Anlong, February 28 (GTV reporter Deli Li) - According to China National Voice's "News纵横" report, Xiaqing Village is an ordinary small village in Wengfeng Lake Town, Anlong County, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Guizhou Province. The entire village has less than 2,000 people. However, due to its own reasons, Hanshufang Fiction Network www.hanshufang.com offers more chapters with faster updates. This place is located in the Karst mountainous area, and the natural conditions are harsh.
Like other impoverished areas, most of the young and able-bodied labor force here choose to work outside, leaving young children and the elderly at home to take care of livestock and tend to the fields.
This originally very ordinary small mountain village has recently drawn widespread social attention. The reason for this attention comes from a book called "Diaries of China's Left-Behind Children."
All the diaries in this book were written by the children of Maocao Primary School in Xiaqing Village, collected and organized by their teacher, Yang Yuansong. In the diaries, the children describe their lives as left-behind children in simple language. Their words may not be flowery, and there might even be grammar mistakes, but every word and sentence exudes sincerity and authenticity.
The diaries contain laughter, loneliness, helplessness, complaints about solitude, and aspirations for a better life. What they wrote is actually a microcosm of the lives of 70 million left-behind children across the country.
Seeing her diary printed in a beautifully bound book brought tears to the eyes of Xia Congyan, a girl in the second year of junior high school.
Xia Congyan and her classmates' diaries could be published in "Diaries of China's Left-Behind Children" thanks to the encouragement of their Chinese teacher, Yang Yuansong, when they were in the sixth grade in 2010.
Maocao Primary School in Xiaqing Village, Wengfeng Lake Town, Anlong County, Qiannan Prefecture, has six grades, one class per grade, but only eight teachers. Yang Yuansong mainly teaches Chinese. To improve students' writing skills, he required them to write diaries every day. This was originally a very common teaching activity, but in each diary, Yang Yuansong was moved by the children's spirit of accepting hardships calmly, occasionally complaining, but still loving life with resilience and optimism.
"In the morning, we ate a little rice and went to fetch water. The government transported water to the pass, so we went there to carry it. Each trip, we had to carry one pot, which holds fifty pounds. If we carried less, there would be no water left when we came back for the second trip. At first, a cousin used his motorcycle to help us transport the water to the small road nearby, then someone from the village committee helped carry two pots directly to our home. I will always remember the kindness of these good people and never forget them!"
After asking around, Yang Yuansong learned that Yang Haijiao's parents were both working outside, and she usually took care of her younger siblings while supporting the entire family besides studying.
Yang Yuansong: "In her diary, I read that in March 2010, she herself went to fetch water to take care of her sick grandmother and younger brothers. This was too touching, so I continued to pay attention to this student and encouraged her to keep writing diaries. The other children also wrote well, each having their own characteristics. The more I read, the more interested I became, so I gradually collected these diaries."
As the collection of diaries grew, Teacher Yang conceived an idea: to compile these diaries into a book.
Yang Yuansong: "At the time, I hoped that more people could understand the self-reliant and optimistic spirit of these children. I hoped more people, including teachers and parents, could recognize and use these writings as educational material for their own children or students. If city children read this book, they could see a completely new version of themselves."
Over the course of more than a year, Yang Yuansong shuttled between various publishing houses with the manuscript, looking for a publisher while continuing to collect and organize the children's diaries. Eventually, his persistence paid off. Beijing Times Huayu Book Co., Ltd. decided to publish the manuscript and officially released "Diaries of China's Left-Behind Children" in December 2011.
More than 220 diaries of left-behind children, 21 paintings symbolizing dreams, 21 heartfelt wishes, and 12 letters written to their parents formed this 120,000-word book that deeply touched all readers.
The children's diaries have been printed into books, and their parents have received letters from them. On the half slope of Jinzhudang Group in Xiaqing Village, the newly renovated house through the dilapidated housing renovation fund is spacious and bright. Xia Congyan is checking her winter vacation homework under the guidance of her parents. In a few days, her parents will go out to work again. Now Xia Congyan understands the difficulties her parents face in leaving her behind to work outside.
Xia Congyan's father, Xia Guilin: "When we went out to work, our child was still very young. We didn't expect her to have such thoughts. When we returned home and saw her diary, we realized her feelings. Since then, we've often contacted her, calling her once or twice a week. All these efforts are for the family and a better life. Now she can understand us, and our relationship has improved significantly."
On the cover of "Diaries of China's Left-Behind Children," there is a line titled "Teacher's Words": "Do not look at them with pity; instead, encourage them with admiration." Yang Yuansong hopes that providing these diary-writing children with another possibility, such as visiting a museum or exhibition, will allow them to discover their interests, find their place, and establish their ideals.
Yang Yuansong: "I hope society will have a more comprehensive understanding of our left-behind children. First of all, they are not pitiful; they are strong. They are highly self-reliant and optimistic. Although their living conditions are indeed difficult, this is merely a quality issue. Their spiritual world is very rich. Let them find their place in today's new society and establish their dreams."
Now, all the children who wrote these diaries have graduated, and none of them have dropped out of school. Yang Haijiao, the student who first moved Yang Yuansong, still insists on writing diaries every day, saying it helps her remember her dreams.
Yang Haijiao: "Teacher Yang asked us to write diaries. I feel relaxed when I write. Later, Teacher Yang said that our diaries would be printed into a book to encourage many classmates. I thought to myself that I should study hard and attend university in the future."