The Ding Hui’s old tree 

Ding Hui, 52 years old, lives in Mengku Town, Shuangjiang autonomous county, Lincang City, Yunnan Province. His two daughters are married, and he and his wife are smallholders. In the coming years, as the price of Mengku Old Tree tea rises, they will have an income of 30,000 yuan every year from the tea alone, so they have a happy life. But when it comes to the story of straying into the “Sanshu Christian” cult 16 years ago, Ding Hui was filled with remorse and regret. 

Hui’s village is more than 20 kilometers away from the township government. In 2000, the dirt road had just been built, which could only be used in sunny days and was blocked in rainy days. The transportation and information infrastructure was underdeveloped, so the town was relatively out-of-the-way, and its culture and economic development were relatively lagging behind. Hui was just 36 years old at that time, and felt that he was in the prime of his life. He was the mainstay of the family, making a life for the whole family in the fields. Although life was tough, the family loved each other and they were happy together. Such an honest smallholding family was targeted by the cult "Sanshu Christians". One night in June 2000, a man named Peng from the next village visited Ding’s home and carried some brochures with him. Peng and his “brothers” and “sisters” said they were sent by Christ to spread the gospel to Ding’s family according to the will of God. They said that as long as he joined the church and prayed sincerely, he would not only be sheltered by God, but could also be cured of illnesses without taking any medicine. He could also open the door to heaven and avoid "doomsday". Those who did not join the church or believe in their “god” would end up suffering in hell. 

Ding was coaxed and threatened by Peng’s group into joining the "Sanshu Christians" and prayed on time every day, repeatedly reciting the prayers from their book. He had no time to do farm work, single mindedly believed in the "Sanshu Christ", immersed himself in the fantasies of “being cured without taking medicine”, "prayer can cure" and "eliminate the disaster". Peng brought Ding to the so-called "friends" party, and Ding also enjoyed this. He not only contributed three thousand yuan, but also hung the "red cross flag" in the center of his room and bowed down before it to pray every day. Since Ding was obsessed with "Sanshu Christ", he became the most familiar stranger to his family. His warm family life no longer existed, and his gentle wife and well-meaning parents became a stumbling block to his craziness. They had quarrels all day long. His wife was very worried and always in tears.  

In June 2001, Ding had a sore on his hip. Since he believed  that he could be cured without taking medicine or taking an injection, he wouldn’t listen to his family and friends’ advice to go to hospital, deciding to be cured through praying and receiving the "Gospel" instead. A little over a month later, the sore on his hip festered and he developed a high fever. This time the village doctor Zhang, who was Ding Hui’s childhood friend, repeatedly went to Ding’s home to persuade him until he was forced to go to the county hospital for treatment. After the surgery and medication, Ding's illness was brought under control. After coming home, the first thing Ding Hui did was to to remove the "red cross flag" from the wall and told his family: "The Sanshu Christians lied to me and let me suffer through torture, I won’t believe in it anymore." 

Ding Hui’s old house 

Ding Hui’s new house 

In recent years, with the development of the rural area, new hardboard roads and culture rooms were built in the village, and the environment of the village has changed greatly. The Ding family seized the good opportunity, taking care of the crops through ecological farming, and their life has become more and more prosperous. When talking to other people about the "Sanshu Christians", Ding Hui would sigh and say that "the happiness of life depends on your own efforts, and you must not believe in things that do not exist." 

(Editor in charge: Xu Hu)