Hardship is nothing new to Zheng. He lost his hands as a 1-year-old after he fell into an oven. He has to clasp a spoon between his wrists to eat, or clasp a pencil to write. He has been rejected by universities (despite earning high marks on the national entrance examination) and has been turned down by employers who did not believe a handless man could be useful - he experienced it all.
"It is just because of this that I treasure every job opportunity and devote myself fully to my work," Zheng says.
Zheng got a second-hand camera from a classmate. The then-22-year-old began to manipulate the "intricate machine" with his "bare" wrists and made a living by taking photos for local villagers. He won his first prize in Shanghai with a photo of rural life.
"Photography gave me self-confidence for the first time. I was introverted and cut myself off from the world because it was obvious that I was different," Zheng says. "When other photographers greet me and say 'Hey Zheng, great pictures,' I feel I am one of them, and I can produce good work, too."
Zheng finds the joys he lost to his disability through his photography.
"I'm handicapped, but I'm confident and happy, which could partially be attributed to photography. I get joy in a beautiful scene, and more joy when I capture the image in a photograph. There is a 'third joy' when I see it printed and a fourth when winning a prize."
Photography brought Zheng more than a living; it brought him love.
A young woman saw Zheng on TV in the late 1980s. "I was touched that such an outstanding man was living near me," Wang Caifang recalls.
They met through a friend. She was further attracted to Zheng for "his integrity and responsibility as a man to family and society".
Marrying Zheng, however, took courage, Wang says. She married him against opposition from family and friends.
