Chen Shengkui's hometown is in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, in southwest China's Sichuan Province. Both Chen and his wife, Luo Xiuying, are farmers. Though living a simple and thrifty life, they attach much importance to the education they provide to their three children. Each child has been able to enter college; while two have already graduated, the youngest is working toward a Ph.D. The habit of reading, and the good family education they received, helped them expand their horizons, by continuously learning from the world outside their hometown. 

Greatest Hope

Chen, born in 1964, lives in Mianning, a county in Liangshan. In the past, most households in villages in the mountainous region lived in poverty. Chen was no exception. He studied well in middle school; however, to support his family, he dropped out of school and began apprenticing as a carpenter. Luo, two years younger than Chen, was attracted to Chen because of his willingness to shoulder his responsibility for family. The young couple, both born in the countryside, fell in love. They married and established their own family. Their eldest daughter is Chen Fengxia; their middle child, also a daughter, is Chen Fengqiong; and their youngest child, a son, is Chen Shixin. 

Chen Shengkui was among the group of his fellow villagers who relocated to other regions of China to earn a better living for their families. Chen Shengkui has worked on construction sites in several provinces, including Sichuan, Qinghai, Yunnan, Gansu and Zhejiang. He worked very hard, and he saved as much money as possible to support his family. He did his best to ensure his children received a good education. 

While Chen Shengkui worked away from home, Luo stayed in their village to look after their family, including their children and Chen's parents, and to tend their farm.

Despite being ordinary farmers, Chen Shengkui and Luo believed they could work diligently and provide their children with a good education. Their greatest hope has always been their children will achieve their goals. They have set a good example for their children, by living a thrifty life, and by showing their children the importance of working hard.

Motivation to Move Forward

When Luo and Chen Shengkui's children were young students, they began helping their mother with her chores. Chen Fengxia was born in 1990. She often helped Luo complete the farm work after she finished her homework. As the eldest child, Chen Fengxia also helped look after her sister and brother, two years and nine years younger than her, respectively.

Chen Fengxia remembers how, during the summer days of her childhood, she carried her sister on her back and went into the fields to pick vegetables, such as cucumbers and tomatoes. "Mom was always busy at home. She tended our farm, cooked for us, and took care of our grandmother, who was ill in bed. I have seen my mother working from early morning to late evening. I have learned from her that hard work matters a lot, so I studied hard as well," Chen Fengxia recalls.

She enrolled in a college that specialized in professional cooking training, in Sichuan Province, after she completed her secondary school education. "My parents constantly give me support and help. Family is the motivation that keeps me moving forward. My parents have proved to me that one should strive for happiness in his/her life." Now, Chen Fengxia lives in her hometown. She has established her own family, raising two lovely children.

When Chen Fengqiong was a student, she studied hard so she could follow in her sister's footsteps, and be able to see the world outside of her hometown. She enrolled in a college in Sichuan, where she studied child education. After she graduated from college, she became an early education teacher. "No matter how hard life used to be, my parents insisted we should enter college. They encouraged us to do our best in studies," Chen Fengqiong says.

Impressive Experiences

"My home is located at the foot of a mountain, in Mianning County. If I climb up the mountain, I can get a view of the county, which is surrounded by mountains," Chen Shixin says, giving his impression of his hometown. 

Chen Shixin, the youngest child, began helping his family do farm work when he was a child, like his sisters did. “During busy farming season, my family used to grow corn and harvest rice together ... On Chinese New Year's Eve, we liked sitting in front of the television and watching the celebration gala together. My parents did not talk much to express their feelings. But they educated me and my sisters through their deeds, showing us their diligence and efforts to support our family," Chen Shixin says. 

He completed his primary school education in his hometown. He enrolled in a middle school in Mianning County, and he completed his high school education in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province. When he was in high school, he wrote an essay about a special, one-day experience. 

"My classmates had the experiences of working one day with a doctor, a police officer, and so on ... I chose to work with my father on a construction site, so I could have the experience of a child of a migrant worker," Chen Shixin recalls. "It was a day during the winter. I followed my father as he began working quite early in the morning, when the sky was still dark. I saw how hard my father was working outdoors, during a windy day. That experience was so impressive! Every time I think about the experience that day, I can still feel the great power that pushes me to achieve progress."

Reaching High

Chen Shixin wrote his college-entrance exams in 2018, and subsequently enrolled in Nanjing University, in east China's Jiangsu Province. His major was integrated-system and integrated-circuit (IC) design. On campus, he joined in an initiative for undergraduate students from impoverished families, through which he was able to receive free courses in the fine arts. 

In recent years, Chen Shixin has been glad to see children in his hometown have been provided with better education and a better school environment. "Nowadays, children in local schools, in villages, attend classes in nice and bright classrooms. They learn fine arts, music and dance in Mianning County. Many of the households in my hometown have built new houses, as their residences," Chen Shixin says. He has done his part to give back to society since he entered college. For example, he has participated in public-welfare events, during which he has shared his growth and study experiences with young students in his hometown. 

"From my hometown, to Mianning County, and then to Chengdu and Nanjing, I have walked a long path as a student. I was born in the countryside, and I grew up with winds in the mountains. My hometown was hidden in the mountains. My skin has been bathed dark by strong sunlight in a high-altitude region. The knowledge I have obtained, by reading and studying hard, has provided me a bright view of the world," Chen Shixin wrote in 2022, in his graduation thesis. 

After he graduated from Nanjing University, Chen Shixin received a scholarship, provided by the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), so he could enroll in a computer-science program. "I planned to return to my hometown after I graduated from Nanjing University. I hoped to help look after my parents at home. But my parents told me not to let such a good opportunity for higher education pass by. They wanted me to grasp the precious opportunity, and keep studying even harder," Chen Shixin says. 

Now, Chen Shixin is a Ph.D. student at CUHK, and he is concentrating on electronic-design automation. On November 9, 2024, Chen Shixin celebrated his 25th birthday. He made the following wish: "Keep working hard and reaching high, with the strength to embrace both sunshine and wind and rain throughout life."

Photos from Interviewees

(Women of China English Monthly April 2025)

Editor: Wang Shasha