Humans of China: "I Was Told That If My Legs Weren’t Amputated Then I Would Die"

This article comes from Humans of China (WeChat ID: humans-of-china), which aims to document and tell the stories of the many varied people of this vast country, one individual at a time. This time, Hack interviews a man from Jiangxi.

In 2003 I went to Guangdong to work in a factory that made metal bowls. I left my wife and three children behind to go and earn 1,200 yuan a month, sending the majority home for them to use. The salary was low for that time but it was enough and it was more than I could make back home. The only way we could communicate back then was by making phone calls, and I missed them so much. I only managed to go home twice a year and I would take the bus which took around six hours.

After working there for three years, in 2006 I was hit by a car. It was nighttime and I was crossing the road and the car came from nowhere. He sent me flying and he told the police that as it was dark he couldn’t see me. I was rushed to hospital where I was assessed and was told that if my legs weren’t amputated then I would die. Of course, I agreed; I was too young to die and l didn’t want to leave my children and wife behind.

My oldest son and my wife took the bus to the city I was working in and they spent three months at the hospital taking care of me. The hospital fees very were high; it cost us 60,000 yuan and we just didn’t have the money. It put great stress upon the family and we were frantically trying to borrow from friends, family, and the bank trying to make money to pay the treatment. The man who hit me didn’t pay a penny, he said he didn’t have and money. After three operations I could finally return home.

When I arrived the local government gave me a wheelchair to use. It was difficult and frustrating trying to get used to life without legs. From being able to work, do sports, and take care of myself and family to this. At times feeling helpless was hard. It took about five years for me to fully get used to my new life, and now I don’t really need any help. As the seasons change and it becomes hot or cold what’s left of my legs hurt but apart from that it’s fine. 

In the '70s and '80s, life was tough. I did have the chance to study at school, but not for long and I loved nothing more than being outdoors. I enjoyed running, climbing, and shooting. I made myself a gun from wood, which I collected from the forest and I made pellets from small rocks. I would shoot pheasants and pigeons to eat and sell. I couldn’t sell them for much – ten yuan a bird. Now they sell for 100 per bird. I taught myself and others that shared the same hobby. I was one of the best, and on a good day, I could bring home ten birds.

I used to also collect a lot of baby bamboo shoots to eat and if I was lucky, I would come across a bamboo rat that we would take home to eat. Those days you had to be careful though, the government didn’t allow such activities. Taking fish from the rivers, wild mushrooms, and vegetables would get you in trouble.

As a young boy, I worked growing vegetables and rice. We could grow two crops of rice per year. When the rice was ready, it was back-breaking work carrying it to the local government building, which is where we had to give it in in order to receive tickets that we could trade in for food and money. I would do two trips a day, once in the morning and then once in the afternoon, two hours walking there with a full basket and a good hour back home with an empty basket. No work meant no tickets and no tickets meant no food. Egg and meat was rarely seen and this way of life continued up until about 1975, when I was 15.

These days, to make money I have a couple of beehives, which gives me honey to sell. I make bamboo baskets, but they have to provide the bamboo, as I can’t collect it myself. I grow mushrooms on logs, which my son collected in the back garden. I live alone. My wife looks after our three grandkids in the big city close by. I haven’t been there in years and I have no plans to go. Big cities don’t have many people like me and aren’t really convenient for wheelchairs. They don’t often visit home, but when they do, I feel so happy.

READ: "I Got Used to it but the Pain Stayed for Eight Years"

Photos: Cameron Hack