Home » Opinion » Chinese Views
A simple tale of persistence and a helping hand
By Kevin Zhang |
September 3, 2010, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
RECENTLY, while conversing with my mother, I came across a very interesting story. Upon hearing it, I was initially not too impressed.
After all, we of international backgrounds are constantly bombarded with stories detailing the calamities and sorrows of life.
After a while, we become, in a way, numb to the accounts of poverty and disaster. We would see things on the news, and perhaps make a donation, perhaps participate in a charity event, or perhaps even join a volunteer group to help those in need.
But as with our excessive exposure to violence in media, the sheer amount of sadness in the world has blunted our emotions, in varying degrees. Thus, I did not expect to be too wowed by this story either.
Yet I discovered, during my mother's retelling, that this story was different. Urged by my curiosity, I visited the home of Sun Rong Hua, the person in the story.
Sun lives in Puxi (West) Shanghai so an hour later I arrived at his workshop.
Crippled at a young age, Sun was not able to find a job. Common logic dictates that people without jobs, without some means to sustain themselves, will be thrust into a cycle of poverty. However, Sun did not fall into that stereotype.
At the age of 29, Sun realized that he had to pick up a useful trade to survive - he chose watch repair. After three months of training by his father's friend, Sun entered the watch-mending market.
Sun's newly found profession brought him a steady revenue stream. Sun even married and had a daughter, who is currently in 10th grade. At this point, the reader would probably assume that Sun had achieved the American Dream - to have worked hard, reached a certain goal, and attained the ever-elusive state of happiness.
However, tragedy then crept into Sun's life - his wife developed cancer and despite all efforts and much of their life savings, she passed away last year. Had help not arrived, Sun would have fallen into the abyss of despair and his daughter's future would have been in jeopardy.
However, Sun's landlord empathized with Sun's situation and charged him only about a 100 yuan (US$14.7) a month for a small room that is his workshop. Also, his sister, who lives near him, was able to assist him with mundane tasks - washing his clothes, grocery shopping, cooking, etc. The government did its share as well, helping to pay for Sun's daughter's tuition and a portion of their medical bills.
Sun brings in about 2,000 yuan a month, or around US$300, which gave the Suns a measure of financial stability.
I thought of a lesson, a moral that could be drawn from Sun's anecdote. I knew that Mr Sun was not like many others, he did not give up. In the face of such adversity - his handicap at birth, his wife's death, and his economic woes - Sun prevailed.
Persistence and hard work played a huge role in helping Sun escape an otherwise a very difficult situation. However, he did have help.
Working hard alone, I decided, will not always bring a person past the hardships of life - that extra support along the way, though, could make all the difference. Even if we only help those around us, we still can play a big part in shaping a better Earth.
(The author is a senior at Concordia International School Shanghai.)
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
