Mark Throws Away Wheelchair in China

Text & Photos by Shi Pan

Mark, another Frenchman has a different story from Thomas.

Mark always wears a largesized blue coat, a pair of white pants and a flat cap. When shopping, he likes to carry a cloth bag, looking charmingly naive.Mark has been living in Shiyan City for nine years, and his wife Zhang Xiuhua is a Shiyan native.

Mark was an engineer in France. In 1991, he fell from a truck at work. After months of treatment, the doctor said that he would be bound to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. One day,Mark heard of the magical effects of Chinese Qigong therapy, so he decided to go to China for treatment.

Mark came to China in 1994,and in less than three years, with the help of a Qigong master,Mark could walk independently from his previous semi-paralyzed condition. During treatment,Mark learned about the health preservation culture of China’s Taoist school, and he developed a keen interest in it. In order to learn more about Taoist culture, he followed his master’s suggestion and went to the Wudang Mountains.

In 1997, when Mark came to Wudang for the first time,he was deeply attracted by the natural landscape and humanistic culture, and he thought of settling down there.

At that time, Mark already had a family in France. In order to persuade his wife to live in China, he travelled to and from France many times. After years of fruitless communication, Mark gave up everything he had in France, and came to Shiyan, with only 5,000 yuan in his pocket.

Gradually, Mark made lots of friends during his stay in Wudang.

On his 55th birthday, he received some calligraphy works from his friends.

One of them says, “French Fellow in Wudang.”

Another one is a sentence, “As the saying goes, the universe is a big world, and human beings are a small world. With a positive mind,the universe will be bright, and with a healthy qi, the universe will be in harmony.”

These words have been adopted by Mark in his WeChat profile.

When I asked him if he understood the meaning, he nodded.

“Man is an integral part of nature. We must be a person of integrity…”

Mark explained with gestures.(From Shiyan Weekly, Issue 1459.Translation: Zhu Yaguang)

馬克在中國扔掉輪椅

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和托馬斯一樣，馬克也是個法國人。

大號藍色上衣配白色褲子，頭戴一頂鴨舌帽，購物時，會挽一個布質購物袋，憨態可掬。 馬克在武當山城區生活已有九年，妻子張秀華，是個地道的十堰人。

在法國時，馬克是一名工程師。1991年，工作時的他不慎從貨車上摔下。治療幾個月后，被醫生斷言終生要與輪椅為伴。一次偶然的機會，馬克聽聞中國氣功的神奇功效，決定到中國來治病。

1994年，馬克來到中國。不到三年的時間，他在氣功師的幫助下，從半癱瘓狀態恢復到行走自如。治療過程中，馬克接觸到中國道家養生文化，并對此產生了濃厚興趣。為了近一步地了解道家文化，他在老師的建議下，來到武當山。

1997年，馬克第一次來武當山，便被這里的自然與人文所深深吸引，有了留下來生活的想法。

彼時，馬克在法國已組建家庭。

為了說服妻子到中國生活，他來回奔波于兩國間，做家人的思想工作。

幾年溝通無果，馬克最終決定，放棄法國的一切。來到十堰時，身上只有5000元。

生活在武當山，馬克結交了許多朋友。

55歲生日，他收到了朋友送的幾幅字。

其中一幅題著：法國武當人。

另一幅題了一段話：所謂天地大天地，人身小天地，我之心正則天地之心亦正，我之氣正則天地之氣亦順。

這兩幅字，被馬克用作自己微信的簡介。

我問他是否理解這句話的意思，他點頭。

“天、地、人，都是一體的，我們要做一個正直的人……”

配合豐富的肢體動作，他生動地解釋著。