1928: Changed by the wind and determined

Kite by Tang dynasty poet Gao Ping

A quiet evening, sound of strings, clear sky,
Notes depend upon the direction of the wind;
Like a composed song appreciated,
Again changed into another key by the blowing wind.


1928 - age 27 continued

This year was my third year in Business University and I would graduate next year. I already had three consecutive years of military training, now I needed to conclude. Besides finishing coaching the students, I needed to take shooting lessons with real ammunition. They chose this lesson place by Fuji Mountain. There was a military place where they could do this kind of training. Most of the students from my same year, they all lived in this military camp and lived a total military person's life. The camp grounds were fields, without pavement or roads. We needed to run on it and also carry weapons. After three days of drills, we were all very tired, even though our minds were relaxed. At this time, there were some students who suggested that since we were at the bottom of Fuji Mountain and since it was climbing season, how about we form some mountain climbing groups. Once the suggestion was out, everyone wanted to go. Only our military teacher warned us: he said, this is our national mountain. At the bottom of the mountain, it was hot, but at the top, it was severely cold. If you were not well equipped, it was hard to climb. And if you didn't have confidence, please do not try. There was one military teacher who had visited China. Usually, he was very friendly with me. He specifically told me, you Chinese are not as physically strong, please do not participate. He meant well but I think he looked down on us Chinese so I told him, physically I'm not that weak and I want to participate, so he didn't say anything. Everybody formed groups and started climbing. The mountains roads were very rugged. And it was so hot, we were sweating drops. Gradually, as we climbed higher, it became cooler. There were lots of students who usually prided themselves in their physical strength but when they climbed the mountain, a lot of people collapsed. Some were altitude sick. They sat by the roadside and quit. I also felt very tired and hungry and cold and almost could not continue but I remembered what I had told the teacher and revived my will. I struggled like this off and on for eight waves of fatigue. Coming to a rest stop, there was a little house with mats on the floor for resting. Outside of the house there was snow that had been accumulating since the beginning of time. The ice has never melted and the wind pierced through your bones. We had several tens of people, everyone slept like a flower with their feet in the center with only one little blanket to keep our feet warm. The next morning, we wanted to watch the sunrise so we continued to climb and arrived at the summit. Mt Fuji used to be a volcano. When it erupted, the dried lava looked like embers. After the eruption, the summit became a big deep hole. Going through all the cold winters, it wasn't very scenic. Called the gold water and silver water, a residue of the past. My military teacher saw that I was quite well and walking upright and with strength. He praised me a lot. After we came back, I wrote a poem called "Climbing Fuji Mountain."