Xie Jianjian: 'Learned massage? that's my failure"

Xie Jianjian at the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet

"If you only learned how to massage after my class, that's would be my failure"，said a teacher full of charm and his own style in Ziqiang Specialized Secondary School, Shanxi Province. His name is Xie Jianjian. His colleague Ren Jun said that, he is very popular among his students. They all regard him as a very cute cartoon character and love to interact with him.

Xie speakes very fast and is full of energies, and one could also sense his humor and calm when talking to him. His easygoingness and maturity could be traced back to his interests and experience. IELTS 7.0, The Japanese-Language Proficiency Test N2 235, Pepperdine and Syracuse University's offer, hitchhiking across Sichuan-Yunan and Sichuan-Tibet area, all these experience could be the dream of many of us. The 26 year old young man Xie Jianjian did them all. Although he has visual impairment, learning foreign languages or hiking is not to prove anything. But in his words, the love for them is the only reason that motivated him to do so.

Xie Jianjian gained his own understanding of life from his experience and now passes on it to others as a teacher. He believes that education should never be just about learning skills, but more about cultivating one's mode of thinking. He always encourages his students to think independently and form their own views of each issue, instead of giving them standard answers. He also tells them that disabled persons should never let disability or social stereotype become a hindrance to their pursuit of interests and dreams.

Interests are indeed the best teacher. Perhaps we could all list things that fascinate us, but not many of us would put real effort into it due to a variety of excuses. But Xie Jianjian never takes physical disability as an excuse but follows his own heart. Back in his hometown, Hubei province, he learned English courses of high school and university by himself and listened to the Voice of America every day. After he studied in Changchun University, access to computers made learning foreign language easier for Xie Jianjian. Foreign language students and teachers in the university also provide opportunities of communication for him.

Xie Jianjian began to learn Japanese by himself at university as well. After 2-3 years of learning, he managed to master basic listening, reading, speaking and writing skills. Xie Jianjian mentioned that international language tests usually have special design for persons with disabilities. Compared with the rigid policy of JLPT Examination Syndicate on amplification and time extension, the cultural and Education Section of British Embassy contacted him first to ask about the appropriate font for examination papers. He thought modernization might be the reason that Japan was doing very well and much better than many countries in the inclusion of persons with disabilities while Europe and the United States seem to be even more considerate.

If there is anything that more attractive than language learning for Xie Jianjian, it could only be travelling. He said travelers and tourists are completely different that travelers from different social backgrounds are aiming to seek a unique experience in strange but beautiful places. Xie Jianjian remembered every bus he took and appreciated every one that helped him. He had his concerns due to his low vision. Ren Jun, also his schoolmate from Changchun University, recalled that initially guide is needed when Jianjian tried to find the way back to school, but in order to fulfill his dream of travelling, he kept exercising and finally managed to walk alone. After he travelled all the way through Sichuan, Yunnan province and Tibet, Xie Jianjian found that travelling for persons with disabilities is not that difficult as imagined.

From Lhasa to Chengdu, Xie Jianjian travelled for 2000 km by hitchhiking. By this way, he met many interesting people and made several friends. In Changdu, an unlicensed cab gave him a free ride. The driver said his son sacrificed to save drowning friends and since then he has been donating all his income to charity. The last ride he took is a brand-new Jeep driven by a Khampa young man who studied history in Minzu University of China. Xie Jianjian learned a lot from the driver's unique insights and abundant knowledge.

Moreover, during his journey, Xie Jianjian is more of a giver than receiver of help. People love to travel with him because of his rich experience of travelling and language skills. In Nepal, he ran into a group of people who also wanted to go to the capital. As these people know almost no English, they relied on Xie Jianjian to communicate with the local people to ask for directions along the whole way.

Xie Jianjian said the experience of travelling has changed him a lot. Tibet left a deep impression on him that people there never guard against each other. He also found that their life attitude is very positive that they enjoy what they have and care less of personal gains. He, like many people he met along his journey, wandered along the world to see, experience and find the truth of life.

After he graduated from university, Xie Jianjian is now teaching blind massage in Ziqiang Specialized Secondary School. His job may have nothing to do with his interests, but his experience is actually what makes him. Learning foreign languages and travelling strengthened his ability to communicate with other people and to adapt to new environment quickly, which made him a very attractive young man. But more importantly, he gained a mind open to all kinds of ideas and cultures, which contributed to his innovative thinking mode and emphasis on humanities and education.

Xie Jianjian said that a lot of friends regard their jobs only as means of making money, but he himself as a disabled person want to do more than his job requires. For persons with disabilities in the northwest China, basics needs of survival could not be fully guaranteed and it would be a precious opportunity for them to study in the school. At school, students of different education levels are put together in same class, some of them had not received any basic education. Xie viewed education as constructing a building that the primary stage should be built first, since without which it would be "castles in the air". The situation in his school will reduce the level and quality of education. He pointed out that bias from parents, lack of special education resources, unreasonable allocation of educational resources and lack of media advocacy are the causes.

He mentioned that "castles in the air" phenomenon also happens in other social areas. Over-emphasis on job placement of persons with disabilities without resolution of most basic problems such as accessible public transportation system is an example. And the fundamental reason of these "castles in the air" is discriminatory social environment. If a society could not treat disabled persons with equal respect, right protection is impossible to be fulfilled. Once social consciousness transforms, the remaining problems would be naturally tackled.

Xie Jianjian said he did not want do great things, but in fact he has already done a lot. As he told the students, there is no standard answer to life. Vision impairment has not become his fetters but only changed his way of looking at this world, which helped him to pursue his dream and gain a wonderful life journey. Now, what he wants to do is to be the architect that lays the foundation for "castles of education" in Northwest China and encourage more and more disabled children to pursue their dreams and find their own answers.