82-year-old Puciren always remembers the first Chinese character he learned—'ren,' which means 'people.' Under the feudal serf system of old Xizang, he was nothing more than an object tied to his master, subject to his arbitrary will.
After the peaceful liberation of Xizang, he enrolled in a school he had long dreamed of. There, he learned to read, studied English and computer skills, and later became a moral education consultant at an elementary school.
Thanks to the transition from having no access to education to adopting a culture of learning, as well as the implementation of universal free education over 15 years, about one million former serfs have been able to gain dignity and become respected individuals.