The picture shows Bai Shuli teaching a doctoral degree for Shanghai University online. Photo provided by the interviewee

  In Yinchuan, Ningxia, the sky is dawn. 92-year-old Bai Shuli sat upright at the desk, turned on the computer, and skillfully typing on the keyboard.

  Bai Shuli, born in Sanyuan County, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province, is a professor in the Department of History, School of Ethnicity and History, Ningxia University. In 1958, he graduated from Peking University and went to the northwest and took root in Ningxia, and since then he devoted himself to the three-foot podium. In 1994, Bai Shuli retired, but he knew that he would not choose to enjoy a peaceful life: "In life, I always want to leave something."

  Over the past 30 years after his retirement, he continued to study the history of Ningxia and Lingzhou, and continued to write. "My life is very regular. Every morning I sit in front of the computer to write articles and check information." Bai Shuli said that he could write for as many as six or seven hours a day, and as few as four or five hours a day. This work intensity is not small for a 90-year-old, but Bai Shuli is happy.

  Full of love and perseverance, Bai Shuli wrote 10 monographs, including "The General of Lingzhou, the Tang Dynasty" and "The Princess of the Tang Dynasty" after retirement. "Teaching is about educating people, and writing is about educating people." Bai Shuli often recites this sentence and keeps practicing it. He held a lecture online and clearly explained the operation methods of the conference software: "Open the link, enter the password, and you can enter the live broadcast room. It's simple!" From 2023 to 2024, he held seven lectures online, explaining history in depth to hundreds of students.

  Due to cataracts, Bai Shuli's vision was a little blurred, but his memory of historical details was still clear: "Tang Taizong's Lingzhou Gaohui, Shuofang Jiedushi stationed in Lingzhou, Tang Suzong Lingwu ascended the throne, Princess Honghua's marriage... Every history and story in Ningxia is worth remembering." Out of deep feelings for Ningxia, Bai Shuli wanted to use books to let more people understand this land. Last year, Bai Shuli donated more than 1,500 of his collections to Wuzhong City Library. These books have become "treasures" for historical and cultural enthusiasts, attracting people to go to the bookshelf to read.

  Bai Shuli, who couldn't rest, also studied photo software, repaired photos, typed edited, and made a thick family photo album. Nowadays, it is hard for him to watch news on tablets, shop on mobile phones, and even use software to make posters and cut videos. With this spirit, Bai Shuli won the honorary title of "People's Learning Star".

  What ages are old is age, and what is not old is mentality. On the computer on the desk, dense documents record Bai Shuli's search for history. In the courtyard outside the window, apricot and jujube trees are lush in the warm sun, witnessing the struggle of a "post-90s" who will never retire. (Reporter Jiao Siyu)

[Editor in charge: Wang Qi]