{"id":6354,"date":"2026-08-02T17:46:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T21:46:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/victoriamedia.ca\/en\/?p=6354"},"modified":"2026-08-03T02:47:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T06:47:36","slug":"discover-china-guizhou-a-gesture-turned-culture-the-legacy-of-jiayou","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/victoriamedia.ca\/en\/china\/6354\/","title":{"rendered":"Discover China: Guizhou | A Gesture Turned Culture: The Legacy of “Jiayou”"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Angela Lui | Photos by the author<\/strong><\/p>\n

ANLONG, China<\/strong> \u2014 “Jiayou” (\u52a0\u6cb9)\u2014literally “add oil”\u2014is arguably the most ubiquitous expression of encouragement in the Chinese-speaking world, shouted at athletic arenas, whispered before exams, and offered among friends confronting life\u2019s challenges. Yet few realize that this globally recognized phrase traces its origin to a single Tung-oil\uff08\u6850\u6cb9\uff09 lamp in Anlong County, Guizhou Province, during the mid-19th century.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In 1841, Zhang Ying arrived in Anlong as the Prefect of Xingyi. Recognizing that impoverished local scholars often had to stop studying late at night when their lamp oil ran dry, Zhang arranged for two night-patrol officers to carry a barrel of Tung oil through the town\u2019s alleyways. Whenever they saw a lantern glowing inside a home late at night, the officers would call out, “The Prefect has sent oil for the scholar!” and replenish the student’s lamp. This act of quiet encouragement gave “Jiayou” its original, deeply humanistic foundation: “adding oil” was not about gasoline or kerosene, but about sustaining the literal and metaphorical light of knowledge.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This tradition of educational support directly shaped Zhang Ying\u2019s son, Zhang Zhidong, who spent his formative childhood years in Anlong. Inspired by his father\u2019s dedication to public education and local governance, Zhang Zhidong later grew into one of modern China\u2019s most impactful reform leaders, spearheading industrialization, railway development, and modern schooling during the late Qing dynasty\u2014a life of public service he credited to the intellectual foundation built in Anlong.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Today, Anlong has transformed this historic anecdote into a living cultural framework. The original examination halls and historic pavilions have been restored into educational spaces, research programs, and cultural exhibitions. “Jiayou Culture” now serves as both an educational philosophy in local schools and a catalyst for regional tourism, sports events, and entrepreneurship. What began 180 years ago as a nightly bucket of oil on a quiet street has evolved into an enduring cultural legacy\u2014reminding generations that as long as there is effort, there will always be support to keep the flame burning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Angela Lui | Photos by the author ANLONG, China \u2014 “Jiayou” (\u52a0\u6cb9)\u2014literally “add oil”\u2014is arguably the most ubiquitous expression of encouragement in the Chinese-speaking world, shouted at athletic arenas, whispered before exams, and offered among friends confronting life\u2019s challenges. Yet few realize that this globally recognized phrase traces its origin to a single Tung-oil\uff08\u6850\u6cb9\uff09 lamp in Anlong County, Guizhou Province, during the mid-19th century. In 1841, Zhang Ying arrived in Anlong as the Prefect of Xingyi. Recognizing that impoverished local scholars often had to stop studying late at night when their lamp oil ran dry, Zhang arranged for two […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6355,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[174],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-china"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/victoriamedia.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/victoriamedia.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/victoriamedia.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victoriamedia.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victoriamedia.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6354"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/victoriamedia.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6359,"href":"https:\/\/victoriamedia.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6354\/revisions\/6359"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victoriamedia.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/victoriamedia.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victoriamedia.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victoriamedia.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}