"I have overcome the greatest difficulty in my life. What else can be too hard for me?" After Huang Yang-guang had learned to write with his foot, he felt that nothing in life could be too great a challenge for him. What a normal person could do, he could do even better. At one time his disabilities deeply worried his parents, but now he is his family's pride as he tours the world and amazes audiences with his dancing. "One does not need to be whole of  limb to achieve what one wants to achieve," Huang observes. "What is more important is to have a healthy mind."

The dance Huang is performing onstage--"The Green, Green Rice Seedlings"--reflects his real life. As the son of a farmer, he used to help out on the farm. Onstage he shines as a dancer, and in real life he is just as impressive. He faces the physical limitations that fate imposed on him with a positive attitude, and he never fails to do his utmost to develop and explore his potential. His smiles are always as bright as sunshine. One cannot help feeling that the young man really lives up to his name, Yang-guang, which literally means "sunshine."

Huang was born in 1977 in Guilin, Guangxi Province, China. When he was five, he went with his mother to visit his aunt. Coming from a poor village, he had never seen a power transformer before. So when he saw one here, his curiosity was so piqued that he climbed up a utility pole to touch it. His body absorbed the force of the high voltage electricity, and all the lights in the village went out. When his mother found him, the poor boy was too weak to move and his hands and arms were seriously burnt.

When he was delivered to the hospital, the doctor told Huang's parents their son was too badly injured and the hospital could not take him in. What the doctor said instilled in the couple such an intense despair that they felt as if the sky and earth were spinning around them. Huang was their oldest son--how could they simply give up on him? Refusing to relinquish hope, they looked everywhere for a cure and found herbal medicines to apply to his burnt arms. Despite their efforts, however, their son's condition did not improve. The skin of his arms festered and then began to peel off until the bones showed. Huang's father got a pair of scissors and cut off the decayed bones. After that, Huang's wounds gradually healed, but he had also lost his arms.

"When I became armless, I didn't feel any pain. It was only when I realized I was different from others that I began to suffer." When Huang entered elementary school, his teacher said to him, "You only need to come to class. You don't have to hand in any homework." But Huang did not want to be different from his classmates, nor did he want any exceptions made for him just because he was disabled. He said to himself, "I must try to do everything my classmates are capable of doing."

He started learning to write with his foot. Too shy to practice in school, he only did it at home. At first it was difficult. A pencil was round, and it was hard for him to keep it steady with his toes. But he worked hard at it. After relentless practice, he finally managed to write neatly. He was so happy when he could at last hand in assignments just like his classmates.

Learning to ride a bicycle was another big challenge for him. He was full of envy when he saw his classmates biking to school, so he told his parents he wanted to learn to ride one. At first they were supportive, but when they saw him falling off his bicycle again and again, bruising and hurting himself, they made him stop. Despite their opposition, Huang practiced secretly on his own; his parents were too busy working on the farm to keep an eye on him. Fortune always smiles on those who work hard--he finally made it.

After that, his confidence was greatly increased. He was sure he could do almost everything with his feet. He learned to wash clothes, thread needles, sew clothes and buttons, and weave bamboo baskets. He could even swim, paint, and write calligraphy with his feet.

Because his family was poor, Huang had to drop out of third grade. He stayed at home and helped his parents tend the family orchard. He watered fruit trees, loosened the soil, and did many other chores. His toes often got hurt when he held a knife with them to sharpen bamboo sticks to tie up fruit trees. But he gritted his teeth and bravely bore the pain. He wanted to know his limitations and discover the full extent of his abilities. "I want to do whatever others can do," he said.

In Huang's village, he was often praised as a brave warrior who despite his handicaps never relied on others. Before long, his story attracted the attention of the media. In 2001, the Guilin Municipal Bureau of Culture sent a teacher to instruct Huang in dancing, and a dance was especially choreographed for him so that he could enter a talent contest held for the physically challenged. Huang did not disappoint those who cared for him--his performance won a Special Honor Medal at the competition and evoked the interest of the China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe, which later enlisted him as a member. Since then, he has been touring the world with the troupe and capturing the hearts of numerous people with his dancing and his undaunted spirit.

"The Green, Green Rice Seedlings" was a dance especially choreographed for Huang. In it he cooperates with a group of deaf-mute dancers who play the roles of rice seedlings. Without hands, Huang cannot do sign language and therefore is unable to communicate with his fellow dancers. But they work so well together on the stage that one can sense a strong camaraderie among them.

"We help each other in the troupe," Huang explains. "I have no hands, so at dinnertime some of the deaf-mute dancers help me fill my rice bowl. When we go shopping, I act as interpreter for them since I can read sign language."

At the invitation of Tzu Chi and the Zhang Yao-ruo Foundation, the troupe went on a performance tour in Taiwan from July 7 to 22 this year. Tzu Chi volunteers did their best to play good hosts. They treated every troupe member with the utmost hospitality and kept plying them with drinks, food, and fruit.

With the help of a toothpick held between his toes, Huang picked up pieces of watermelon and put them into his mouth. Then he used his foot to wipe his mouth with a paper towel, collect the rinds and paper towel, and throw them into a garbage can. Everything people do with their hands he can do just as well with his feet. "I hope you won't treat me as if I were someone special. I'm just as normal as you are."

What was most surprising of all was that he could even take pictures. Taking advantage of a spare moment, he asked Lin Yi-long (林宜龍), a Tzu Chi volunteer who is good at photography, to teach him some photographic techniques. "I can take pictures, but only with small cameras," said Huang. "My feet can't hold big cameras steady." He borrowed a camera from a volunteer and demonstrated how he used it. He grasped the strap of the camera with the big toe of his right foot, and then used his left foot to steady the camera. After framing his shot and adjusting the focal length, he pressed the shutter with the big toe of his right foot. Click! A distinct, clear picture was captured.

When Yang Hai-tao (楊海濤), a blind troupe member who likes to carry a camera around, was taking pictures, Yang enthusiastically served as his eyes and helped him to aim his camera correctly. Onstage or offstage, Yang never failed to attract attention.

When asked what he thinks about his performance, he answered, "I hope that in addition to providing some entertainment to people who care about the disabled, my performance can help inspire those who need spiritual guidance to find their inner strength and become stronger."

Huang deeply feels that one doesn't need to be whole of limb to achieve what one wants to achieve. "What is more important is to have a healthy mind." While growing up, he never felt that he was inferior to others because of his physical defects. When his neighbors suggested that he wear artificial limbs to make his life more convenient, he said with confidence, "I can do everything the way I am. There's no need for me to be fitted with artificial limbs." Perfectly at ease with his physical condition, he hopes that in the future, when he is no longer with the troupe, he can find a job related to the handicapped and use his experience to help more people who are in need of a guiding hand.　

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Because Huang often goes on performance tours with the troupe, he rarely has time to visit his parents. "I go home only once or twice a year. I really miss my parents." Once his disabilities made his parents worry a lot about him, but now they are proud of him as he tours the world and amazes audiences with his dancing. He has even become the envy of his fellow villagers. A neighbor even joked, "If I could go abroad to perform like you, I’d be willing to have my arms chopped off."

Apparently Huang has become a role model not only for his fellow villagers, but also for many other people who know his story. He has managed to make his life shine even more brightly than most able-bodied persons. No wonder he can say contentedly, "Although I've lost my arms, I never feel there's anything missing in my life."