Rao Mingli (right), an 84yearold pioneer neurologist, sits on the stairway in a packed lecture room in Beijing.[Photo provided to China Daily]

We owe it to old people to encourage them to do more than dance and dote on grandchildren

The picture of an old lady sitting on the stairway in a packed lecture room in Beijing caught the attention of some media the other day. She was later offered a seat after some recognized that the lady is Professor Rao Mingli, an 84-year-old pioneer neurologist. She is widely admired for her understated style and for her eagerness to keep on learning even in her advanced years.

There are plenty more people like her. I attend many lectures in my spare time, and many of those who attend are senior citizens. In fact at some lectures, such as those at the National Library of China, you see more gray-haired audiences than younger ones. They are attentive listeners, prodigious note-takers and are quick on the uptake when it comes to asking questions.

Some people wonder why these old people bother to keep on learning. Surely, they reason, the point of learning is to get degrees, snap up jobs and climb career ladders. They are more used to seeing old people doing square dancing or babysitting their grandchildren, or simply doing nothing. After all, shouldn't one simply enjoy life after so many years of hard work?

That sentiment surfaced last month when news broke that the veteran Chinese diplomat Wu Jianmin, 77, had died in a car accident on his way to a seminar in Wuhan. Some said he would still be with us had he simply stayed at home enjoying retirement as every old man should do.

The utilitarian view of learning infects not only views regarding senior citizens but younger ones as well. It was reported that Renmin University of China rejected a shortlisted doctoral candidate two years ago and again this year, because at the ages of 46 and 48 she was deemed too old.