The man, who was as simple as a stone, walked away and returned to the depths of the mountain. On May 30, at the southeast edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, in Muli Tibetan Autonomous County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, Wang Shunyou died of a sudden illness at home at the age of 56.
On June 1, Muli County Funeral Home, Wang Shunyou's farewell ceremony
Wang Shunyou has successively won the National May Day Labor Medal, the National Model Worker, the 2005 "Moving China" Top Ten Figures, the National Outstanding Communist Party Member, the National Model of Dedication and Dedication, the 100 Chinese That Touched Since the Founding of New China, the Most Influential Labor Model of the 60th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, and the Most Beautiful Strivers of the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China.
ー Individual, one horse, one road. From 1985 to 2014, Wang Shunyou has been engaged in the delivery of township mail, known as the "loyal messenger of Maban Post Road". According to the Liangshan branch of China Post Group Co., Ltd., in the 20 years when the road was not accessible, Wang Shunyou trekked 260,000 kilometers on the Mapan Post Road.
The so-called "Maban Postal Route" is a postal route that rural postmen take and deliver mail on horseback. On this road, Wang Shunyou had to climb over the Charwa Mountain at an altitude of nearly 5,000 meters, and then down to the Yalong River Valley at an altitude of 1,000 meters, where the mountains were covered with snow and the valley was hot and unbearable... He travels for 14 days and camps in the wilderness for at least 6 days.
One man, one horse
In the 20 years without access to the road, the journey was 260,000 kilometers
Wang Shunyou loved his horse because it spent the most time with him. He gave each horse a nice name. On the way, he walked with the horses, chatted together, camped together...
In 2005, Wang Shunyou said in an interview with the media that of the more than 800 yuan of salary he received every month, he would be affixed with 200 yuan of horse material money. Although the unit pays 70 yuan per month for horse materials, he always has to "open a small stove" for the horse alone. He said his horses were too tired and that "horses on the plains generally live 30 years, while horses that walk the mountains every day can only live for 20 years."
Wang Shunyou led his horse in the mountains
Liangshan Daily reporter Shi Jin once followed Wang Shunyou through a difficult postal road, she said that Wang Shunyou sometimes encountered horse gangs on the road, may follow a section, but more often it is one person and one horse, walking in the deep mountains and old forests, walking in the vast snowy fields, or walking in the sweltering Yalong River Valley...
In one interview, Shi Jin was left behind in the Charwa Mountain at an altitude of more than 4,000 meters, she walked alone on the snow, the mountain was desolate and silent, people became small, only the sound of the wind could be heard, and her own breathing and heartbeat. Later, many nights, Shi Jin would think of that journey, remembering Wang Shunyou's night of camping alone in the depths of the mountains, "He drank alone, slept by the fire, surrounded by night..."
Shi Jin once wrote in his diary: "Standing on the top of the mountain, it feels like stepping on a knife edge. The wind was so strong that it seemed to be about to turn people upside down. I craned my neck, my hands and feet together, and climbed over the narrow cliff road, which was only one person's width. On the other side of the mountain, the wind is much lighter, but the mountain road is so steep that my legs are shivering... Oh, my God! Could this be the Maban Post Road? ”
Wang Shunyou camped in the wilderness
From 1985 to 2014, Wang Shunyou has been engaged in township mail delivery. At the beginning, the postal route in charge of Wang Shunyou was from Muli County to Kara Township via Baidian Township, Sanjue Township and Kuambo Township, with a round trip of 584 kilometers. In 1999, the route was adjusted, and he was only responsible for the three townships from the county seat to Baidian Township, Sanjue Township and Weibo Township, but the postal route was still 360 kilometers round-trip, and it took 14 days to go back and forth, twice a month.
On this road, he had to climb over the Charwa Mountain at an altitude of nearly 5,000 meters, and then down to the Yalong River Valley at an altitude of more than 1,000 meters, where the mountains were covered with snow and the valley was hot and unbearable... He needs to spend the night in the wild for at least 6 days.
Wang Shunyou once said in an interview: "The roads I walk are all mountains and valleys, sparsely populated, and the climate is harsh. Many times you can only camp in the open air, and sleep in a simple tent under the rocks, on the grass, and under the trees. The hardest part is the rainy season, where you barely wear a dry coat or sleep. ”
"Along the way, sometimes I don't see a single figure for days. When his heart was uncomfortable, he talked to the mule and horse, or sang a mountain song. At night, the mountain was even more eerily quiet, and I lit a fire, thinking about my wife and children at home, often drinking and crying. Wang Shunyou once said that the most uncomfortable thing on the road is loneliness, "Originally I did not drink, but then I had to drink, drinking is to give me courage, but also to dispel loneliness, but also to drive away the cold."
According to the Liangshan branch of China Post Group Co., Ltd., In the 20 years without access to the highway, Wang Shunyou trekked 260,000 kilometers on the Mapan Post Road. Nearly 10,000 pieces of various types of mail are delivered every year, without a shift delay, without losing a single mail, and the delivery accuracy rate is 100%.
ー Individual, a horse, a road, on the snowy plateau stretching for hundreds of kilometers in Muli, the scene of Wang Shunyou leading a horse and walking alone is a vivid image in the hearts of the local people.
It's as simple as a stone
"I'm afraid people will say I didn't do a good job"
In 1985, 19-year-old Wang Shunyou took the parcel and horse reins from his father and became a township postman.
He Yong, 50, like Wang Shunyou, is also "the class that took over his father". "We run to different townships, I go back and forth for two days, and he goes back and forth for half a month." He Yong told Red Star News that several of the townships that Wang Shunyou is in charge of are very remote, and "sometimes you can only meet once a month at the unit."
Wang Shunyou delivered the mail to the villagers' homes
Whenever they met, He Yong and Wang Shunyou always had to sit down. "Talk, or have a drink, and you're like brothers." He Yong said that they have a habit of walking the "Maban Postal Road", when they are tired or cold, they should drink some wine to relieve fatigue or resist the cold.
Wang Shunyou has always remembered his father's instructions, "Don't lose or destroy your mail." At work, Wang Shunyou regards mail as more important than life, once when the zipline crossed the Yalong River, the rope tied to his body suddenly broke, people fell on the river beach, and the parcel fell in the river, Wang Shunyou did not care that he could not water, jumped into the chest-deep water to catch the parcel. When he had fished out the parcel and climbed ashore, the man was so tired that he collapsed to the ground.
In 1997, after graduating from the Middle School Normal School, Luo Wenzhong returned to his hometown to teach at Yangshan Primary School in Baidi Township. This year, the first letter Luo Wenzhong received after working was sent by Wang Shunyou himself.
A year later, Luo Wenzhong was transferred to the small teaching school in Miping Village, and had more intersection with Wang Shunyou, "The Maban Postal Road where he delivered the letter was just about to pass through the school gate, and we saw that he was more difficult, so he asked him to drink water and rest in the school, and gradually became a good friend."
Luo Wenzhong still remembers that on a rainy day in 2002, Wang Shunyou spent the night at a villager's house in front of the school, and suddenly fell seriously ill late that night, fortunately, he was found by the villagers in time, and everyone sent him to the township health center together, and after treatment, he often said, If you had not sent me to the hospital overnight, I am afraid that I would have lost my life." For the villagers' timely rescue, Wang Shunyou is always full of gratitude.
Luo Wenzhong recalled that every time he sent a letter to the school or the village, Wang Shunyou had to hand over the letter to the recipient, "he was very responsible for the work, saying that these letters were very important, for fear of getting rid of it, or not delivering it in time."
Wang Shunyou wrote that "serving the people is not tiring, no matter how tired you are, you are happy."
In 2005, Wang Shunyou was elected as one of the top ten people who "moved China", and the award speech wrote: "He is as simple as a stone, a person, a horse, a legend in the history of world postal services..."
Shi Jin first met Wang Shunyou in 2005, "he looks so ordinary, not good at words, thick and simple almost wooden." In 2019, when Shi Jin saw him again in Xichang City, Liangshan Prefecture, "he was still like that, especially kind and simple, maintaining his original true colors."
Shi Jin interviewed Wang Shunyou many times before and after, and in 2012 wrote the reportage "100 Chinese Objects That Have Touched Since the Founding of New China: Wang Shunyou". She still remembers the words that Wang Shunyou said, "I am not afraid of difficulties, I am not afraid of hardship, I am afraid that others will say that I have not done a good job and am not kind to people." ”
He Yong said that Wang Shunyou is like a cow, burying his head in hard work and not being good at talking, and being serious and responsible in his work. "He also told me to actively move closer to the party organization, and my introduction to the party is still him."
Long-term high-altitude work
He suffered from high blood pressure, chest pain and other diseases
When Wang Yinhai was a child, his father Wang Shunyou was often not at home, and he always thought that his father could send letters to the mountains and rivers.
Wang Yinhai was born in his hometown of Baidi Township, Muli County, and when he was six or seven years old, his father took him to the county seat to study. He was very happy and thought that when he came to the county town, he could live with his father, but he soon found that "his father was still not at home."
Wang Shunyou's "Maban Post Road"
At that time, Wang Shunyou was responsible for the delivery of mail from Muli County to Baidi Township and Sanjue Township. Wang Yinhai recalled that as soon as his father went out, it was ten days and a half months, he was often handed over to his father's colleagues to take care of, and he studied in the county for two years, his father really couldn't take care of it, and Wang Yinhai was sent back to Baidi Township to live with his mother.
During the winter vacation of the second year of junior high school, Wang Yinhai finally had the opportunity to go with his father to deliver letters. "That morning, my father and I left before dawn." Wang Yinhai said that at first he felt very fresh, but the next day he began to eat it. In some sections, he had to ride a horse, but the horse not only carried letters and newspapers, but also the clothes and dry food of the father and son.
"My father saw that the horses were a little tired, so he carried me down and walked, he cherished the horses very much, and he was reluctant to ride them." Wang Yinhai said that on the way to deliver the letter, he had to cross a high mountain, the ice and snow on the mountain was very thick, "I remember that it has not passed my knees, I walked for a while, I felt cold and shivering."
With the encouragement of his father, Wang Yinhai successfully crossed the snowy mountain. After a few days, they arrived at Baidi Township, where the letter was delivered, "The villagers are very happy to see us send the letter, unlike now that everyone has a mobile phone and can call at any time, and at that time the letter was the only channel for mutual contact, and it was the most precious expectation of the villagers."
Wang Shunyou delivered the mail to the villagers
After delivering the letter in Baidi Township, Wang Yinhai and his father took a short rest, and then prepared to go to the next township, "I was really tired and paralyzed, but my father said that this trip, only a small part of the journey, I felt how hard my father's work was, I misunderstood him before."
After this journey, Wang Yinhai finally understood that the road his father had traveled was not easy. But he watched his father deliver letters to the villagers, and the moment the villagers got the letters, they all raised their eyebrows and respected their father, and Wang Yinhai also understood the significance of his father's work.
In 2006, Wang Yinhai became a staff member of the Muli County Post Office, which can also be regarded as "inheriting his father's business". "When I first went to work, I was very shy, and the unit leaders and colleagues used my father's education to motivate me, and gradually, I overcame the communication barrier. If my father was going out for a meeting or a presentation, I would send him an email. Wang Yinhai recalled.
Wang Yinhai introduced that his father was tired in his early years, worked at high altitudes for a long time, suffered from high blood pressure, chest pain and other diseases, and often needed to take medicine for treatment. Before my father died, he was in good shape, "this time it came more suddenly."
Wishes come true
With the improvement of traffic conditions, "Maban Post Road" became history
Muli is located on the southeast edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where the mountains are rolling and undulating, with an average altitude of 3,100 meters above sea level in the county, and more than 20 mountains above 5,000 meters above sea level. Due to the special geographical environment, muli's previous transportation and communications were very backward, and many townships did not have roads, telephones, and electricity. At that time, the delivery of mail was entirely carried by the township postman. In the 1960s, the township postman was gradually equipped with horses, and the Maban postal route was introduced.
In Muli, there are 15 Maban post roads, which are 2303 kilometers long one way. "In the past, Muli had highways in a few places such as the county seat, and there were more than a dozen lines on the Maban Postal Road, and one person in the far place was responsible for one township, and one person in the near place was responsible for several townships." He Yong told Red Star News that at most, there were more than twenty postmen on the "Maban Post Road".
On June 1, at Wang Shunyou's farewell ceremony, the family members wept with grief
Shi Jin told Red Star News that she interviewed Wang Shunyou many years ago and asked him what his biggest dream was. Wang Shunyou said: "I hope to build the Muli Highway well, our courier can drive a car to deliver mail, I hope I am the last Maban Post Road township postman." When he said this, Wang Shunyou's eyes were full of hope.
Due to years of running on the Maban Mail Road, Wang Shunyou fell ill, especially suffering from severe rheumatism and eye diseases. In June 2017, under the care of the organization, Wang Shunyou was no longer responsible for mail delivery work, and served as the deputy secretary of the party branch in Muli Postal Branch, engaged in party affairs management.
Also in 2017, Muli County's Sanjue Township opened a highway, Wang Shunyou's wish came true, and the "Maban Postal Road" disappeared and was replaced by a series of township roads, villagers used the Internet, mobile phones, and postmen also rode motorcycles.
"The time to deliver the letter is greatly shortened, and I have more opportunities to meet with Big Brother." Speaking of Wang Shunyou, He Yong was extremely sad, "But he didn't want to, he suddenly left." ”
Red Star News reporter Jiang Long Yang Ling Photo report Some of the pictures are provided by Shi Jin
Edited by Zhang Li
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