Couple's life inspires viewers during poetry competition

A curtain-making couple recently caught many viewers' attention on a TV program on Chinese poems broadcast by China Central Television, inspiring many to pursue their dreams.

Liao Peisheng, 41, and Liu Xiaohui, 39, are small business owners running a shop selling curtains in Linyi, East China's Shandong province, since 2013.

Despite spending the days with rulers and sewing machines, they never think of their lives as dull, and this is all thanks to a common interest that they share – poetry.

Having been married for nearly 20 years, the duo has a clear set of goals and division of labor. Liu sews tailor-made curtains for customers while Liao is in charge of installation.

"I like reading ancient poems and rhymes, especially the works of Su Shi, a Song Dynasty (960-1279) poet," said Liu. "After I got married, I would read poems whenever I could with my husband."

Liao, on the other hand, loves a single line from a poem by Tang Dynasty (618-907) poet Du Fu, believing that it is the truest portrayal of his life.

"Prosperity comes from diligence, and knowledge comes from continuous learning," said Liao.

Finding joy in reading and recitation, the two weaved poetry into their daily routines. From walls plastered with pages of rhymes to calendars that have a poem written for each day of the year, poetry permeates every detail of the couple's lives.

"Poetry gives me power," Liu said. "Making curtains is hard work, but poetry makes this hard work sweet."

One of the couple's longtime dreams was participating in the Chinese Poetry Competition, an annual television program telecast nationwide, and making it past all the preliminaries.

"We have this dream since 2016, we dream that one day we will step onto its main stage," said Liu.

The two signed up consecutively for 6 years. In 2021, only Liao made it to the one-thousand-participants preliminaries, then both made it to the one-hundred-participants preliminaries the year after.

This year, they finally made it to the semi-finals of the program that started to broadcast on Jan 25.

On stage, Liu introduced herself to the audience, "I am Liao Peisheng's wife from Linyi, Shandong province. My name is Liu Xiaohui and I came out on top of the one-hundred-participants preliminaries."

Liao, on the other hand, watched from the side and cheered as camera focused on him.

Off the stage, other contestants wondered what would happen if the couple were paired against each other in the coming rounds, but the couple wasn't concerned.

"Achievement is secondary," said Liu. "Our dream has already come true."

After earning herself a participation medal, Liu and Liao returned to their normal lives as the competition came to a conclusion on Feb 3.

Occasionally, a customer may recognize their faces due their performances on the TV program, but life stays mostly on course for the two.

"Our life is plain and ordinary, but there's nothing wrong with such a life, right?" asked Liao.