Sixty Years’ Efforts for One Day’s Glory

By Jiang Guangyu

Wang Deshun, a master of human body art, was born in Shenyang in 1936.

In 2015, 79-year-old Wang Deshun walked around without a shirt and flexed his sturdy muscles during China International Fashion Week. His pictures, displaying his masculinity, with white hair, a matching beard, and rippling chest muscles went viral on the Internet. Overnight his fans skyrocketed to over 100,000. He was even dubbed “The Most Handsome Grandpa,”“Old Fresh Meat,” and “Stylish Old Man.”

Many netizens praised him in amazement.Wang Deshun explained, “You know, I've been preparing for this day for 60 years. At the age of 24, I was a dramatic actor. When I was 44, I began to learn English. I created a modeling portfolio at 49 and went to Beijing as a drifter—without a house or a car—so everything started from scratch. At the age of 50, I started to workout at the gym. I went on the stage again at 57 and created the only art form in the world—living sculpture. At the turn of 65, I learned to ride horses. Over 70,I began to exercise my abdominal muscles consciously. On the 78th birthday, I learned to drive motorcycles. When I was 79, I even stepped onto the T-stage.”

One of the netizens said admiringly,“Compared to you, I'm too lazy and hesitant.” Wang Deshun urged, “You still have time for everything. It's never too late to aspire. What you really mean by ‘too late'is that you are fearing something. When you say it's too late, do be cautious. It may just be an excuse for your retreat. No one can keep you from succeeding, but yourself. Don't be soft on yourself when it's time to show off. I'm maybe 80 years old, but I still have dreams and aspirations. Believe me, human potential can be tapped.”

Another asked curiously, “If someday you're too old to walk, what will you do?”Wang Deshun beamed, “Birth, old age,illness, and death are the laws of nature.That's nothing. My family and I registered for body donation very early. In the message book, I wrote a line: I live as an ‘a(chǎn)rtistic human body,' and after death as a ‘medical human body,' which won't be wasted in any case.” (From Defying the Future, Never Look back, Liaoning People's Publishing House. Translation: Qing Run)

一天與六十年

文/蔣光宇

人體藝術(shù)大師王德順1936年生于沈陽(yáng)，是地地道道的沈陽(yáng)人。

2015年，79歲的王德順在中國(guó)國(guó)際時(shí)裝周上做了赤裸上身、展現(xiàn)健碩肌肉的走秀表演。他白發(fā)蒼髯卻胸肌赫然的照片一夜之間瘋傳網(wǎng)絡(luò)，粉絲暴漲十幾萬(wàn)。他贏得了“最帥大爺”“老鮮肉”“老型男”等稱號(hào)。

不少網(wǎng)友驚喜地說(shuō)：“你火了，你一夜爆紅。”王德順解釋：“你知道嗎？為了這一天，我足足準(zhǔn)備了60年。24歲，當(dāng)話劇演員。44歲，開始學(xué)英語(yǔ)。49歲，創(chuàng)造了造型啞劇，到北京，成了一名老北漂，沒房沒車，一切從頭開始。50歲，進(jìn)了健身房，開始健身。57歲，再次走向舞臺(tái)，創(chuàng)造了世界唯一的藝術(shù)形式——活雕塑。65歲，學(xué)騎馬。70歲，開始有意識(shí)地練腹肌。78歲，學(xué)騎摩托。79歲，我走上了T臺(tái)。”

網(wǎng)友羨慕地說(shuō)：“不能與你比，我太晚了。”王德順勸告道：“一切都還來(lái)得及，有夢(mèng)想什么時(shí)候開始都不晚。真正太晚的是，你總是不敢開始。當(dāng)你說(shuō)太晚了的時(shí)候，一定要謹(jǐn)慎，它可能是你退卻的借口。沒有誰(shuí)能阻止你成功，除了你自己。該炫自己的時(shí)候，千萬(wàn)不要對(duì)自己手軟。我今年80歲，還有夢(mèng)，還有追求。相信我，人的潛能是可以挖掘的。”

有網(wǎng)友好奇地問(wèn)：“如果有一天，你老得走不動(dòng)了，那可怎么辦？”王德順回答：“生老病死是自然規(guī)律，這沒什么。我和我的家人很早就辦了遺體捐獻(xiàn)登記，在留言本上我寫了一段話：我的身體活著為‘藝用人體’，死后為‘醫(yī)用人體’，一點(diǎn)兒沒糟蹋。”

（摘自《不畏將來(lái)，不念過(guò)往》遼寧人民出版社）