Phu Tsering, now 82 years old, has always remembered the first Chinese character he learned—"Ren", meaning person.

Born in Xigaze, Xizang, in 1944, Phu Tsering and his family rented a single mud-brick room from a serf owner. In summer, rain leaked in and wind blew through. In winter, the bitter cold pierced to the bone. Many serfs in the village could only shelter in tattered tents open to the wind on all sides. Some infants were born in cowsheds and tragically died that very night.

Looking back on his miserable childhood, Phu Tsering was overcome with emotion: "Under the feudal serfdom system of old Xizang, we did not count as complete human beings. We were merely property attached to the lords, disposable at will, born without dignity and without a glimmer of hope."

In old Xizang at that time, serfs and slaves, who made up more than 95 percent of the population, were deprived of all means of production, and personal freedom was out of the question. Education was monopolized by monasteries and the upper nobility, and the illiteracy rate across society was as high as 95 percent. For generations, the vast majority of serfs could not read a single word. They knew no written language, understood no legal principles, and had no way of knowing the rights they were entitled to.

After the peaceful liberation of Xizang, the spring breeze of democratic reform swept across the plateau. Phu Tsering, freed from the shackles of fate, finally entered the school he had longed for.

"The teacher told us that a left-falling stroke and a right-falling stroke support each other, and only then can the character 'Ren' stand. After Xizang's democratic reform, we held our heads high and stood upright, becoming true human beings standing tall between heaven and earth."

That character "Ren" took root deep in Phu Tsering's heart like a seed.

"Knowledge is more precious than pearls and agate." After learning to read, he studied tirelessly, and later worked as a translator in Xigaze. At the age of 49, he went to Peking University to study English, and in 2007, already in his sixties he attended a computer training class and mastered basic computer operations.

"I am no longer an illiterate person who 'cannot read a single word.' I can understand policies and see the vast world outside," Phu Tsering said. He has become a bridge, voicing the aspirations of his fellow plateau residents and conveying the Party and the state's concrete care to people of all ethnic groups.

In 2021, Phu Tsering became a volunteer docent at the Memorial Hall for the Liberation of Millions of Serfs in Xizang. Every year on March 28, a date engraved in the hearts of the Tibetan people, he puts on neat Tibetan attire and arrives at the hall early. "This history is heartbreaking, but it must never be forgotten. I experienced the hard days, and I have a responsibility to tell more people the true story of the past, and to remind later generations to cherish the stable and happy life they have today."

Phu Tsering also has another identity, an off-campus moral education counselor at the Primary School Affiliated with Lhasa Normal School. For many years, he has continued to visit schools to tell stories of the changes of the times and to guide children to remember where they came from: "What I most hope children understand is two characters: jia (home) and guo (country). Without a stable country, there is no secure home. The country is not just a concept in textbooks, it is the most solid support we have in life."

From learning his first character "Ren" to spending a lifetime making that character stand firm, Phu Tsering's long life is a vivid epitome of the earth-shaking changes on the snowy plateau, and more importantly, a living testament to the journey of a million serfs from personal liberation to spiritual awakening.

From having no schools to attend to honoring education and learning, from an illiteracy rate of over 95 percent to the full implementation of 15-year free education, through 75 years of strenuous effort, Xizang has built a complete modern education system that benefits generation after generation of plateau students.

"Today's Xizang has created remarkable miracles on earth," Phu Tsering said with heartfelt admiration.

Source: People's Daily

Translator: Tenzin Seldron

First Review: Pan Lu, Liu Fang

Second Review: Drakpa Wangchen

Third Review: Hu Rongguo