Anna Zhao

    anna.whizh@yahoo.com

    ZHU CHUNGUO, a disabled man with only a junior high school education, has won two national patents after teaching himself how to invent. Zhu, who was born in 1970 in Hunan Province, has had many ups and downs but never lost hope. He has also won prizes at talent competitions held for the disabled in Shenzhen. He does not let his disabled body get in the way of his dream of making an automatic power generating and recharging electric vehicle in his repair plant.

    Growing up in adversity

    “I taught myself how to use a computer and now I use it to learn other things. I’m a good cook. I’m also good at calligraphy,” Zhu said with pride. He talked about his life like a wise old storyteller.

    Zhu was stricken with polio, a disease that paralyzed both his legs, when he was a child. He lost his mother when he was 3 years old and his father got sick when he was 8 so he was brought up by his brother and sister who were more than 10 years his senior. These difficulties meant he had to grow up fast.

    Zhu dropped out after he finished junior high school. He stayed idle at home for more than a year, during which time he was fascinated by a book on repairing electrical appliances. The book revitalized him and he read it over and over again and practiced by repeatedly dismantling and assembling a home radio. “I felt at that time that I had found ways of earning a life to support myself,” Zhu said.

    After several successful experiences of repairing neighbors’ small appliances, Zhu decided to open a repair shop. He rented a small shop in his hometown for which the rent cost 30 yuan (US$4.76) per month when he was 15.

    He started to learn to take care of himself and his business. “My cooking skills improved from that time on,” Zhu said. His cheerful personality and incessant pursuit of technical knowledge won him business opportunities and saved him money.

    Ups and downs

    Zhu came to Shenzhen in 1997 with nothing but his crutches and 2,000 yuan in savings with his family’s objections ringing in his ears.

    To pay for accommodation, he once ran a roadside stall selling watermelons and offering bicycle repair work. He was even sent to a penitentiary because he had neither a job nor a residency permit. After being detained for a week he was bailed out by a friend.

    He later opened a workshop repairing electrical appliances in Zhuzilin in Futian District with the money he had diligently saved. Sometimes he earned thousands of yuan a month.

    One of his clients who worked in a neighboring security company became his mentor in stock investment, leading to Zhu winning his first fortune of 300,000 yuan in the stock market. “That was really big money at the time,” Zhu said.

    In 2004, Zhu opened a plastic company with the money and he actually took the role of salesman, accountant and machinery maintenance worker all by himself when the company was established. “I was exhausted at that time as I often had to run between grocery stores to sell my products,” he said. He learned to drive with a borrowed car using just his left leg, which retains much strength, to step on the pedals.

    However, the global financial crisis of 2008 hit Zhu’s company and he went bankrupt.

    Winning national

    patents

    Jobless again, Zhu started to research electric automobiles in a lab at home.

    He said he encountered numerous difficulties in his research. “I often fell into depression and confusion. I spent a lot of money and visited many bookstores and libraries,” he said.

    He once went alone to the second-hand markets in Shanghai to search for a gadget. He spent three weeks there and even spent a night on a railway station bench in order to save money. “I had to find somewhere else to sleep when I had to leave the bench,” he said.

    He said he seldom had a good night’s sleep while doing his research. “Sometimes I woke up in the middle of the night with a new idea and then I turned to my research before going back to sleep,” Zhu said.

    He has befriended many engineers who work in the manufacturing and repairing of electric vehicles. “When I encounter technical problems, I consult these people for inspiration. Their guidance often gives me a eureka moment,” he said.

    Zhu won the first national patent for his invention of a piece of automatic power generating and recharging equipment for electric vehicles in 2010. Last year he created an improved version of the technology, which won him another patent.

    Ambition to make

    electric vehicles

    Zhu has opened an automobile repair plant with a friend in central Longgang District. He wants the 300-square-meter plant to pioneer the making of electric vehicles.

    He had been raising money to start the project of manufacturing electric vehicles several months before his patent certificate was issued. He said he could make an electric vehicle different from the existing ones in the country by using refitted cars equipped with his inventions.

    Zhu completed a preliminary experiment with his friends in recent months but he said he lacked funds for the necessary customized components.

    He is confident about the future of electric vehicles. “I will succeed and change the world,” Zhu said.

“I will succeed and change the world.”— Zhu Chunguo, a disabled man who has won two national patents after teaching himself how to invent