Lhasa, , CHINA

Mar 28, 2024 8:11 AM

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Ding Ting / Xinhua News Agency/Newscom

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Ding Ting

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(240328) -- LHASA, March 28, 2024 (Xinhua) -- Phutsering in traditional Tibetan costumes prepares to go to offer a voluntary introduction at a memorial hall marking the emancipation of more than one million serfs in Lhasa, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, March 23, 2024. Born in 1944 in Bainang County of Xigaze City, Phutsering was raised in a former serf family. A humble shack, situated near the manor where his mother toiled as a serf, served as his childhood home. Meanwhile, his father, employed at a separate manor, struggled to make ends meet by farming and crafting during lean months, barely generating sufficient income to cover the rent and taxes for their dwelling and fields. At the age of thirteen, he greeted a big change in his life, when he entered a primary school. After the democratic reform in Xizang in 1959, Phutsering got more opportunities to study."The chance to learn was a true gift, significantly expanding my perspective," said Phutsering. "As a Tibetan proverb says, knowledge is more valuable than pearls and agates," he said. Upon his graduation in 1965, he joined the publicity department in Xigaze, where he started working as a Tibetan-Chinese translator. In 1999, he studied English at the School of International Studies at Peking University for four months. Following his retirement in 2002, he furthered his education in computer skills at the regional bureau of veterans cadre in Lhasa in 2007. To give back to society, Phutsering later served as a primary school teacher in Lhasa. "I was once illiterate, but education changed my fate, and I know the importance of receiving education," said Phutsering. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)