Chapter 17 Chapter Sixteen Chant One: The Coming One and the Ninety-Nine Retreating
When we understand the university, we understand our purpose.
September 10th is the day for the registration of freshmen in the graduate school.On this day two years ago, Nanjing University, a well-known university in the south of the Yangtze River, welcomed a special postgraduate student named Zhang Zongyou, 23 years old, from Anhui.The arrival of Zhang Zongyou caused quite a shock to Nanjing University because he was the first graduate student trained by my country's massive "Project Hope".When Zhang Zongyou signed his name at the postgraduate registration office of the Chinese Department of Nantah University, people saw tears welling up in his eyes.Yes, from college to graduate school, how hard it is to take such a big step-for a poor student who is completely funded by the society!
Zhang Zongyou recalled the scene when he left his hometown in the Dabie Mountains - Maofan Village, Tanghui Town, Jinzhai County, Anhui Province a few days ago.It was a sunny morning, and the whole village stood at the entrance of the misty village, lit a string of firecrackers, and saw off the first graduate student in the history of the mountain village.Zhang Zongyou sitting on the motor tricycle couldn't help but waved goodbye to the villagers with tears in his eyes.But this time he bid farewell with great happiness, because there was a completely different farewell six years ago, so Zhang Zongyou was very excited.Yes, the same Maofan River, the same Dabie Mountain, but how different is the farewell six years ago from the farewell today——
It was a day of utter despair.A flood submerged all the crops and houses. The elderly grandmother sat blankly by the collapsed house and waited for the day of death to come sooner. My sister’s way to school was broken, and my father was sitting on a stone slab smoking dry tobacco and staring longingly at the sky in front of the house... School is about to start, and 17-year-old Zhang Zongyou is stroking the book in his hand, yearning to leave home A classroom at No. 1 Middle School in Jinzhai County, 100 miles away.I know, I know, my father knows it all in his heart, his son is the first child in the village to be admitted to the county's key middle school, and the father also knows that the children who enter this school will most likely go to college in the future.But child, you have seen it all, our family is like this!you don't listen to this?Do you still want to go to school?Alas, yes, it is rare for children from poor families to have such an opportunity.The father sat up from the stone slab, glanced at his son, and walked towards the town with his hands behind his back.When he came back in the evening, the father handed over two bills, one big and one small, to his son: The 150 yuan was borrowed from a credit union, and you can report to the county tomorrow!
The next day, the son set off, walking gently along the Maofan River with unusually heavy steps, he was afraid that walking too fast would hurt his father's heart... But only one month later, the son took heavy steps again Back to Maofanhe: After paying all kinds of expenses, the 150 yuan was not much left, and the jar of pickled vegetables he brought with him was quickly eaten up. Zongyou felt that his road had come to an end.
This time he made his own decision: to drop out of school.Say goodbye to school forever.
What Zhang Zongyou didn't expect was that after the school and the county "Project Hope" office learned about it, they took him back to school in time and told him to go to the county "Project Hope" office every semester to receive special assistance of 60 yuan.At that time, the "Hope Project" was not as popular as it is now. Zhang Zongyou couldn't believe it. Later, he found out that some people really did it every semester.He thus became the lucky one among the hundreds of millions of poor children in China.
It is only 60 yuan, but for a mountain baby, it is already a precious wealth that can change his life! In the summer of 1992, Zhang Zongyou, who was the first to receive funding from the "Project Hope", received an admission letter from the Chinese Department of Fuyang Normal University in Anhui, and became a college student admitted to a college under the assistance of the "Project Hope" nationwide.In the next four years, Zhang Zongyou made an exception and continued to receive funding from the "Hope Project", and he could receive a subsidy of 400 yuan per semester.For this reason, Zhang Zongyou felt that his father's back was slightly straightened, and he himself shouldered a heavier burden, that is, he must show the best achievements and outstanding conduct to repay the society.He realized his wish. During the four years in the university, he was rated as a "three good student" every year. In 1995, he joined the party again. Upon graduating in 1996, Zhang Zongyou faced two choices: to work and to take the postgraduate entrance examination.The former will naturally be very beneficial to reduce the burden on the family, but Zhang Zongyou knows that there is a long team of impoverished students behind me. If I am admitted to a graduate student, it will undoubtedly be a kind of blessing to those younger brothers and sisters who have received help from the "Hope Project". Encourage and promote.So he chose to take the postgraduate entrance examination, and once again held his fate in his own hands...
Zhang Zongyou's arrival made the already lively NTU campus even more unsettled.Especially those college students who are still struggling with poverty, they all come to Zhang Zongyou for advice on his experience and will to overcome difficulties.As for Zhang Zongyou, he is also willing to chat with many newly met juniors and juniors.For a while, his words "poverty cannot kill our thirst for knowledge, and the flame of hope will always be lit in my heart" became a famous saying on the campus of Nantah University.
It is true to say that Zhang Zongyou is the luckiest of thousands of poor children.The reason why he was so lucky is because of his hard work and hard work, and also because of the "Hope Project".According to the China Youth Foundation, since the "Hope Project" began to today, it has received a total of more than one billion yuan in various donations. More than 4,000 "Hope Schools" have been established across the country, and more than 1.7 million students have been assisted.It is no exaggeration, among the charity activities that have ever existed in China, the "Hope Project" is the most successful, in terms of its scale, its influence, its operating mechanism, its popularity among the people, and the length of time it has lasted , are ranked number one in the country. "Hope Project" is the greatest embodiment of the communist ideology and Lei Feng spirit in our new era.
In the last 10 years of the end of the 20th century in China, our country had a particularly important task, and that was the "National Eight-Seven Poverty Alleviation Plan" from 1994 to 2000.The first sentence in this programmatic document reads: "Socialism must eradicate poverty." The second sentence in the document reads: "Concentrate manpower, material and financial resources, mobilize the whole of society, and strive to spend about seven years It will basically solve the problem of food and clothing for the 80 million impoverished people in rural areas across the country.”
The problem of food and clothing for the 80 million impoverished people is the heaviest burden for the Republic to realize the four modernizations and the most arduous task for the Chinese Communists at the end of this century.
"By 2000, the People's Republic had been established for more than half a century. After two generations of struggle, if tens of millions of people still had no food and clothing and lived in poverty, how could we reflect the superiority of the socialist system? Those of us The communists who bear the heavy responsibility will feel restless and unwilling to eat when they think of this issue." The Prime Minister of the Republic thought deeply about this.
"By the end of this century, we have solved the problem of food and clothing for 80 million people, and the largest and most basic human rights issue of the Chinese people, who account for a quarter of the world's population, has been completely solved since then. This is not only in the history of our Chinese nation It is a great event, and it is also a feat in the history of human development!" said the party general secretary.
From 1994 to today, the national poverty alleviation plan has gone through more than four years.How much have we lifted out of poverty in more than four years? 20000000?Or 40 million?Is it true that all people have been lifted out of poverty, or will they be poorer tomorrow if they took off the poverty hat yesterday?According to official sources, by the end of 1997, nearly 60 million people in various places had initially solved the problem of food and clothing. What is the concept of "preliminary"? "Preliminary" is actually a concept that can be counted or not.According to Gao Hongbin, deputy director of the Poverty Alleviation and Development Office of the State Council, after the first-line inspection, the current "return-to-poverty rate" in some remote areas is about 10% to 20%.In Gansu, the statistical poverty rate dropped to 45.7% in one year. Unexpectedly, a natural disaster this year rebounded the poverty rate to 56%.According to such a forecast, how many poor people in China still have not solved the problem of food and clothing, it seems that it is by no means a small number.Let’s take a look at the disaster situation of this year’s North-South flood, the number of people affected reached 210 million…
There is no doubt that poverty in vast areas of China remains.
Let’s take another look at the concept of poverty in China.Here is a report about Comrade Zhu Rongji's visit to Guangxi Dahua Yao Autonomous County on November 17, 1995:
...Surrounded by mountains, the car circled on the winding road for more than two hours before arriving at Xiangyawaitun, Qibainong.
A family of five villagers, Lan Guizhong, lived in a dilapidated house built with half-thatched grass on the hillside.Zhu Rongji walked into the dark room and opened the suitcase, but found no decent clothes.Look at the grain barrel, there is only half a barrel of cornmeal left.The five people have an old quilt and a mosquito net.
Zhu Rongji asked Lan Guizhong: "How many acres of land are contracted?"
"Two acres of mountain land."
"Is there enough food?"
Lan Guizhong shook his head: "This year, the total harvest of corn and cassava is only 400 kilograms. Generally, there will be a shortage of food rations for four to five months every year."
With a heavy heart, Zhu Rongji walked into another home of three orphans.
In the airy, empty thatched hut, there are several earthen pots and wooden buckets for holding rainwater.It is difficult to drink water on the mountain, and the rainwater is only enough for two months.
More than ten years ago, the parents of the three orphans passed away one after another.Over the years, their lives have been relying on relief from the civil affairs department.Due to the long-term lack of food and clothing, the three orphans are now in their twenties, but they are small and thin.
In early winter, the mountain wind was so hard that it was chilling.The second child was only wearing a thin unlined garment with his arms open.Zhu Rongji reached out to help him fasten the buttons, only to find that there was not a single button on the whole dress.
Tears filled Zhu Rongji's eyes, and he hugged the three orphans lovingly...
This is only what the prime minister saw, and it is even more desolate in the eyes of the people themselves.
Let's look back at the impact of China's poverty on education.Although we already have "Project Hope" and other measures, it is still extremely difficult for children in poor areas to go to school.It is said that there are still about 10 million children wandering around the school gate every year.That is to say, the lucky ones like Zhang Zongyou are only a small part of a small number. In the spring of 1998, a reporter from Xinhua News Agency was interviewing in Enshi, Hubei. In a village he visited, there were 110 students who originally went to school, but there were only more than 30 students who reported to the school at the beginning of the new school year. The teachers mobilized several Today, most students still face suspension because of family difficulties and unable to pay tuition fees.No one in this village has ever gone to college, and there are very few high school students.
Children in poor areas are basically in the same situation as Zhang Zongyou back then, but those who can go out of the mountain village to go to university like Zhang Zongyou are one in a million, one in a thousand miles, or even the only one in ten thousand miles.According to the China Youth Development Foundation, saving such a child out of school cost 30 yuan in 1993, and later due to inflation, it was 40 yuan in 1995, 60 yuan in 1996, and now it is about 80 yuan.
Because of the lack of dozens of yuan, tens of millions of children in China cannot go to school.
So, what are the children who have spent a lot of effort to stand out from hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of poor children and have been admitted to college? What are they facing now?
What they are facing is no longer 60 yuan, 80 yuan, nor 100 yuan, 200 yuan, but 2000 yuan, 4000 yuan or even more high annual fees!
The current figures provided by the education department show that after the implementation of the merger system, the average annual tuition, tuition and miscellaneous fees and living expenses for each student will be around 4,000 to 6,000 yuan.By the year 2000, each college student will be responsible for various expenses of about 10,000 yuan per year.
This is the reality that about 1/5 of the 1 million impoverished college students in China's colleges and universities are facing.Zhang Zongyou is one of the lucky ones to walk through this mountain, but can the remaining 99 impoverished students behind him walk through it?
Whether they retreat or advance, this is the end-of-the-century challenge that Chinese universities are facing.
It is almost impossible for a family that is already struggling to get enough food and clothing to afford such a large sum of money.So what do they rely on to finish college when they are helpless?Even if they stay in the university, what are they always bearing in their hearts?
On March 4, 1997, a shocking event happened at a university in Heilongjiang:
Qu Ming, a fourth-year university student, quietly fell from the fifth floor of the school library. When people found out, his head was already buried deep in the damp soil in early spring, and his classmates could never wake him up...
Qu Ming was a poor student, but he excelled in studies, was a "three good student" and won scholarships several times.But when he was able to finish his studies in just over three months, he chose the road of saying goodbye to this world forever.Why?Why is that?
Later, teachers and classmates found the answer from his very simple suicide note: "I owe you too much in these years. I can't repay you in this life. I have to wait for the next life..."
In the suicide note, Qu Ming specifically mentioned two things: one is that he borrowed 400 yuan from a classmate in the last semester for living expenses and failed to repay it on time, which caused that classmate who was also a poor student to fail to pay the tuition on time ; the second matter is about a list of names of people who have donated to him.
According to the teachers and students, Qu Ming is usually very cheerful and does not belong to the category of obvious depression.As for his poverty, it has long been known, and everyone has been helping him.Just one month after entering school, the school included him in the list of extremely poor students according to his situation.From the very beginning, he got work-study opportunities such as cleaning, organizing materials, and security patrols, and he was one of the four extremely poor students who had fixed positions in the whole department.The teacher said that just before he committed suicide, the school arranged for him to work 17 times, and he basically got his share of the special hardship subsidy every time.But the students said that Qu Ming was still worried about the annual tuition fee of 3,100 yuan, especially after receiving help from others, this worry not only did not decrease, but often aggravated. In the autumn of 1995, when he couldn't afford the tuition again, his classmates took the initiative to launch a fundraising campaign.In order not to hurt his pride, the donations were made in secret.When everyone handed over the 2935.5 yuan to him, Qu Ming was very excited, but he repeatedly declined.Qu Ming didn't accept until the students agreed to donate by name and keep the list in his hands.
Such a classmate committed suicide suddenly, and the shock waves on the campus can be imagined.In fact, the reason for Qu Ming's death is not complicated. He expressed his inner world to a classmate a few days before he bid farewell to others.He said that because he was going to college, his sister had to drop out of school and didn't even get married; at school, he became a burden for his classmates to donate money...
Qu Ming died because he felt too much guilt when accepting help from others.
Poverty is an intuitive pain.Accepting help from society and others is a burdensome pain.
The pain of intuition plus the pain of psychological burden, this is the difference, complexity, and seriousness between poor college students and those poor children who received the "Hope Project", and others such as poor mothers and poor disabled people.
You can take 50 yuan or 100 yuan to save a child who is out of school.But it is often difficult for you to save a poor college student with 5,000 yuan or 10,000 yuan.
Li Jingming, a student at Northeast Forestry University, said: "In my first year of college, I lived on steamed buns and pickled vegetables. It was very bitter and difficult. Every day when meals were opened, I was always the last one to go to the cafeteria, quietly bought something and left. But at that time, I was still at ease. Later, the school and my classmates knew that I was poor, so they all came to donate, and I was very grateful. I always felt that wherever I went, people pointed at me behind my back and said: He is a poor student, and I have donated to him! Instead, I feel that it is not as good as eating steamed buns and pickles in the past."
Li Ying, a female student at China Agricultural University, said: "At the beginning, when someone gave us funding, we felt that it was true for us to introduce our poverty situation. Later, I felt like an orangutan in a zoo for others to exhibit. That kind of psychological feeling is very bad. Now I am not willing to accept donations from others, and I would rather suffer a little bit, but also have peace of mind."
This is the mentality of poor college students.This is a completely special group of poor people.
The "Hope Project" of Chinese universities is more arduous than any other project, so it is more urgent.Otherwise, it might really be Zhang Zongyou who walked over, and maybe ninety-nine retreated...