Written by Zhang Jiwei
On the evening of December 5, 2022, the well-known depression mutual aid platform "Duguo" issued an obituary, and Zhang Jin, the founder of "Duguo", passed away at the age of 56.
In May 1966, Zhang Jin was born in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province and grew up in Guannan. In 1982, at the age of 16, he was admitted to the Department of Chinese at Nanjing University from Huaiyin . After graduation, he went to the Department of Journalism of Renmin University of China to study for a master's degree. In 1988, Zhang Jin joined " Workers' Daily ", successively serving as editor and deputy director of the International Department, and then as director of the journalist department and promoted to editorial committee member. He has visited 30 national journalists stations in the Workers' Daily and presided over the interview and writing a large number of important reports. In 2000, Zhang Jin joined Caijing magazine and later served as deputy editor-in-chief. In 2009, he participated in the founding of Caixin Media , serving as executive deputy editor-in-chief, and later changed to deputy editor-in-chief (and executive editor-in-chief of China Reform Magazine).
In 2012, Zhang Jin suffered from depression and recovered from his illness and returned to work after half a year. He faced his personal illnesses and learned while curing his illness, becoming the "newsman who understands depression the best and the depression expert who writes the best articles" in his friends' eyes. In 2015, we opened a WeChat official account to "Come". After the public account articles were collected, it was published as the fourth collection of books in the "Duyou" series.
In March 2017, he chose to leave his full-time job in Caixin and worked hard to help the depression. In April, he launched the search plan for patients with depression. On March 5, 2018, he proposed the "Carner Plan" on the "Duguo" public account, and later established a "Duguo" base in Fuyang, Hangzhou to provide longer-term and comprehensive professional support for young people with psychological difficulties to return to society. In April 2022, Zhang Jin was diagnosed with lung cancer. On May 23, he underwent surgery.
Some people come to the world with their mission, and I believe that Zhang Jin is like this.
Zhang Jin was born in Jiangsu in 1966. His father was a top student at Nanjing Jinling University. However, in 1957, he was labeled as a rightist and sent to rural areas in northern Jiangsu to teach. Since then, his life has never been opened. The unfair fate of the previous generation inevitably affected Zhang Jin's life plan. From the undergraduate degree in the Chinese Department of Nanjing University to the graduate student of Renmin University of Journalism, the old father did not recognize and was obsessed with the major choice. Perhaps out of fear of political movements, my father always wanted him to study science and engineering and even linguistics. It was not until the 1990s that Zhang Jin was awarded the title of deputy senior high school shortly after working in the Workers' Daily that his father was surprised to find that Zhang Jin's growth rate had exceeded his understanding.
I have heard Zhang Jin tell this story more than once. Their father and son have a deep affection, which is a role model, but there are also some old-style education that "a gentleman can stay away from his son". However, from the perspective of bystanders, Zhang Jin was deeply influenced by his father and the old traditions of learning, and his pursuit of self-realization, his vigilance of political life, and his concern for social responsibility and public issues. This implicit tension is accompanied by his life.
In his more than 30 years of career, whether working in the media or founding a public welfare organization, Zhang Jin fell and got up many times, but he kept running for his beloved career and vulnerable groups until he became a legend.
I have a pearl, I have been locked up by dust for a long time
In the eyes of my colleagues, Zhang Jin has never been a person with sharp edge, but his talent cannot be concealed.
After graduating from the National People's Congress in 1988, Zhang Jin joined the Workers' Daily. At the age of 30, he took charge of the press stations of the Workers' Daily all over the country, and then quickly promoted to the editorial board, which was rare in the press circle at that time. Zhang Jin was not interested in his career. Many years later, what he recalled the most was his internship experience at the coal mine in the suburbs of Beijing and the novelty of traveling across the country at that time.
In 1990, he and several colleagues were transferred to a coal mine called Wangjiaping in Mentougou and stayed for a year. As a graduate student who was still very scarce at the time, he went to the mine with the workers and worked at the " Palm Face " where he could not walk upright. He later wrote in his recollection article: "My job is a column worker in the rock section. The so-called column work means digging the tunnel and supporting the wall with wooden pillars to prevent collapse. To make a column, you must first transport wood.I never thought of how miners transport wood. If it is short and thick wood, he will twist his hips to the right as much as possible, hold the wood with his right hand, and place the other end of the wood diagonally on hip , and hold the ground with his left hand to climb forward; if it is thinner wood, he will put the thick end on his shoulders, the thin end in front, support the ground with both hands, and crawl all over his body; he will hold his shoulders and kick his legs, and then push the wood step by step. "
This original working method shocked Zhang Jin: Is this Beijing? Is this a miner?
What impressed me more was the mine disaster. "The next morning, the person was finally dug out. Suddenly, the mine door opened wide, and four large and round rescue team members with a blue face, carrying a stretcher out. A piece of white cloth covers the stretcher tightly. In an instant, the people guarding the wellhead, men and women, young and old, were wailing and crying. I was in this, and I couldn't help but cry. From this I understand what it means to die of rabbits and foxes, and to hurt their species. "
Zhang Jin has a talent, which is that he can always tell stories in an accurate and quiet way. I don't know if it is related to his learning sketching. Sometimes when he chats, he will unconsciously enter a state of outlining details and setting off the atmosphere. In just a few words, a meta-universe is carved like a silver hook and iron mark.
This miner experience may be unbearable for others to look back on, but for Zhang Jin, it is undoubtedly transformed into a wealth of life. He touched the texture of life there and regarded these suffering families as part of himself. It is unknown how this sentiment of "people and things" was formed, but "visiting the poor and asking about suffering" became the topic of reporting that he was most concerned about, and should have been laid at that time.
During his later work in "Finance" and Caixin Media, he was the first to pay attention to "blind well"-style cases, organized many reports on natural disasters such as mine disasters, earthquakes, floods, etc., and edited and directed classic reports such as "Shaw Brothers Outcast" and illegal organ transplantation. What made him pay so persistent attention to these topics? He usually likes to call Lu Xun's words "The infinite distance, countless people are related to me." Wangjiaping Mine should always be in his heart.
In charge of the reporter department of the Workers' Daily, a "benefit" is to be able to tour the whole country. Zhang Jin does not like the prosperity of the southeast coast, but yearns for the emptiness of the deep mountains and rivers. He likes Tibet written by Ma Yuan , and goes there many times. The Yushu snow disaster in 1995 gave him a deep memory: "I got off the car and seemed to stand on the moon, desolate and vast. This place is more than 5,000 meters above sea level and lacks oxygen, so it is very difficult to take every step. Walking slowly to a small hill, I saw a dim moon, like a round basin, hanging lazily on the top of the low slope in front, as if I could catch it with just a stretch of my hand. I used a lot of will to restrain my desire to run away. The night sky is transparent and the stars are shining. Here is the real silence. "
Zhang Jin likes this ethereal and natural state, and seems to always have a sense of separation from the ups and downs of the world. For the people and things around him, he is both emotionally devoted and always put himself in the role of an observer. After he suffered from lung cancer this spring, he mentioned this perspective - separating his thoughts (cognition), feelings (emotions) from his real self, like taking a step forward, obeying and experiencing another self. "When looking back on my life, I used this 'exit method', just like watching myself on the screen in the theater, seeing the various surrounding environments and relationships, past and present, and how to get to the present step by step... Then, return to the present and unite the body and mind. "This is transformed from the perspective of "self-immersion" to the perspective of "third party" - "the third eye looks at oneself".
It is wisdom to see through, but it is compassionate not to say it is
In 2000, Zhang Jin joined Finance and was on the 10th floor of the Panli Building outside Chaoyang Gate. I also had the opportunity to fight side by side with Zhang Jin for many years, and learned from him the wisdom of various business and non-businesses.
When I first met Zhang Jin, it was difficult not to feel close.He is not tall and always listens carefully and answers carefully. The so-called "looking at it is gentle, and it is warm" is probably the case.
After getting familiar with it, I often chat with you in a vast and vast world. We also have Zhang Xiang, who joined "Finance" in 2003, who likes "The Scholars". When we are drunk, we often quote each other's passages to make jokes about current affairs. Unlike me who don’t want to understand much about my reading, Zhang Jin can always accurately retell his beloved works. He likes Wang Mian's last words in the book - "I see those officials, and they must not end well. Besides, your arrogant temperament will be unbeautiful if you cause disaster. My son can listen to my last words, and marry and have children in the future, guard my grave, and don't go out to be an official. I die, and I will be closed." There are also four strange people in the market in the last chapter, especially those who are unrestrained and unrestrained.
In many people's impression, Zhang Jin always looks not very trimmed. He wears a jacket all year round, his steps are hurrying and his hair is a little messy. He has no pursuit of material things. Apart from his love of eating cherries and sashimi, it is rare that he has any major expenses. For characters with exquisite makeup and full of famous brands, he always has an almost innocent and romantic bystander mentality, similar to the snobbish attitude towards Cao Yuanlang in " Siege ".
Zhang Jin is very clear about the world and does not have high expectations for human nature. Colleague Wang Heyan said, "It is his wisdom to see through it, and it is his compassion not to say it." He likes to quote Li Kui in " Water Margin " and hears that he is drinking poisonous wine, and immediately feels "heavy", saying that this is a natural reaction of a person, and no one can show off when the matter is about to happen. The same is true for seven emotions and six desires . It is a pain to seek but not get it, and you will be even more disappointed after getting it. He likes " Living " by Yu Hua and " Contemporary Hero " by Lermontov, which hits the nail on the head with the ridiculous nature of life. He regarded the Tao Te Ching as a wisdom that transcends the world, "to achieve the extreme of emptiness and keep quiet and firm. All things are made together, so I can observe their return." Everything should be taken as it should be. So I first learned that he had depression in 2012, and I felt it was unbelievable because of my lack of basic knowledge about this disease.
2000 was a low period in Zhang Jin's career. Just out of the system, facing different readers, and in the financial field that I have never been involved in, it should be full of challenges everywhere. However, Zhang Jin quickly found an angle he was good at. Under the arrangement of Shu Li (Editor's Note: Hu Shuli , former editor-in-chief of "Finance" and president of Caixin Media), he focused on people's livelihood and rural areas, conducted in-depth research on public policies, and also presided over the "edge" column, paying attention to vulnerable groups and social rule of law as always. Soon, the departments and fields he managed continued to expand, especially after the SARS report in 2003, "Finance" had a wide impact in the social field, and Zhang Jin also found the direction to take off again.
Reports on public policies and social rule of law are always different and difficult to match, especially when professional judgments are contrary to ordinary people's intuition, such as sky-high medical expenses, new labor laws, etc., even within the editorial department, it is not easy to unify opinions. Zhang Jin has many investigative reporters, everyone is eloquent and resilient, and never give up until the problem is complicated. Every time we meet, we can hear them talking and discussing fiercely. At this time, Zhang Jin, who is humble and despair, will show a soft and hard side. He respects independent thinking and never puts his opinions above his colleagues, but he will not give in easily. Whenever this happens, we will sigh that only Zhang Jin can be so patient and clear in his thoughts to reconcile and suppress the rebellious princes from all directions.
What convinced Zhang Jin most was his editing speed with his hands. As long as he hosts the cover, editor-in-chief will be glad to have a good sleep. He was born with the ability to discharge sand and pick gold from the messy first draft and simplify the complex. In this regard, he summarized a technique of "framework writing" and taught it to generations of young journalists.Correspondingly, his deployment, dispatch and adaptability are also amazing in commanding large-scale emergencies. Colleagues often recall the scenes of him and Wang Shuo deploying earthquake and flood reports in the office with the map of the southwest region of , which is quite a sense of giving guidance to the country and the army to fight.
For reporters, Zhang Jin pays nanny-like care. Especially when encountering various changes, Zhang Jin will put himself in his shoes and plan for the reporter. In the past 20 years of "Finance" and Caixin, there are countless reporters coming and going. At that time, young people became middle-aged people who went their separate ways and had complicated affairs, but everyone's feelings for Zhang Jin were always as deep as relatives.
Now the dust is broken and the mountains and rivers are shining thousands of flowers
Looking back, the "Finance" period from 2000 to 2009 should be a period when Zhang Jin's news talent is fully released. This seems to be in line with China's economic booming, vigorous and free and unrestrained era characteristics. Even if the memory filter is removed, it is mostly beautiful and warm.
In 2005, Zhang Jin once went abroad to study for a rare time, and the interesting talks left behind were particularly rich. I have been unfamiliar with English that I have not used for many years, and the meme that I have described tips as "little fee" has been circulated for many years. Another day, he met an old American lady who was practicing in the morning and sincerely extended her thumbs to "good body!" The old lady who couldn't help but laugh told him that such flirting was impolite.
Later I read a recollection of Zhang Jin's experience on Caixin.com. This is a song he heard one night in a bar in a border town in Texas. It tells the story of a cowboy being killed in pursuit of his lover. He listened many times and recorded the lyrics online. Zhang Jin wrote in his memory: "I sip wine in the small town of Dezhou, seem to listen but not listen, but think but not think. I imagine the fate of this cowboy: driven by the unexciting love, I would rather give my life, and finally end up losing my life... Isn't this also the fate of many urban people today? Although their lives are still there... Isn't it confused all the way, I have no support, no faith, miserable and destitute, and fail; gradually, my heart gradually becomes harder, and my feelings gradually become exhausted...
Finally, Felina finally found me
kissed my cheek and knelt beside me
I will die in Felina's warm embrace
Send a gentle kiss Felina goodbye
Echoing in the bar, the rhythm is always unchanged, like sighing and moaning. With the accompaniment of the guitar, the singer's voice seems very touching. This is a strange sadness, the singer sings his mood, the listener is soaked again and again, and every word is as crystal clear and plump as flowers, engraved into my memory..."
Even in the most comfortable time, no matter where he is, what Zhang Jin admires the most is the rhythm with a faint sadness. As a social observer, Zhang Jin is undoubtedly at ease. Perhaps fate doesn't want him to stay in place for too long and wants to give him a new mission.
After that, the changes have occurred one after another, turning him from a calm recorder to an indefatigable activist.
At the end of 2009, the former "Finance" team ran away collectively and founded Caixin Media from scratch. In the following years, as executive deputy editor-in-chief and head of the comprehensive reporting section, Zhang Jin's management responsibilities also increased. "I just say that I'm old and have nothing to do, and I want to get to middle age and have more things to do." During this period, my father's illness and death had a deeper impact on him.
In early 2012, Zhang Jin gradually realized the tendency to depression, and it became worse during the " Two Sessions " period, so he could not work. Maybe it was Chuxia that I went to see him once, but no one answered after knocking on the door for a long time. I thought he was not here, so I put a book at the door and left. Later he told me that he was inside the door at that time, but he had no ability to move. In the most difficult time, he said that the world has no color in his eyes.
This kind of pain is really unacceptable to outsiders.However, it was Zhang Jin after all. With the help of medicine, after half a year of torture, he suddenly had the idea of looking at his phone one day. Afterwards, he explained that he had begun to "change his face". While the iron was hot, he began to learn domestic and foreign medical knowledge about depression by himself. With the learning ability of an excellent journalist, he gradually developed his own methodology.
This is really a heroic journey. After he recovered, Zhang Jin quickly wrote his experience into an article "Return of Hell". His bloody rebirth and thrilling words quickly attracted widespread attention from patients, families and the medical community.
I was initially worried about his actions of showing his wounds, fearing that external reactions would cause stimulation. However, at this time, Zhang Jin had already begun to think new. First, it is to break the "shaming of illness" (this is known to most patients but cannot speak), and second, it is because he has a deep pain in depression. Just as he went to Wangjiaping Mine in his early years, it has been integrated with the fate of his patients. "When you are confused, you are saved by your master, and when you are lost, you are saved by yourself." This sentence in the Sixth Patriarch's "Platform Sutra" touched his idea of publishing a series of works "Due to" in the series.
After recovering from the disease, Zhang Jin had some changes that were visible to the naked eye. He was still calm about external fame and fortune, but he decisively changed from sitting to acting. From initial consultation with friends, to communicating with experts, giving lectures, to publishing books, office accounts, and creating the most influential depression recovery institution in China, Zhang Jin finally chose to leave the journalism industry and devote himself to the cause of helping patients with depression.
Mysterious Shidu, I will live by myself
In 2014, he also fell in love with photography, and he regarded writing and photography as part of his treatment without a teacher, because expression, conveying and observation will inspire his love for life - "When I look through the photos, I see the river of life flowing through my eyes. So, I communicate with the world and the heart, and gain understanding and touching."
One winter, he and I returned to the office after a meeting. At that time, Xiaoxue fell from the sky. He insisted on walking, holding a camera, and taking pictures of the moment that triggered him at any time. His body was agile and energetic, which made me, who was 11 years younger than him, sigh.
I have never known much about the mechanism and healing of depression, because I really lack the courage to stare into the abyss. However, Zhang Jin's keenness and insight have obviously won the recognition and trust of experts and patients. He passed the National Level 3 Counselor and was shortlisted for the fifty most influential people in Chinese psychology in 2017.
In April 2017, he launched a plan to search for patients with depression - to go all over the country to find representative patients, enter their living environment, describe their life situations, and the impact of their social relationships on their diseases and destiny, thus providing a true and complete explanation for the mental health phenomenon in contemporary China. This is another national trip to Zhang Jin after saying goodbye to his news career. Just like his love for natural scenery more than 20 years ago, this time he has entered the hearts of more people.
A year later, "Duyou 3" was published, and "Duyou" also entered the stage of disseminating knowledge to the stage of actually solving problems. On March 5, 2018, he proposed the concept of "Carner Plan" on the "Duguo" public account, and since then he established a "Duguo" base in Fuyang, Hangzhou to provide longer-term and comprehensive professional support for young people with psychological difficulties to return to society.
Zhang Jin's idea was not completely innovative. After an expert from a Grade A Hospital in Beijing visited the Zhejiang base, he sighed that "passing through" was exactly what they wanted to do, but it was impossible to implement it because no one took responsibility. Zhang Jin was also very clear about this, "Compared with the first two stages, the stage of finding depression solutions is qualitatively different. From then on, he 'passed' and entered a dangerous and unpredictable field, which has a huge temptation for us - value realization." Yes, realizing social value has always been what Zhang Jin thought about. He regards Zhejiang base as the "midway island" for patients to heal. But in my opinion, this is also his "ideal country" and the "new harmonious commune" he built brick by brick.
From self-scue to ferrying people, Zhang Jin's bloom this time is even more dazzling and heavier. However, the epidemic since 2020 has continuously interrupted his work process, and the frequent isolation and pop-ups will only increase his frustration. Even worse news came in April 2022. Zhang Jin was diagnosed with lung cancer, and he had been delayed for more than a month because he was busy with the project at the Zhejiang base. Since then, the epidemic in Beijing has intensified, and the cancer hospital is at high risk, and the operation has been implemented until after May Day.
On the afternoon of May 23, I actually received a WeChat message from him with a photo. While reporting his safety, I also said that after being discharged from the hospital, I would write an article about the nursing staff during the epidemic, reflecting their experiences during the epidemic. I quickly told him to have a good rest, but he still said with a little excitement that he would pay attention to the depression problem of cancer patients in the future.
Before and after the operation this year, I have met Zhang Jin four times, which is the most frequent year since he left Caixin. Every time I meet, I am surprised at his busyness. He is writing the fifth part of "Search", managing 200 WeChat groups of nearly 100,000 people, and making arrangements to hand over the shifts smoothly in order to get rid of business work. While chatting and laughing, he would also be worried about the progress after lung cancer, as well as the cough and finger damage caused by targeted drugs.
On August 2, Zhang Xiang came to Beijing and after dinner together, I took Zhang Jin home. When he was about to reach the finish line, he suddenly fell into silence, as if he was deeply attracted by the dark night outside the car window. At that moment, I had an ominous premonition. Over the years, he had been burning himself constantly and blooming unimaginable energy. Why was fate so unfair to him? Taishigong asked in " Biography of Boyi ": "How is it like a kind person who rewards the heavens for giving good rewards!" I also had the same question. Maybe this mission is too heavy, maybe this world is not worthy of Zhang Jin's kindness and purity...
After Zhang Jin passed away, it took two days after I slowly accepted his departure and posted a circle of friends to commemorate -
Zhang Jin is the most authentic person, and does not like to pretend to be hypocritical and pretentious. He likes the strange people in "The Scholars", likes the Tao Te Ching, likes Lermontov, likes Lu Xun's " Lonely " and " in the Restaurant ", and likes the magnificence and mystery of Tibet. He has heartfelt sympathy for the sufferings on earth and has a clear awareness of the shortcomings of human nature. He never plays the noble, but does the noblest cause. He is always humble and obscene, but shines with the warmest light. Zhang Jin, our good brother has left, and more people should know him and remember him.
Text/Zhang Jiwei (Caixin.com Editor-in-chief) Photo provided by/Search through
