Mark Throws Away Wheelchair in China

Text & Photos by Shi Pan

Mark, another Frenchman has a different story from Thomas.

Mark always wears a largesized blue coat, a pair of white pants and a flat cap. When shopping, he likes to carry a cloth bag, looking charmingly naive.Mark has been living in Shiyan City for nine years, and his wife Zhang Xiuhua is a Shiyan native.

Mark was an engineer in France. In 1991, he fell from a truck at work. After months of treatment, the doctor said that he would be bound to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. One day,Mark heard of the magical effects of Chinese Qigong therapy, so he decided to go to China for treatment.

Mark came to China in 1994,and in less than three years, with the help of a Qigong master,Mark could walk independently from his previous semi-paralyzed condition. During treatment,Mark learned about the health preservation culture of China’s Taoist school, and he developed a keen interest in it. In order to learn more about Taoist culture, he followed his master’s suggestion and went to the Wudang Mountains.

In 1997, when Mark came to Wudang for the first time,he was deeply attracted by the natural landscape and humanistic culture, and he thought of settling down there.

At that time, Mark already had a family in France. In order to persuade his wife to live in China, he travelled to and from France many times. After years of fruitless communication, Mark gave up everything he had in France, and came to Shiyan, with only 5,000 yuan in his pocket.

Gradually, Mark made lots of friends during his stay in Wudang.

On his 55th birthday, he received some calligraphy works from his friends.

One of them says, “French Fellow in Wudang.”

Another one is a sentence, “As the saying goes, the universe is a big world, and human beings are a small world. With a positive mind,the universe will be bright, and with a healthy qi, the universe will be in harmony.”

These words have been adopted by Mark in his WeChat profile.

When I asked him if he understood the meaning, he nodded.

“Man is an integral part of nature. We must be a person of integrity…”

Mark explained with gestures.(From Shiyan Weekly, Issue 1459.Translation: Zhu Yaguang)

马克在中国扔掉轮椅

文/图 史攀

和托马斯一样，马克也是个法国人。

大号蓝色上衣配白色裤子，头戴一顶鸭舌帽，购物时，会挽一个布质购物袋，憨态可掬。 马克在武当山城区生活已有九年，妻子张秀华，是个地道的十堰人。

在法国时，马克是一名工程师。1991年，工作时的他不慎从货车上摔下。治疗几个月后，被医生断言终生要与轮椅为伴。一次偶然的机会，马克听闻中国气功的神奇功效，决定到中国来治病。

1994年，马克来到中国。不到三年的时间，他在气功师的帮助下，从半瘫痪状态恢复到行走自如。治疗过程中，马克接触到中国道家养生文化，并对此产生了浓厚兴趣。为了近一步地了解道家文化，他在老师的建议下，来到武当山。

1997年，马克第一次来武当山，便被这里的自然与人文所深深吸引，有了留下来生活的想法。

彼时，马克在法国已组建家庭。

为了说服妻子到中国生活，他来回奔波于两国间，做家人的思想工作。

几年沟通无果，马克最终决定，放弃法国的一切。来到十堰时，身上只有5000元。

生活在武当山，马克结交了许多朋友。

55岁生日，他收到了朋友送的几幅字。

其中一幅题着：法国武当人。

另一幅题了一段话：所谓天地大天地，人身小天地，我之心正则天地之心亦正，我之气正则天地之气亦顺。

这两幅字，被马克用作自己微信的简介。

我问他是否理解这句话的意思，他点头。

“天、地、人，都是一体的，我们要做一个正直的人……”

配合丰富的肢体动作，他生动地解释着。