Eric Liddell was known as the flying Scotsman（苏格兰人）because he ran so fast. But he is most remembered as a man of honor and bravery.
He was born in 1902 in Tianjin, north China. In Chinese, he was known as Li Airui. Eric lived in China until the age of five. After that his parents sent him to school in England. In 1920, Eric went to the University of Edinburgh to study science.
Sports played a large part in his life and he became the fastest runner in Scotland. He was chosen to be part of Britain's 1924 Olympic team. The games were in Paris. The 100-meter race was his best event, but it was to be held on a Sunday. Eric, a strong Christian（基督徒），refused to run on Sundays because he believed that it should be a day of rest as the Bible（圣经）teaches.
Although many people told him to run the race, he refused. Instead he started to train for other distances. At the Olympics he won a bronze medal in the 200-meter race and then a gold medal in the 400-meter race, setting a world record.
Though then famous in Scotland, Eric still loved and remembered China. He wanted to go back to the country where he was born. In 1925, he went to China and worked as a middle school teacher in Tianjin. Then he went to Hebei Province to help the poor people there.
After the Japanese invaded（入侵）China, Eric chose to stay. He wanted to help the sick and give hope to the Chinese people. In 1943, the Japanese sent him to a prison camp（集中营）in Weifang. Even in the camp, he continued to help the old people. He also arranged games for the children, and taught them science.
In 1945, Eric was very ill. He was given a chance to leave the camp but he refused. Instead he gave this chance to a pregnant woman. This inspiring man died six months before the end of the war. Many people still remember his service to the Chinese people of that area.
