Neon-lit Path: Views of a Woyun Child
by Tang Zhengshu
My name is Tang Zhengshu. I’m 15 years old and live in Woyun Village with my family. The earthquake of May 2008 was a disaster for us. Our house collapsed, the furniture was damaged and our livestock was buried under a pile of rubble. After this, my family sank into utter despair. Whenever memories of the terrible moment surfaced, I got a chilly feeling. Even late at night I had trouble going to sleep.
Very soon after the earthquake, people from the Amity Foundation came to our village. In the time immediately after the quake, as we struggled for survival, they gave us quilts and tarpaulins; at harvest time, they provided steel granaries and organic fertilizer; when cold winds were blowing, they brought warm winter clothes and shoes so we at once felt as if spring had already come. With Amity’s help, new houses have been built all around. Amity is like the first sunbeam in the morning, giving us hope and warmth; it is like a flower, letting us smell the freshness of spring; it is like a neon lamp at night, allowing us to see the path before our feet.
On the eve of Spring Festival 2009, I was very happy to hear that Amity planned to hold a big Spring Festival couplet writing competition! But – how would I be able to write a good couplet? I racked my brains … Then, one day, a friend of mine quoted a line from a popular folk song: “Pawn shops here, pawn shops there, pawn shops take things everywhere …” Immediately I found myself in a sudden burst of creativity. Hadn’t there been a huge earthquake? Hadn’t a big outpouring of compassion followed in its wake? The relation of disaster and compassion, didn’t that exactly mirror our situation right now? I grabbed paper and pen right away to write down my idea before it could slip away. I spent some time altering and embellishing what I had written; then, finally, I had created my own work of art. The first part of my couplet read: “Big earthquake, small earthquake – big or small, the earthquake shatters people’s hearts”, the second part: “Your love, my love – your and my love connects people on the Earth”, and finally the horizontal part, which links the two: “New life for China”.
What I wanted to express was praise for Amity’s spirit of selfless dedication to helping us. I didn’t just write this couplet, but signed up as a volunteer for Amity as well: to decorate and clean the village meeting place, to cut paper for Spring Festival couplets, to reveal other people’s couplets on the stage, to add up scores, to hand over prizes. After the end of the contest, it was my job to tidy up the meeting place and help putting things in order again at the local Amity office. Being such a volunteer made me very happy! Although there were all sorts of different things to do, it was a good experience and I also learned some interesting things, e.g. how to organise a big event and what to pay attention to when so many people are involved.
I still remember very well the first round of the competition. I was standing behind the stage, feeling extremely nervous. And when I went on stage, I didn’t know where to look with all these hundreds of pairs of eyes directed at me. This got even worse when Mr. Gong of the Amity Foundation addressed me on the stage and asked me to introduce myself to the crowd and talk about the night’s programme. My heart was beating wildly, but somehow I still managed to say what was on my mind. I was surprised that the people reacted with friendly applause. After the event Mr. Gong told me that he hadn’t first introduced me because this would have reduced the effect on the audience. But then, it had been so surprisingly easy. I think maybe this is what life is like: When we encounter difficulty, at first we’re all overcome with fear, and if we don’t dare to move at all, we may well end up remaining cowards. After my experience of being on that stage, I now feel that I’m able to step in front of a crowd all on my own and perform and it’ll be just fine. I really profited from this experience.
What I didn’t expect at all was that my Spring Festival couplet won the 2nd prize! What a stroke of luck! The big Spring Festival couplet competition not only brought happiness to our village, it also revealed our hidden artistic talents, including my own. All of us living in Woyun Village had seemed quite ordinary and unremarkable – now, all of a sudden, it became clear that we’re really masterful makers of handicrafts!
At the first Spring Festival after the earthquake, it was the first time for me to make a couplet, the first time for me to serve as an Amity volunteer, the first time for me to experience the respect and appreciation of strangers, the first time for me to feel boundless happiness. The smiles on all faces were so bright, all hearts were brimming with unspeakable gratitude. There is so much love in the world – this is why we got in contact with the Amity Foundation and why we have been able to build up our confidence. Love is so deep, so beautiful: Thank you, sisters and brothers of Amity, peace and happiness be with you!
