Wang Yuanyuan

    cheekywang@hotmail.com

    LIU YONG published his first book when he was only a teenager but his literary ambitions had to take a backseat due to the need to overcome hard economic conditions.

    However, Liu is not completely luckless. With his talents in poetry and painting and his consistent efforts in helping the needy, he became one of the first batch of migrant workers to receive Shenzhen hukou due to outstanding contributions to society.

    Working as a security guard in Futian District, Liu has had to support his wife and son with an income of only about 1,500 yuan (US$238) a month for several years, living in a 10-square-meter apartment.

    However, none of this has blunted his passion for literature and art. His writing and paintings have won several citywide and nationwide awards. Liu donated nearly all the prize money to rural areas.

    “My family needs money, but there are many people who need it more than me, so I’d rather help them overcome their difficulties first,” Liu said.

    An aspiring writer

    Born in an impoverished village in Anhui Province, the 28-year-old Liu has been in love with books since he was a child.

    “My grandfather was a teacher in the village and he had more than 10,000 “ancient books” of all kinds. He was also a respected finger-painter in my hometown,” he said.

    Following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Liu started reading books, and learning about painting and calligraphy when he was about 4. “I like painting. When I painted the trees and flowers in the wild, my mind was full of words which could describe these beautiful sights,” he said.

    When he was in high school, he finished his first novel, “Beginning in Society,” which was over 270,000 characters in length. “At that time, there was a young Shenzhen student called Yu Xiu who wrote a book for teenagers, “Flower Season, Rainy Season.” The success of the book, which was about student life in Shenzhen, inspired me, so I decided to write a book about student life in rural villages,” he said.

    Because he did not have much money, Liu wrote his first draft on a kind of cheap oil paper which was used as wallpaper in rural villages and sent it to Shenzhen Haitian Publication House, which was the publisher of Yu Xiu’s book.

    “When I first wrote this book, I was pleased with its fresh language and emotional depth, so I decided to publish it in 2001,” said Zhou Haiyan from Haitian.

    Liu immediately became a rising star. His book was very popular and he was invited to attend several book fairs across the country.

    A dedicated security guard

    However, Liu’s dream of becoming a writer ended after he failed the National College Entrance Examinations (NCEE).

    After serving in the army for two years, Liu came to Shenzhen in 2004 and became a security guard at Changpeng Property Management Co. Ltd. in Futian District.

    Being a security guard was not easy. Although his young family stayed in a tiny apartment, he’s never given up his dream of painting and writing.

    Every day when he returns home, he gets down on the ground and starts finger-painting in the corridor.

    “Many people laughed at me. They said I was only daydreaming because I was just a lowly security guard who had never been to college,” he said.

    Even his paintings were looked down upon by others. “They said that I was like a ‘farmer playing saxophone in a village.’ But I did not give up. I believed that my works would be accepted one day,” he said.

    In recent years, Liu has written more than 10,000 poems and finished 1,000 paintings in his tiny room.

    In 2008, Liu attended a writing competition for migrant workers and won second prize.

    The award brought Liu a 20,000 yuan award, but to everybody’s surprise, he donated the money to people affected by the Wenchuan earthquake, which drew wide attention in the city.

    “Even though I needed the money, I donated it because I knew how those people must have felt. Once I got injured and needed 30,000 yuan for medical treatment. My family did not have the money and my girlfriend broke up with me. I was so depressed. Eventually my friends collected the money to help me get through,” he said.

    A gifted artist

    Liu is now a member of the city’s writers’ association and continues to participate in poetry and painting projects to raise money for the needy.

    He took more than three years to finish a dragon painting and calligraphy and donated the artwork to rural families in Motuo, Tibet.

    His years of effort in simultaneously pursuing his dream and helping the poor have won him more fame and awards. He was one of the city’s Top 10 Ambassadors of Love and was awarded as an outstanding security guard by the city’s public security bureau.

    “Many people said that I was noble, but I don’t think so. I just did what I could. I just want to do something meaningful with my abilities,” he said.

    For Liu, hardship and poverty mean nothing. It is spiritual difficulties that matter.

    “As a grass-roots migrant worker, I found it very difficult to get my works recognized and accepted. I knew many talented migrant workers, but because of their low status, they had no chance to show their talents,” he said.

    One of Liu’s friends, a security guard at a big store in Shenzhen, wrote an 800,000-word novel and found no publisher.

    “He came to me, I tried so hard to sell his book but we lacked the channels through which we could show our talents. I hope that I can do something in the future for these hard-working and talented migrant workers, letting more people know about their lives and talents,” he said.

    As a grass-roots migrant worker, I found it very difficult to get my works

    recognized and accepted. I knew many talented migrant workers, but because of their low status, they had no chance to show their talents,”

    — Liu Yong, who became one of the first batch of migrant workers to receive Shenzhen hukou due to outstanding contributions to society