Li Siguang is the son of a poor teacher in the countryside.
His grandparents were even poorer. They are Mongolians. For some unknown reason, during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, they begged along the way and ended up near Huilong Mountain in Huanggang, Hubei.
Huilong Mountain is winding and undulating, with an extraordinary atmosphere. People say that there were originally nine dragons dormant here in Huilong Mountain, and later they all returned to the Dragon Palace on clouds and rain. Only the ninth little dragon could not bear to leave this place, so it came back again, and later became Huilong Mountain. It is indeed a good place with beautiful mountains and clear waters.
Li Siguang’s grandfather saw that this place had mountains and rivers, and he didn’t want to wander around anymore, so he took his wife and children to live in a dilapidated temple.
During the day, he took his son Li Zhuohou up the mountain to cut firewood and collect grass in exchange for some grain and change to support his family. At night, he took his son to read the Four Books and Five Classics under the light.
In the Qing Dynasty, there was an imperial examination. Under the guidance of his father, Li Zhuohou entered the government to take the examination, but he was admitted as a scholar. He could only use the fact that his family had no money and power, so he did not find any way out. He had to study in another dilapidated temple far away from home. He set up a library and made a living by teaching a few students from rural areas.
On October 26, 1889, Li Siguang was born in Xia Zhangwan at the foot of Longshan Mountain. Because he was the second son of his father Li Zhuohou, his father named him Zhongkui.
At the age of six, Xiao Zhongkui became enlightened with an old man named Chen Er’s father. He studied very hard and was often praised by Chen’s father.
His father asked him to study at such an early age in the hope of "getting enlightened early and achieving success early". Although the family was poor, he told Xiao Zhongkui's mother that the family would rather eat less oil and give the children a lamp of lamp oil every night so that they could read some books at night.
At that time, there were already kerosene lamps in the countryside, but they did not have lampshades. There was only a lamp tube inserted into the cover of an iron pipe, which burned with the kerosene in the bottle. The flames of this kind of lamp are red, and there is a black and unpleasant soot; its sparks are flickering and erratic. If it lasts a little longer, it will leave a layer of black in the nostrils and on the teeth, making the head hurt and the eyes tired. The father was afraid of poisoning his son, so he specially asked him to light a clear oil lamp.
The advantages of clear oil lamps are much stronger than kerosene gun lamps. They have clear light, no smoke, and no strange smell.
In the evening, Xiao Zhongkui and his brother sat face to face at a table. He did not rush to open his schoolbag, but first looked at the wick in the oil lamp. Mom put two wicks inside, and Xiao Zhongkui used a dimmer to gently remove one wick, leaving only one.
"Just light two wicks, child." Mom said lovingly, "This is what your father has taken care of. Don't save this little oil."
"No. This means, mom, if you light a wick, I can study twice as long. Brother, right?" Xiao Zhongkui said and looked up at his brother.
"It's pretty good. In fact, it's almost as bright." My brother agreed.
My mother stopped forcing me. Xiao Zhongkui and his brother just read and wrote silently, without disturbing anyone, until the oil in the lamp was burned out.
Mother sat beside their table, spinning her spinning wheel in the light of this wick. I could spin some yarn at night and get some change, so I could buy some matches, oil and salt, and some pens, ink, and paper for the children to study with.