Eric Liddell 伊利克·里达尔牧师

Eric Henry Liddell was born on January 16, 1902 in Tientsin (now Tianjin), the 2^nd son of Rev. James Dunlop Liddell, a missionary with the London Mission Society. Eric was educated in Scotland before winning the gold medal for the 400 meters in the 1924 Paris Olympics. Following his victory, he returned to Tianjin. He died of a brain tumor in a Japanese internment camp on February 21, 1945. ·1902年1月16日出生于中国的天津，是传教士詹姆士·丹露帕·里达尔牧师的次子。 ·1908-1920年，受教于布雷克西斯（Blackheath）的传教士子女学校。 ·1920-1924年，进入爱丁堡大学深造，攻读科学学士学位。 ·1924年代表英国参加巴黎的奥林匹克运动会，因男子100米预赛被安排在星期日而放弃比赛。后在男子200米比赛中获得铜牌，在400米决赛中打破世界记录获金牌。 ·1925-1943年，以传教士的身份回到了中国北方，先在天津、后在晓张（Siaochang）事奉。在他第一次 回苏格兰休假（1932年）期间，被正式按立为牧师。 ·1943年在天津被日本占领军拘留并被押送到山东潍坊集中营。 ·1945年2月21日因病死于集中营

1. Chinese School in Beijing

He studied Chinese for one year in Beijing Yanjing University before he started teaching in the Tianjin Anglo-Chinese College. His Chinese name is Li Ai rui.

2. Church in Tianjin

On March 27,1934, he got married in the Tianjin Jidu Jiao He Zhoug Hui church on in Heping District on Zhejiang street which is now Hubei Lu. The church was built in 1897, but it was completely destroyed in the Tangshan earthquake in 1976.

3. Home in Tianjin

After he got married, he lived in the house which is now located on Chongqing Dao No.38. Now his house is now used by the Tianjin Metal Company:

4. Sports Fields in Tianjin

a) Min Yuan Sports field : In 1925, he gave a lot of good suggestions about the reconstruction of Min Yuan Sports Field, such as the structure of the track,lights, bleachers and so on. It is at 83 Chongqing Dao.

b) Xin Hua Lu Sports Field: He often played soccer as a leader of his school team against other foreign teams. Now this sports field is called Heping Stadium, which is a multi-functional competition place. It is located at the intersection of Xin Hua Lu and Bao Ding Dao.

5. School in Tianjin

The old Tianjin Anglo-Chinese College where Eric Liddell taught is now Tianjin Middle School #17. It is located at 52 Dagu Bei Lu. But the buildings of the old school were completely destroyed in the big earthquake in the year 1976. So the buildings now is not the one where Eric Liddell taught, but the address of the school is the same. In 1929, he got his last gold medal in Min Yuan Sports Field, and in 1991, his three daughters gave this gold medal and another silver medal to the No.17 middle school as a memorial gift. In 1993, an English man who was rescued from river when he was very young by Eric sent a book written by him about the life of Eric to Tianjin No.17 middle school as a memorial gift.

6. Japanese Camp in Weifang

In March 1943, all foreigners in Tianjin from enemy nations of the Japanese were taken to Weihsien (now Weifang) internment camp in Shandong province. Originally, the camp was the center of the North American Christian Church. Pearl S. Buck, winner of the Nobel prize for literature for The Good Earth, and Henry Luce, founder of Time and Life magazines, both lived at the site in the early twentieth century. The Japanese began to use it as a concentration camp in late 1941. However, only two houses of the camp still exist today.

On June 21, 2005, a restoration project began to renovate the two houses. Today, Weifang Middle School No.2 is located on the site of the former camp. Eric died from a brain tumor while staying at the camp on February 21, 1945. In 1988, his alma mater, the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, erected a monument to him there, where he is buried.

7. Museum in Tianjin

Since 2002, the Tianjin Museum of Modern History (http://discovertianjin.org/), at 314 Hebei Lu in the WuDaDao neighborhood, has maintained a memorial column introducing his life.

榮膺奧斯卡最佳電影的《火戰車》，講述一個發生在1924年巴黎奧林匹克運動會上的真實動人的故事。一位來自蘇格蘭高原的大學生以抬頭挺胸這极不權威的短跑姿勢闖入了100米決賽，并被公認為爭奪金牌大熱門。然而這位名叫伊利克里達爾（Eric Liddell，1902-1945）的選手獲悉百米決賽將在禮拜日舉行后，卻宣布他將不參加這項決賽，因他認為禮拜天是敬拜上帝的日子，不應當去參加比賽。

伊利克的決定不僅轟動了巴黎賽場，也轟動了英國上下。許多人認為他的決定，名義上雖榮耀了神，但實際上卻是無視國王的尊嚴。他們說，作為大英帝國的公民，伊利克必須首先考慮國王的榮耀和國家的榮譽。然而，伊利克閉門禱告不斷，仍是決心已下，以榮耀神、守主日為重。

英國隊長四處說情，但奧運組委會拒絕改變競賽日程。有人提出，應當讓伊利克參加星期二舉行的400米決賽，給他另一次得金牌的机會。雖然伊利克很少跑中長跑，他經禱告后還是決定參加400米的比賽。

在星期日舉行的100米決賽中，伊利克的猶太人隊友亞伯拉罕為英國獲得了金牌。伊利克到場向他表示祝賀。人們在歡呼慶賀聲中為伊利克感到無比惋惜。

星期二，巴黎奧林匹克運動場人聲鼎沸，400

米決賽即將開始。几乎沒有人認為伊利克有獲胜机會。首先，中長跑和短跑在技術和風格上完全不同，伊利克少有中長跑訓練比賽經驗；另外，他的奔跑姿態實在讓人不敢苟同，尤其是在最后沖刺時，他總是閉目挺胸，臉部上仰，雙手高舉，好像是在贊美上帝。許多人來湊熱鬧，看看這位為榮耀神而放棄了百米金牌的究竟是人還是圣。發令槍聲就要嚮了，伊利克在跑道起點与對手們一一握手。運動員們各就各位，賽場外傳來蘇格蘭風笛奏起的民歌。

跑道上令人難以置信的事發生了，伊利克一馬當先沖在最前面。還有最后100米，只見他抬頭挺胸，雙手向上，頭和手都在空中不住地搖擺，十足是在贊美上帝。全場沸騰了，觀眾們興奮不已，呼喊著站立起來，為他加油。比賽結果，伊利克榮獲400米比賽金牌，并打破世界記錄。大家都說，這是神賜給伊利克的特別恩典，因為伊利克決心榮耀神，神也給他戴上榮譽的桂冠。這就是1924年巴黎奧林匹克運動會最精彩動人的故事。

參加完奧運會并從大學畢業之后，他以傳教士的身份回到了中國北方（因為父母是中國傳教士的緣故，他出生於中國天津），先在天津、后在孝昌（Siaochang）事奉，從1925年到1943年。在他第一次休假（1932年）期間，他被正式按立為牧師，回中國后，于1934年在天津與加拿大一傳教士之女佛羅倫斯米肯西（Florence Mackenzie）結婚，育有三個女儿。

20世紀三十年代，生活在中國危机四伏，而當伊利克于1937年被派到孝昌與他的哥哥羅伯特一起工作時，情況更是險惡──他需要穿越日軍的封鎖線。

到了1941年，由于巨大的危險，英國政府勸告僑民撤离。伊利克的已經有身孕的妻子帶著兩個孩子回到加拿大，而伊利克本人卻留在天津，直到1943年被日本占領軍拘留并被押送到山東灘坊集中營。1945年2月21日因病死于集中營。

伊利克一生中，沒有因為信仰與世界文化對抗而退縮。從一個運動選手到一個宣教士，他仍然持守著信仰、堅守著崗位。