My Inspiration

The past 20 days have been horrendous.  It showed me, once again, how fragile life can be and how small the gap is between life and death...  And yet, I managed to find my inspiration toward the end of this incredible trip.

One early morning, I met this 98 years old man on Chang An Street in downtown Beijing.  He retired at age 60 and has been learning and practicing Chinese Brush Writing for 38 years.  For the past 20 years, he has been coming to this location every morning (except for cold winter or rainy days) to write Chinese poems on the ground with a large brush filled with water.  At age 98, he has memorized many, many poems, and he can write for days without duplicating them.  Every morning, he would ride his little scooter from home to here and spend over an hour writing on the street.  He brings a small music box with him every day, and it plays classic Chinese music the entire time while writing.

At age 98, his mind is sharp, voice strong, and steps steady.  He tells me that when he gets home, he would continue his brush writing on paper for the rest of the morning.  He was a farmer for all his life and did not know anything about traditional Chinese brush writing until he retired at age 60.  He has been persistently learning and practicing the brush writing techniques for the past 38 years, and along the way, memorized hundreds of Chinese poems!   

His daily routine is very simple.  Getting up at 4am.  Drinking tea for 2 hours followed by a small breakfast.  Then taking his trip to Chang An Street (where I met him).  Staying here for over an hour, then going back home around 10am.  He continues writing until lunch time.  One hour nap after lunch.  Watching TV or spending time with his grandchildren in the afternoon...  At age 98, he learned how to use his cell phone to take pictures AND send photos to his big family group through social media - WOW!!

His brother is 103 this year, and they are both living a long, healthy and happy life!

Beijing, China
August 21, 2018