Migrant worker wins CCTV poetry medal

Migrant worker Zhu Yanjun, 50, has only a junior high school education, but he surprised audiences by winning a silver medal on a TV show about Chinese poetry on Feb 3.

From Weigou village in Pingliang, Gansu province, Zhu was in the spotlight of China Central Television's annual Chinese poetry competition.

"He has been enthusiastic about poetry since childhood," said Zhu's neighbor Zhang Dong, noting that they grew up together.

Zhu said, "I usually wrote down poems I got from watching TV, and would look up dictionaries to check their meanings."

He started participating in the program in 2020. Over the years he has read and studied poetry virtually every day.

After receiving a notice to participate in the competition in December, Zhu plunged full-time into reviewing poems and related knowledge.

"I was very nervous, because it was the first time I showed myself on such an influential program," he said.

However, Zhu said he didn't care much about the results. The largest gain for him was that he made many friends — people also interested and knowledgeable about poetry.

"Learning from them, I will continue to enrich my knowledge of poetry," he said. "I hope I can help people around me appreciate the charm of Chinese poetry."