Chinese Saint
🇨🇳David Yang
1900–1995 · Chinese · Evangelist, Bible Teacher & Revivalist
“The Holy Spirit does not fill a dirty vessel; we must be cleansed before we can be filled.”
Biography
David Yang (Yang Shaotang) was born in 1900 and became one of the most respected Chinese evangelical preachers and Bible teachers of the twentieth century. He was associated with the revival movements that swept through China in the 1920s and 1930s, shaped by the same spiritual currents that influenced Watchman Nee, John Sung, and Wang Mingdao. Yang was particularly known for his deep, expository preaching of Scripture and his emphasis on the ministry of the Holy Spirit, holiness, and revival. He conducted evangelistic and revival meetings across China and later in Taiwan, where he settled after the Communist revolution of 1949. In Taiwan he continued an active ministry of preaching, teaching, and training younger workers for decades. He became a highly regarded elder statesman of Chinese evangelical Christianity, his long life and sustained fruitfulness a testimony to the faithfulness of God. His ministry in Taiwan helped strengthen the spiritual foundations of the church there during a period of rapid social change. He died in 1995 at the age of ninety-five, one of the last living links to the great Chinese revival era of the 1930s. His life represented the transition of Chinese evangelical Christianity from the mainland to Taiwan and the diaspora.
Key Works
David Yang's ministry was primarily expressed through preaching and personal mentorship. His sermon collections and Bible teaching recordings were compiled and distributed among Chinese churches in Taiwan and the diaspora. He contributed to Christian periodicals and produced devotional materials that circulated widely. His most enduring work may be the leaders he trained and mentored over his long ministry, many of whom became significant figures in Chinese evangelical Christianity in Taiwan and beyond.
Legacy
David Yang's long life and sustained ministry bridged the pre-Communist Chinese revival era with the growth of Chinese Christianity in Taiwan and the diaspora. His emphasis on the Holy Spirit, holiness, and expository preaching left a clear mark on the churches he served. As one of the last survivors of the great Chinese revivals of the 1930s, he served as a living memory and spiritual anchor for later generations. His ministry in Taiwan helped establish the island as a new center of Chinese evangelical Christianity.