For Shanxi woman, art brings new life

Paralyzed in bed for 34 years, Zhang Junli, 43, didn’t just lie around: She went to work, creating numerous works of art and receiving abundant praise from her followers.

Zhang, who was born in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 6 in 1984. Doctors said she would become paralyzed within three years.

Because of the limited medical treatment available at that time, Zhang became paralyzed two years later and missed her opportunity to start school.

To help relieve her sadness and give her more encouragement, her parents gave her many books and often told inspirational stories.

Gradually, Zhang found her way in life, starting with an idea at age 12.

When she said she wanted to learn painting, her mother was surprised and immediately gathered the necessary tools. But Zhang had difficulty controlling them with her deformed fingers. After numerous failures, she finished her first sketch — a copy of an illustration in a book.

At age 17, she had become a skilled artist and published a comic book with 20 pages of illustrations.

Then, in 2015, Zhang tried watercolor and finished more than 200 copies of paintings by the famous master Claude Monet. It took two years, but she won several awards at different competitions.

Then she opened an online shop to sell her paintings and was warmly received by customers.

She also practiced typing on a computer.

"I want to write down my story to tell more people like me never to give up on ourselves," she said. "I feel lucky that I have met so many people to give me care and warmth."