(I)
In 1989, an old man from Guangdong Province came to visit the Leshan Buddha in Sichuan Province, and like other tourists, he liked to take pictures at various spots.
But what was unexpected was that a photo taken by the old man at random made him a celebrity and got a grant from the relevant department. But after 25 years, things took a huge turn for the worse when the old man suddenly found the tourism department again and wanted to claim $2.8 million.
So why did a photo make the old man a celebrity and receive a grant, and why, 25 years later, is he claiming $2.8 million from the tourism department? What really happened in the meantime?
The old man, named Pan Hongzhong, lives in an old village in Shunde City, Guangdong Province. Because of the limited economic conditions of his family at that time, the old man did not go to university, but he had a keen interest in poetry and songs since he was a child under the cultural influence of his family.
After growing up, Pan Hongzhong continued to study some ancient texts and poems in his spare time at work, and had a high cultural background. Once the children in the village were confused about the poems, they would come to him for help, and everyone highly recognized Pan Hongzhong's learning attitude and knowledge.
After retirement, Pan Hongzhong had the idea of traveling to various places. Because of his love for Buddhism and history and culture, he decided to go to Leshan Buddha in Sichuan first after careful consideration, so as to appreciate the great mountains and rivers of the motherland.
In 1990, Pan Hongzhong, like other tourists, came to the Leshan Buddha site to take pictures.
He recalled that he was attracted by the fresh air and beautiful scenery when he first arrived here, and he really liked the culture and natural landscape.
When he came to the Leshan Buddha, the old man Pan Hongzhong picked up his cell phone and took a picture of this magnificent sight. However, just when he was ready to leave, the old man subconsciously looked back again, he was shocked by the wonderful landscape in front of him, so he immediately took out his cell phone and left this beautiful picture in his camera.
A few days later, the old man Pan Hongzhong returned home and shared his washed travel photos with his family and villagers. At first, people didn't notice anything unusual, but after seeing one of the photos carefully, they found an amazing scene.
It turns out that in this photo taken by Pan Hongzhong, the Wuyu Mountain and Gucheng Mountain behind the Buddha are even connected together, which seems to be the appearance of a sleeping Buddha, which makes Pan Hongzhong and the villagers very shocked.
When the villagers have left, the old man Pan Hongzhong into contemplation, so beautiful landscape before how no one found it? If the tourists know that there is such a beautiful scenery here, will they all come here to admire it?
In order to have his suspicions confirmed, the old man Pan Hongzhong came to the relevant local department, then handed the photos to the staff and elaborated on his suspicions.
After learning about the situation, the staff immediately rushed to Leshan Buddha to view, but also really found the sleeping Buddha which was hidden wonders. Soon, this matter with the spread of the media, immediately got the attention of many travel enthusiasts.
Soon after, many visitors from all over the motherland came to Leshan Buddha in search of this magnificent sight. In this way, this place became the hottest tourist attraction at that time.
The old man Pan Hongzhong was also very happy when he learned about this. He didn't expect that his unintentional photos, which he had taken, had accidentally made this attraction.
When he was happy, he also wrote an article about the sleeping Buddha in literary language, named "The Discovery of Leshan Buddha", and then transcribed it on the photo.
Because the text was written by the old man Pan Hongzhong himself and the quality of the article was so high, it soon became very popular and was widely distributed like a work of art.
Seeing that everyone liked the photo, the old man Pan Hongzhong printed out more than 10,000 copies of the photo and wrote that article on it, and then gave it to his friends and relatives, hoping to be welcomed by more people.
In this way, the popularity of "The Discovery of Leshan Buddha" became higher and higher. After learning about this, the staff of local media immediately contacted the old man Pan Hongzhong, hoping to have his work published in the newspaper.
Pan Hongzhong was so happy that he agreed to the newspaper's request. 1991, "The Discovery of Leshan Buddha" was also engraved on a stone monument by the local tourism department, and visitors to Leshan were very appreciative when they saw it, not expecting that an ordinary old man would have such an excellent writing style.
At the same time, many people began to take a keen interest in the experience of the old man Pan Hongzhong, and were curious to know why he had such a high literary attainment.
So, which master did the old man, Pan Hongzhong, receive guidance from in order to have such a good writing style? In addition, what books and historical documents did he read in his adult life?
(II)
The retired old man went to Leshan Buddha tour, a random photo was accidentally found a strange sight, provoking domestic and foreign travelers to watch. The old man also made an article about it, which was also highly sought after.
In fact, the cultivation of Pan Hongzhong's literary literacy is also inseparable from the teaching of famous teachers. Originally, his teacher was the famous literary master Pan Yiting.
As a child, Pan Hongzhong learned from this master in the academy and accumulated a lot of general knowledge of literature. At the same time, under the guidance of his teachers and family, Pan Hongzhong began to develop a keen interest in history.
During his school years, he would always use his time after school to borrow some historical texts from his teachers to check them out. With the passage of time, Pan Hongzhong's knowledge base as well as his literary skills have been greatly improved.
Not only can he read all kinds of literary texts, but he can also write such texts successfully. In addition to the above hobbies, old man Pan Hongzhong also has some research on Buddhism, so he chose to visit the attractions of Leshan Buddha after his retirement, not expecting that this trip would be unexpectedly rewarding.
With the spread of "The Discovery of Leshan Buddha", many tourists have come to the attractions of Leshan Buddha in Sichuan to see the real appearance of the sleeping Buddha with their own eyes.
To thank the old man Pan Hongzhong, the local tourism department also gave him a bonus of 5,000 yuan. Although this is not a lot of money nowadays, in the 1990s, it was already a considerable amount.
Pan Hongzhong was very excited to receive the prize money, as he never expected to receive it. However, as "The Discovery of Leshan Buddha" and the old man's fame grew, many vendors began to spread the work like crazy and without the consent of old man Pan Hongzhong.
After learning about this, the old man was naturally very angry, he felt that these vendors can do anything for profit. At first, the old man came to the attraction several times to buy back these pirated photos, but because of the excessive number and wide distribution, he was unable to defend his rights.
There was really no other way, so Pan Hongzhong old man wrote a letter to the relevant local departments, hoping to get their help. But to his surprise, several months passed, the old man never got a response, and he gradually lost trust in the local authorities.
But because of the lack of relevant legal knowledge, the elderly Pan Hongzhong can only sit back and wait, not knowing what to do. The villagers also sympathized with Pan Hongzhong after they learned of his experience and hoped that he could defend his rights and interests as soon as possible.
A year later, the elderly Pan Hongzhong finally waited for his chance to reflect the situation to the national level. Unlike the last time, the higher leaders attached great importance to the matter. Pan Hongzhong was thrilled to see that his case was finally responded to.
A few days later, he went to see the leaders of the inspection team and told them what had happened to him. During the conversation, the old man Pan Hongzhong put forward his demands to the higher leaders, and he hoped to get 120,000 yuan in compensation. Once this news got out, most people felt that Pan Hongzhong was delusional, and some even scolded him.
Faced with various negative comments, the old man Pan Hongzhong was a bit depressed at first, feeling that most people could not understand his thoughts and hardships.
Because this matter is getting bigger and bigger, the relevant departments in Sichuan Province decided to deal with the matter and soon after gave Pan Hongzhong elderly 17,000 yuan in compensation.
At the same time, the pirated copies of "The Discovery of Leshan Buddha", which were widely distributed in the market, have been effectively controlled, and no one will print these photos illegally anymore.
See their legitimate rights and interests have been protected, Pan Hongzhong old man is naturally very pleased, he does not care about the amount of the prize, only hope that their rights and interests can be protected.
Some time later, the editor of Yangcheng Evening News approached Pan Hongzhong, an old man, to have his work published in the pages of the newspaper. Because he was too embarrassed to refuse, the old man agreed.
Later, many media outlets scrambled for the copyright of this work, but they were all rejected by the old man Pan Hongzhong, who was afraid that his work would spread as recklessly as before.
In the following years, the landscape of Leshan Buddha became a famous attraction far and wide, and many foreigners came to visit the area, which made the local tourism boom and also boosted the economic strength of the area.
But with the passage of time, most people have forgotten the old man Pan Hongzhong, the contribution to this site, which makes him a little lost.
25 years later, people have forgotten about this matter, but Pan Hongzhong old man can not forget, he suddenly will be the relevant local departments to court, want to claim 2.8 million yuan in compensation, and at this time the Pan Hongzhong old man has 86 years old.
So why did the old man make such a shocking move after 25 years? And will he be able to receive compensation? In addition, is there some protection for the old man in his old age?
(III)
The old man got a government award for a photo and article that made Leshan Buddha tourism boom. However, piracy about his photos and works was rampant, and the old man finally got a settlement as he wished after several twists and turns to defend his rights. However, 25 years later, the old man took the relevant departments to court to demand 2.8 million is shocking...
In the face of the crowd's questions, Pan Hongzhong old man said his reasons for suing the relevant departments. He told the media that the Leshan Buddha, an attraction known far and wide because of his photos, had very little traffic before.
So in the opinion of the old man Pan Hongzhong, the local economic benefits obtained through tourism are all brought by him, and he himself should have received the extra reward originally.
However, there was no response from the local tourism department, which made the old man's heart a little aggravated and uncomfortable. As soon as this news broke out, it immediately got heated discussion among netizens.
The majority of the netizens think that the old man Pan Hongzhong is a bit old-fashioned. 25 years ago, the local authorities had already given him a certain reward, so it is unreasonable for him to file a lawsuit now. They also think that someone must have fanned the flames in front of the old man and said some infuriating things, so Pan Hongzhong old man would do such a thing.
However, there are also many netizens commenting that the development of Leshan Buddha as an attraction is brought up by the old man Pan Hongzhong. Local money earned through the development of the tourism industry, should be distributed to the old man some, this is the greatest respect for him.
With the continuous fermentation of this event on the Internet, the experience of the old man Pan Hongzhong back then also returned to the public. 2014, the court heard the case, the judge said that although the old man Pan Hongzhong found the sleeping Buddha in Leshan, but this situation does not belong to the right of discovery, so it can not get the corresponding rights and interests.
Thus, the court dismissed the lawsuit of the elderly Pan Hongzhong and told him not to make similar useless efforts. Seeing that his request was rejected, the old man Pan Hongzhong was naturally a bit upset, and he tried to appeal, but in the end, they were all rejected.
There was no choice, the old man had to give up the idea and return home to continue to live an ordinary life. Although the appeal failed, Pan Hongzhong did not live a negative life because of it, he still lived every day positively and optimistically.
Leisure time to read and write, and the village partners chatting and drinking tea, every day to live a happy enough. Because of this, the old man's health is very good and he can still move freely in his nineties.
In 2017, the elder Pan Hongzhong also held a local sharing session where many literature lovers and tourists flocked to.
During the sharing session, the old man displayed the poems and songs he had written and also shared the history and culture of his hometown to the crowd. Finally, the old man Pan Hongzhong ended the sharing session with the applause of the crowd. After returning home, he said he really likes his current life and has no more regrets, and he is very open to face the next life.
In any case, the matter was finally resolved effectively, and the elderly Pan Hongzhong did not dwell on it, which is the best ending and the most perfect result.
