Education Pioneer Who Lifted 1,800 Girls Out of Poverty

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The founder of China’s first and only free public high school for girls—in a poor,mountainous region in the country’s southwest—has been honoured as an inspirational role model in this year’s Touching China awards.

作為西南部貧困山區的中國第一所（也是唯一的）公立免費女子高中的創立者，張桂梅獲評2020年“感動中國年度人物”。

2 Zhang Guimei,63,was in visibly poor health when she accepted the award,prompting a wave of sympathy and support on Chinese social media.

2 領獎時，63 歲的張桂梅明顯身體狀況不佳；網民紛紛在中國的社交媒體上表示同情和支持。

3 The awards,which recognise wisdom,bravery and tenacity,are presented annually by CCTV.

3 “感動中國年度人物”獎項每年由中國中央電視臺（CCTV）頒發，表彰具有睿智學識、見義勇為和堅忍不拔之人。

4 Zhang was hailed as a hero during the awards ceremony for her extraordinary achievement in building and operating the High School for Girls in Lijiang’s Huaping county in northern Yunnan province,one of the country’s poorest areas.

4 在頒獎典禮上，因籌建和管理云南北部（中國最貧困的地區之一）麗江華坪女高的卓越成就，張桂梅被譽為“英雄人物”。

5 The years of hard work and mental pressure have taken their toll onZhang,who is battling 23 illnesses including emphysema,cerebellar atrophyand skull osteoma.

5 多年的辛苦工作和精神壓力給張桂梅的身體造成了損害，她患上了肺氣腫、小腦萎縮和顱骨骨瘤等23 種疾病。

6 She was helped from her chair to the stage,where two small children presented her with the award.Her fingers were wrapped in pain-relieving tape.“I cannot open my palms and move my fingers without these tapes.With them,I can move a bit,” Zhang explained to the ceremony’s host Bai Yansong.

6 在旁人的協助下，她從座位起身走到臺上，接過兩個小孩子遞過來的獎杯，手指貼滿止痛膏藥。“如果不貼它，我就伸不開，就不能動了。貼上它還能動一點。”張桂梅對主持人白巖松解釋說。

7 “I eat more than 10 kinds of pills in the morning,and at noon I have to take five kinds of Chinese herbal medicine,”she said,in response to a question from Bai.

7 當白巖松問及吃藥，她回答說：“我早上是要吃10 多種，中午因為要吃點中藥，吃5 種。”

8 “Let’s have a promise—in the coming 10 to 20 years,let us know if you need help,” Bai said.“Will I break it?”Zhang replied,doubtful that she would live that long.“You are giving your life[to this school],” he said,to which she responded,“That’s what I want”.

8 “咱們倆約著——10年，20年，需要幫助的時候您就說話。”白巖松說。“我會不會失約啊？”張桂梅回道，懷疑自己能否活那么久。“您這是在（為這所學校）拼命。”白巖松說。她則回答：“拼就拼一點吧。”

9 Zhang,who is childless,said the school was her home and all the students were her children.Since its foundation in 2008,the school has changed the fate of more than 1,800 girls from impoverished families—preparing them for university which paves the way for professional careers which would otherwise be unobtainable.

9 張桂梅沒有子女，她說這所女高就是她的家，所有學生都是她的孩子。自2008年建校以來，這所學校改變了1800多名貧困女生的命運——幫助她們備考大學，鋪平通往職業生涯的道路，而這是其他途徑無法企及的。

10 Zhang,who was born in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang,was 17 when she moved to Yunnan with her father in 1974.A year after her husband’s death in 1996,she volunteered to teach at Huaping Centre Middle School,and became director of the county’s orphanage in 2001.

10 張桂梅出生于中國東北部的黑龍江省，1974年，17 歲的她隨父親遷往云南。1996年，張桂梅的丈夫去世，1年后，她志愿在華坪縣中心中學教書，并于2001年擔任華坪縣孤兒院院長。

11 She soon learned that most abandoned children in the district were girls and,while boys were encouraged to continue their education,their female classmates were not.

11 她很快發現，當地被遺棄的兒童多是女孩，并且家長愿意讓男孩繼續讀書，女孩卻不行。

12 Nine years of education have been compulsory for all children aged 6 to 15 in China since 1986,but while there are free high schools in a few Chinese cities—notably Zhuhai,in the southern province of Guangdong—many of Huaping’s girls were leaving school early to marry or earn a living.

12 自1986年以來，在中國，6 至15 歲的所有兒童都要接受9年義務教育，雖然中國的幾座城市設有免費的高中，比如南部省份廣東的珠海市，但華坪縣的許多女生卻早早輟學嫁人或者謀生。

13 Zhang believed strongly in the maxim that an educated woman can help three generations and was determined to provide free high school education for the girls of Huaping.“When a woman is educated,how would she abandon her child? My intention was to stop this vicious circle of uneducated mothers and children,” she said,in a CCTV report.

13 張桂梅堅信女孩接受教育可以改變三代人，并致力于為華坪縣的女孩提供免費的高中教育。在CCTV報道中，她說道：“如果她有文化，她會把孩子丟掉？我的初衷就是解決低素質母親和低素質孩子的惡性循環。”

14 For five years,Zhang battled to raise funds.Despite carrying with her all her identity documents and copies of certificates and honours she had received,most people she approached called her a swindler.All she had to show for her efforts was 10,000 yuan.

14 整整5年里，張桂梅竭力籌款。盡管隨身攜帶所有身份證件及獎項和榮譽證書復印件，她尋求幫助的那些人大多都視她為騙子。百般努力下來，她只籌到1 萬元。

15 The turning point came in 2007,when Zhang was elected as a party representative to attend the Communist Party’s 17th National Congress in Beijing.While there,she told a reporter that she wanted to build a free high school for girls.At last,her voice was heard.

152007 年，張桂梅當選黨的十七大代表，前往北京參加黨代會，事情迎來了轉機。與會期間，她告訴一名記者，她想辦一所免費女子高中。最終，她的心聲傳播開來。

16 A year later,around 100 girls from poor local families came to live and study at the new school.Three years later,they all passed the National Higher Education Entrance Examination,or gaokao,and went on to university.

161 年后，當地貧困家庭大約100 名女生來到新學校生活、學習。3年后，她們全部通過高考，進入大學。

17 Zhang persisted for the next 13 years—in contrast to most rural teachers in China,where 45.5 per cent give up because of the poor environment,low salary and lack of respect,according to a study by Wuhan University.

17 張桂梅繼續堅持了13年，這跟中國大多數鄉村教師截然不同。武漢大學的一項研究表明，45.5%的鄉村教師會因為環境差、工資低、不受尊重而離開崗位。

18 In 2018,Zhang was sent to hospital for treatment after fainting at the school.

182018 年，張桂梅在學校暈倒，被送往醫院進行治療。

19 As a pioneer in the promotion of free,quality education for girls,Zhang has often been subject to criticism—especially for her “tiger mom” requirements,which include a ban on entertainment,endless homework,strict schedules and identical haircuts for all students.

19 作為倡導為女生提供免費、高質量教育的先驅，張桂梅經常遭受批評，她的“虎媽”標準更是首當其沖，其中包括禁止娛樂、布置寫不完的作業、制訂嚴格的課程表、要求所有學生統一發型。

20 In October,she attracted further controversy when she said women had to be tough on themselves and not depend on men for their livelihoods.“Women need to be self-reliant.Do not trust these men.”

202020 年10月，因說出女人要對自己狠一點，不要依靠男人生活，張桂梅引發更多爭議。“女人應該靠自己，不能靠男人。”

21 But there was only goodwill for the educator on Chinese social media after her appearance on CCTV to accept the award.

21 不過，在她參加CCTV《感動中國》頒獎禮后，中國社交媒體上對這位教育者只有祝福。

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22 “Hope she can take care of her body and hope more such free high schools for girls can be built in China,” one commenter said on the social media platform Weibo.

22 “希望她照顧自己的身體，希望中國能設立更多的免費女高。”一位微博用戶評論道。

23 “This is no longer a matter of respect for work… she is defniitely a welldeserved model of the times,” said another Weibo user.■

23 “敬業已不足以描述她……她絕對是當之無愧的時代楷模。”另一位微博用戶說。 □