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Author: (American) Liu Yong / Country: United States
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: Life gains its assets because of the demands of the "world," and it gains its value because of the demands of love. The "world" runs across the strings of a hesitant heart, playing out melancholic melodies. In this colorful and vast world, when you are lost and bewildered, a wise person quietly walks beside you, guiding you through the maze. The author discusses various topics with touches of humor, satire, inspiration, and nostalgia. The author discusses various topics with touches of humor, satire, inspiration, and nostalgia. This volume includes Facing Life's Beauty and Sorrow, Embracing Our Limited Lifetime, Bluffing Requires a Draft, and Modern Syndrome.
There was once a very famous master who told him he wouldn't live past forty-seven. He vowed to smash that master's signboard if necessary. So when he was around twelve or thirteen, I loved reading wuxia novels and often hid them under my bed whenever my mother left. I would take them out to read once she was gone. Wuxia novels mostly revolved around stories of revenge. The protagonists were usually children burdened with deep-seated grievances. First, they received help from a kind benefactor to save their lives, then they acquired martial arts manuals. Sometimes, they stumbled upon a rare ginseng fruit that only ripens once every thousand years. Alternatively, they had a senior martial arts master unblock their meridians, transforming them from weak and frail teenagers into masters of martial arts. They then sought vengeance against their's lair, avenging their family's bloody demise.
Back then, I didn't just read wuxia novels; I also mimicked the moves described in them and memorized the couplets in the books. The sentence I found most "cool" was, "To fail to avenge this grudge is not the way of a true gentleman." After learning that phrase, I used it frequently at school. If someone beat me in a competition, I'd say, "To fail to avenge this grudge is not the way of a true gentleman." If a classmate tore my clothes during a basketball game, I'd say the same thing. It was as if learning such a "cool" phrase made me seek out grievances even when none existed, just to feel satisfied. Of course, teenagers' desire to compete and dominate also played a role. Back then, I often heard about "little tigers" who would stab someone just because they looked at them, and many classmates were involved in gangs, engaging in armed fights. That kind of "fighting" seemed endless—today you hit me a bit, tomorrow I must retaliate; tomorrow you have more people, I swallow my pride, and the day after, I must gather a crowd to seek justice. It truly matched the American West saying, "There are always two gunshots." Today you fire a shot, and if the other person falls without getting a reply, someone will surely come to "finish that shot" later.
In high school, I had a classmate who was bullied by someone from another class. He was very thin and even the gang members didn't want him. He harbored resentment and told his father, who surprisingly scolded him, "Who told you not to fight back?" and sent him to study taekwondo. He first trained outside before joining the school's taekwondo club. He grew stronger with each practice, and a slap from him could shatter a table corner. Sometimes classmates would take the wooden slats from chairs, arrange them between two tables, and challenge him to break them. He could snap thick wooden slats in half without harming his hands. When word spread to the other class, the person who had bullied him became terrified. Yet, even though my classmate clearly had the strength to "seek justice," he didn't act. First, he said, "Taekwondo is not for fighting—it's the club's rule." Then, "Why bother? Winning isn't glorious anyway." Later, when classmates mentioned that he had trained martial arts for revenge, he smiled and said, "To fail to avenge this grudge is not the way of a true gentleman. Actually, I should thank that person. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be where I am today!" He didn't seek revenge but even became friends with that person.
I've had similar experiences myself. Right after graduating from university, a TV company invited me to host a special program. The director, seeing my writing skills, asked me to co-write the script as well. However, after the program was completed, when it came time to pay, the director not only refused to give me the scriptwriting fee but also deducted half of my hosting fee. He handed me a receipt and said, "You signed for 1,600, but I can only give you 800 because the program went over budget." I didn't say anything and signed anyway, thinking, "A gentleman avenges his grudge in ten years." Later, the director asked me for help again, and I "did the same thing" for him a few more times.
The last time, he didn't deduct my money and became very polite to me. By then, the general manager had noticed me, and I suddenly became a TV reporter and news anchor. We often met at the company later, and each time he smiled awkwardly. I once considered reporting him, but as the high school classmate had said, without him, could I have achieved what I have today? If I had been angry and continued to pursue revenge, would I have had the chance to become a news anchor? The opportunity came from him—he was my benefactor. He had already admitted his mistake. Why should I seek revenge?
Later, I went to the United States for graduate studies. One day, a classmate who had already found a job complained to me about his American boss "eating him up"—not only giving him very low pay but also deliberately delaying his green card application (U.S. residency permit). I told him, "Such a terrible boss, it's not worth it. But how can you work here for so long without getting anything? You should keep learning and then look for another job, so you should study secretly." He followed my advice and not only worked overtime every day but also stayed late to memorize the writing styles of business documents. He even took notes beside the workers to learn how to fix printers, so he could save on repair costs when he started his own business someday.
Half a year later, I asked him if he planned to quit his job. He smiled and said, "No need! My boss now looks at me differently—he gave me a promotion, a raise, and my green card is coming soon. He even asked me why my attitude changed so drastically and why I became so proactive." His sense of injustice vanished. His "revenge" was simply a change in approach, and he reflected that he had actually been lazy back then.
About ten years ago, I encountered another interesting story. A close friend suddenly became obsessed with divination—studying everything from birth charts and Zi Wei Dou Shu (Purple Star Astrology) to name studies and astrology. He wasn't learning divination because he believed in it but to prove it was a scam. The reason was that a very famous master had told him he wouldn't live past forty-seven. He vowed to smash that master's signboard if necessary. Guess what? The more he learned, the more afraid he became because he discovered that when he divined his own future, it was indeed true. At that point, he changed his mind. He started doing charity work and said, "Since I won't live long anyway, I should make the most of the remaining time and do something meaningful." He became very active in his efforts, and everyone said he had changed—from a restless and greedy person into a kind and compassionate gentleman. Unknowingly, he passed forty-seven, then forty-eight, and now he's fifty-three, looking radiant and full of vitality, healthier than anyone else.
"One, you can smash that master's signboard now!" I teased him one day. His eyes lit up, and he asked me, "Why?" He smiled again, "If it weren't for that person warning me, I would have had a heart attack by forty-seven with my old personality. He didn't stop me, after all!"