In 1991, when I was nine years old and a fourth-grade student, the remote and impoverished village where I was born and raised got its first television. It was a second-hand black and white TV that my uncle, who lived in the city, gave to my third uncle. The entire village was shocked, and everyone rushed to my third uncle’s house to watch the only TV show available – “The Legend of the Snake” (new version). The show aired two episodes each week. My uncle had to construct an antenna to receive the signal, and we often encountered situations where the TV screen would suddenly turn into static during the show.

Watching that TV show sparked a lifelong interest in imagination for me. In the show, a snake transformed into a beautiful woman and married a doctor to repay him for saving her thousands of years ago. However, a monk did not approve of their true love and captured and imprisoned her in Leifeng Tower in Hangzhou. I felt sorry for the woman and angry at the monk, so I would imagine myself as a strong woman with magical powers who could defeat the monk and rescue the woman, allowing her to live happily ever after with her husband. Imagining such scenarios became a regular practice for me every night before falling asleep and every morning upon waking up. After watching a film or TV show, seeing a picture, or reading a book, my vivid imagination would occur while walking on a road, working on the farm, or engaging in activities that didn’t require my full concentration.

In 2000, I graduated from a teacher’s training school and became an elementary school teacher earning a monthly salary of 400 RMB (approximately 70 USD). At the end of the year, my parents wanted to sell one pig to buy a TV, but the price of the pig was too low to afford a television. So, I bought our first TV, a color one, and my parents slaughtered two pigs to make smoked meat for protein throughout the year. This time, we didn’t need an antenna, but a satellite dish to receive signals, and we had access to more than 50 channels. My entire family gathered to watch the Chinese New Year’s Gala together, and my two younger brothers were more excited than I was because owning a TV had been their dream. Soon, televisions became popular in my village and at my school, and I was exposed to various dramas and live shows. I also became familiar with TV programs from other countries like South Korea, Japan, and the US. All these programs further expanded my imagination, and I began writing down my imaginative thoughts, eventually shaping my lifelong career aspiration: to become a writer.

In 2006, computers gained popularity in my hometown city, and I was fascinated by them. I started watching shows on computers instead of TVs because I didn’t have to wait for weekly episode updates. As the internet rapidly developed, computers and cellphones provided me with more information and news. However, I felt that my imagination became more fragmented. I still believe that televisions offer clearer images than computers. Eventually, my parents agreed to sell the ten-year-old TV in our home, and my brother bought them an LCD TV.

In 2014, I moved to the US. I noticed that televisions were not only found in living rooms but also in kitchens, bedrooms, garages, and cabins. Until my son turned two, we didn’t buy a TV because computers and cellphones fulfilled our daily needs. However, once my son began understanding children’s movies, we purchased a large TV for the living room to protect his eyes (as I developed astigmatism from using small cellphone screens). Nowadays, apart from occasionally watching cartoons with my kids, I seldom use the TV.

Our TV is mostly used by my son to play video games or watch Netflix shows. I believe that computers, cellphones, and iPads will eventually replace televisions, and the era of television will come to an end soon. However, I am grateful for the immense interest that television has sparked in me and the benefits it has brought. I love and appreciate TVs. The only concern I have regarding television is how to handle old televisions and television waste.