阿萍说「姑妈、鲁西西和张桂梅」#VisionaryWomen #ChooseToChallenge 「中英双语」
题图由阿萍提供
Aping provides the cover photo
———2021 IWD 挑战活动———
「我所知的有远见的女性」
#VisionaryWomen
#ChooseToChallenge
#IWD2021
阿萍说：
姑妈（我爸爸的姐姐）
在文革期间，我的姑妈下放到乡间劳动，当她知道高考要恢复之后，她靠着自己考上了医科大学，这在当时的家乡是少见，她更是家族这一辈里唯一一个考上大学的，这不仅意味着她突破了我爷爷奶奶重男轻女的束缚，更意味着她从此改变了自己的命运。她的经历也让我在初中就知道学习的重要性，让我成为学校里为数不多考进重点高中重点班的女生（因为我的初中是常年区倒数的学校，考上高中已经是一种胜利了。）
Aping says:
My aunt (my father's sister)
During the Cultural Revolution, my aunt was sent down to the countryside to do labour work. When she found out that the Gaokao (higher education entrance exam) were to be resumed, she registered, attended, and got herself into a medical school by herself, which was rare in her hometown at the time. She was the only one in her family's generation to go to a university, which meant that she broke the shackles of my grandparents' preference for sons over daughters and changed her own destiny from then on. Her experience also taught me the importance of studying in lower secondary school, making me one of the few girls in my school to get into a key class at a key upper secondary school (because my lower secondary school was one of the bottom schools in the district I lived in all year round, so getting into an upper secondary school could already be considered as a victory.)
鲁西西
她是郑渊洁笔下的童话人物，我当时正处于小学六年级，脑子里天天都在想一些问题，比如自己为什么要姓爸爸的姓而不是姓妈妈的、为什么要读书、人是怎么诞生到这个世界上、为什么别的女生都爱看言情小说我却喜欢看冒险类奇幻类的小说（导致我小学时格格不入，因为我不爱看言情）、为什么我一定要学会煮饭和洗碗……
鲁西西是跟她妈妈姓的，同时她的故事也告诉我和别的女生不一样也可以，不合群也可以，这对年幼的我来说是很重要的，也一直影响着我到现在。
Lu Xixi
She was a fairy tale character written by Zheng Yuanjie. I was in the sixth grade in primary school. My mind was filled with questions every day, such as why I had to take my father's surname instead of my mother's, why I had to study, how people are born into the world, why other girls love to read romance novels. Still, I prefer to read adventure fantasy novels (which caused me to be out of place in primary schools because I was not particularly eager to read romance), why I must learn to cook and wash dishes ......
Lu xixi taking her mother's surname and her story have taught me that it is okay to be different from other girls and that it was okay not to fit in was very important to me as a young girl and has influenced me this day.
张桂梅
张校长激励我的一点是她写的校训，也是我也把它抄在我笔记本的第一页。
她能在贫穷地区建立起一所女子高中，并且做出了成绩，这种坚持自己的信念并为之付出努力的女性，我觉得对我来说是一种震撼，她展现出了作为女性的更多的可能性。
Zhang Guimei
One of the things that inspired me about Headteacher Zhang was the school motto that she wrote and which I also copied onto the first page of my notebook.
Aping's handwritten notes
Hermione's translation:
I was born to be mountains, not just a shallow river.
I want to stand on top of the mountains to overlook the ordinary valleys.
I was born to be excellent instead of weeds.
I stand on the shoulders of the giants to contempt for the lowly coward.
She can build a girls' upper secondary school in a poor area and has made a difference. She is the kind of woman who stands up for what she believes in and works hard for it. What she does is a shock to me; she has shown more possibilities as a woman.
Hermione translated with the help of auto-translating service provided by www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
陶理碎碎念：
其实我们在3.7周末对谈中也提到了张校长，尽管不太认同她的不少教育理念以及她“虐待”自己身体的做法，但确实敢去做、敢去为贫困山区的女性教育确实做点什么，还是非常令人佩服的女性。
我还是坚持并非所有的人只有读大学这一条光明的改变自己人生的出路，但确实没有一条真正的生活出路存在不用学习、不用思考的捷径。
Hermione's comments:
In fact, we talked about this headteacher in our Sunday conversations. Despite disagreeing with many of her ideas about education and how she treats her body without proper care, I respect her brave actions in actually doing something for the girls in the poor villages.
I still insist that not all people only have one way (Gaokao) to have their bright future, to change their life. But there is no shortcut, no way people can live a true life without learning and thinking.