Zhang Keao, born on January 29, 1999, was from Longtan Village in Matou Town. Yesterday afternoon, Shen Chuan You, a sixth-grade math teacher at ChenTai Primary School in Matou Town, recounted to the reporter the everyday moments of these children.
The relevant personnel from the provincial culture office affirmed their actions.
Zhang Keao's father, Zhang Yizhong, and mother, Wang Qingxia, have been working outside all along. Zhang Keao lived with his grandfather and grandmother who was blind. In the minds of his grandparents, Zhang Keao was obedient and clever, understanding and kind-hearted. His grandfather said that his grandson Keao had a particularly good personality, respectful to the elderly, and considerate.
The rescue efforts of the young heroes, although unsuccessful, demonstrated a collectivist orientation in the process: hand in hand, not abandoning or giving up; and the tragic nature of the rescue pointed to the supreme meaning of life because life is priceless, so it cannot be compared, cannot be weighed on a hypothetical scale. Both those who were saved and those who sacrificed confirmed the beauty of life and the preciousness of life. In these few teenagers, at the moment of danger, each attempt might have been a chance for fate to change and reverse, but their actions considered only the interests of others and public values, resolute and successive.
Zhang Keao's father Zhang Yizhong and mother Wang Qingxia have been working outside all along. Zhang Keao lived with his grandfather and grandmother who was blind. In the minds of his grandparents, Zhang Keao was obedient and clever, understanding and kind-hearted. His grandfather said that his grandson Keao had a particularly good personality, respectful to the elderly, and considerate.
The young hero's rescue effort, although failed, showed the orientation of collectivism: hand in hand, not abandoning, not giving up; and the grandeur of the rescue act pointed to the supreme value of life, as life is priceless, thus incomparable and unable to be measured on a scale, whether it be the saved or the sacrificed, they both attest to the beauty of life and the preciousness of existence. In these several youths, at the moment of danger descending, every action perhaps was an exchange and reversal of fate, but their behavior took into account solely the interests of others and public values, moving forward without hesitation, one after another.
Ta Dong's uncle Ta Xiaozhong said: "Ta Dong never quarreled with people, nor did he ever get into arguments with classmates. He wasn't rebellious, but he was righteous. When adults asked him to run errands, he would do them diligently."
After escaping danger, they continued to rescue.
Wenpeng, born on June 4, 1999, was from Sun Changying Village in Matou Town. The primary school students Wenpeng and Tai Dong who saved others, the primary school student Zhang Keao who saved others, the primary school student Zhang Yihu who saved others. Yesterday afternoon, while the children were in class, those five children would never return to the classroom again.
By the river, suddenly came cries for help.
"After the incident happened, we received a report from the local civilization office. These children stood up at the critical moment, their spirit commendable." Yesterday, Xu, a responsible person from the relevant department of the Anhui Provincial Civilization Office, told reporters that after the incident occurred, they immediately learned about the rescue deeds of the four children, deeply moved by their achievements, "This kind of rescue spirit is worth learning!"
>> Classmates: They were very loving
Yesterday, in the sixth-grade classroom of ChenTai Primary School, the children were listening quietly to the teacher lecturing. "The children are now matured. Today in class, everyone didn't talk, didn't misbehave, the classroom was exceptionally quiet," the teacher said.
Wenpeng's parents and grandparents tearfully told reporters that Wenpeng studied seriously, had an open personality, was willing to help others, possessed a kind heart, and was especially filial. With poor health of his grandparents, Wenpeng always rushed to do household chores after school, reducing the burden on the elders. He washed his own shoes, socks, and underwear, never needing adult care. "Villagers all praised me for my good fortune," his grandmother sorrowfully said.
Yesterday, classmates Li Zhi and Shi Xiaofeng used their spare time to make origami cranes, paper stars, and other memorial items, placing them on the desks of the five classmates...
At this point, the four rescued children did not abandon the rescue of their previously drowning classmates; they continued to lend a helping hand, but a whirlpool swallowed them. Student Ma Lin (a pseudonym) immediately jumped into the water to save them, but the five had already been swept away by the swift current, even Ma Lin himself fell into deep water, finally being saved by other classmates.
Living with grandparents but not spoiled
>> The provincial civilization office: Children's "spirit commendable"
"Suddenly hearing someone shouting for help in the river, I turned around and saw one of our classmates fall into the deep water area," Xiao Shuai said. He turned back and saw Ta Dong, Zhang Yihu, Wenpeng, Zhang Keao, and four other classmates holding hands and going into the river to save the person, but none of them could swim well. "They walked step by step into the deep water area and all fell into the deep water."
"Always thought they would come to class, but they never returned!" Teacher Shen from ChenTai Primary School told reporters that the five drowned children were from their class, with excellent grades. At the time, Principal Fei of the school received the call and went to the scene, but could no longer find beloved students.
Latest developments: Children receiving psychological counseling
Chen Weikun, member of the Standing Committee of the Jinchang District Party Committee and Minister of Propaganda of Lu'an City, stated that upon receiving the news of the accident, they immediately formed five guarantee working groups and participated overnight in consoling families and other aftermath work.
"Currently, the local government is working with the families of the children and providing psychological counseling to these children, hoping to restore their health as soon as possible," a staff member of Jinan District working in the homes of several children told reporters.
"A few children are currently receiving psychological counseling in hospitals." Yesterday, it was learned that several children at the scene of the incident had separately gone to local hospitals to receive psychological counseling treatment. It was reported that experiencing such a tragedy, the psychological impact on several children was relatively significant.
Let us remember these four names: Zhang Keao, Wenpeng, Zhang Yihu, and Tai Dong. They were all sixth-grade boys from ChenTai Primary School in Matou Town, Jinan District, Lu'an City. Their lives were forever frozen in the spring of 2011. Their faces will always remain youthful like flowers. Reporters specially visited their families and schools, attempting to restore fragments of the lives of these four brave youths, allowing us to see once more their adorable appearances.
In the sixth-grade classroom of ChenTai Primary School, five seats are empty. In Zhang Keao's desk, there is a Chinese textbook inscribed with the eight words "strict with oneself, lenient with others." Perhaps, this was his motto. "At the most critical moment, the behavior of these children was so noble and touching!" The sudden departure of Zhang Keao and four other classmates caused many teachers to lament and feel sorrow. A relevant person in charge of the Department of Civilization of Anhui Province told reporters that these children reaching out to help at a critical moment was "spirit commendable."
"A child can be so sensible, seeing us all calling uncles and aunts!" The village committee director of Sun Changying Village said. Wenpeng's father, Wen Cai Zhong, worked as an electrician in a factory in Shanghai, and his mother, Li Xiuzhi, also worked outside. Father and son had only two opportunities to meet each year during summer vacation and the Spring Festival. Although he had always lived with his grandparents, Wenpeng was not spoiled. His grandfather was a retired teacher, and Wenpeng also learned to be particularly knowledgeable and polite.
He daily brought washing water for his grandmother and emptied her chamber pot, never finding it dirty or troublesome, "He is my good grandson!"
Then, the children held hands, and the student at the front extended their foot, letting the three classmates Ta Dong, Zhang Yihu, and Wenpeng in the water hold onto it, then pulling them one by one to the shallow water area. Up to this point, four students temporarily escaped danger.
Teacher and classmates recalled the details of the rescuing youths' studies.
Remember the beauty they left behind in this world.
A river of turbulent water claimed five young lives, leaving behind profound reflections. This is an era radiating with humanistic brilliance, where we do not encourage children to sacrifice themselves in acts of bravery, and we may need to educate more children to enhance safety awareness. We must also call on society to pay attention to the survival status of various groups of children —— but the actions of these young heroes are, in this era, not a form of spiritual nourishment?
Yesterday afternoon, in the sixth-grade classroom of ChenTai Primary School, five seats were empty, and the schoolbags were still in the drawers. Holding the test papers of the children, Teacher Shen told reporters that these children often scored above 90 points, "As a teacher, how can my heart bear it!" Teacher Shen introduced that today, the children in the class were particularly quiet, and neither he nor the children mentioned this matter, "But we are all very sad inside." By the riverside, those deep and shallow footprints were all witnesses to the children's rescue efforts.
Teacher Shen said that Zhang Keao and the other five were all students in his class, and the teacher-student relationship was very harmonious in normal times. "Although the parents of the children were mostly not around, they were all very sensible."
>> Teachers: The best students in the class
Zhang Keao originally studied at Longtan Primary School. For convenience in studying, his sister sent him to ChenTai Primary School two years ago. "This child has a quick mind, strong comprehension ability, likes to raise his hand to answer questions in class, and his grades improved quickly," Teacher Shen said. Zhang Keao's math scores were top in the entire class, and he was elected as the math representative by all the classmates.
The math teacher, Teacher Shen, told reporters: "Zhang Keao's grades were extremely outstanding, a diligent student." Zhang Keao was the math representative of the class, and the younger students in the village who couldn't solve problems would come to him for help, and he was willing to assist others, much loved by the children.
Ancients said: "Life and death are also great matters." Five lively lives disappeared in the rushing river. We empathize with the grief of the families and the regret of the school, but this seemingly naive redemption, at the cost of shocking hearts, gave all adults a lesson. The theme of this lesson is called "the beauty of humanity." The weak lives, in the posture of moths flying toward fire, showcased three value orientations in humanity: collective value, life value, and altruistic value.
We do not sing praises of sacrifice, nor do we praise the innocence and weakness of life, but we cannot help but admire the great beauty of humanity in the tragedy. This "beauty" is precisely the social warmth we lost in the market economy era; this "beauty" might just be the missing force in solving the moral decline of the times. As Premier Wen put it, the successive occurrence of major food safety incidents in recent years sufficiently indicates that the lack of integrity and the moral decline have reached a very serious level. Nowadays, the belief in public life has degraded below the "not saving people" baseline to "not harming people" —— is it that the rescuing youth are too foolish and innocent, or are we too strong and cunning?
May the children rest in peace!
On April 26, four elementary school students in Lu'an held hands to save their classmates but were unfortunately swept away by the current. On April 27, reporters revisited the scene and listened to eyewitnesses recount that crucial moment: at the brink of life and death, four small hands reached out to the drowning classmates...
Zhang Keao was born on January 29, 1999, and was from Longtan Village in Matou Town. Wenpeng was born on June 4, 1999, and was from Sun Changying Village in Matou Town. The primary school students Wenpeng and Tai Dong who saved others, the primary school student Zhang Keao who saved others, the primary school student Zhang Yihu who saved others. Yesterday afternoon, while the children were in class, those five children would never return to the classroom again.
By the riverbank, the footprints were mostly left by the children. A villager who participated in the rescue and retrieval told reporters that when the five deceased children were retrieved, the other children all cried bitterly.
The same grade students Tu Chengtao told reporters that these several classmates were all very loving. "During the Wenchuan earthquake, they all actively donated money, some donating 50 yuan, some donating 40 yuan..."
Mr. Xu also told reporters that in order to ensure the safety of minors, minors are not encouraged to rescue others. (Zhou Ye, Dou Zujun, Ma Yang)
Relatives said that Zhang Yihu studied seriously, had strong practical skills, and was very obedient. If smaller students were bullied, he would stand up to protect the bullied smaller students, but he himself never bullied anyone.
"Villagers all say he is my little helper," his mother Zhang Xianqun cried and told reporters that during the busy farming season, she couldn't cook on time, so Tai Dong would voluntarily cook. He washed his own shoes and socks, and his clothes were always clean.
An unremarkable story, the main characters are a few elementary school students; a story that touches the heart, the content is an intertwined narrative of life and death. Nine sixth-grade male students from Chentai School in Mato Town, Lu'an, rode their bikes to play on the sandy bank of the river. When one student accidentally fell into the deep water area, his companions orderly extended their hands to help, getting caught in the whirlpool, being rescued, continuing to save others, until five children were swept away by the current and disappeared.
Children's academic performance is excellent
Adults let him run errands, and he does them diligently
Mr. Xu simultaneously informed the reporter that in order to safeguard the safety of minors, minors are not encouraged to rescue others.
Related theme articles: Pregnant woman’s right hand got stuck in a meat grinder and refused anesthesia to protect fetal health.