Education Pioneer Who Lifted 1,800 Girls Out of Poverty

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The founder of China’s first and only free public high school for girls—in a poor,mountainous region in the country’s southwest—has been honoured as an inspirational role model in this year’s Touching China awards.

作为西南部贫困山区的中国第一所（也是唯一的）公立免费女子高中的创立者，张桂梅获评2020年“感动中国年度人物”。

2 Zhang Guimei,63,was in visibly poor health when she accepted the award,prompting a wave of sympathy and support on Chinese social media.

2 领奖时，63 岁的张桂梅明显身体状况不佳；网民纷纷在中国的社交媒体上表示同情和支持。

3 The awards,which recognise wisdom,bravery and tenacity,are presented annually by CCTV.

3 “感动中国年度人物”奖项每年由中国中央电视台（CCTV）颁发，表彰具有睿智学识、见义勇为和坚忍不拔之人。

4 Zhang was hailed as a hero during the awards ceremony for her extraordinary achievement in building and operating the High School for Girls in Lijiang’s Huaping county in northern Yunnan province,one of the country’s poorest areas.

4 在颁奖典礼上，因筹建和管理云南北部（中国最贫困的地区之一）丽江华坪女高的卓越成就，张桂梅被誉为“英雄人物”。

5 The years of hard work and mental pressure have taken their toll onZhang,who is battling 23 illnesses including emphysema,cerebellar atrophyand skull osteoma.

5 多年的辛苦工作和精神压力给张桂梅的身体造成了损害，她患上了肺气肿、小脑萎缩和颅骨骨瘤等23 种疾病。

6 She was helped from her chair to the stage,where two small children presented her with the award.Her fingers were wrapped in pain-relieving tape.“I cannot open my palms and move my fingers without these tapes.With them,I can move a bit,” Zhang explained to the ceremony’s host Bai Yansong.

6 在旁人的协助下，她从座位起身走到台上，接过两个小孩子递过来的奖杯，手指贴满止痛膏药。“如果不贴它，我就伸不开，就不能动了。贴上它还能动一点。”张桂梅对主持人白岩松解释说。

7 “I eat more than 10 kinds of pills in the morning,and at noon I have to take five kinds of Chinese herbal medicine,”she said,in response to a question from Bai.

7 当白岩松问及吃药，她回答说：“我早上是要吃10 多种，中午因为要吃点中药，吃5 种。”

8 “Let’s have a promise—in the coming 10 to 20 years,let us know if you need help,” Bai said.“Will I break it?”Zhang replied,doubtful that she would live that long.“You are giving your life[to this school],” he said,to which she responded,“That’s what I want”.

8 “咱们俩约着——10年，20年，需要帮助的时候您就说话。”白岩松说。“我会不会失约啊？”张桂梅回道，怀疑自己能否活那么久。“您这是在（为这所学校）拼命。”白岩松说。她则回答：“拼就拼一点吧。”

9 Zhang,who is childless,said the school was her home and all the students were her children.Since its foundation in 2008,the school has changed the fate of more than 1,800 girls from impoverished families—preparing them for university which paves the way for professional careers which would otherwise be unobtainable.

9 张桂梅没有子女，她说这所女高就是她的家，所有学生都是她的孩子。自2008年建校以来，这所学校改变了1800多名贫困女生的命运——帮助她们备考大学，铺平通往职业生涯的道路，而这是其他途径无法企及的。

10 Zhang,who was born in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang,was 17 when she moved to Yunnan with her father in 1974.A year after her husband’s death in 1996,she volunteered to teach at Huaping Centre Middle School,and became director of the county’s orphanage in 2001.

10 张桂梅出生于中国东北部的黑龙江省，1974年，17 岁的她随父亲迁往云南。1996年，张桂梅的丈夫去世，1年后，她志愿在华坪县中心中学教书，并于2001年担任华坪县孤儿院院长。

11 She soon learned that most abandoned children in the district were girls and,while boys were encouraged to continue their education,their female classmates were not.

11 她很快发现，当地被遗弃的儿童多是女孩，并且家长愿意让男孩继续读书，女孩却不行。

12 Nine years of education have been compulsory for all children aged 6 to 15 in China since 1986,but while there are free high schools in a few Chinese cities—notably Zhuhai,in the southern province of Guangdong—many of Huaping’s girls were leaving school early to marry or earn a living.

12 自1986年以来，在中国，6 至15 岁的所有儿童都要接受9年义务教育，虽然中国的几座城市设有免费的高中，比如南部省份广东的珠海市，但华坪县的许多女生却早早辍学嫁人或者谋生。

13 Zhang believed strongly in the maxim that an educated woman can help three generations and was determined to provide free high school education for the girls of Huaping.“When a woman is educated,how would she abandon her child? My intention was to stop this vicious circle of uneducated mothers and children,” she said,in a CCTV report.

13 张桂梅坚信女孩接受教育可以改变三代人，并致力于为华坪县的女孩提供免费的高中教育。在CCTV报道中，她说道：“如果她有文化，她会把孩子丢掉？我的初衷就是解决低素质母亲和低素质孩子的恶性循环。”

14 For five years,Zhang battled to raise funds.Despite carrying with her all her identity documents and copies of certificates and honours she had received,most people she approached called her a swindler.All she had to show for her efforts was 10,000 yuan.

14 整整5年里，张桂梅竭力筹款。尽管随身携带所有身份证件及奖项和荣誉证书复印件，她寻求帮助的那些人大多都视她为骗子。百般努力下来，她只筹到1 万元。

15 The turning point came in 2007,when Zhang was elected as a party representative to attend the Communist Party’s 17th National Congress in Beijing.While there,she told a reporter that she wanted to build a free high school for girls.At last,her voice was heard.

152007 年，张桂梅当选党的十七大代表，前往北京参加党代会，事情迎来了转机。与会期间，她告诉一名记者，她想办一所免费女子高中。最终，她的心声传播开来。

16 A year later,around 100 girls from poor local families came to live and study at the new school.Three years later,they all passed the National Higher Education Entrance Examination,or gaokao,and went on to university.

161 年后，当地贫困家庭大约100 名女生来到新学校生活、学习。3年后，她们全部通过高考，进入大学。

17 Zhang persisted for the next 13 years—in contrast to most rural teachers in China,where 45.5 per cent give up because of the poor environment,low salary and lack of respect,according to a study by Wuhan University.

17 张桂梅继续坚持了13年，这跟中国大多数乡村教师截然不同。武汉大学的一项研究表明，45.5%的乡村教师会因为环境差、工资低、不受尊重而离开岗位。

18 In 2018,Zhang was sent to hospital for treatment after fainting at the school.

182018 年，张桂梅在学校晕倒，被送往医院进行治疗。

19 As a pioneer in the promotion of free,quality education for girls,Zhang has often been subject to criticism—especially for her “tiger mom” requirements,which include a ban on entertainment,endless homework,strict schedules and identical haircuts for all students.

19 作为倡导为女生提供免费、高质量教育的先驱，张桂梅经常遭受批评，她的“虎妈”标准更是首当其冲，其中包括禁止娱乐、布置写不完的作业、制订严格的课程表、要求所有学生统一发型。

20 In October,she attracted further controversy when she said women had to be tough on themselves and not depend on men for their livelihoods.“Women need to be self-reliant.Do not trust these men.”

202020 年10月，因说出女人要对自己狠一点，不要依靠男人生活，张桂梅引发更多争议。“女人应该靠自己，不能靠男人。”

21 But there was only goodwill for the educator on Chinese social media after her appearance on CCTV to accept the award.

21 不过，在她参加CCTV《感动中国》颁奖礼后，中国社交媒体上对这位教育者只有祝福。

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22 “Hope she can take care of her body and hope more such free high schools for girls can be built in China,” one commenter said on the social media platform Weibo.

22 “希望她照顾自己的身体，希望中国能设立更多的免费女高。”一位微博用户评论道。

23 “This is no longer a matter of respect for work… she is defniitely a welldeserved model of the times,” said another Weibo user.■

23 “敬业已不足以描述她……她绝对是当之无愧的时代楷模。”另一位微博用户说。 □