8/12/2026
On American social media, I recently came across the story of two Chinese boys, Zhu Jinxiang (朱金祥) and Zhong Huaqiang (钟华强), who grew up in the same village in Jiangxi Province, China.
Zhong was born with cerebral palsy and could not walk normally. Beginning in elementary school, Zhu and his classmates took turns helping him get to school and classrooms.
From elementary school through high school, Zhu and Zhong were repeatedly classmates and eventually became desk mates, sharing the same desk in the classroom.
As they grew older, Zhu became the person who regularly carried Zhong to school and around the campus. He continued doing so through middle school and high school—roughly ten years in all.
But their friendship was never one-sided.
Although Zhong was physically disabled, he was excellent academically and often helped Zhu with subjects such as mathematics and English. Zhu said that whenever he felt disappointed or discouraged, Zhong would encourage him. In other words, Zhu provided physical support, while Zhong provided academic and emotional support.
In 2023, they took the Gaokao together and hoped to attend the same university. Zhong went on to university, while Zhu decided to repeat his senior year because his score was not high enough.
Their story made me think again about today's young Chinese.
It is easy to look at the phenomenon of 啃老族—young adults who remain dependent on their parents—and conclude that an overprotected generation has become less resilient or less willing to shoulder responsibility.
China is a vast country, with enormous differences in family background, geography, economic circumstances, and upbringing. We should be careful not to turn one social phenomenon into a description of an entire generation.
There are many young people who did not grow up in highly protected environments. In some rural and less affluent families, children may have had to become independent and take on responsibilities at a relatively young age. Many of them develop strong willpower, resilience, and a willingness to shoulder responsibility.
Zhu and Zhong remind us that people born in the same decade can grow up under dramatically different circumstances.
Within the same generation, we can find young people who grew up highly protected, as well as young people capable of extraordinary responsibility, sacrifice, loyalty, and mutual support.
This makes me wonder: What circumstances help cultivate these qualities? What kinds of childhood experiences encourage independence, resilience, and responsibility? And what conditions, by contrast, may foster dependence or difficulty coping with adversity?
Most importantly, Zhu and Zhong remind us that China is too large and diverse to be reduced to a single generational stereotype.
Resilience does not belong to one generation. Neither does compassion.
In the end, what makes their story so touching is not simply that Zhu carried Zhong for ten years, but that both boys showed qualities of loyalty, kindness, resilience, and mutual support that are deeply admirable and inspiring.
A young friend’s encouraging words to me today , “您能坚持每天写作已经非常难能可贵了！好文章需要时间发酵和传播！写作本身也是一件滋养自己、记录思考的美好事情。您的视角和深度很有价值，相信用心输出慢慢会被更多人看到！”