The life of a couple: a renowned university lecturer quits his job and lives in seclusion in the mountains.

In 2000, Professor Wang Qingting and his wife, also a lecturer at Peking University, took their savings of 3.5 million yuan and lived in seclusion in the mountains for 11 years, according to Sina News.

The story behind two lecturers at China's most prestigious university abandoning their dream jobs and becoming counter-intuitive has been revealed.

Leaving a government job to go to university.

Born in a poor rural area of Luoyang City, Henan Province (China), Wang Qingting's family had a tradition of farming. Children from impoverished families, trapped in remote mountain villages, often have limited opportunities in life.

Wang Qingting came from a poor background but excelled in the entrance exam to a top university in China.

The only way to change one's destiny is through hard work and diligent study. Aware of this, Thanh Tung strived and became one of the few young people in his village to earn a high school diploma. His outstanding academic achievements earned this poor student the opportunity to be directly recruited into a local government agency.

However, the job didn't last long, and the young man believed he could go further. So, as soon as the university entrance exam system was restored in 1979, Thanh Tung quit his civil servant position and studied day and night.

The young man achieved excellent results in the university entrance examination at the age of 22 and studied at Peking University. Wang Qingting graduated with a bachelor's degree in Political Science in 1979, a master's degree in Law in 1983, and stayed at Peking University to teach.

In 1985, a craze for "qigong for health" erupted in China. Drawing on his childhood martial arts experience, Wang Qingting seized on the trend and decided to establish health training classes at Peking University and other locations outside the university.

At that time, 10 yuan per class wasn't cheap, but every class was full, and he earned a considerable amount of money. It was also at these classes that Wang Qingting met his wife, Zhang Mei, who was also a lecturer in the English Department at Peking University.

In 1990, as the "healthcare" craze gradually faded, Wang Qingting's classes ceased, and he lost a crucial source of income.

Shocked by a series of failures.

Thanh Tùng returned to focusing on teaching in the classroom and wanted to pursue a PhD in Philosophy. He applied for a PhD program under the supervision of Professor Đường Nhất Kiệt of the Philosophy Department at Peking University but was rejected.

He returned to take his doctoral exam in Law but failed again. His pride and the fact that he had always had a smooth career for a long time caused Wang Qingting to be shocked and unable to accept the failure.

Having experienced such great success for so long, teacher Vuong Thanh Tung was shocked when he faced failure. He and his wife resigned from their jobs and went to live in seclusion in the mountains.

Meanwhile, his wife also faced challenges at work. In 1995, he took her to a small mountain village located at the crossroads of Hebei Province and Beijing to relax. After living in the mountain village for a few days, Wang Qingting felt his previous life was too stifling.

The couple submitted their resignations and quietly left with their savings of 3.5 million RMB. At the time, this was a huge sum of money, and this solid financial foundation gave Wang Qingting and his wife the confidence to quit their jobs.

The couple retreated to the mountains and began a self-sufficient life, growing crops and raising pigs, goats, and cattle on a 2,500-acre plot of land leased for 200,000 RMB annually for 50 years. They had a son, Wang Xiaoyu. When the child was seven years old, a close friend came to visit Wang Qingting and his wife.

The child was frightened by the camera and asked his parents what it was. That was the moment the couple knew it was time to return to the city.

In 2011, Wang Qingting and his wife sold their property in the mountains, ending 11 years of secluded living and bringing their son back to the city. He contacted an old friend for help.

The moment when Professor Wang Shitong's wife—also a former lecturer at Peking University—and their son were working in the mountains was captured by a friend's camera.

On March 19, 2011, reporter Tang Shizeng, working at Xinhua News Agency, unexpectedly received a call from an old friend. Reporter Tang Shizeng subsequently wrote an article about his friend's experience, which was published and attracted widespread attention throughout China.

Wang's family immediately attracted media attention with headlines such as "Peking University teacher flees into the mountains." Newspapers invited him for interviews, but he chose to distance himself from the public eye. Wang Qingting enrolled his child in a primary school affiliated with Peking University.

In 2020, Tang Shizeng's friend still mentioned Wang Qingting in videos shared on social media and stated that he respected his privacy.

Chinese social media still frequently mentions Wang Qingting's story. Some people believe that in life, there are times when you feel tired and need to rest for a while to make the journey better, but if you try to escape reality in exchange for peace, the result may not be what you expect.

(Source: Vietnamnet)

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