A pen of Duan Zhaorong, recommended for admission to Tsinghua University for a doctorate program in 2017, accompanying her in college entrance examination and 4-year college life. (Picture provided by the interviewee)

The “memory store” is an object storage program created by Zhang Xiaoliang from Grade 2014 of Southwest University, and a platform for teachers and alumni to store their memories and objects. Everyone may store their objects related to the university; and the staff may prepare and share the story about the objects, as well as store and keep the objects. They show the experience and tell the story about the owner through their objects, and will mail to the owner on some day.

Zhang Xiaoliang’s stored objects. (Provided by the interviewee)

Object storage means that the meaningful objects are stored for the purpose of substantializing the memory, giving every graduate an opportunity to store objects related to the university, improving the value and meaning of each object as the time passes, and witnessing their four-year college life.

“The ordinary but studious collections are not for appreciation but for remembering a period of time.” Such is the original intention of Zhang Xiaoliang, who is the founder of the Memory Store. Objects bear representations of some precious past, which may exist in memories gradually without considerations. (Translated by Liu Hongyan, Fathom Language Limited)