Ding Weiliang

Ding Weiliang (1827-1916), whose original name was W. A. P Martin, was one of the most famous American missionaries to China in modern times.

He was born in a devotional Christian family and became a priest in 1849 after his graduation from a seminary. In 1850 he came to Hong Kong and transferred to Ningbo City in Zhejiang Province. There he began his missionary work in China.

Before 1860, he mainly stayed in Ningbo City. In 1863, he moved to Beijing and began to missionize in north China. Invited by the Chinese government, he worked as a teacher in Tongwen Institute and Metropolitan University (the predecessor of Peking University) in 1865. The Qing (1644-1911) court assigned him to a quite high position. He died in Beijing in 1916.