Xu Benyu, a figure who "moved China", gave up graduate school in 2003 to teach, and is now a deputy department-level cadre.
On February 17, 2005, at the award ceremony of ** TV's "Moving China" Person of the Year, Xu Benyu touched everyone with his extraordinary actions.
His high-quality materials and glasses became his unique symbol, and the host handed him flowers and trophies. The organizing committee's award speech spoke highly of his behavior, believing that if tears can be regarded as a kind of wealth, then Xu Benyu is a real rich man.
Because with his actions, we can see endless touching and tears in him. In the bustling city, Xu Benyu chose to go into the depths of the mountains, and used his immature shoulders to carry the declining classroom, as well as poverty and loneliness, as well as responsibilities that did not belong to him.
Although the strength of one person may not be able to make the child's eyes full of sunshine, Xu Benyu's love is expected by us, and his behavior is like lighting a torch and stinging our eyes.
So, what did this young man Xu Benyu do? What is his life like today? These questions are waiting for us to explore and understand.
Xu Benyu: Moving China's Person of the Year In 1982, Xu Benyu was born in a poor rural family in Liaocheng, Shandong Province. His father taught in a rural primary school all his life, and could get a salary of 270 yuan a month at most, only a dozen yuan at the least, until he became a public teacher in 2003, and the salary rose to 800 yuan, but this salary is almost the only economic ** of the whole family.
Despite the family's poverty, her mother often mentioned one thing to Xu Benyu: "When I was a child, the family didn't have money for food, so I borrowed two yuan from a neighbor to buy vegetables. His mother's words made Xu Benyu understand that when others need help, reaching out to help, although the help to oneself is insignificant, but for those who need help, it is like a shirt and food in the mouth, which is indispensable.
In 1999, Xu Benyu was admitted to Huazhong Agricultural University with excellent results. When he walked into the university campus, Xu Benyu was worried and at a loss, he understood that knowledge could change poverty, but he didn't know if he would be able to finish college.
However, Xu Benyu was lucky. After enrolling, the leaders of the college learned about his family situation, listed him as a special poor student for assistance, and arranged a work-study position for him to clean the corridor.
In the winter of his freshman year, a classmate's mother came to visit her son, and when she saw that Xu Benyu was still wearing a thin military training uniform, she gave him two new clothes and said to him: "Son, it's cold, don't freeze."
If you have any difficulties in life, just tell your aunt. Xu Benyu didn't expect that the first time he left home, he got the help of so many well-wishers, he said with emotion: "I know that no matter what I say, it is pale and powerless, and the only thing I can do is to pass on my love."
Others have helped me, and I will help others too! ”
Mr. Xu's college life was not wealthy, he worked in the cafeteria, managed a computer room and worked as a tutor, but he donated most of his income to those in need. Xu Benyu became a guest on Hubei TV's "Lucky Global Village" for donating to the Green Hope Project, and after recording the program, Xu Gehui, the host of Hong Kong's Phoenix Satellite TV, handed him an envelope.
Xu Benyu knew that there was money in it, but he resolutely didn't want it, but Xu Gehui insisted on stuffing the envelope in his hand and said to him: "Just treat this money as if it was given to you by your brother and sister!"
After receiving the envelope, Xu Benyu found that it contained 500 yuan. He immediately decided to donate 400 yuan of them to two poor college students and Xu Xingxing, an orphan in Shashi, Hubei Province.
For Xu Benyu's good deeds, the teachers and classmates who know him best say that they can't count. His counselor Chen Shu once said: "He has even donated blood and bone marrow for others, and what we know about the good deeds he has done is only the tip of the iceberg."
On a Saturday in December 2001, Xu Benyu went to Hankou as usual to work as a tutor. At the student's home, he stumbled upon a newspaper article titled "When the Sunlight Shines into the Cave......article.
The article describes a place called Dog Hanging Rock, where there is no water and electricity, and only a muddy path leads to the outside world. In the spring of 1997, an uncle Wu Daojiang, who was a volunteer soldier in a certain unit in Yunnan, returned to his hometown to visit relatives, and he used his meager allowance to hire teachers, buy books, make tables and chairs, and set up a primary school in a cave so that the school-age children in the village could go to school for free.
At present, the cave school has a total of 146 students in 5 grades, and 3 teachers ......The article deeply touched Xu Benyu, who was shocked by the difficult conditions of Goujiaoyan and decided to help the students there.
So, Xu Benyu contacted three other students, and they decided to go to Goujiaoyan in the summer of 2002 to volunteer teaching.
When Xu Benyu walked into the cave school in Goujiaoyan, although he had some knowledge of the local situation in advance, he was still surprised by the scene in front of him. The classrooms in the cave are separated by two walls more than one person high, with a corridor in between, and the blackboards for grades 1 and 4 are made of two sticks on the board, and there is no lighting, only a small piece of the sky can be seen from the dark hole.
When he started class the next day, Xu Benyu encountered a lot of difficulties. At first, the children couldn't even understand Mandarin, and they were so shy that they didn't even dare to ask questions. Xu Benyu became popular several times, put the chalk on the table, and then walked out of the classroom.
Because he knew that the chalk was too precious there, and he was reluctant to throw it away. The children did not dare to move or speak. After Xu Benyu stood outside for a while, he came back to continue the lecture when his anger subsided.
After some hard work, Xu Benyu and his classmates quickly integrated with the children. He taught the children to solve puzzles, sing, play games, ......What Xu Benyu can't stand the most is the children's eyes that are as pure as mountain springs and bright as crystals, which are full of thirst for knowledge and longing for the wonderful world outside.
The half-month volunteer teaching period ended quickly, but the children were reluctant to let Xu Benyu and others go, and they begged the teachers to stay for a few more days. Xu Benyu stayed for an extra week, and he taught in the cave for a total of 23 days.
On the day Xu Benyu left, every child in the class held a small self-made red flag and saw him go forward with tears in his eyes, and they repeatedly asked, "Teacher, will you come back?"
In the face of their expectations, Xu Benyu did not tell them that he was preparing for the graduate school entrance examination, but he knew that there was a responsibility that could not be shirked. He told them loudly, "I will definitely come back to teach you next year when I graduate!"
After Xu Benyu returned to school, he often received letters from children, among whom a child named Guo Jiayong wrote: Dear Brother Xu, I really miss you so much! Every night I dream of you, you stand on the podium and tell us stories with relish, but every time I wake up when it is the most exciting, and when I light the lamp, there is no you, and I am alone on the bed, and I can only cry silently.
Although the volunteer teaching delayed the review progress, the children's letters gave Xu Benyu great strength. In 2003, he was admitted to the graduate school of the School of Economics of Huazhong Agricultural University with an excellent score of 372 points.
But that night, when he received his acceptance letter for graduate school, he lost sleep because he was faced with a dilemma: should he continue his studies? Or do you keep a promise you make to your children?
After a night of ideological struggle, Xu Benyu decided to give up his graduate studies and go to Guizhou to volunteer to teach for two years. Although his request had no precedent in history, and his superiors did not assign the school a target to teach in Guizhou, this did not stop him.
That night, he informed his father of his decision, and although he wept bitterly, he ultimately supported his choice. The leaders of the college were shocked when they heard this, but they respected Xu Benyu's decision and granted him permission to retain his postgraduate admission for two years, and provided him with the necessary financial assistance during his voluntary teaching period.
On July 16, 2003, Xu Benyu and 7 college students from the university came to Goujiaoyan to teach. However, due to the difficult conditions in the mountainous area, the other seven students fell ill after only half a month, and then they all returned to school.
However, Xu Benyu did not give up, he chose to persevere, and became a volunteer teacher at Yandong Primary School.
Xu Benyu never ate chili peppers before coming to Guizhou, but in his life here, chili peppers and corn rice became a daily compulsory course, which made his stomach unbearable, and he eventually suffered from stomach problems.
Although the living conditions are difficult, Xu Benyu always forces himself to finish his meals in order to be able to teach, just to ensure his health. Moreover, he still has to walk 18 kilometers of mountain roads to go home, assuring his mother that everything is fine, and he is not only distressed by the ** fee, but also afraid that his mother will worry.
Although he has a living allowance of 400 yuan per month, Xu Benyu has cut back on food and clothing, and most of the savings are used to support local children and fellow villagers. His pressure is not only on the difficult living conditions, but also on how to help more people with limited resources.
In order to save money, Xu Benyu switched to kerosene lamps after lighting candles for more than 20 days. He calculated that candles cost 2 cents each, and 2 candles cost 4 cents a day; The kerosene lamp is less than 1 cent, you can save 3 cents a day, 10 yuan a month, and 120 yuan a year, which is enough to pay for the tuition of 3 students.
However, reading books under a kerosene lamp for a long time to prepare for classes and grading homework made Xu Benyu's already myopic eyes even more blurred. During the winter vacation of 2003, he did not go home for the Chinese New Year, but chose to work in Wuhan to earn living expenses.
During the Spring Festival, his father called him ** and asked him if his living expenses were enough. Although Xu Benyu only had 2,700 yuan on hand at that time, in order not to worry his family, he lied to his father that he still had 4,000 yuan.
His father's words made him sad, and he knew that the family house was the most dilapidated adobe house in the village, and it was really unlivable. So, he sent 2,000 yuan to his family.
Although the conditions were difficult, Xu Benyu brought vitality and hope to Goujiaoyan Primary School. He taught a fifth-grade class that required 8 hours a day, 6 days a week.
In addition to teaching Chinese and mathematics, he also teaches English, physical education, ** and other courses. Thanks to his efforts, the math score in the class increased from the original maximum score of 83 to 995 points; In the past, students would only write essays of more than 200 words, and there were many typos, not to mention sentences, but later they could write 500-word essays, with fewer typos than before, and the sentences flowed more smoothly than before.
Xu Benyu, an ordinary but remarkable man, visited many families in his hard days and persuaded villagers to let their children who had dropped out of school go back to school. His efforts paid off, and the number of students at the school rose from 140 to 250.
In the spring of 2004, he returned to his alma mater, Huazhong Agricultural University, to give a presentation. He recounted his inner feelings: "I was very lonely, very lonely, very painful inside, and several times I woke up in the middle of the night, tears wet my pillow, and I almost couldn't hold on......His words stunned the students who had expected to hear the rhetoric, and many burst into tears at the end of a presentation.
However, Xu Benyu did not give up because of this. The next day, he quietly returned to Goujiaoyan alone, back to the children he cared about. A year later, he went to Dafang County, a poorer place, Dashi Primary School in Dashui Township, to continue teaching and served as the honorary principal of the school.
The conditions of Dashi Primary School are even worse than those of Gouhangyan, and the classroom is a dilapidated wooden house, the walls are made of bamboo strips and sticks, and in some places there are large holes.
However, Xu Benyu did not back down because of this. He schedules all his time to the fullest, and in addition to 8 classes a day, he also uses all his breaks to make home visits.
Every time he visits their homes, he brings some items that he has collected from the society to the students. He hopes to help students in their studies and lives.
This is Xu Benyu, a man full of love and tenacity, whose spirit deserves our learning and respect.
Xu Benyu's story and his dedication have been widely disseminated, allowing more people to understand the current situation of education in China's remote mountainous areas and the problems that need to be improved.
His letter attracted the attention of Huazhong Agricultural University, and the secretary of the party committee of the school expressed his willingness to contribute to the basic education in the western region. The two teachers went to Dafang County to inspect and were deeply moved by Xu Benyu and the situation of the rural primary school.
After they posted the ** and brief text on the Internet, it attracted huge social attention and attracted a large number of donations and materials. Xu Benyu's story and dedication have been recognized across the country and around the world, and his efforts have helped improve teaching conditions in rural primary schools in Dafang County.
In the 2005 selection of Chinese people, Xu Benyu was selected for his selfless dedication and contribution to education in remote mountainous areas. He said it was the help and support of well-wishers who kept him going, and his story reminded us that everyone has the power to contribute to society and bring hope and change to others.
Xu Benyu: From the relay of teaching to the continuation of the system Xu Benyu's two-year teaching career is coming to an end, but he is still worried about the passing of the baton. A leader of the Youth Volunteer Work Department of the Youth League replied clearly: "Use the system to continue love."
This answer made Xu Benyu feel very pleased. Since 2003, the "College Students' Volunteer Service Program in the Western Region" has been launched, which will send outstanding college graduates to volunteer in towns and villages in more than 500 counties in the western region.
In September 2005, Xu Benyu returned to his alma mater to continue his postgraduate studies. In January 2007, he and 14 other volunteers went to Zimbabwe, Africa, as volunteers to carry out Chinese language training.
He said: "At present, China advocates the construction of a harmonious society internally and a harmonious world externally. However, the backwardness of Africa has also made Xu Benyu suffer a lot, 41 out of every 100 people here live on an average of less than $1 a day, and Xu Benyu often worries about how to buy cooking oil.
Looking back at the motherland on the other side of the world, Xu Benyu and other volunteers felt for the first time that the development of the motherland was really incredible. In May 2008, Xu Benyu stayed at the school as deputy secretary of the Youth League Committee, and later he went to work in the Hubei Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League.
Although his role has changed dramatically, his love for public welfare has not changed. He firmly believes that as long as the system is used to continue love, the baton can be passed on, and public welfare undertakings can continue to develop.
I believe that Xu Benyu will stick to his original intention and make more contributions to the people in his new position!