A glimpse of Chinese spirit from the movie Wondering Earth II.

岸芷汀兰

<p class="ql-block">In spite of the divergence of people’s views towards the hit movie Wandering Earth II, there is no denying that the Chinese sci-fi blockbuster sent a clear and distinctive message to the world, one that is utterly different from the western world and uniquely with Chinese characteristics. That is, when faced with challenges, catastrophes, or pandemics, the Chinese people do not abandon their homes, play priorities or selective games, or surrender and leave the fate of human beings to the will of God. That is not what we Chinese do. In times of crisis, we fight! Not fighting against each other for the right of survival, but fighting for the goal of common coexistence. And what to do to achieve that end? Sacrifice. In the movie, when all else has been tried and failed, and the only option left is to detonate the nuclear bombs on the moon manually, which means a trip to oblivion with the moon, a group of Chinese space service men stand out. They stand out not because they are trained not to fear, or that they are expected to do so. They stand out because they don’t have the heart to see the young ones walk into the dust. They stand out because they know in times of crisis, duty comes first. And that kind of duty is the call from the genes that have stood the test of five thousand years. That kind of duty leads to one putting the collective interests above individual’s interest, to a value system or a philosophy that sees a bigger picture, a farther future. Like Qu Yuan, like Yue Fei, like Qiu Jin, like Huang Jiguang, they all sacrificed. As a fine spiritual quality that is rooted in the Chinese nation, we can see it embodied in countless Chinese men and women, young and old, ordinary but forever immortal.</p> <p class="ql-block">We see sacrifice when those young frontier soldiers opened their arms wide in defence of our country’s sacred territory, at the cost of their precious lives. We see sacrifice when doctors, nurses, policemen, civil servants and volunteers rushed in harm’s way to brave the pandemic’s death threat. We see sacrifice when a party member as young as Huang Wenxiu died at her post serving the people and the homeland that she loved with all her heart. Sacrifice is distressing and heartbreaking, especially when it costs lives. Yet it is not the true nature of sacrifice to claim lives. Sacrifice is commitment and devotion. It is the determination and bravery to carry on the good deeds regardless of personal losses for the greater good. When you offer your seat to a senile or a pregnant lady on the bus even though you feel fatigue in every muscle and every bone, that is sacrifice. When you stay at your post a little longer just so the next client could get her business attended to, that is sacrifice. When a college graduate turns down an offer that most likely will guarantee him a well-paid job and a secure future in the city only to go back to his home village to repay his country folks’ kindness and to help lift his hometown out of poverty, that is sacrifice. When a son refuses to leave his sick mother’s bed even though that may cost him the chance of a promotion, that is sacrifice. When a girl loves a boy and is willing to marry him, and hence, leave her own parents to take her husband’s parents as her own and care for them, that is sacrifice. We see sacrifice in you, and in me. And because of all those sacrifices, we formed an unbreakable bond that is called family and nation. And because of this bond, we have invested our existence with meaning and sense, and we have given ourselves something to hold on to. And because of this bond, we shall always have a place that is close to our heart and dear to our soul. And because of that special bond which resembles no other, we shall always have the pride of calling ourselves a Chinese nation, a united nation, a great nation. And because of this bond, we shall and we will make our nation great again, never to be bullied, threatened or suppressed. And if we can extend that kind of bond to the rest of the world, we may save the planet. </p> <p class="ql-block">It may sound contradictory to seek universal survival by means of sacrifice, yet philosophically, that is totally in line with dialectics--the unity of opposites.</p>

glimpse

Chinese

spirit

movie

Wondering

Earth

II