Writer with cerebral palsy pens love letter to Yinxu culture
After visiting the museum in March last year, Zhao wrote a 6,000-word essay titled Yinxu Ruins, Enough to Make Us Anyang People Proud. The essay found an online audience of people fascinated by Yinxu culture.
"I love the Shang Dynasty, a civilization that flourished more than 3,000 years ago," she remarked on her phone. "I listened to the guides in the museum, then I went home and began researching. I kept studying until I understood everything."
When asked what draws her to Yinxu culture, Zhao Dian responded quickly: "Love, duty, and ingenuity." She was captivated by the romantic story of Lady Fu Hao, a legendary female figure from 3,000 years ago who served as a military general and a high priestess.
Zhao described her writing as a mix of "introduction, reflection, and imagination" that intertwines history with emotion.
Readers online found it difficult to imagine how someone confined to a wheelchair could forge such a deep connection with Yinxu. In her writing, Zhao provides her own explanation: "I fell in love with Yinxu at first sight, and the love became deeper with the second visit, which finally led to a lifetime promise for the third visit."
"I'm not worried about being criticized for bad writing," she states. "I'm more afraid of misleading people with false information." She spent two weeks critiquing, checking, and revising her essay before publishing it.
"In fact, my purpose in writing is not only to teach people about the Yinxu Ruins, but to understand Anyang, and to appreciate the power and historical significance behind them," Zhao writes.
Zhao's mother has spent decades supporting her writing pursuits. "Writing isn't just a hobby for her," she said. "It's how she talks to the world."



























