Two Ideas That Hold the Whole Page Together
Fang Zhimin was born in Yiyang, Jiangxi, and helped create the revolutionary base area in northeast Jiangxi. Arrested in 1935, he kept writing in prison and produced 'Lovely China' and 'Plain Living' before his death in Nanchang that August. A strong page keeps two thoughts side by side: his plain, frugal way of living and his hopeful picture of China's future.
Before you start, write one sentence to act as the centre of the page, for example 'A plain life, with a lovely China in his heart.' Make it the subtitle and let every section answer back to it.
Facts and Lines Worth Putting on the Sheet
Quick profile box
- Name: Fang Zhimin
- Hometown: Yiyang, Jiangxi
- Known for: helping create the northeast Jiangxi base area
- Famous writings: 'Lovely China', 'Plain Living'
Story timeline
- Studied in his hometown as a boy, then went away to school.
- Joined the revolution as a young man and helped build the base area.
- Arrested in 1935 and kept writing while in prison.
- Wrote 'Lovely China' and 'Plain Living' behind bars.
- Died in Nanchang in August 1935.
Quotes to copy
- 'Everywhere there is lively creation, everywhere there is progress with each passing day.'
- 'A plain, clean and simple life — that is where we revolutionaries find the strength to overcome so many hardships.'
Younger pupils can copy one line and add a sentence about what it means; older pupils can use both and write three or four lines of reflection.
How to Split the Space
Try a top title with three blocks underneath:
- Title area: the top quarter, with the largest lettering.
- Story block: the left half, holding the profile box and timeline.
- Quote corner: top right, with the copied lines inside a border or cloud shape.
- My reflection: bottom right, with your own thoughts and one promise to act on.
Use red as the main colour, cream or pale gold as the background and dark grey for the writing. Simple drawings of stars, mountains, books or doves keep the page tidy.
Copying Without the Page Looking Crowded
- Draw the column lines before writing, so you never run out of room.
- Keep a finger-width margin on all four sides.
- Leave a little space between lines instead of packing them tight.
- Split long sentences over two lines and check your spelling at the end.
If You Would Rather Start From a Ready Layout
If drawing a layout from scratch takes too long, open the Smart Handwritten Newspaper WeChat mini program and browse its red story and historical figure layouts and text ideas. Pick a base sheet, swap in Fang Zhimin's name, timeline and quotes, then write everything out by hand — the time you save can go into making your handwriting neat.