But rather than focusing on the author's own tragedy, the book is an outstanding story of courage and fortitude which provides the reader with much food for thought.

The book is entitled Jiaru Wo Neng Xingzou Santian (Three Days to Walk), taking its example from Helen Keller's remarkable story Three Days to See.

To Zhang Yuncheng, living in Qingquan Village in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, life means pain -- he suffers unimaginable agony every minute he lives in the world. In spite of that, every day is very precious to him, not least because his days in the world are numbered.

Amyotrophy is a congenital disease characterized by acute pain and weakness or atrophy of musculature. Only a few amyotrophy patients have lived beyond 28, according to medical records.

But as he wrote in the book which records his struggles, Zhang has never despaired.

In the beginning

Zhang began to develop symptoms when he was three years old in 1982.

The illness developed gradually and four years later, he could neither run, nor jump, only walk.

His parents sent him to the village school that September. But that first day at school during playtime, he had to remain by the classroom door, watching as his peers ran about playing nearby.

It was windy that day and after sitting in the draught for a whole afternoon, he caught cold.

The next day, his parents decided not to send him to school and over the next 17 years, he never again set foot in a classroom.

His condition continued to worsen. By the age of 10, he was unable to lift anything heavier than a pillow. At 12, he could not walk without the aid of a stick. At 14, he could walk no further than his courtyard. At 16, he could not walk at all. At 18, he could not get out of his bed. At 20, he could not raise his arms above his head.

Thereafter, he has been confined to his kang, a brick-piled bed common in northern parts of China, all day long. His world extends no farther than the courtyard, which he can see from his kang through the window.

For most of the time, his only companion was his third elder-brother Zhang Yunpeng, who was also stricken with amyotrophy.

One day when he was randomly turning the pages of a primary school textbook, he noticed many Chinese characters which seemed to be very strange to him.

His second eldest brother explained that if he knew those characters, he would be able to read many interesting stories.

That fired his interest in learning and with the help of his second brother, he began to learn.

He was 12 that year. Several years later, he had taught himself thousands of Chinese characters.

In June 1996, when he was 17 years old, Zhang Yuncheng wrote a letter to Heilongjiang Broadcasting and Television News, one of the few publications he had access to read.

Zhang Danuo, an editor at the newspaper, by chance happened to open the letter.

Reading the letter, in which the boy related his condition as well as his desire for a better life, Zhang Danuo was deeply moved.

"Once the notion of killing myself did come to me. But then I thought of my parents. I felt I was so reluctant to leave the world. Only cowardly people commit suicide to free themselves from the pains of life. I am not cowardly, and I should live on to fight against all the hardships of life," read the letter.

"Every one should have his dream," Zhang Yuncheng wrote, "My dream is to become a writer."

Zhang Danuo immediately wrote back, encouraging him to stick to his dream.

At that time neither Zhang Yuncheng nor Zhang Danuo would have thought that exchange would mark the beginning of a long friendship.

Mentor and friend

In his reply, Zhang Danuo offered to help Zhang Yuncheng fulfill his dream of writing a book of his own.

They reached an agreement that every week or fortnight, Zhang Danuo would assign a topic for the boy to compose.

It proved to be a big challenge for Yuncheng.

Even grasping a pen was a struggle, owing to muscular weakness.

"It took half a minute for me to pick up a pen every time. But I could not grasp it tightly immediately after I picked it up. I would have to exert my strength bit by bit," said Zhang Yuncheng.

He said winter was the most uncomfortable time. "While ordinary people may not feel cold indoors, I will. While writing, my hands were exposed in the cold air and I had to put down the pen every several minutes and warm up my hands."

Because of his poor constitution, he frequently fell ill with colds.

"I would have to rest in bed for at least a week if I got a fever, but I begrudged stopping to write even when my chest and head ached," wrote Zhang Yuncheng.

Through a sheer act of will he overcame all these difficulties and continued to write an essay each week under the guidance of Zhang Danuo, who was always there to give the boy confidence whenever he began to lose heart.

"Stick on, you will be the Helen Keller of China," Zhang Danuo encouraged.

"Every day the ink in the refill shrinks, and that would make me extremely satisfied and delighted," said Zhang Yuncheng.

The happiest moment was when he finished an essay. Then, he said, "I felt everything in the world was so beautiful, and how wonderful it was to live in the world."

In early 2003, Chinese Youth, a monthly magazine published in Beijing, carried an eight-page story on Zhang Yuncheng.

Around the same time, the Lijiang Publishing House based in Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, decided to publish his essays.

Bestseller

Zhang Yuncheng's book came out in May.

Acording to Pang Jianke, the editor-in-chief of the book, unsure whether it would be welcomed in the market, the publisher decided to do an initial print run of just 10,000 copies.

But the response of readers was much more optimistic than Pang and the publishing house had anticipated. All 10,000 copies sold out and Lijiang is considering making a second print run.

"The book will move every reader," said Pang.

In it, Zhang Yuncheng wrote of his longing for a healthy body.

He described how once he tried to pick up a thick book, but failed.

"I felt as if a knife were being twisted in my heart," he wrote. "All things in the world are so heavy for me. How I wished that I could be powerful so that I could help my third elder-brother when he tumbled, so that I could coax my little niece with toys when she cries."

The most remarkable parts of the book are his descriptions of how he overcame the obstacles posed by his illness and managed to do many things, such as teaching himself Chinese pinyin.

It seemed that he was always full of courage when facing the cruelties of life.

"The length of my life will not be as long as others, so I need to broaden my life," he wrote.

"To many people, one is useless if he loses physical strength. I am not convinced of that. The value of people is decided by his attitude towards life," he wrote.

(Eastday.com July 7, 2003)