Find an article about Chinese and foreign cultural celebrities

Author: Yue Feng Source: Readers 2004+08

I first met David Ding in an activity organized by the Ford Foundation in the United States. The staff told me that Teshen, an American, refused to reimburse him for his plane ticket, insisted on taking a hard seat from Guangdong to Beijing by train, and bought a hard seat ticket from Beijing to Gansu at the station.

It is reported that he has a wide range of hobbies, including sports, music, literature, education and "serving the people"; Worked as an English teacher in Northwest University for Nationalities for 7 years; Since 2000, he has been engaged in compulsory education in Dongxiang Autonomous County of Gansu Province. At the meeting, he handed everyone a photo album and said assiduously, "You don't know how cute our children in Dongxiang are."

I saw him again in Lanzhou. He took me and got off the bus twice and came to the South Bus Station, where we will take a long-distance bus to Dongxiang.

Dongxiang is about100km away from Lanzhou, and it takes about three hours by car. Along the way, he was 1.93 meters tall, with long legs, sitting in the last row of the long-distance bus, introducing me as the host, when the road was built during the 50th anniversary of the county celebration, when the telecom tower was erected, how far the town was from the county seat, and so on. His mantra is "We Dongxiang".

one

1995 David Ding was employed as a foreign teacher in Northwest People's College, and the salary offered by the school was 1200 yuan per month. After asking around, he knew that his salary was higher than that of ordinary teachers, so he took the initiative to find a school and asked to reduce his salary to 900 yuan. The school disagreed and insisted on compensation of 1 1,000 yuan. David Ding thinks "four digits" is still too high. After several arguments, he finally clinched the deal with 950 yuan.

It's not the first time David Ding has asked for a pay cut.

During the period of 1994, when David Ding was an English teacher in a private primary school in Zhuhai, he didn't live in an air-conditioned room like other teachers in order to reduce his salary, and he had a similar "struggle" with the principal.

At that time, there was a market outside the school David Ding pointed to the place where migrant workers lived in the market and said to the headmaster, Look at them, so many people live in a tent, which is stuffy and hot, and it is not convenient to take a shower. This is their way of life. I am much better than them.

The headmaster later told people everywhere that this David Ding was always compared with migrant workers.

In Dongxiang, the conditions are even more difficult. No heating, no TV, no washing machine, no toilet. "They live in such conditions. What happened to me? " He said.

In June 2002, David Ding's contract with Northwest People's Hospital expired. He decided to quit his job in People's Hospital and work in Dongxiang full-time. The county bureau of culture, education and sports also expressed its willingness to hire him as a consultant of the education and teaching research office of the bureau and give him 500 yuan's living expenses every month. However, he never received 500 yuan's salary once a month.

"I'm in no hurry. Anyway, I have my previous savings. " He said that he didn't smoke or drink, and besides eating, his living expenses were to call and write letters to buy stamps. Four or five hundred yuan a month is enough.

David Ding was born in a middle-class family in Cleveland, USA. In his junior year, David went to Peking University as an international student for one year. Like all international students, he travels in China.

Taste all kinds of delicious food. After returning to China, he obtained a master's degree in classical literature from Esbury College in Kentucky. During this period, he found himself in love with being a teacher. After graduation, David first worked in Japan for a year. From 65438 to 0994, he came to Zhuhai and worked as an English teacher at Ian International School, the first private primary school in Zhuhai.

When recruiting English teachers for this school, David Ding found that four of the five people recruited were from the northwest. He thinks that all the talents in the northwest have come out. Who will go?

So he sent his resume to some schools in the northwest. Finally, at the invitation of Lanzhou University and Northwest Normal University, he chose Northwest People's College. His idea is simple: "Most students here must go back to ethnic areas as teachers, where talents are most needed."

This is also a fundamental idea for David Ding to make many choices in the future: "As a teacher, you should go where you need it most."

two

In 2000, after teaching in People's College, David Ding spent three days a week in Dongxiang and started his "voluntary aid work".

Dongxiang Autonomous County in Gansu Province is the only minority autonomous county in China with Dongxiang as the main body, and it is also a key county for national poverty alleviation. According to the information of the fourth population census 1990, Dongxiang nationality is one of the nationalities with the highest adult illiteracy rate in China. The comprehensive average education level is only equivalent to the second and third grades of primary school.

One of the reasons why David left America and home was that he felt that staying there could only be icing on the cake. I left Lanzhou for the same reason.

"Many people are doing higher education, and the country attaches great importance to it. Northwest People's College now has seven foreign teachers. Relatively speaking, basic education is much worse. " He always remembers reading an article in The Economist magazine, which ranked China in the penultimate basic education in the world. "Dongxiang illiteracy rate is so high, indicating that basic education is the worst. If I stay in Lanzhou because of the good conditions in Lanzhou, then I will simply go back to the United States. "

"The icing on the cake is not bad, but first you must ensure that you need it most." He said, "it's like tooth whitening and plastic surgery, but people must first afford the disease and enjoy the most basic medical care."

When I first met David Ding, I once asked him, "What are you doing in Dongxiang?" At that time, he gave a wry smile for no reason.

I came to Dongxiang and followed him for a few days. I'm confused, too. I don't know how to describe what he did.

One day, I went to the post office to get letters and order magazines, and then I visited six female teachers at Ian School in Miankou Township.

Racecourse School is 40 minutes walk from the county seat. It was built in 2000 and donated by Ian School in Zhuhai and a Singaporean woman. There are more than 240 students in four grades this year. On March 8 every year, David Ding buys a gift for a female teacher. The year before last was a bed sheet, and last year was an alarm clock. This year, he said that he really couldn't think of anything to buy, so he went to the post office and ordered two magazines for his teacher. Budget 100, spent 109.

One day, I went to Ling Bao Ian School in Dongyuan Township. This school is the farthest from the county seat. You have to take a bus for half an hour, and then take a 5-kilometer mountain road. It was a dusty day. Just entering the school gate, David Ding muttered: "Why didn't the national flag hang?" Later, I asked the headmaster that the weather was bad and I was afraid that the wind would blow the flag away, so I took it down.

The original house of the school was built in 1956, which has long been dilapidated. A teacher with more than 20 students can only take classes under a big tree in the yard. In 2002, 45,000 yuan donated by seven donors was transformed, and now there are more than five students in five grades 1 10. David Ding just received a donation last week, and he wants to use the money to return some tuition fees to students. 25 yuan is charged every semester here, and he intends to give it back to 5 yuan, a boy, and 0 yuan, a girl/kloc-0. This time, we should decide the number and list of students so that we can write to the donors.

Another day, I went to Qiya Primary School in Chuntai Township to discuss with the principal about making school uniforms for students.

As soon as he entered the school, David Ding lay prone on the glass of the classroom and counted the number of students sitting inside. This is one thing he has to do when he goes to every school. According to the headmaster and the only teacher, there are 32 students this year, compared with 43 last year. The number has dropped. Because the county had to complete the task of "junior high school" last semester, some students who didn't go to school were mobilized to go to school. This semester, these students have all gone home again.

This mess is endless. Also for the unreasonable school electricity price 1.5 yuan talked with the electric power bureau theoretically; Contact deaf schools and sponsors for children with language barriers; Report to the Education Bureau on bringing six teachers from Dongxiang to Guangdong Ian School for training during the Spring Festival; He also "volunteered" to train teachers and translate materials for bilingual teaching projects. ...

Many Dongxiang people know that David Ding is the "tall foreigner who often walks around". As for what he is doing here, many people can't say.

"I don't know what I did here." Speaking of this, he looked very tired and unhappy. No one asked him to do anything, and no one told him what he needed to do. "Do you think what I do is meaningful and valuable?" He asked me.

"I don't want to be an expert or a lecturer. I'm just a part-time worker. I am willing to serve here. " He always thought that the local people knew what was needed here better than a foreigner, not to mention "money". Do you really need nothing but money?

three

Wherever David Ding goes, he always takes an old folder with shabby colors. There are all kinds of materials in it: David Ding's identity certificate, a copy of his passport, a report on building several schools with donations, a reply from the Education Bureau, a list of donors, a passbook, several account books, photos of the school, thank-you letters, and a bunch of bills to be sent to donors ... "This is my life here," he said.

In recent years, letters and donations sent to "Ding Dawei in Dongxiang, Gansu" have been in an endless stream, and the total amount has exceeded 654.38+10,000 yuan. Many people don't believe that he is still in Dongxiang, and they all say in their letters, try to see if you are still there.

How to use the money is now David Ding's responsibility. "I don't want money."

He has repeatedly said that it is the government's job to build schools and provide teachers so that children who should go to school will not drop out of school.

However, since all the money has been sent to his name, he can't ignore it.

In addition to refunding tuition fees for students, purchasing related items for schools, and buying gifts for teachers and students on Teachers' Day and Children's Day, every winter vacation in the past three years, he took Dongxiang teachers to Guangdong Ian School for training, exchange and sea watching.

"For teachers, this road is all about learning." David Ding thinks.

When he comes back, he will collect all the tickets and write to the donors, telling them why they spent money to take the teacher and how much it cost. He will stick all the tickets together and send them with the letter.

Not only this item, but also all donations, he will write to donors in this way. All income and expenditure accounts are also in triplicate, one for the Education Bureau, one for the school and one for myself.

"Nobody asked you to do this, so don't bother." Looking through his books, everything was registered, from tens of thousands of dollars for repairing schools to a few dollars for making phone calls. I blurted it out.

"That won't do. When people give you money, there must always be a confession. " He raised his voice and looked at me as if he were a little angry.

Perhaps because of his practice, many donors have repeatedly donated money, up to nine times.

four

On the way to Ling Bao that day, I passed a primary school called Yahujia several hundred meters away. A child shouted "Ding Dawei" at the top of his lungs. The school is separated from the mountain road we walked by a wide ditch. David Ding loudly told them to come back to see them in the afternoon, but the headmaster went down the ditch with a group of children and ran to the side of the road to chat with him for a long time.

All the children in the school like him. The children were excited when they saw him. They like to let the "giant" catch them and stand upside down in the air. They like a group of people around him to grab the basketball that can spin at his fingertips.

David Ding is the happiest and most relaxed only when he plays with children.

Teachers like him, too. Female teachers often make fun of him: you can't find a wife at this age, it must be because your feet stink.

David Ding said he was a monkey. According to Dongxiang's algorithm, he should be 37 years old this year. According to his mother's calculation, he is only 35, because his birthday has not yet passed. He described himself as "probably the kind of person who is slow to heat". And he sometimes asks some "China characteristics" questions, such as "Are you registered in Beijing", which also surprises me. He disagreed: "It is the same to stay in a country 10 years."

Walking on the road, he will inadvertently hum some songs. Once, it was "learning from Lei Feng".

I am happy: "Do you still know this song?" "I will do more." He said, "If I go to karaoke, I can sing for a day without repeating it." He knew Tian Zhen and Sun Nan, and also talked about Stephanie and Jay Chou. I heard a lot in Guangdong and Lanzhou before. Now, there is little entertainment in his life. Occasionally, he will ask for a copy of Lanzhou Evening News that others have finished reading on the shuttle bus. He has seen it himself and will show it to the school teacher. He loves basketball too much to watch NBA games. The basketball magazine sent to him by his father from America became his treasure.

David is a very careful person. When they walk, he must walk on one side of the driveway and take the initiative to help the women with children on the long-distance bus to carry things. Speaking of his family, he is full of affection.

Sometimes, when I go to a place and meet a person who is curious about whether he is a foreigner, people will ask, "What are you doing there? How much is the income? " He will truthfully answer: "Help run the school. No income. "

The other person's reaction is generally: "No income? ! If you don't want to talk about it, forget it. "

People in the county often tell David Ding to use his identity to do more publicity and expand his influence, and Dora will sponsor him.

"I don't want to do this." He said, "I'm just doing what I think I should do. I don't want to be called Lei Feng or Bethune. " He doesn't want to be an example or influence others.

Now he wants to have more time to improve his Dongxiang language. I want to meet a beloved girl and go to Qingdao and Taishan together. I also want to see when Dongxiang will no longer rank first in the illiteracy rate of ethnic minorities in China.

"How long do you think you will stay here?"

"As long as I am willing to continue to hire me here, I will stay." He said positively.

David is a devout Christian. However, he also knows that the most powerful "religion" in the world now is called.

American Dream: Make more money, drive a better car, live in a bigger house and marry a beautiful wife. ...

However, he said seriously that everyone should ask his heart, are these what you really want? Are you steadfast in your heart? Are you satisfied? Calm down?

"In the dead of night, when you can't sleep, your soul, your heart, will talk to you and ask you, why on earth are you alive? Don't ignore this, don't just take a sleeping pill to suppress these thoughts. " When he said this, his blue eyes were pure and peaceful. Sitting in that little bed, he seems to have the whole world.