Frugal professor gives all for poor students

Money is better spent changing people's lives than being kept in a drawer or a bank, according to Xiao Xinhe, a senior professor at Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine in Guangdong province.

Xiao, 83, has touched the hearts of many teachers and students at his university through his acts of generosity. He has donated a total of 700,000 yuan ($100,000) to a university fund to aid students from poor families. This month alone, the senior traditional Chinese medicine practitioner has given 200,000 yuan.

"If I can help others, my life can become more meaningful," Xiao said.

In addition to his own donations, Xiao calls on his well-off friends to make a financial contribution to help poor students. So far, 28 of his friends have donated more than 760,000 yuan to the fund.

Despite his largesse, one of Xiao's colleagues said the professor is "too mean to buy himself new clothes" and always likes to have small denominations of money in his pocket. He is jokingly nicknamed the "stingy professor", said the colleague.

Xiao usually eats in the university canteen, but he never spends more than 8 yuan on a meal.

"I just eat enough for sustenance, I don't care what I eat," said Xiao who is a deputy director of a university working committee that cares for the next generation of students and also a professor at Guangzhou University of Elderly Cadres.

Xiao said he is indifferent about money. He rides an old bike when he goes to work, visits patients or goes shopping.

He said he has ridden the secondhand bike that he purchased for 45 yuan for more than 25 years. If parts of the bicycle break he has them repaired.

In addition to giving lectures, he sees patients three times a week, with six patients each time. Xiao, a member of the Communist Party of China, said his consultation fees, teaching payments, bank interest, and 8 percent of his pension are donated to the fund every month.

"I have a monthly pension of about 10,000 yuan and that is enough for me to live on," he said.

"If you have contributed to your country and society, you will be respected by the State and the people and then you will be very happy," Xiao said.

He said 20 percent of the students at his university come from poor families, with about three-quarters of those from very impoverished households.

Xiao said his wife and only daughter, who is in her 50s, also support his donation to assist the poor students.

Born into a poor family, Xiao had 13 brothers and sisters. His mother died of tuberculosis when he was only 8 years old. Xiao enrolled at the university in 1959 and graduated in July 1965.

"In addition to free tuition and free accommodation, I used to be given a grant of 1 to 3 yuan a month at that time," said Xiao.

Xiao was assigned a job in Xinxing county in the western part of Guangdong after he graduated. After spending 19 years in the remote county, he returned to the university and focused on teaching and clinical work.

"It was the Party, the government and university teachers who helped me complete my university studies," he said, adding that everything he has now he owes to them.

Xiao said now he has the capacity to do so, he wants to repay society and the country by helping poor students.

Though he has given financial support to many students from poor families, he said the act of making a donation is enough.

He hopes to live to 100 and his last ambition is to raise general awareness about health issues and healthcare. He hopes Chinese people become the healthiest and longest-living people in the world.

Wang Yuexia in Guangzhou contributed to this story.