Farmer writer Liu Liuliang: physically disabled but strong-willed, pursuing the literary dream

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Liu Liuliang is writing.

According to a report in the Langfang Daily, he came from a poor family but always carried a literary dream, and his very first attempt at writing was published in Oriental Youth; he had little education but kept studying diligently, and eventually was admitted to Hebei College of Industry and Commerce to study Chinese Language and Literature; he was in a car accident, but with a disabled body and a strong will, he turned years of cultural accumulation into ink-scented words and became a farmer writer of unyielding spirit. He is Liu Liuliang, a villager of Wangbo Village, Wangzhuangzi Township, Bazhou City.

A first try at writing opens the literary dream

Liu Liuliang is 48 this year and has loved reading since childhood. Because his family was poor, Liu Liuliang left school after graduating from junior high. But his love of literature did not fade away with his steps out of the school gate. In those days, he borrowed and read every book he could find. Whenever he had pocket money, he headed straight for the bookstore.

In 1991, he completed his debut work, "Pangdun Becomes Class Monitor," and published it in Oriental Youth, sponsored by the Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles. This novel of more than 8,000 words set a relatively high starting point for his later literary creation.

In November of that year, he was invited to attend the "Huairou Writing Retreat" organized by Oriental Youth, where he received face-to-face guidance from the leaders of the magazine's editorial department. In 1992, he also took part in the correspondence writing course of Shanghai's Juvenile Literature and Art and won the "New Bud Award."

He successively published many novels and fairy tales in publications such as Beijing's Children's Literature, and won the second prize in Children's Literature's "Imagination Essay Contest."

Because he was busy making a living, Liu Liuliang once interrupted his literary creation. It was not until 2000 that he took up the pen again, focusing mainly on new story writing, and from July 2000 he continued to publish works. To date he has published more than 800 works of various kinds, including original stories and essays. Because of his outstanding creative achievements, in May 2000 he was invited to attend the "Seventh Story Creation Seminar" of Shanghai's Story Collection; in October 2001 he attended the "Wudang Mountain and Shennongjia Writing Retreat" organized by Wuhan's Legends of Past and Present - Story Edition; in June 2002 he attended the "Three Gorges Writing Retreat" organized by Wuhan's Legends of Past and Present - Story Edition...

From that time on, he kept writing tirelessly and therefore won numerous awards. In 2003, he was specially engaged by the "Story Party" website as a part-time tutoring teacher for the "Story Online School." Many of the students he tutored became quite accomplished storytellers.

An accident strengthens his will

In 2012, Liu Liuliang became disabled because of a car accident, which seriously affected his normal work and life and also made him lose confidence in life for a time. Lying in the hospital bed, he declined all visits from relatives and friends, keeping company only with books.

When he was fitted with a prosthetic limb, Liu Liuliang saw that many disabled people were in very serious condition, and some children had no choice but to have amputations at just four or five years old, yet they still faced life positively and optimistically. This made Liu Liuliang deeply aware of the preciousness of life.

"The past belongs to death, the future belongs to yourself." Liu Liuliang said that at the time it was this sentence by Pushkin that inspired him. Only when a person puts down his burdens can he gain more happiness and realize his own value. He firmly believes that the car accident was a test life gave him, and that no matter when, he will never leave literature.

His disability did not affect his creation; instead, it calmed his mind. During that period, Liu Liuliang had works published one after another, which helped him rediscover the value of his existence. In 2013, he published his personal collection "One Person's Wedding Photos" and joined the Hebei Writers Association. In 2014, he published "Things in Stories," and in the same year was selected by the Publicity Department of Hebei Province as one of the first "Yanzhao Cultural Stars."

At present, Liu Liuliang is a member of the Hebei Writers Association, a member of the Hebei Folk Literature and Art Association, and a council member of the Langfang Folk Literature and Art Association, and is quite well known in the circle.

A conviction makes him resolutely pursue his dream

In 2015, after learning about Liu Liuliang's situation, Zhao Deping, chairman of Dachang Pingju Song and Dance Troupe Performing Arts Co., Ltd., made a special trip to find him, hoping he could shift from story writing to script writing, and encouraged him to go to the Dachang Pingju Song and Dance Troupe for full-time script writing.

At the beginning of this year, Liu Liuliang officially became a member of the Dachang Pingju Song and Dance Troupe. There, he humbly learned from playwrights and actors and improved his creative level in the shortest possible time. Now, in just half a year, he has already participated in the planning of several film and television dramas, some of which have already entered script creation.

The micro-film "Shell Casing," adapted from Liu Liuliang's work, has been completed and released online by the Film and Television Department of the Dachang Pingju Song and Dance Troupe and the Dachang County Discipline Inspection Commission; the micro-play "The Old Man at the Window," adapted from his original story, has also been brought to the stage and become a repertory program of the troupe; next, the troupe also wants Liu Liuliang to adapt a story he once wrote into a musical short play...

Zhao Deping also wants Liu Liuliang to learn to write Pingju scripts, so that he can reach a new level in creation. In the days to come, Liu Liuliang says his dream for literature will never end, and he will always follow the voice within, stick to his own style, and create more and better works.