[Fuman’s story prompted an influx of donations to the school and youth charities totaling at least $330,000. Local officials said they would start a program to provide winter clothes to impoverished children in the region.]
By Javier C. Hernández
 |
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Wang Fuman, 8, has become
a symbol of the plight of the tens of millions of poor
Chinese children who grow
up largely on their own after their parents leave
to work in big cities.
Credit Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
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BEIJING
— On a bitterly cold morning
this month, Wang Fuman, 8, set out for school as he usually did, walking 2.8
miles through mountains and streams until he reached the warmth of his
third-grade classroom.
When Fuman arrived two hours later, his
classmates erupted in laughter. The freezing temperatures had covered his hair,
eyebrows and eyelashes with frost, making him look like a snowman. His cheeks
were chapped and bright red.
Fuman’s teacher at the Zhuanshanbao primary
school, in the southern province of Yunnan, snapped a photograph and posted it
on WeChat, a popular Chinese messaging app. Soon, the boy became an internet
sensation, hailed by commenters as a symbol of the raw determination of rural
residents, who make up about 43 percent of China’s population.
The state-run media called him “frost boy”
and “ice boy.”
Chinese boy arrives at school with frozen
hair! Little Wang, what a trooper!! #IceBoy https://t.co/Ua5IohzOPQ
pic.twitter.com/wQfm2FRPPK
— Rhys Williamson (@rhyswilliamson) Jan. 12,
2018
“Heartwarming,” one user wrote on Weibo, a
microblogging site. “Please don’t forget your original dreams.”
Some called him a national hero.
“Some people see beauty and hope in his
simple and honest face,” one newspaper wrote. “From this little man, foreigners
far away will see the great effort and strength of the Chinese nation.”
But the photo of Fuman shined a light on the
plight of the tens of millions of so-called left-behind children who grow up in
impoverished rural areas largely on their own after their parents leave to work
in big cities. The social fabric that once held together the Chinese
countryside is falling apart as millions of workers move away to chase dreams
of prosperity.
Many left-behind children like Fuman live
with their grandparents. They face a variety of obstacles, including
malnutrition, dilapidated homes and poor access to transportation. Scores of
rural schools have been shut in recent years, forcing many children to travel
long distances to attend classes.
Those difficulties contribute to high dropout
rates among rural children, a crisis that is hurting China’s ability to train a
highly skilled work force.
“There are so many similar incidents of
hardship for left-behind children in China every day,” said Kam Wing Chan, a
professor at the University of Washington who studies China’s rural-urban
divide.
Mr. Chan said the government could keep
families together by helping them move together to large cities. But many
cities impose strict rules on who qualifies for benefits like education and
health care, in effect treating rural migrants as second-class citizens.
President Xi Jinping has vowed to eliminate
extreme poverty by 2020, but it will not be easy. Many families live in
isolated areas cut off from modern roads, schools and hospitals. While urban
areas are growing rapidly richer, about 500 million Chinese, or about 40
percent of the population, live on less than $5.50 per day, according to the
World Bank.
Fuman’s story drew many uplifting comments
online, but it also provoked some cynicism about China’s efforts to eliminate
poverty.
“We can’t solve poverty,” one Weibo user
wrote, “but we can praise poverty.”
Photos of Fuman’s hands, swollen and
blistered, also circulated on social media. Internet users praised his
penmanship and noted the image of his hands also showed a near-perfect score on
an exam.
Students at Fuman’s school told state news
outlets that they lacked clothing to stay warm, and that it was common for
their hair to freeze during their long commutes.
Fuman’s story prompted an influx of donations
to the school and youth charities totaling at least $330,000. Local officials
said they would start a program to provide winter clothes to impoverished
children in the region.
In an interview with the state broadcaster
China Central Television, Fuman recounted his daily journey to school. On the
day that his teacher took the photo, he said, he had forgotten his hat and
gloves.
Fuman and his older sister live with their
grandmother, who is ill, his father, Wang Gangkui, said by telephone on
Saturday. The children’s grandfather is in prison, he said.
Mr. Wang often works as a construction worker
in Kunming, about 250 miles away from Fuman’s home in Ludian County. Fuman’s
mother left the family two years ago, Mr. Wang said. He said he had to work far
away because the family was heavily in debt.
“All the other villagers look down upon us,”
he said.
Mr. Wang said he hoped for a brighter future
for his children.
“I worry about them all the time,” he said.
“I hope they both can make it to college and find a stable job.”
Fuman told the Chinese network CCTV that he
hoped to go to a university in Beijing and become a police officer or a
scientist.
“Even though I’m now an internet sensation,”
he said, “I shouldn’t be proud.”
Iris Zhao contributed research.
Follow Javier C. Hernández on Twitter:
@HernandezJavier.