A love longer than life: 96-year-old man paints 60 years of love

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“In 1982, I suffered from pancreatitis.

After the surgery, I didn’t take any food, which made me terribly constipated.

My wife, Meitang, then helped me.

During my recovery in hospital, Meitang got up early to make fish soup for me every day and brought it to me around 3 in the afternoon.

I always moved to the corridor to look out for her bringing lunch and hurrying to the ward. And I would rush to my sickbed quickly before she came in.

It lasted no longer than a minute, but I have a deep memory of it in my heart. The man who had the soup is still with us, but the woman who brought the soup is gone forever. ”

<OUR STORY>, by Rao Pingru

Pingru waiting on the corridor, photo by Rao Pingru

At 4:23 on Mar. 19, 2008, Meitang died.

A stick of incense stands beside Pingru’s bed, leaving a dark yellow circle at the top of the wall. Maybe true love is like a moon on the river; waves can never rip it.

At the age of 87, Pingru started to paint, as a way of remembering his wife. The feeling of missing someone is impossible to bear; his love grows like the weeds alongside the graves.

The story is one in The 1.3 Billion series exploring the diverse lives that make up China.