Zhang Guimei Committed to Girls

王靜云

“自然擊你以風雪，你報之以歌唱。命運置你于危崖，你饋人間以芬芳?！边@是感動中國組委會在“感動中國 2020 年度人物”頒獎晚會上對張桂梅的頒獎詞。張桂梅常說：“女孩子受教育，可以改變三代人?！彼氖论E感動了無數中國人。

“An educated female could end the intergenerational transmission of poverty and change the destinies of three generations.” Zhang Guimei declared. The 64-year-old teacher from southwest China's Yunnan Province was presented with the July 1 Medal， which is the highest honor in the Communist Party of China （CPC）， by Xi Jinping， general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee， at a ceremony in Beijing on June 29， 2021. Zhang Guimei was born to a family of Manchu ethnic minority in June 1957 in Heilongjiang Province. She and her sister went to Yunnan as part of ateam supporting the country's border when she was 17. In Dali， she worked as a teacher in a local school after graduating from university and got married. However， good times didn't last long. Her husband died of cancer in 1996， five years into their marriage. 1）Inconsolable， Zhang left the familiar place and went to Huaping， which is an impoverished county 2）nestled in the mountains. There she started a new life， teaching Politics and Chinese in HuapingMinzu （Ethnic Group） Middle School.

There she witnessed extreme poverty. “The 3）destitution just sprawls in front of you，” she recalled. In 2002， Zhang came up with an idea which seemed crazy： to found a free high school for girls. The idea of running a school was born after seeing girls drop out of school due to poverty. Zhang was awared that the children's parents， who were poor and less-educated， failed to realize the importance of girls' education. “Girls should get equal access to education， as most of them will become mothers in the future， and they will directly affect their children's lives，” says Zhang.

Her goal was hard to achieve. She had to raise money and hire teachers. After six years of hard work and financial support from the local government， she managed to found the Huaping Girls' High School， which is the first free female high school in China. “The early years were rather difficult，” she explained， “The Party spirit 4）sustained me.” With the target of never letting a girl fall behind in schooling， Zhang often works overtime despite suffering from illnesses.

Zhang takes girls with little middle-school education background and helps them pass the university entrance exams within three years. For the past years， about 2000 students have graduated from her school and have been admitted to universities.

Zhang is committed to the education of girls in poor areas. “As long as I have one more breath， I will continue teaching my students. I never regret devoting my life to helping impoverished children improve their education，” Zhang said. The People's Daily was effusive in its praise of Zhang， who like a lighthouse， encourages more educators to stick to their original intention and light others on the road of building a dream.

“受教育的女性，能阻斷貧困的代際傳遞，改變三代人的命運?！睆埞鹈氛f。 2021 年 6 月 29 日在北京舉行的頒授儀式上，中共中央總書記習近平為這位來自中國西南地區云南省的 64 歲教師頒發了黨內最高榮譽——“七一勛章”。

張桂梅 1957 年 6 月出生于黑龍江省一個滿族家庭。17 歲時，她和姐姐一起去云南支援邊疆建設。大學畢業后在大理當地的一所學校任教并結了婚。然而，好景不長。 1996 年，在他們結婚五年后，她的丈夫死于癌癥。傷心欲絕的張桂梅離開了熟悉的地方，去了依山傍水的貧困縣華坪。在那里，她開始了新的生活，在華坪民族中學教授政治和語文。

也是在那里，她目睹了極端貧困?！柏毟F就在你面前蔓延?！彼貞浀?。 2002 年，張桂梅有了一個看似瘋狂的想法：創辦一所免費女子高中?？吹脚⒁蜇毨Ф黄容z學后，她產生了辦學的想法。她意識到，孩子們的父母貧窮且受教育程度低，沒有意識到女孩教育的重要性?！芭摣@得平等的受教育機會，因為她們中的大多數人將來都會成為母親，她們將直接影響孩子的生活?！?張桂梅說。

她的目標很難實現。她不得不籌集資金并聘請教師。經過六年的努力和當地政府的資金支持，她成功創辦了華坪女子中學，這是中國第一所免費女子高中?！霸缒晗喈斊D難，”她解釋道，“黨的精神支撐著我?！币圆蛔屢粋€女孩在學業上落后為目標，盡管身患疾病，張桂梅仍經常加班加點。

張桂梅招收有較少初中學習背景的女生，并在三年內幫助她們通過高考。十多年來，她所在的學校已經有近 2000 名學生畢業并被大學錄取。

張桂梅致力于貧困地區女童的教育。她說： “只要我還有一口氣，我就會繼續教我的學生。我從不后悔一生致力于幫助貧困兒童提高教育水平?！薄度嗣袢請蟆犯叨荣潛P了張桂梅，說她宛如一座燈塔，激勵著更多教育工作者在筑夢路上堅守初心、照亮他人。