Tomb-guarding for iconic poet is act of good faith

HEFEI — Gu Changxin, 55, is the 49th generation tomb keeper in his family, for Li Bai, ancient China’s iconic Tang Dynasty (618-907) poet, who died in what is now Anhui province in East China.

Gu’s family has the responsibility of keeping a millennia-old promise made to Li.

Their ancestor Gu Lanxin gifted the bedridden poet a good plot of land in today’s Gujia village, Dangtu

county, in 762 to be used as his final resting place, and vowed to guard his graveyard out of respect and their long-standing friendship.

Li is a household name in China in much the same way as Shakespeare is in the United Kingdom, or Tagore in India.

He lived between 701 and 762, considered a golden age of Chinese poetry, and his work is brimful of patriotism and romanticism.

Gu’s generational relay of guarding the tomb serves as a great testimony to Li’s famous verse on good faith, “hai yue shang ke qing, tu nuo zhong bu yi”, meaning that, even if the oceans dry up and mountains fall apart, the promise made remains unchangeable.

Chinese people have long cherished good faith as one of their top values and essential virtues in life and pursued harmony.

In Dangtu county, the good faith of the locals has not just solidified a good reputation, but also brought tangible benefits.

In August 2019, the county launched a pilot credit-rating program in the towns of Wuxi and Huhe, which can grant the villagers low-interest unsecured loans via cooperation with local banks.

Based on solid evidence and cautious ratings on personal performance, Shi Hailin in Qifang village received a total of 600,000 yuan ($83,700) of loans via the program to buy materials, upgrade equipment and expand his crab-farming business. Shi’s good faith was proved by daily good acts, including keeping promises, active participation in social welfare activities, respecting the elderly, and caring for the young.

Different from the conventional credit rating system, the county’s programs advocate more good faith embodied in a person’s daily performance.

“The loans need no collateral because honesty is the best alternative,” says Li Baogen, deputy Party secretary of Qifang village.