Wu Xun (1838–1896) lost his father in childhood and could not afford education. Later, whilst working as a labourer, he was cheated out of three years’ wages by his employer due to his illiteracy, an experience that deeply traumatised him. He set himself the grand ambition of “establishing a charity school for the poor” and began begging to raise funds for this cause.
For thirty eight long years, he lived a life of the utmost humility, wearing tattered clothes and eating stale and mouldy food, whilst saving every single coin into his “school fund” and eventually established three charitable schools.
Once the school buildings were completed, he personally knelt to plead with respected local scholars to take up teaching posts. To persuade impoverished families to send their children to school, he went from door to door, kneeling to plead for the children. After the schools opened, he visited the premises frequently. If he saw a teacher ignoring his duty or a pupil misbehaving, he would kneel to plead with them. The teachers held him in great respect and awe, while the pupils dared not slack off in the slightest, as a result many pupils achieved academic success.
Wu Xun became the only beggar in Chinese history to be recorded in the official historical annals and was hailed as the ‘most extraordinary beggar of all time’.
#23 武训：乞丐，教育家
武训（1838–1896）幼年丧父，因家贫无法读书。后来做佣工时，因不识字被雇主骗走三年工钱，深受刺激。被欺辱的经历让他明白了文化的重要性。他立下“创办义学，让穷人读书”的宏愿，开始为办学乞讨集资。在漫长的三十八年里，他过着最卑微的生活——衣衫褴褛，吃霉菜馊饭，却把每一文钱都攒入“义学基金”，最终建起三所义学。
校舍建成后，他亲自跪请当地有德望的先生任教；为说服贫苦人家送孩子上学，他挨家挨户下跪恳求；学校开学后，他常去巡视：如果见到老师懈怠或者学生顽劣，他便跪地相劝。老师们对他既敬畏又感动，学生们更不敢有丝毫懈怠，许多人最终学业有成。
武训成为中国历史上唯一被载入正史的乞丐，被誉为“千古奇丐”。