1973
Wang Yi was born on June 1 in Santai County, Mianyang District, Sichuan Province, China. Her father, Wang Zhengfang, was a high school language teacher, and her mother, Chen Yaxue, was a collective enterprise manager. Wang Yi is the only son in the family.
1989
He attended Santai Middle School. The 1989 Tiananmen Square protests had a profound impact on Wang Yi’s life as a middle school student.
1992
April 11: Began a romantic relationship with Jiang Rong. From kindergarten through high school, they attended the same schools, and became classmates in their sophomore year of high school.
September: Jiang Rong enrolled in Chongqing University’s Foreign Language Department, while Wang Yi entered the Law School at Sichuan University. During college, Wang Yi and Jiang Rong wrote more than eight hundred letters to each other.
1996
July: Graduated from the Law School of Sichuan University and began teaching at Chengdu University.
1997
October 28: At age 24, Wang Yi married Jiang Rong.
2001
Appointed as the moderator of the “Guantian Teahouse” section on Tianya Forum, with scholars like Liu Junning, He Weifang, and Xiao Shu as active members.
Established “Wang Yi Forum” and “Constitutional Forum,” both of which were eventually shut down.
2002
May: Launched the website “Constitutional Perspectives,” focusing on constitutional theory and China’s constitutional transformation.
November: Published the essay collection The Train Filled with Geese.
2003
August: Released The Unyielding Jianghu, a collection of writings.
2004
Wang Yi and his wife began exploring Christianity, receiving the gospel from Lin Lu, Yu Jie, and Liu Min.
Became involved in researching and supporting cases of house church rights in China and helped establish the “China Christian Lawyers’ Defense League,” inspired by cases like the South China Church case and Pastor Cai Zhuohua’s Bible printing case in Beijing.
September 8: Listed in the “50 Public Intellectuals Influencing China” by Southern People Weekly.
October: Self-published the collection Beauty that Shakes the Center, with a preface by Liu Xiaobo.
2005
April 1: Held the first gathering at home with 4-8 people, forming the “Early Rain Fellowship.”
June: Represented by Liu Xiaobo, attended the 71st International PEN Congress in Slovenia, delivering the closing speech, “We Are Not Writers, We Are Hostages.”
August 18: Pastor Su Wenfeng baptized Jiang Rong in Chengdu.
October: Participated in the 21st North-South Media Festival in Switzerland, with Swiss Weekly featuring him as “An Internet Hero.”
November: Wang Yi’s blog Wang Yi’s Microphone received the “Reporters Without Borders Special Award” at the German “Best of Blogs” competition.
December 25: Pastor Deng Xiaobin of Beijing Ark Church baptized Wang Yi and seven other believers.
2006
February: Attended the “International Conference on China’s Social Transformation and Political Civilization” at the University of Technology, Sydney.
March: Attended the “Cross-Strait Intellectual Forum” at Soochow University in Taiwan.
April: Published Constitutionalism: Concepts and Institutional Turning Points with Shandong People’s Publishing House.
May: Participated in the “Summit on Religious Freedom in China” in Washington, where he and other Chinese house church Christians were received by President George W. Bush at the White House.
October: Established Sunday worship services with 15-25 people, initiating sermons.
November: Visited France for a month on religious freedom and church-state relations at the invitation of the French Foreign Ministry.
2007
March: Wang Yi’s son, Joshua Wang (Wang Shuya, 王书亚), was born.
April: The church faced its first wave of persecution, prompting the rental of a venue on Guihua Alley to establish their first church location.
October: Published Kissing God, a self-printed collection.
2008
April: Released Heaven was silent for half an hour, a collection of film critiques.
May 2: The Early Rain Reformed Church’s retreat was disrupted by the Chengdu Religious Affairs Bureau. On May 6, Wang Yi issued a statement protesting the disruption.
May 12: The Wenchuan earthquake struck Sichuan.
May 25th, the church faced its second persecution. On the same day, the church was established. Three brothers (Wang Yi, Zhou Maojian, and Chen Zhongdong) laid hands on each other and formed a core team, declaring their confession of faith. A building on Wenmiao Street was rented to establish a second church (capacity 80-120 people). Wang Yi was ordained by Peng Qiang, an evangelist from Chengdu Enfu Church, becoming the leader of the Early Rain Church.
June: Began a sermon series on the Book of Romans (13 sermons).
July: Co-published the translation The Rise of Freedom with Li Yuzhen.
September 3: Filed an administrative lawsuit challenging the decision of the Chengdu Religious Affairs Bureau—the first such case by a house church.
In October, Pastor Wang Yi attended the “Global Christian Lawyers Conference” in Washington, where he received the “Distinguished Contribution to Religious Freedom Award.”
In December, Pastor Wang Yi attended the “A Generation’s Testimony” conference in San Francisco, where he signed the San Francisco Consensus.
In December, Wang Yi received the call to full-time ministry, resigned from Chengdu University, and began serving in full-time pastoral work.
Since 2005, he had been writing a column titled “Electric Shadows” under the pen name Wang Shuya in Southern People Weekly, which was subsequently discontinued.
He also self-published a poetry collection, Autumn Utopia: Eight Years of Poems by Wang Yi.
2009
On March 22, Pastor Wang Yi began a sermon series on the Book of Nehemiah, which included a total of 15 sermons.
In June, the church faced its third wave of persecution. A congregational meeting was held on the street, during which Wang Yi was appointed as the teaching elder, Brother Zhou Maojian as the governing elder, and Brother Chen Zhongdong as an elder candidate. The church purchased Unit 7 on the 19th floor of Jiangxin Building, establishing its third worship venue, which could accommodate 100-160 people.
On June 21, Early Rain Covenant Church was officially shut down by the Civil Affairs Bureau and the police.
On June 26, the church filed an administrative appeal with the Chengdu Civil Affairs Bureau, and on July 1, they received a “Decision of Non-Acceptance.”
On August 30, he began a sermon series on the Book of Galatians, totaling 9 sermons.
In August, he published a collection of film critiques titled I have Peace Like a River.
2010
On April 3, Pastor Wang Yi began a sermon series on 1 Corinthians, titled “Saints in the Marketplace,” which included a total of 35 sermons.
In July, he co-authored two interview books, A Lifetime of Hope and I Have Wings Like a Dove, with Yu Jie. These were published by Campus Evangelical Fellowship Press in Taiwan.
In August, he published Peace Like a River: Redemption and Hope in Cinema.
That same month, Early Rain Covenant Church expanded by purchasing Unit 8 on the 19th floor of Jiangxin Building to accommodate an increased membership of 200-230 people.
In October, Wang Yi was invited to attend the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in Cape Town, South Africa, but was forcibly detained by police at Chengdu Airport and prevented from attending. All 200 Chinese delegates were barred from leaving the country, leaving 200 seats empty at the conference. Wang Yi and fellow pastors contributed to creating the Chinese anthem for the conference, The Lord’s Love in China.
2011
In February, Early Rain Covenant Church added an afternoon service on Sundays to accommodate its growing congregation, which had reached 260-300 members.
On April 24, the church announced the establishment of the “Family Relief Fund for Prisoners of Conscience.”
On April 29, the church issued a public statement calling for an end to 60 years of religious persecution.
On July 10, a congregational meeting was held to elect four deacons and deputy deacons, formally establishing a deacon board.
On October 30, Early Rain Covenant Church released an official announcement: “At the request of our church, an ordination committee of four Presbyterian pastors conducted a thorough examination of Brother Wang Yi’s personal faith, family life, understanding of the Bible, theology, church history, church governance, and sacraments through written work, written tests, and interviews. On October 30, 2011, they held an ordination and installation service, ordaining Elder Wang Yi as pastor and missionary of Early Rain Reformed Church.”
In December, the church set its annual goal for 2012 as “Reformed Education.”
2012
On April 1, Pastor Wang Yi began a sermon series on the Gospel of John, consisting of 36 sermons.
He also participated in founding the Western China Covenant Theological Seminary, where he served as Vice President of Administration.
In addition, he self-published a collection of essays titled Stirring Freedom in the Depths of the Soul (the second volume following Kissing God).
2013
In March, the church opened a preschool program for “Covenant Reformed School.”
The same month, Early Rain Covenant Church, along with Enfu Church(恩福教会) and Streamside Church（溪水旁教会）, jointly established the Reformed Presbyterian “West China Presbytery.”（华西区会）
Additionally, Wang Yi was involved in preparing for the founding of Western China Covenant College.
On April 14, he began a sermon series on the Book of Daniel, titled “Light of the City,” totaling 27 sermons.
In May, he attended the annual awards ceremony of the Independent Chinese PEN Center in Hong Kong and spoke at a seminar.
In September, Covenant Reformed School officially began enrollment, promoting classical Christian education.
That same month, The Financial Times listed Wang Yi as one of the “25 Chinese to Watch” for his role as a pastor in the Chinese house church movement.
On November 4, the church divided into two congregations, North Hall and South Hall (located on Kehua Middle Road), with membership exceeding 500.
In December, Pastor Wang Yi shared a message titled “The Gospel of the City: A Call to Commitment” at the Chinese Mission Convention East held in Baltimore.
2014
In January, Early Rain Covenant Church held a congregational meeting to elect five elders, officially forming an elder board.
On February 2, Pastor Wang Yi began a sermon series on the Book of Acts, which consisted of 48 sermons.
He also self-published a poetry collection titled The Cathedral: Twenty Years of Selected Poems.
Additionally, he taught a course on “Christianity and Political Philosophy” at the Western China Covenant Humanities Institute.
2015
On March 8, Pastor Wang Yi began a sermon series on the Book of Isaiah, which included a total of 65 sermons.
In March, he attended the Second Three Transformations Vision Conference in Hong Kong as one of the main speakers. That same month, he co-authored Christian Classical Education with Su Bingsen and others.
From July 21 to 24, the Fifth West China Reformed Theology Forum was held at the Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, with the theme “Conscience and Worldview.” Pastor Wang Yi served as one of the main speakers.
On August 18, he drafted and published A Reaffirmation of Our Stance on the House Church (Ninety-Five Theses).
In September, the Western China Covenant Humanities Institute enrolled its first full-time graduate students to train faculty for Christian classical education.
In October, Wang Yi held a dialogue in the United States with Yang Fenggang, Director of Purdue University’s Center on Religion and Chinese Society (now The Center on Religion and the Global East), on The History, Current, and Future of China’s House Churches.
2016
In January, the church relocated to Baihua Hall, where it began holding two worship services to accommodate a growing congregation of over 600 members.
On June 5, Pastor Wang Yi began a sermon series on the Gospel of Matthew titled “The Light Overcomes the Darkness,” consisting of 68 sermons, with five delivered by other elders and preachers.
In September, he preached at the Vancouver Evangelical Fellowship, delivering sermons titled “Behold, the Corrupt Humanity”(《看哪，败坏的人类》) and “Behold! The God of Immanuel.”(《看哪！以马内利的神》)
That same month, at the CEF Fall Gospel Camp, he delivered sermons on “Does Hell Really Exist?”, “Why Did Christ Go to the Cross?”, and “Did the Resurrection Really Happen?”
2017
On April 16, Early Rain Covenant Church experienced internal divisions, resulting in the formation of two separate congregations: Covenant Church (around 500 members) and Baihua Church (around 200 members).
From May 23 to 26, in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, Wang Yi attended the Reformation and the Gospel conference in Hong Kong, where he was one of the main speakers.
On September 8, Wang Yi published My Five Stances on the Religious Affairs Ordinance.
On September 18, he delivered the opening sermon at the inaugural ceremony for the first undergraduate class at Western China Covenant College.
In November, he was prevented from traveling to Jakarta to attend the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation Commemorative Seminar. He sent a sermon titled History Is Christ Written Large, which was read by Pastor Chen Biao at the conference.
On November 21, he co-signed the Jakarta Reformation 500th Anniversary Conference Call to Action with Pastors Hong Yujian, Fu Xiqiu, Chen Biao, and others.
He also published two essay collections in Hong Kong: Loud Meditations and The Coup of the Gospel.
2018
On January 7, the Early Rain Covenant Church was officially established, consisting of a main congregation (around 620 members) and seven outreach locations (around 250 members). At the same time, the Early Rain Blessing Church split off to form the Early Rain Baihua Church.
On January 14, he began a sermon series on the Book of Ephesians, titled “The Heavenly Church.” This Ephesians series was interrupted after the 28th sermon due to the 129 crackdown.
On May 12, to prevent Early Rain Covenant Church’s prayer meeting commemorating the tenth anniversary of the Wenchuan earthquake, authorities sealed off the church, confiscating hymnals, Bibles, and other books, and detained nearly 300 church members. Pastor Wang Yi and others were released later that night around 10 p.m. On May 13, Sunday worship proceeded as usual, with Pastor Wang Yi delivering a sermon titled “The Way of the Cross, the Life of the Martyr.”
On May 15, Pastor Wang Yi drafted and published the “Statement on the Chengdu 5.12 Incident.”
In July, the First Christian Classical Education Forum was held at the Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, with Pastor Wang Yi as the keynote speaker.
In August, Mobilizing the Soul: Pastoral Letters from the Field was published in Hong Kong.
On September 1, Pastor Wang Yi drafted and issued the “Joint Statement by Pastors: A Declaration for the Christian Faith.”
On December 9, in the morning, he delivered his final sermon before his arrest at Enyue Church which is one of the branch congregations of the Early Rain Covenant Church , titled “A Workplace Saint—The Heavenly Church, Ephesians Series, Sermon 21.”
In the afternoon and evening, the “129 Incident” took place, during which more than 100 members of the Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church—including pastor Wang Yi, his wife Jiang Rong, and several church elders and co-workers—were arrested.
2019
On November 15, he was awarded the 10th Liu Xiaobo Courage to Write Award and the 14th Imprisoned Writer Award by the Independent Chinese PEN Center.
On December 26, on his wife Jiang Rong’s birthday, authorities conducted a secret trial for pastor Wang Yi’s case.
On December 28, while in prison, he wrote the poem “Longing for My Son,” expressing his deep yearning for his son Wang Shuyia, his patience in enduring imprisonment, and his trust in the Heavenly Father.
非是桃花贪结子
东风误我思犊情
羔羊不与以撒换
生父哪知天父亲It’s not the peach blossom’s fault for bearing fruit,
The eastern wind stirs my longing for my son.
If the Lamb didn’t be exchanged to Issac,
How could a father know the Heavenly Father’s love?
On December 30, the Chengdu Intermediate People’s Court sentenced Pastor Wang Yi to nine years in prison for “inciting to subvert state power” and “illegal business operations.” He was also deprived of his political rights for three years, and fined 50,000 yuan. Earlier, on November 29, Elder Qin Defu of Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church had been sentenced to four years in prison by the Qingyang District Court in Chengdu for “illegal business operations.”
2020
January 9: Wang Yi sent a note from prison reflecting on his faith.
If someone attacks me, I shall be as gentle as a lamb.
If someone attacks the church, I shall be as bold as a lion.
When it is from the LORD, I remain silent.
In the past, when I criticized those in power, it was out of love, not hatred;
But when we mention those in power, others will never believe we are without hate;
Only by my submission upon being taken captive can everyone know that my actions truly come from love.
On May 22, he was awarded the “Third Yu Zhijian Memorial Award” by Humanitarian China.
2021
Wang Yi is serving his sentence at the Jintang Prison (金堂监狱) in Sichuan Province, scheduled for release in December 2027.
