The Story of time
Liu Yuzhi, 80, began to collect newspapers in 1963, and for more than half a century, he has collected more than 50,000 chinese newspapers and more than 700,000 copies, covering various periods since the Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China and the founding of New China, spanning more than 100 years.
In 1963, Liu Yuzhi entered the former Guiyang Flour Mill as a correspondent, only the third grade of primary school education level, he is quite difficult to write, often feel that "the book is used when the party hates less." "For me at the time, learning more about culture was the most important thing. Every day, as soon as the newspaper arrived, I couldn't wait to open it and read it carefully, and copied down the practical words, sentences, and paragraphs. Sometimes I read something I like in a newspaper and cut it out and paste it in a small book. He said.
In 1964, Liu Yuzhi decided to develop the hobby of collecting newspapers into an important career. He learned from his colleagues that the inaugural issue of Guizhou Daily, an old newspaper he had accidentally found in an old market in Guiyang, had a very high collection value. Liu Yuzhi thus became acquainted with the newspaper. He began to gradually expand his scope, and newspapers of various types, many eras, and historical significance became the objects of his collection. Newspapers come from three main sources: subscriptions, antique cities, and scrap collection stations.
"Newspapers are a good thing, they are familiar with astronomical geography, and they span ancient and modern China and abroad." In order to collect newspapers, Liu Yuzhi traveled to various waste collection stations in the province and Guiyang City, rummaged through the reference rooms of government agencies and schools, and even went to Panjiayuan, Liulichang and Shanghai's Cultural Street and Antique Market in Beijing to "pick up leaks".
When my father's salary was only a few tens of yuan, he had to spend 5,000 yuan to recover the bound copy of the Ta Kung Pao from 1917 to 1927 from the shredder. In order to save money, the 60s also took a hard-seat train from Guiyang for nearly 30 hours to Beijing, and made a special trip to Panjiayuan to look for newspapers. Liu Yuzhi's daughter Liu Guijiang said.
When he gets a copy, Liu Yuzhi will lose sleep due to excitement; for the final publication of a newspaper, he will be lost to tears. Liu Yuzhi regarded these papers and Chinese characters as treasures and continued to collect them. He always firmly believed that the collection of newspapers was actually treasured history, and this kind of wealth could not be exchanged for money.
The accumulation of more than 50 years has made Liu Yuzhi's collection of newspapers amazing. Among them, there are the "Declaration" during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, which has high historical value, the "Political Official's Daily" at the end of the Qing Dynasty, and the first issue of "People's Daily" after the founding of New China. There are also various special newspapers such as trial issue numbers and inaugural issues, as well as various special newspapers such as "Gold News", "China's First Tabloid", "Silk Newspaper" and "Umbrella Newspaper".
The number of newspapers is huge, it is very difficult to preserve, and behind each newspaper, there is an unknown hardship and the understanding and support of the family.
In the eyes of the family, because of this complete "revenge", the home of only 50 square meters of the original Guiwu Road did not even have a place to get off the feet. Reluctant to add furniture, pulling a stack of newspapers is a stool, wife Jiang Xuemei can't remember how many times she and Liu Yuzhi quarreled, but whenever it is necessary to sort, dry, and copy these Tibetan newspapers, wives and children still silently help each other, they understand that these yellowed papers are the respect and thirst for knowledge of the "newspaper idiots".
From the arduous road of choosing to collect newspapers to the present, Liu Yuzhi has always had a sincere and pure heart: let more people understand the historical value of newspapers and benefit from newspapers.
In 2006, after retiring, Liu Yuzhi rented a wasteland in Yongle Township, Nanming District, and with the support of his family, he pulled wires, set up water pipes, mixed cement, and built the largest private newspaper library in Guizhou brick by brick.
After 6 years of cold and summer, 3 brick buildings were finally built, and the peach plums and bamboo in the courtyard have also been shaded. Liu Yuzhi divided the newspaper museum into a 300-square-meter exhibition hall, a 200-square-meter collection hall and a 100-square-meter warehouse. Bright lighting allows for better preservation of those newspapers. Liu Yuzhi also purchased and made bookcase shelves to give the Tibetan newspaper more space to display.
During the period of continuous improvement of the newspaper library, Liu Yuzhi provided free materials to the outside world and received countless newspaper friends from all over the country. He regularly displays the fine works of the collection newspaper, greets the learning activities of the school and the unit, and never stops on the road of transmitting positive energy.
Tibetan newspaper is not only a personal wealth, but also the wealth of society, Liu Yuzhi hopes, "recounting the past, thinking of the comers", through the display, reading, research of old newspapers, to arouse more people to remember history, do not forget the original heart, be grateful, and inspire people to continue to struggle and pursue their dreams.
Photo/ Zhao Song
Part of the information is from/Guizhou Daily
Editor/Ting Xu
Editor/Liao Xun
Editor/Wu Qian, Xia Jin
Posted/Xu Ting