷告，求 主将‘己’完全钉死。”“回忆在台湾二十五天，圣灵大大作工，七八千人蒙恩，又蒙受热情接待， 可以说登到极高。”
在抗战胜利，台湾光复后，王前往台湾，与当地教会交流，密切了两岸教会的关系。
王除了担任翻译，还是厦门教会著名的教育家，长期担任学校的董事。他还是一位热心文字事工的牧者，所负责的《道南报》是闽南教会重要的报刊。此外，他多次参与社会慈善事业，特别是在1931年中国特大水灾中，他是厦门地区重要的赈灾委员。
1949年，中华人民共和国成立，在吴耀宗的号召下，中国教会发起了“三自革新运动”。王担任厦门市基督教三自革新筹委会副主席。他指出：“我们必须贯彻三自革新精神，使教会从外国人控制的机关改变为中国人民自己的宗教事业，也使教会所举办的教会事工，永不再为帝国主义服务，将中国教会导入正轨，使中国基督教成为真正的中华人民的基督教会。”
他相继担任厦门市基督教三自爱国会主席、省基督教三自爱国会副主席、中国基督教三自爱国会委员，厦门市人大代表，省、市政协委员。1975年，他安息主怀。
宋尚节的得力翻译——王宗诚牧师
Dr. John Sung was a famous evangelist in the history of the modern Chinese church. His sermons had influenced many people and changed their lives. However, as a Putian native, his sermons were quite confusing to many people when Mandarin was not as commonly spoken, so his colleagues, who worked as his interpreters, formed the translation ministry.
When Sung preached in Fujian and Taiwan, he always brought with him Pastor Wang Zongcheng and his brother Wang Zongren. It was them who passed on Sung’s message to the audience. They were Dr. Sung’s close colleagues.
On October 14, 1900 (lunar calendar), Wang Zongcheng was born in Yindou Village, Xingcuo Township, Hui’an Province. He was the firstborn son of his father, Wang Zhende, who was also a preacher.
Wang studied in Xiamen and Nanjing. In 1922, after graduating from a seminary, Wang began to serve in Taishan Church in Xiamen and served as a teacher in Haicang Youth Association Primary School and Gulangyu Women’s Normal School. In 1926, after passing the examination for the Chinese Christian Minnan Conference, he became a co-worker of Taishan Church and was appointed as a pastor in 1933.
Wang was best known as a translator. At a time when Mandarin was not widely known, many people used various dialects, which caused communication barriers. When some famous evangelists and well-known public figures from other places came to Xiamen to carry out church activities, they all needed someone to act as a translator, and Wang had always been responsible for that. On the afternoon of April 17, 1933, the American Bible Society’s centennial celebration meeting in China was held in Xiamen. General Zhang Zhijiang, a famous patriotic Christian general, and one of Feng Yuxiang’s “Five Tiger Generals” in the Northwest Army, was invited to deliver a speech. Wang acted as the interpreter and passed on General Zhang’s exhortation to the church to the churches in Xiamen.
In July 1936, the second National Christian Bible Study Conference was held in the newly built Sanjie Church in Gulangyu. This conference was led by Dr. Sung, and Wang Zongcheng and his brother Wang Zongren worked as interpreters. Dr. Sung examined the whole Bible in a month. Sung’s activities in Xiamen were unprecedented at that time, with a large number of participants, which caused a great sensation in Xiamen and even in the Minnan church.
Soon, Sung decided to go to Taiwan to preach and took Wang and his brother with him. While the Japanese authorities which occupied Taiwan made great efforts to prevent it, they could not stop Christians from both sides of the Taiwan Strait from coming together. According to John Sung’s words, “I only took the simplest luggage, Wang Zongcheng and Wang Zongren to Taipei on April 15. Every day I prayed and prayed, begging the Lord to nail ‘myself’ completely.” He continued, “During my 25 days in Taiwan, seven or eight thousand people received the grace of God. Thanks to the power of God. And thanks to the hospitality of these believers. That is really a great achievement for me.”
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War and Taiwan’s liberation, Wang went to Taiwan and communicated with local churches, which strengthened the relationship between the churches on both sides.
In addition to serving as an interpreter, Wang was also a well-known educator and a long-time board member of the school. He was also a passionate pastor of literary ministry and was responsible for Taonan, which was an important newspaper of the Minnan church. In addition, he participated in social charities, especially, in China’s massive flood in 1931, he was an important commissary in charge of disaster relief in Xiamen.
In 1949, when the People’s Republic of China was founded, under the call of Y. T. Wu, the Chinese Church launched the “Three-self Patriotic Movement” (TSPM). Wang served as vice chairman of the preparatory Committee of Xiamen Christian Three-self Movement. He said, “We must carry out the spirit of three-self spirits and change the authority of the church from the control of foreigners to the cause of the Chinese people’s own religion. We must make sure that the church’s ministries will never again serve imperialism, put the Chinese church on the right track, and make Chinese Christianity the true Christian church of the Chinese people.”
He successively served as chairman of Xiamen TSPM, vice-chairman of Xiamen TSPM, member of the national TSPM, deputy of Xiamen Municipal People’s Congress, and as a member of the provincial and municipal CPPCC. The man passed away in 1975.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
Pastor Wang Zongcheng: John Sung’s Favorite Interpreter
