Soul Feast: Small Stories, Big Life

Author: Tang Yong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: Shaping Loyalty
In a remote area, there lived a couple with their two sons in a small wooden cabin they had built themselves. Alongside them were two wolves. When the wolf cubs were still nursing, their mother was unjustly beaten to death by humans. The family then adopted the little wolf cubs and lived together from then on. One day, while the couple was cutting wood about a mile away from home, the children accidentally knocked over a kerosene lamp, and a fierce fire began to engulf the small cabin. The two young boys were trapped inside, crying uncontrollably. At that moment, the two wolves immediately rushed toward the blazing cabin, dragging the children to a safe area outside. However, the wolves were severely burned by the fire. By the time the parents returned, the small cabin had turned into a pile of ashes.
Asson came to the foot of the Alps and encountered several gods. The gods asked, "Asson, have you ever had a friend?" Asson replied, "Yes, he loves me more than he loves you." This angered the gods, who resolved to kill Asson's friend. They asked who his friend was, but Asson saw their malicious intent and refused to reveal his friend's name. The gods then offered their treasures as inducements and promised him a beautiful woman and a king's throne, but none of this swayed Asson's heart. Nevertheless, the gods still captured Asson's friend and used the same tactics to tempt him, offering everything—beauty, wealth, and power—if he betrayed Asson, or threatening to kill him otherwise. Like Asson, his friend neither wavered nor gave in. The gods were moved by their mutual loyalty and secretly let them go down the mountain.
The loyalty of the wolves, and the loyalty between Asson and his friend, moved the heavens and were worth celebrating. Loyalty is a quality—a quality that must be tested and can only be revealed in critical moments. It is a capability thats other capabilities; once lost, all other capabilities become useless. Loyalty does not require grand pronouncements; it is the natural expression of a person's innate emotions. Loyalty is not pretentious; it is a person's genuine and natural actions. Loyalty does not calculate fame or fortune; it is a person's noble professional virtue. Loyalty is an immortal soul, the lubricant of life, the inherent nature that flows in one's blood. Loyalty is a fundamental obligation, the very foundation of being a person.
Jing Ke risked his life to assassinate the Qin Emperor, repaying Prince Dan's kindness, which was an act of loyalty. Guan Yu refused a generous reward and remained loyal to his former master, which was also an act of loyalty. Yue Fei devoted himself to his country, resisting the Jin forces and driving them back, which was an act of loyalty. Qian Xuesen broke through all obstacles in the United States and chose to return to his homeland, which was also an act of loyalty.
Liu Hulan faced the guillotine with unwavering righteousness, turning his loyalty to the Party into a surge of blood. Wang Wei intercepted intruders in the air, channeling his loyalty to his country into a daring act. Kong Fansen gave up his privileged life to root himself in Ali, turning his loyalty to the people into a final song of life. Huang Kun, as a scientific master, dedicated his life to his career, turning his loyalty to his calling into a life of solitude.
No matter the reason, if a person loses loyalty, they lose the very foundation of being human, the very essence of integrity.