In the dead of night, I always think of Mr. Yang Xin, a philosopher, aesthete, and calligrapher at Peking University. Although he traveled west with a crane, he has always been alive in my heart, still walking and meditating on the inexplicable lake of Peking University, watching the "stormy waves crashing on the shore" on the south coast, and still climbing Mount Tai on the way. He is still writing his poems that make people never get tired of reading "high and climbable, majestic and amiable...... praising Mount Tai. But the time was frozen in one afternoon when Mr. was 102 years old, and he fell like a radiant sun.
His death immediately made the land of Hainan twilight, immediately made the surging sea no longer noisy, and the stars in the night sky were bright and dark. Heaven and earth all entered into silence and speechlessness. The bad news of Mr. Wang's death reached Yanyuan, and the entire Peking University fell into silence for a long time. Many professors, scholars, and students of Peking University are deeply saddened by the loss of such an elegant, easy-going, erudite, and highly respected gentleman. The bad news spread to the foot of Mount Tai, those who carried the dawn to the top of the mountain, they all had tears in their eyes, silently recalled the laughter and laughter of Mr. Yang Xin sprinkled between the eighteen plates of Mount Tai and the poems written to them to lift their spirits. Since then, the mountain pickers have lost a close friend, and Mr. Yang Xin's laughter can no longer resonate with them. His majestic posture can only be transformed into Mount Tai pine and cypress, tall and strong, with his head held high, admired by tens of thousands of people. His poems describing Mount Tai are also like mountain streams among the ravines, trickling and rushing, chanting and singing, nourishing the bitter soul of every laborer. He has an unyielding spirit like Mount Tai, a lotus temperament that is not stained by mud, and a mind that is broader than the universe.
He loves all the good things in the world, and he dedicates his best qualities to the world without reservation. Teaching and educating people is the only choice in his life, and his voice and smile have left in the hearts of many students at Peking University, and he has left his great love all over the world. In every corner of the world, there may be students who graduated from Peking University, and where there are students from Peking University, it is possible to have the earnest teachings of Mr. Yang Xin and the nourishment of his academic soul.
Mr. Yang Xin once told me that he was a beloved disciple of the old master of philosophy. If it weren't for the hard work and many teachings of the masters, he would not have what he has today. He often kept his gratitude in his heart, and his teachers never forgot his hard work. Every day before his death, he was conscientiously contributing his knowledge and wisdom to society and mankind. Mount Tai engraved his immortal poem "Ode to Mount Tai", Yanyuan left his heroic poems that inspired students to move forward, and even the poor and little-known small mountain village Liuqiaoyu preserved more than 10 ink treasures of Mr. Yang Xin 17 years ago. His intention is to use his social influence to promote people from all walks of life and governments at all levels to give support and care to Liuqiaoyu, and bless this poor mountain village and the surrounding villages to change their ways and live a happy life.
Mr. Yang Xin is a capital "person", and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is the most intelligent and great scholar of our national culture. He loves the people like a son, his sleeves are clean, he regards fame and fortune as dung appropriately, he is majestic, upright, humble and kind, and he is kind-hearted, generous and benevolent. These are the most admired and accepted virtues of human beings, and Mr. gathers them all in one! It can be said that he is a great man, and it is not an exaggeration at all. After his death, state media described him as a great philosopher, aesthete, calligrapher, and senior tenured professor at Peking University. It seems that Mr. Yang Xin is a scholar who is loved and admired by the people, and he is also a great people's mentor. That's why his death is so remembered forever by countless people!
Published in China on July 21, 2024. Liumao Painting and Calligraphy Institute