An incredible love story has come out of China recently and managed to
touch the world.
It is a story of a man and an older woman who ran off to live and love
each other in peace for over half a century.
The 70-year-old Chinese man who hand-carved over 6,000 stairs up a
mountain for his 80-year-old wife has passed away in the cave which has
been the couple's home for the last 50 years.
Over 50 years ago, Liu Guojiang a 19 year-old boy, fell in love with a
29 year-old widowed mother named Xu Chaoqin..
In a twist worthy of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, friends and
relatives criticized the relationship because of the age difference and
the fact that Xu already had children.
At that time, it was unacceptable and immoral for a young man to love an
older woman.. To avoid the market gossip and the scorn of their
communities, the couple decided to elope and lived in a cave in Jiangjin
County in Southern ChongQing Municipality
In the beginning, life was harsh as hey had nothing, no electricity or
even food. They had to eat grass and roots they found in the mountain,
and Liu made a kerosene lamp that they used to light up their lives.
Xu felt that she had tied Liu down and repeatedly asked him, 'Are you
regretful? Liu always replied, 'As long as we are industrious, life will
improve.'
In the second year of living in the mountain, Liu began and continued
for over 50 years, to hand-carve the steps so that his wife could get
down the mountain easily.
Half a century later in 2001, a group of adventurers were exploring the
forest and were surprised to find the elderly couple and the over 6,000
hand-carved steps. Liu MingSheng, one of their seven children said, 'My
parents loved each other so much, they have lived in seclusion for over
50 years and never been apart a single day. He hand carved more than
6,000 steps over the years for my mother's convenience, although she
doesn't go down the mountain that much.'
The couple had lived in peace for over 50 years until last week. Liu,
now 72 years, returned from his daily farm work and collapsed. Xu sat
and prayed with her husband as he passed away in her arms. So in love
with Xu, was Liu, that no one was able to release the grip he had on his
wife's hand even after he had passed away.
'You promised me you'll take care of me, you'll always be with me until
the day I died, now you left before me, how am I going to live without
you?'
Xu spent days softly repeating this sentence and touching her husband's
black coffin with tears rolling down her cheeks.
In 2006, their story became one of the top 10 love stories from China ,
collected by the Chinese Women Weekly. The local government has decided
to preserve the love ladder and the place they lived as a museum, so
this love story can live forever.
An incredible love story
