In Chinese culture and philosophy, it is commonly thought that for one to taste sweet one must eat bitter. What they most likely mean by this is that in life it is necessary for someone to pass through struggles and difficult times, to completely enjoy all aspects and virtues of life. Throughout the book, To Live by Yu Hua, this belief is emphasized by the many tragedies that befall Xu Fugui. Throughout the book, Fugui faces many depressing situations, that one could say turn his aspirations to live, bitter. In English culture a very common and similar saying would be that one must undergo through challenging hardships to be able to fully understand and appreciate the meaning and goodness of life.
What does eating bitter to taste sweet really mean? One translation of this philosophical statement is that even in the eye of the storm, one must still look for the rainbow at the end of it all. I believe this saying is very similar because what the Chinese mean is that for them to endure hardships is the only way to appreciate life. To me I have
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gone through hardships before and overcame them. What I learned got from overcoming them was knowing what relief is. You could say I believe that to be able to know what real happiness is, you must be able to define sadness. Directly, this means that one cannot accurately get a feel or sense of one thing without being able to tell it apart. Throughout the book, Fugui constantly seems to go through bitter events in his life. He gambles away his fortune from one day to another and is left in a poverty level. Many of his family members and people that seemed to become a part of the Xu family, suffered tragic deaths. His parents, along with his wife, children, and grandson were among those who did. Despite all these harsh events Fugui went through, he somehow managed to still project himself as an old man grateful with the life he was given. My cases in which bitter events have occurred to me, were not as tragic as those Fugui went through.
One of my instances was when I happened to lose my pet dog. It was sad because he had practically become a part of the family. We had even gotten to where we’d take him to get checked by the vet whenever he seemed to be in pain or not feeling well. When he died I felt I had lost a friend. Another example for me would be when my dad was in an accident at work in which he happened to injure his neck and break a leg. I didn’t lose him, but just the sadness that came from his accident brought me a huge feeling of appreciation that I still had him and that he was alive. It’s moments like these that give us a different perspective of life. This is one reason I believe the Chinese saying “One must eat bitter to taste sweet” because without sadness one would not be able to distinguish or identify true happiness in all aspects of
life.
When I was twelve years old, a close friend of mine passed away. At first, I didn’t know how to process what was happening. How can someone I’ve known for the majority of my life be gone? But then it finally hit me. My friend was really gone. There would be no more days challenging
the death of a family member, smile when a goal is achieved, frown on a rainy day, or laugh at a funny joke.
Though most have a desire to leave earth and enter eternal life peacefully, without any sorrow, the departure of a loved one can be despondent. Previously in 2011, my grandfather passed away due to heart failure. It was an arduous battle, not only for my grandfather, but also for the close knit family surrounding him. His battle with heart failure enabled me to create unforgettable memories with him, even in his final days. Laughing together, playing together and learning significant values about life together made me grow to become a more mature and wise person. Therefore, my personal experience is entwined with empathy because the death of my grandfather has made me realize how dismal it is to lose someone important. It also interplays with self-interest because I have grown as an individual to deal with the ache that is attached to losing a family member. It has helped me to realize how beautiful the gift of life is. Stephen Dunn, the poet behind Empathy and my story are connected because they both involve the feeling of empathy for others and the self-interest of an individual. They help us to grow and learn about ourselves and the emotions of
The quote itself can be translated into, an everyday person does not want to be happy and ambition. That person will settle with what will keep them alive. I agree with this quote for a few reasons. To begin, the people in today’s
...e will never have a taste of life’s delirium. Could this mean that as long as you do not take risks, float on the edge and cease being content, you do not truly live or enjoy the “craziness” of life?
The Art of War is a treatise written in Ancient China that discusses the most and least effective military strategies for successful warfare according to Sun Tzu, a military general whose existence is still debated to this day. While not every military commander in the history of warfare has read it, the strategies provided can be used as a way to assess said commanders and the effectiveness of their campaigns. In Sun Tzu 's own words, “The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat:--let such a one be dismissed!”1 This paper will discuss various iconic battles throughout history and how closely the leading commanders of each army followed the advice of Sun Tzu. Despite the fact that Sun Tzu lived hundreds of years before many of these battles took place, the
In the second and last stanza of the poem we are reminded that he was but a child. The thought of losing the berries “always made him feel like crying” the thought of all that beauty gone so sour in the aftermath of lust. The lack of wisdom in younger years is emphasized by the common childish retort of “It wasn’t fair.” He kept up the childish hope that this time would be different, that this time the berries would keep and that the lust, work, and pain might not have been in vain, that others would not “glut” upon what he desired.
China’s Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution (GPCR) is a well-documented period in world history, but the most profound records are found vivified in the literature and films later into the 20th century, respectively. One of the most profound novels is “To Live”, authored by Yu Hua, which as a fictional narrative offers both a unique and realistic sense of the time period at the individual level. However, the provocative film adaptation directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994 was formidable enough that it was banned in Mainland China. Zhang paints a more realistic picture of how the GPCR influenced Chinese society but adds zest to Hua’s ambiguity but acceptable imperfection. Naturally, the film has many different characteristics yet still manages to overcome the challenges that implicate film adaptations.
Steve Jobs is trying to say that you should live every day like it is your last. He knew his life had value to him and his family. He felt like life was worth living even though once in a while a hard choice would come along to toughen his life. Making a choice is very hard, but when making a choice it should be one that you will not regret later in life. Making choices is one of the hardest things in life so you must see all the good and all the bad to the outcome of your options. Live everyday like it is your last. Ebert says that life is a very precious thing. Hamlet wants to die, but him not knowing what is on the other side scares so he decides to live. Even though Ebert had to get surgery, he got through it and learned to still live his life with no regrets.
In other words, no two individuals look at the life the same manner. I agree with this quotation. Maggie Johnson from Maggie: a Girl of the Street by Stephen Crane and Kino from The Pearl by John Steinbeck demonstrate this idea. Life could change for the good because of money and then you would be happy, but that was not the case your life changes to sadness and death.
All proverbs come with perspective, and perspective was defiantly the key to understanding this one. Traversing the walk of life, returning from depression and suicide; things are indeed their worst as they get better, a shining light and breaking free.
...ared to accept this and flow with it, then sorrow and joy cannot touch you”(24) “ The best thing to do is leave it all to fate, even if this is not easy to do”(32).
Suffering is not something that one can choose to, or choose not to partake in. To continue living day to day in a state of suffering is not easy. Not being able to escape from the suffering obligates the person to learn to work hard to get past the low points in life. A significant factor contributing to happiness is a sense of accomplishment. People are happier when they feel like their efforts are making a change and that their diligence is worth something. Suffering through difficult parts of life increases a person’s contentment with themselves and with their life, as they feel like they have overcome something they thought they were incapable of. For instance, in the article “Beyond Money” by Ed Diener and Martin E.P. Seligman, it is stated that “Some people consider paid work to be an unpleasant activity that must be suffered in order to earn money. Research, however, indicates that people obtain pleasure from their jobs” (45). Having endured through hardships in order to get to a better place in life makes people feel like they are worthy of being happy as they have worked hard to get where they are- that they are capable of more. Happiness is not solely a result of the end product, but rather the journey, and suffering provides a journey to embark on, to find
Earlier this year death hit me hard. I had never experienced a funeral before, never been close to a family member that passed away, and never had anything bad happen to my family at all, truthfully. Until that one
In my life time, I have experienced many deaths. I have never had anyone that was very close to me die, but I have shed tears over many deaths that I knew traumatically impacted the people that I love. The first death that influenced me was the death of my grandfather. My grandfather passed away when I was very young, so I never really got the chance to know him. My papaw Tom was my mothers dad, and she was very upset after his passing. Seeing my mom get upset caused me to be sad. The second death that influenced my life was the death of my great grandmother. My great grandmother was a very healthy women her whole life. When she was ninety three she had