In a world where children her age were still nestled in their parents’ arms, carefree and uncertain about the future, Shen Xinling’s gaze had already extended to encompass society. She was determined to establish a record of “the history of ordinary people’s lives.”
Shen Xinling embarked on a solo bicycle journey around the island, traversing thousands of villages across Taiwan, capturing the genuine faces she encountered with her camera. She said: “Without high-tech equipment, just a computer, a digital camera, a scanner, and a printer. No large team, just me, filled with ideals.”
Diligent farmers, unstable street vendors, and hunched scavengers — these marginalized people were earnestly documented through her lens. During one shoot, Xinling saw a grandmother with a thumb that had been cut, bleeding profusely. Yet the grandmother was joyful because she could sell the clams she had collected at the market, ensuring her grandson’s tuition was covered. Such encounters often moved Shen Xinling to tears, prompting her to question: “They are not failures, so why are these people who laid the foundation of society with their bare hands relegated to the bottom of the pyramid, perpetuating poverty?”
After six years of tireless work, Shen Xinling accumulated over 300,000 photographs, interviewed more than 3,600 elders, and wrote over 400,000 words of documentation. She then established the “Grassroots Taiwan Faces” website, hoping to raise awareness of these “ordinary” lives.
At 20, an age when a young woman typically blossoms, Shen Xinling devoted all her time and energy to public welfare. She deeply contemplated the injustices behind poverty, choosing to enact change through action rather than critique through theory. From the start of her public welfare journey to now, Shen Xinling has walked this path alone for over a decade, spending over 8 million NT dollars. Remarkably, all these expenses were self-funded through speaking engagements, writing, competitions, scholarships, and website creation. She pursued any opportunity to earn money that did not interfere with her studies.
Shen Xinling has received many honors
Shen Xinling has never accepted donations or sponsorships. Her website prominently states: “13 years of public welfare, to maintain purity, no donations or sponsorships accepted.” Shen Xinling has consistently undertaken tasks beyond her years and rarely lost her way in life, earning numerous honors: Taiwan’s prestigious “Presidential Innovation Award,” “Top Ten Philanthropists of Taiwan,” repeated “Presidential Education Awards,” “Top Ten Outstanding Youth,” and the “Taiwan University Student Contribution Award,” among others.
Selected as a “Representative Figure of Taiwan’s Century,” Shen Xinling’s story has been featured in the World Yearbook, Business Weekly, and Time Magazine, which called her “An Angel Fallen to Earth.” Reader’s Digest hailed her as a “Person of Courage and Compassion,” CommonWealth Magazine dubbed her the “Historian of Taiwan,” and the Asian edition of Reader’s Digest named her a “Young Philanthropist.” Astonishingly, she has already been included in 13 Taiwanese school textbooks despite being only in her twenties.
Because of Shen Xinling, many people’s lives have improved, yet her life remains unchanged. She still resides in the tin-roofed house of her childhood, which becomes unbearably hot in summer and leaks when it rains. Her room is slightly larger than before, with an old computer and a Go table that has yellowed with age — items she has used for over a decade without replacement.
Shen Xinling remains humble and low-key despite rising fame, saying: “I am a street vendor, a child from the countryside. I am indeed very ordinary, but I just chose to act.” She chooses to make everyone she meets better, which she has always done. She understands that there are many visible and invisible rules in this world; where there is light, there is darkness. Yet, she believes that everyone can make the world a little better.
Now 30 years old, Shen Xinling continues steadfastly on her path of public welfare, a force of one, yet changing the world with the power of one-to-one influence, initiating a gentle public welfare revolution. Her ultimate ideal is to return the right to speak and interpret from those in power to those who sweat silently under the sun, ensuring their voices are heard. Shen Xinling has long left the social bottom, yet she humbly lowers her position, and anyone who can lower themselves is destined to have immense inner strength.
Like a small light in the darkness, Shen Xinling’s confidence and love silently emit a scorching and immense glow. This kind and infinitely energetic sunny girl deserves our admiration and applause!
See Part 1 here.
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