CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- Though only having received junior high school education, he was a book worm! The old man selling vegetables who recited poems on the metro got popular!

A farmer in Chongqing, on his way home by rail transit after finished selling vegetables, when passing by the brightly lit Hongyadong, he couldn't help but recite while enjoying its beauty. Such scene was casually photographed by a passenger beside him and posted online, and netizens praised him for his "literary talent and outstanding eloquence!" The reporter recently found the man in the video. He said that his unintentional reciting was the result of years of reading, and he smiled, "I can't live a day without reading!"

Though only having received junior middle school education,
he loves reading so much that he even forgets food and sleep

This man is called Wang Guangkui, 56 years old, a native in Changshou, Chongqing, who makes a living by farming.

When the reporter met him, he was selling eggs brought from his hometown in a residential area in Yubei, wearing a blue cloth shirt, without wrinkles, with a copy of Weekly Digest in one pocket and a cell phone for seniors in the other. Although the leather shoes on his feet looked old and had already faded, there was no visible stains on them.

He said he never used a smartphone and rarely surfed the Internet so he didn’t learn that the video about him accidentally reciting on the metro had spread among people online until one of his relatives jokingly told him, "Wang, you are now an internet celebrity!"

Wang Guangkui said that after finishing selling vegetables that day, he returned from Beibei to the home of one of his relatives in Yuzhong District. As he passed by Hongyadong, he was touched by the spectacular night scenery and inspired by it. He then walked to the window and recited, "Looking at Chongqing, the mountain city, under the spreading shades of dusk, it is magnificently illuminated with brilliant lights or fireworks. Splendid and magnificent Hongyadong is like a fairy city, beautiful and magnificent..."

He didn't expect his casual words could be praised by so many people. He couldn't help but burst out laughing and used four idioms in a row: "Netizens have praised me too much. I am just a man of the people, uneducated and with little talent and learning, so I don’t deserve such fame! Thank you all for your attention to my interests and hobbies. I hope we can learn together, encourage it, encourage it..."

Wang Guangkui said shyly that he only had received junior high school education, but he loved reading books for many years and always takes newspapers with him for reading. When on the bus or metro, he read newspapers while others surf the Internet on their phones. He usually read on the toilet or at break when working in the fields, so he was so thirst for reading that he could forget food and sleep, and he was even considered to "lose his mind".

Well-read, he could recite classic works without too much hesitation

Wang Guangkui loved reading so much that it can be said that he was "crazy". He read every book around him, and even his children's Compositions and Chinese textbooks of junior and senior high school, were read repeatedly by him. He also went to the bookstore during his free time, sitting and reading for half a day without even taking a sip of water.

His favorite ancient Chinese writers include Li Bai, Du Fu, Wang Anshi, Lu You, and Li Qingzhao, and his favorite modern writers include Ba Jin and Guo Moruo; he also read martial arts novels, such as those of Jin Yong and Liang Yusheng; the foreign writers he loves most include Alexandre Dumas, Alexandre Dumas fils, Flaubert, Balzac, and Hugo.

He said that he couldn't help but memorize them when reading words, phrases, and paragraphs that he likes. Sometime he would read them aloud repeatedly and keep them in mind. As he said, he recited his favorite poems to the reporter. For example, Gao Shi's Farewell to Dong Da Two and Farewell to Secretary-Treasurer Li Demoted to Xiazhong and Secretary-Treasurer Wang Demoted to Changsha, Li Bai's Ode to Hard Roads to Sichuan and Bai Juyi's Song of the Lute Player, he recited them all in one breath fluently.

When reciting, Mr. Wang narrowed his eyes slightly and raised the corners of his lips, looking very enjoyable.

Being obsessed with reading, he was once called a chairwarmer

What made Wang Guangkui a little regretful was that he didn't read much before the age of 20, when he was indulged in playing all day, and wasted his time. It wasn't until he developed a strong interest in books that he realized that reading was the happiest thing in life.

He sighed that mobile phones had occupied the lives of a lot of people now, and some people around him didn't like reading books and were addicted to watching funny videos or playing mahjong, which made him feel very sorry.

Mr. Wang is obsessed with reading and even oblivious of himself, and he sometimes speaks in a "literary manner", so some of his friends consider him out of place, and even his parents think that he does "not attend to his proper works" – " Why don’t you study how to make money to support your family? What's the use of reading? Can reading bring extra income?" When faced with such an occasion, he always smiles and explains casually. "Only those who loves reading can understand the joy of reading."

Wang Guangkui has always made a living by farming, occasionally selling some eggs, vegetables, and fruits in the downtown areas, only earning over 2,000 yuan a month. Although he is not very rich, he believes that he is very happy with books and poetry with him. Sometimes he also writes ragged verses and practices calligraphy, immersed in the rich spiritual world.

As he said, there were fewer and fewer eggs in the basket beside him, and hundreds of eggs were quickly sold out. Lady Chen, a resident living in this community, praised that the eggs he sold were fresh and the yolks were bright in color, and she always came to buy his eggs.

He smiled and thanked the old lady.

"One must have pride, but not arrogance..." Wang Guangkui walked away carrying a pole and two empty baskets, leaving behind a hearty laugh. (Translated by Hu Chuanmin, Fathom Language Limited)