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August 30, 2022

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Home » Feature » Education

My family heirloom

We have a precious wooden chair which was made by my mom’s great-grandfather to welcome her birth. It is 75 centimeters tall with a small back. The sparkle of this chair is the carving letters on the surface of the back — Study Hard.

Great-grandpa had passed away before my mom learned how to sit. Everyone kept telling mom the story of the wooden chair during her growth. She even thought that Study Hard was great-grandpa’s name for a long time. This small chair has been growing up with my mother and she passed on to me after I was born. The first Chinese words I learnt was Study Hard.

Study refers not only to academic knowledge from theoretical books, but also to practical skills from experienced masters of all fields. There is a famous saying from an ancient sage, Confucius ‘Two heads are always better than one.”

As we grow up, we can always learn something from others. Everyone can be special. We don’t have to be successful in all the fields. We need to find out our strength and work hard on it. Meanwhile, learn from the sages, as well as our peers to make the best of ourselves. Some people win the world championship at the age of 16 and some ran for president at the age of 60. So, it’s never late to make progress in your field or for what you desire. What we need to learn is a spirit of continuous progress.

China is a great country that has inherited 5,000 years of civilization. We had low tides and brilliant ones. It is in constant learning that we can develop and progress. Just like the wooden chair in my home, although it’s not made from certain valuable stones like ruby or jade, it is and will surely be the family heirloom from generation to generation. I believe there will be chances for me to pass on this chair to my offspring one day in the future and retell the story. As a teenager growing up in the 21st century, learning is our primary task, and inheritance is our responsibility.




 

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