Xu Enyuan, a 73-year-old veteran teacher of costume design, has spent 53 years in academia, and his wife, daughters and sons-in-law were all his pupils.

"After I graduated from Nanjing Normal University, I immediately began teaching," said Xu. After teaching at Wuxi College of Light Industry andDonghua University, he retired at the age of 60, only to return to teaching in 2005, at Chengdu Vocational Institute of Arts.

On January 1 of this year, he retired again, but returned to work seven months later, having found the idleness of retirement unbearable. "It felt great to go back to teaching. I ate more and slept better," he said.

Tough love

Xu finds it difficult to approach his students' failures with indifference. "I have always been strict with my students. I treat them as my own kids. I can't just stand by when they need my guidance."

He goes to great lengths to persuade his students to study harder, sometimes being very stern with them. He even berates himself for being a bad teacher in front of them, knowing that they will not be able to bear such a display. His methods have been largely successful, and in the long run, his students appreciate his devotion.

Li Xiaohui, one of Xu's former students, once regarded Xu as a grumpy teacher, but he later changed his mind. "He was strict because he treated us as his own children. He wanted us to rise to our potential and have a better future," he said.

Guiding young souls

"He cared about more than our studies, and he offered guidance in many aspects of our lives," said Li.

Each of Xu's students has two chances to be late. The first time, he will make excuses for them. "It's okay if you failed to find the right classroom," he may say. If a student comes late twice, he is still welcoming.

Upon the third tardy arrival, he will tell the latecomer to explain to the dean what caused the delay, and the student has to get permission from the dean before returning to class.

"After they graduate from college, they will realize how important these things are, so I feel responsible for making sure they are well prepared," Xu said. "The college leaders also support my methods."

Xu said that he can't make decisions for his students, but he can influence them and help them to make the right choice. "I am an old man and I know a lot about life that they don't know yet," he said.

Parent-child relationship

Chen Gaoying, one of Xu's students who graduated last year, sees Xu as a grandfather. "He even offered us advice on how to find a good partner," Chen told the Global Times.

Xu advises his students to find a mate while in college, saying that they would find better matches there rather than when they are off in the real world. But he cautions that college romance should not affect their studies.

"A person who loves you when you're in school and have no money or power is one who really loves you," he told the Global Times.

Xu's extra care with the development of each student is what makes him more than a teacher to his pupils.

"I will always see you as my father," a student wrote to him in a letter, which Xu keeps in his glasses case. Xu has received over 500 letters from his students.

The writer of the letter was facing having to drop out of school due to financial issues when Xu gave him 10,000 yuan ($1,580). His salary at the time was 5,000 yuan a month.

"I come to tears every time I read this letter," Xu said. "Supposing he was my son, I could never allow him to suffer that." Xu refused to allow the student to pay him back. It was a gift.

Anonymous benefactor

Xu takes 500 yuan from his salary every month to support students living on tight budgets, as long as they meet his conditions that they "don't arrive late, never leave class early, and hand in their homework on time."

"There was a girl who fainted in my class because she had to skip breakfast," Xu said, recalling how he was first inspired to begin this practice. Breakfast at the school was only 2 yuan, but the girl came from a rural area and couldn't afford it.

Since then, Xu has given part of his salary to the student affairs office, entrusting the administrators there with the responsibility of giving the money to students in need.

He doesn't want the students to know who's helping them. "It's just a small amount and there is nothing to boast about," Xu said.

One of Xu's students became an author, once writing, "Xu is less of an educator than a person of truth. He is a man of genuine character who doesn't need other titles."