64 years of diaries looks into man's life and China's changing society

Fan Wenzhi supports the stack of all his diaries. [Photo by Wang Xiaochen/for chinadaily.com.cn]

Many people take up the habit of writing in a diary, but few of them maintain the habit for over 60 years.

Fan Wenzhi, an 84-year-old retired teacher from Harbin, the capital city of Heilongjiang, has written nearly four million words in 60 diaries since 1953.

"In my diaries, there is transient everydayness and also political, social and economic problems," Fan told a local media. "No matter how late, I will write in the diary before going to bed."

Sixty-four years ago, when Fan was studying in Mudanjiang Normal School, his Chinese teacher advised students to write in a diary everyday to improve their writing.

"Before that, I knew little about diaries and much less about how to write in one," said Fan. "After gaining the writing skills of a diary, writing in a diary became my daily task."

Since then, the habit has never been interrupted even when Fan was ill or traveled to other cities.

Fan numbered all of his diaries in chronological order to easily look back at his memories.

"Writing in a diary also made me have an indissoluble bond with Chinese," said Fan. "Through the habit, I fell in love with Chinese literature and became a Chinese teacher after graduation."

The diaries have recorded the important times of his family, including the birth of his children and when they moved into new homes.

"I am getting older and older, which makes me forget much of the past. Therefore, I often read my diaries in my spare time," said Fan. "It can help me capture more memories and also enjoy more happiness of my life."

The diaries also recorded how times have changed through the years.

"When I read the record of the Spring Festival in 1957 to my grandchildren, they didn't understand at all," said Fan. "At that time, we could only eat dumplings during the Spring Festival, which is unimaginative for them."

The old man also recorded how the family spent the Spring Festival in recent years.

"Life is becoming better and better. We can go to the restaurant to have the Spring Festival dinner. Delicious food is no longer rare," he said.

In previous decades, the family has moved seven times from a six-square-meter room to an 80-square-meter apartment, which was also recorded in the details of his diaries.

"Besides recalling, the diaries can help me self-reflect," said Fan. "When I did something incorrect, I also wrote that and self-criticized in my diaries, which helped me not make the same mistake again."

"I enjoy immersing myself in the diaries because there is my history, my experiences and my inspiration. I will stick with it," the old man said firmly.