Reflections on Reading The Sea of Life

When you are exhausted, you will be willing to come, and help will eventually come back to life.

Mai Jia, winner of Mao Dun Literature Prize, once told the story of a colonel in the sea of life.

The colonel was originally brilliant in military exploits and infinite in scenery, but he was persecuted and fell into the quagmire from the peak.

He was caught by the torrent of the times and poured into the ocean of life.

Dong Qing was in tears after reading this book, and Mo Yan was full of meditation after reading it.

Life is like the sea, ups and downs.

We don't know whether tomorrow will be calm or rough.

But Mai Jia said:

Dare to die is not courage, but to live is courage.

When the tide of fate strikes, only by never giving up can we ride the wind and waves in the ups and downs.

After the tide rises and falls, life is often impermanent.

The name of the colonel in the book is Jiang Zhengnan, who experienced three ebbs and flows in his first half of life.

The first time I studied carpentry at the age of 13, I opened a carpenter's shop three years later, and my business has just flourished.

As a result, on the way to sell goods, he was forcibly dragged to the front line troops.

Business is gone, life is hard to protect, but the colonel accepted this change without complaining.

The second time, in the army, he practiced martial arts hard and learned medical skills without a teacher.

In four years, he was promoted from a guard to a regular military doctor, and Jianghu people called him the "Golden Knife".

A military commander appreciated his talent and arranged for him to be a senior spy.

In order to get information, he opened a clinic as a cover to deal with the enemy under his nose.

As a result, he was caught in a Japanese prison camp because of his betrayal, and became a plaything of the senior enemy spy Kawashima Yoshiko.

The other party embroidered his name on his stomach with ulterior motives, which became the shame of his life.

The third time, after Japan surrendered, the colonel escaped and joined the PLA team.

He made great achievements in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea and became a hero admired by everyone.

After the war, the colonel stayed in the hospital and soon became a vice presidential candidate.

With his outstanding ability and kindness, he deeply attracted his colleague Dr. Lin.

Dr. Lin courted him many times, but he refused.

The other party became angry from embarrassment, framed him for raping himself and forced him to marry himself.

In order not to reveal the inscription on his stomach, the colonel had no choice but to defend himself. The army dismissed him and sent him home.

But what awaits him is the village gossip.

It is widely rumored in the village that he is evil, so he was nicknamed "eunuch" because he didn't marry.

But no matter what others say, the colonel never refutes.

Three ups and downs, the colonel has long looked down on fate and accepted the impermanence of things.

He either practices medicine everywhere or smokes and reads newspapers at home.

He also has two cats, who often bathe, comb their hair and eat refined meat, and live more comfortably than anyone else.

There is a saying that:

Fate is an impermanent roulette, you never know where it will put you and what it will do in the next round.

Life is always impermanent, and no one can live in the ebb and flow forever.

A miserable life, maybe one second you are still enjoying the wonderful, and the next you will fall into the abyss.

Between ups and downs, what we can do is to let nature take its course and not compromise with fate.

The long night will come to an end, and the clouds will come to light.

Accept the uncertainty of fate, even if there are thorns under your feet, you should find your own flowers and applause from this wandering.

Don't rely on anyone when you are in trouble.

The colonel who bears all kinds of names is too unlucky to be rejected by the villagers.

However, he didn't hate everyone for it.

When someone encounters difficulties, he will enthusiastically help them solve them.

The old blind fortune teller's wife ran away from home after giving birth to her son and lived in poverty. The colonel helped him from time to time.

My friend's uncle quarreled with his daughter-in-law over money and committed suicide by drinking pesticides. The colonel not only saved his life, but also gave him a sum of money.

However, when posters were put up in the village, shouting the slogan of arresting Yuto, the colonel was not spared.

In order to please the captain, the son of the old blind man dragged the colonel to the street for public display and took the lead in beating him up.

In order to find out if he was a eunuch, the little blind man tied him up and took a peek at his pants while he was sleeping.

Seeing that the secret was about to be hidden, the colonel cut off the blind man's tongue in despair and broke his hamstring.

Overnight, he changed from a respected famous doctor to an embarrassing fugitive.

After the colonel escaped, the blind little man who couldn't speak or start work practiced writing with his feet, spreading rumors that the colonel and his friends were not in proper relationship.

Ugly rumors soon filled friends' families.

In order to save his face, my friend's father secretly reported the colonel's hiding place regardless of his safety.

The colonel who escaped for more than a year was quickly arrested and brought to justice, becoming a big spy, traitor and hooligan.

He was tortured to death in prison.

But the old blind man who wanted to avenge his son and the villagers who didn't care much about it still refused to let him go.

On the day when the commune convicted the colonel, the brother of the old blind man took the stage with a rogue and tried to take off the colonel's pants in public.

Those villagers who benefited from his kindness are waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

People who trust betray him, and those who help him will kill him.

The isolated colonel was driven mad alive.

As the saying goes, a deep well has a bottom and people's hearts are unpredictable.

When you are down and out, there are far more people watching jokes than sympathizing with you. When you are down and out, there are far more people throwing stones than giving timely help.

When people are in pain, there is no one to rely on but themselves.

The closest friend may part ways with you because of a misunderstanding;

The most trusted partner may turn against you because of temporary interests.

Life is a long road. Instead of counting on others to shelter you from the wind and rain, learn to hold an umbrella for yourself.

Only your own armor can make you invulnerable in a cruel world.

Only when you are strong can you not be afraid of any harm brought by the outside world.

Live without regrets, persistence is everything.

The comatose colonel was sent back to the village.

He didn't even know his friends, so he hit everyone, grabbed the knife and stabbed himself in the stomach.

At this point, Dr. Lin also figured out why the colonel refused to himself.

In order to atone, she took the colonel to the city for treatment.

Unfortunately, the colonel has missed the best treatment time, and his intelligence has returned to the level of seven or eight-year-old children.

Dr. Lin married the colonel in order to take care of him.

As the days passed, the colonel became so stupid that he could hardly take care of himself.

However, even though he became a "cripple" in everyone's eyes, he still struggled with the cruelty of fate in his own way.

He plays games and paints happily. Every day, he is full of red and full of energy. He smiled at everyone.

He carefully studied the techniques of growing vegetables, cooking, raising chickens, ducks and silkworms with Dr. Lin, and became a famous expert in sericulture in the village.

Although Dr. Lin specializes in tattoo technology, he changed the name on his stomach to a picture so that he could live the rest of his life with dignity.

But in the colonel's mind, whether there is this line is not so important.

He was willing to be a eunuch, a bachelor and a criminal in order to protect the secrets in his stomach.

Now I don't hide it, even if I am scolded by my wife, I will show it to others again and again.

As carefree as a child, the colonel finally put aside all the pains of the past.

He didn't complain, didn't give up, gritted his teeth and survived all the difficulties and healed all the pain.

Miyazaki Hayao once said:

Life will get better if it is bad to a certain extent, because it can't be bad anymore. After hard work, I realized that many things persisted and came.

No matter who you are, you can't escape the darkest moment in your life.

But no matter how cold the winter night is, it will be dispelled by the warm sun; No matter how dark the tunnel is, there will be a bright exit.

No matter how bad life is now, as long as you get through it, everything will turn around.

Ups and downs will come, and eventually they will pass.

Persevere with your teeth, and life will be suddenly enlightened.

Don't be too alarmed if you don't make it for the time being. As long as you live well and have hope, happiness and beauty will always meet unexpectedly not far away.

"Sea of life" is a common Minnan language, which describes fate as the sea, and the ebb and flow of the tide is the normal state.

Mai Jia said when introducing this book:

Everyone will experience hardships, and more importantly, we should live a good life in the sea of life, ups and downs.

Only by living well can we overcome despair with hope day after day and rise again after low tide.

When you think life is too hard, you might as well read The Sea of Life.

Look at the helplessness of the colonel who was knocked down by fate again and again, and also look at his calmness when he gritted his teeth and accepted fate again and again.

When you cross the waters of Qian Shan, you will find that it is those hardships and pains that have quietly injected you with the strength to live.