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Generation of sacrifices for a better tomorrow
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Retired professor Zhang Renying’s latest book about the history of Chinese civilization was published last month. The author, who just turned 99 last month, says he plans to publish another book next year to celebrate his centenary.
Fellow nonagenarian Wu Mengchao, who is 91, is opening a new liver cancer research center to pursue the No. 2 killer disease in China.
Wang Meifeng, 83, who has always dreamed of going to Taipei to visit a cousin she hasn’t seen for 60 years, is leaving for Taiwan next month.
Dreams are often associated with the young, but as Zhang, Wu and Wang demonstrate, there’s really no age limit. And perhaps it’s dreams that help perpetuate a youthful spirit behind the wrinkles of age.
Young people tend to fear old age. On a popular Chinese social media site, one of the most-tweeted lines is: “If we don’t pursue dreams today, we will be too old to do so tomorrow.”
The Chinese words mao die (耄耋) are often used to refer to those 70 and older, but the translation isn’t a particularly flattering stereotype. They mean “aged and confused.”
A better set of adjectives to describe the generation born before 1949 would probably be “resilient, frugal, practical, humble and trusting.”
This generation lived through a remarkable history, from the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) and civil war to the great famine and social upheaval.
They have watched in wonder at an economic miracle that turned rice paddies into gleaming skyscrapers, that replaced bicycles with cars and that brought telephones, air conditioners, color television and computers into their homes, and subway service, jumbo jets and flashy shopping malls into their lives.
In their youth, it was considered a feat to live to the age of 70. Now that’s almost become late middle age. Life expectancy in Shanghai has extended beyond 80.
One casualty of the economic miracle has been the erosion of the traditional extended family.
Caring for the aging population has become a much-discussed social issue. Young people often don’t have the time or the interest to care for elderly relatives, and there are too few beds in care homes to accommodate demand.
The Chinese government has even passed a law ordering young people to visit or otherwise get in touch with their elders “frequently.”
For this concluding piece of the “Chinese Dream” series, Shanghai Daily interviewed those who were born before 1949, the year when the People’s Republic of China was founded.
“For those about my age and older, there is always this feeling that our destiny, our life and our dreams are inevitably linked to those of the nation,” says retired lawyer Peter Liu, who was born in 1949. “That sense has never gone away.”
He adds, “It may sound funny to today’s young people, but many of us still believe in the idea of self-sacrifice for a bigger cause. Personal dreams are not possible without a good environment and a strong nation. We worked very hard to build this new country when we were young, and now we finally have the time and means to pursue our personal dreams.”
Liu says his dream was always “to educate the next generation of lawyers,” hoping some of them would ascend to high positions of power and improve China’s legal system. In retirement, he now has the time to counsel young attorneys and is writing a book about the strangest cases he has handled.
“I had the dream of saving my country when I was young,” says retired physics teacher Zhang Liqiang, 89. “It was very common among my classmates. We organized campaigns and mailed our donations to support the Chinese army.”
In the 1940s and early 1950s, parents frequently gave their children names reflecting their hopes for the country. Liqiang means “power and stronger.”
Zhang says Qian Xuesen, the late missile and space program scientist, was his role model. Qian returned to China in 1955.
Patriotism
At the time, he was already a renowned scientist in the United States — one of the founders of the Jet Propulsion Lab at the California Institute of Technology.
Back home, Qian laid the groundwork for China’s missile and space programs and became an inspirational figure for his patriotism and sacrifice.
In the first years after 1949, patriotism was widespread, which sometimes led people to become overly optimistic about the future.
The Great Leap Forward (1958-60) galvanized the nation and promised that China would overtake the industrial production of Britain in 10 years and the United States in 15 years.
“The pay was good, but I worked for seven days a week, and 14 hours a day,” says Han Tianheng, 73, a renowned artist and collector. “There really wasn’t any time or energy left for personal dreams.”
He decided to give up the good pay and pursue his true passion in life — engraving seals. But he had to do it secretly in those days because practicing ancient traditions was condemned.
The hard times of the 1950s were followed by the “cultural revolution” (1966-76). It, too, stifled personal dreams. Most people just tried to keep their heads down to avoid criticism or even attacks from gangs of young zealots.
When China announced its open-door and economic reform policies in 1978, a new era dawned.
“We really benefited from the policy,” says 67-year-old Han Linxiu, who was a farmer for 16 years and now serves on the committee for the elderly in the Jingting Neighborhood of the Minhang District.
“Many old people comment on how much better life is today,” she adds. “Our pension has increased, we have a community center where everything from tea to a pool table is free and we have group birthday parties. Many old people dream of traveling abroad, learning chess game or saving a lot of money.”
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