Geden, an old man from Lhasa, devoted most of his life to education. In addition to teaching, his greatest hobby was collection.

Like the vast number of farmers and herdsmen in Xizang, Geden had always remembered Chairman Mao’s kindness.

Kunsang Chodron, daughter of Geden, told the reporter that he had been engaged in education in Nagqu, the region with the highest altitude and toughest conditions in Xizang. He never complained or tried to transfer to another post. He was like a thicket of grass, rooted in the alpine prairie, imparting cultural knowledge to herdsmen’s descendants until retirement. After his return to Nagqu Retirement Base in Lhasa, collecting portraits of Chairman Mao and other souvenirs about China’s revolution history became an important part of his retirement life.

Kunsang Chodron said that her father had been engaged in collection since she could remember. Whether on business trips to inland China for conferences or at Xizang’s antique market, as long as he saw an object related to China’s revolution history, he would stop and appreciate it. It was common for him to chat with merchants for two hours. He never tired of asking others about its origin and significance, bargaining with merchants when encountering beloved objects and purchasing them when he could. Kunsang Chodron remembered that every time her father came back to Xizang from inland China, he always took packs of luggage, and most of them were collections he had purchased.

After years of accumulation, Geden’s home has become a collection house. All kinds of portraits and photos of Chairman Mao are framed and carefully preserved. Kunsang Chodron said that collection was the only hobby of her father, and each object embodies his painstaking effort, truly expressing the deep love of his generation for Chairman Mao and their expectations for their children. These are priceless treasures her father left.