In Yongle Township, Nanming District, there is such an old man who has spent more than half a century collecting newspapers. His name is Liu Yuzhi, and he is a retired employee of the Guiyang Municipal Grain Bureau. From the beginning of the newspaper clipping collection in 1963 to the completion of the "Liu Yuzhi Newspaper Library" in 2012, it has cost him nearly 60 years of painstaking efforts, so far, his newspaper collection has collected more than 700,000 newspapers, leaving posterity with cultural treasures that cannot be measured by money.
Newspapers were the most direct way to obtain information in their time, and Liu Yuzhi, in his twenties, was eager to obtain useful cultural knowledge from newspapers, and since then, he has always carried newspapers with him and read them when he has time.
Mr. Liu was flipping through his collection of newspapers.
Once, Liu Yuzhi accidentally found the inaugural issue of "Guizhou Daily" in the flea market, and his colleague told him that this is a newspaper recorded by the provincial party committee organs to record the major events of the times, which is a major news, because it can no longer be published, so it is of great commemorative significance. This also allowed Liu Yuzhi to further understand the value and meaning of newspapers, and thus embarked on the road of collecting newspapers.
Liu Yuzhi is sorting out his collection of newspapers.
In order to collect newspapers, he went to Panjiayuan in Beijing, Liulichang, And Shanghai's Cultural Street and Antique Market, ran all over the province and city waste collection stations, and went to the reference rooms of government agencies and schools to look for them. Once in Guiyang Xiao cross waste collection station stumbled upon a set of "Ta Kung Pao" (1917-1927 bound edition), when his salary was only a few tens of yuan, pieced together, borrowed from relatives and friends, only enough to buy more than 5,000 yuan. In order to save money, take a hard-seat train from Guiyang for nearly 30 hours to Beijing and go to Panjiayuan to look for newspapers.
Newspapers are very afraid of tide, afraid of light, afraid of ashes, in order to protect the newspaper better, Liu Yuzhi moved home 6 times, in 2006, due to his limited economic conditions, high prices of houses in urban areas, large demand for Tibetan newspaper area, he chose to move to the countryside. Before, he rented a large house, and when it rained, the roof of the house leaked rain, and many newspapers were soaked, which made him very distressed, so he had the experience of moving successively.
Finally, in 2012, with the support of the Yongle Township Government and the Shitang Village Branch Committee at that time, the first newspaper museum in the township was built, and it was named after Liu Yuzhi, which made him feel very happy and proud.
The "Liu Yuzhi Collection Newspaper Library" has collected more than 700,000 newspapers, including mainstream newspapers and periodicals before and after the founding of New China, party newspapers at the prefecture, city, and county level in various places, covering yearbooks, historical records, trial issues, inaugural issues, etc. from all over the country, among which there is the first issue of "People's Daily" after the founding of New China, the collector's edition "Gold Leaf Newspaper", "China's First Tabloid", "Silk Newspaper" and "Umbrella Newspaper"...
Liu Yuzhi presents his collection of the world's smallest newspaper, The Talent Show Pictorial.
Walking into the newspaper library, all you can see is the tip of the iceberg of Liu Yuzhi's collection, and every word and painting exudes the atmosphere of the times of that special year. In particular, those in addition to the inaugural, resumed, and final issues, as well as major historical events, are even more breathtaking.
Liu Yuzhi is enthusiastic about introducing visitors to his collection of newspapers.
"After the opening of the museum, many students, teachers, and experts and scholars came here to read and study, government agencies and units came here to find publications, borrow newspapers to hold exhibitions, many young people came here to visit and study, and even students from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and Canada." These are their messages, very touching..." Liu Yuzhi touched the reader's message book over and over again, and said emotionally.
At present, in order to welcome the victory of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the "Liu Yuzhi Collection Newspaper Museum" will continue to carry out the exhibition of red party newspapers, and help more young people to understand the unforgettable history of today's happy life by displaying pictures and newspapers that record the glorious history of the rise, struggle and development of the Communist Party of China.
"Newspapers are my life's work, and as long as I'm alive, I'm going to pass them on to future generations." From sporadic newspaper clippings to special collections, Liu Yuzhi said firmly.
History needs to be remembered, civilization needs to be inherited, the times need warriors, and we need ordinary people like Liu Yuzhi who have been silently doing extraordinary feats all their lives! (Text/Figure Tang Wen, Zhao Song)