Gong Ying, a writer from Changsha, Hunan province, received a prize in the city's fifth Annual Disability Awards on Sunday for her autobiographical novel Shallow Pain, Deep Love, according to Changsha Evening News.

Gong has been unable to walk since birth and keeps up her enthusiasm for learning with help from a Xinhua Dictionary, despite never having received a formal education.

Her book is 200,000 characters long and took four years to complete. She said her aim has been to encourage disabled people to face difficulties with a positive attitude.

"Man is not born for failure. He can be destroyed but not defeated," she said in a speech at the awards ceremony.

Zheng Yumeng contributed to this story.