I once heard from Dr. Tong of an opium addict who's very good at literature: Won all three top prizes with the essay titled "The bad influence of opium" while Xi Sheng Mo (席勝魔) himself was still an addict.
I could not find any other information about him until I heard his name mentioned again when Mefferd interviewed Bob Fu on his book "God's Double Agent".
The name's the same, but I do not find Dr. Tong's account of Xi's story. I did not know that Xi Shengmo had become a pastor. Perhaps there is a biography.
Update 3/12/2026: I finally found some articles about Dr. Tong's version thanks to AI, though the literary contest (1879) was mentioned (held by missionaries, David Hill and Timothy Richard) on Christian theme topics such as dealing with opium. He submitted 4 essays under 4 different names and won 3 of 4 prizes. He was hired by the impressed David Hill as teaching assistant and fought with his withdrawal and converted.
Here's more from google AI:
We know he wrote on subjects including "the source of true doctrine," "the regulation of the heart," and "the evils of opium".
The story of his literary victory is preserved in detailed missionary records, most notably in the biography Pastor Hsi: One of China's Christians by Mrs. Howard Taylor, which is available through digital archives like Missiology.org.uk.
He's written some hymns: i.e. A Song of Sacrifice