1 . The ancient silk road was a once in a life time journey. It was one of the most important milestones of trade and culture in world history, and the pioneer, Zhang Qian, could not be easily forgotten by history. He was an outstanding diplomat, traveler and explorer in the Han Dynasty of China, honored as the “the first Chinese to open their eyes to see the world” and “the Columbus of the east”.

In 138 BC, at the reign of Emperor Wudi, Zhang Qian was sent to the west of China for an alliance with the Yue-chi people to fight against the Xiongnu. He started his trip from Chang’an(now Xi’an in Shanxi Province)to Longxi(in Gansu Province). Along the way, no matter how difficult the environment was, his faith was firm. But unfortunately, Zhang was caught by the Xiongnu people just as he left Han, and was held prisoner for ten years.

Zhang finally managed to escape with some of his men and continued to travel west without any dry food or drinking water. Due to the excellent skill of shooting arrows, they survived by eating some birds and other animals along the way. When Zhang at last reached the Yue-chi in Northern India, he was disappointed to find that they didn’t want to fight against the Xiongnu people. On the return journey, Zhang Qian and his men were again caught. It was not until 125 BC that they returned to Chang’an.

Though Zhang hadn’t finished his mission, he brought back first-hand information on the geography, ethnography, and societies of Central Asia. The paths Zhang Qian explored later served as the highways connecting Europe, the Middle East, Mesopotamia, Central Asia, and East Asia. Commodities, crops, animals, religions, ideas, music, technology, and artifacts have been transported by diplomats, merchants and soldiers along this network of highways, which have, since the 19th century been known as the “Silk Road”. Zhang Qian has been remembered as the great explorer that opened up a new era of cultural exchange between East and West with long-lasting treasure well observable today.

4 . Now, Tenjen Sherpa, a Nepalese mountain guide, has set a new goal for himself; to become the youngest person to conquer all the peaks twice.

Last month, together with Norwegian climber Kristin Harila, Tenjen, 35 years old, broke the previous record for the fastest climb of the 8,000-meter-plus mountains. In just 92 days, they reached the final summit, K2, surpassing the previous record of 189 days.

Tenjen is now preparing for his next challenge, starting with a climb of Mount Shishapangma in China within the next two months. He has already successfully climbed seven of the peaks twice and aims to conquer the remaining seven by next spring.

His journey began in 2016 when he first climbed Mount Dhaulagiri in Nepal. Since then, he has made several similar climbs each year, including four trips to Mount Everest. Particularly, Tenjen and his three brothers also hold a record as the most siblings to summit Mount Kanchenjunga, the world’s third-tallest mountain, behind Everest and K2.

Tenjen started working as a mountain guide to back his family. In April, he joined Harila’s expedition to Mount Shıshapangma, hired by the Kathmandu-based company Seven Summits Treks. Together, they continued their journey, conquering the rest of the peaks.

Tenjen plans to climb Shishapangma for the second time in the upcoming fall, carrying pictures of a deceased brother who never had the opportunity to conquer this mountain. He intends to bury these images at the mountaintop.

Tenjen told Associated Press that Sherpas do not get enough government recognition for their hard work.“It is not possible to just continue climbing mountains as you grow older, so what else is there than to think of migrating abroad,” Tenjen pointed out.

Tenjen never attended school growing up. He has difficulty reading and writing. But, living in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, his children are able to get an education. Tenjen thinks, though, that since more children will be growing up in cities in the future, they will not have the skills to become Sherpas.

6 . Singer-songwriters write songs, but how do they do it? Where do musicians get their inspiration from? What comes first — the music or the lyrics (歌词)? It turns out that everyone has their own way of writing which works for them.

Bob Dylan

He is a musician with a unique musical style, which has been described as folk rock, gospel, country and jazz. He told the BBC that he gets a lot of his writing inspiration from novels like Don Quixote and Robinson Crusoe. He said “They give you a way of looking at life and understanding of human nature and a standard to measure things by.” He has had a career spanning six decades and has won many songwriting awards.

Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Sondheim, a musical theatre composer who died in 2021, said in an interview with The New Yorker that, when it comes to songwriting, the stress in a phrase is very important for him. “You can start writing a lyric, and then the inflection (变音) of the lyric suggests a tune.” Therefore, in his way of writing, the music and lyrics come at roughly the same time.

Taylor Swift

In 2022, Taylor Swift won a Songwriter-Artist of the Decade Award. In her speech, she said lyrics are her favourite part of songwriting. She describes the majority of her songs as having a “modern storyline or references, with a poetic twist” and commonly uses real life experiences and conversations as influence.

John Denver

Denver earned international reputation as a songwriter, performer, actor, environmentalist and humanitarian. John said, “I obtain endless muse from my experiences in environmental and humanitarian work.” John was one of the first artists to share an environmental message through his music.

10 . Look, I’m not a happy crier. I might cry at songs about leaving and missing someone; I might cry at books where things don’t work out; I might cry at movies where someone dies. I’ve just never really understood why people get all choked up over happy, inspirational things. But Michelle Obama’s kindness and empathy (同情) changed that. This book had me in tears for all the right reasons.

This is not really a book about politics, though political experiences obviously do come into it. It’s a shame that some will dismiss this book because of a difference in political opinion, when it is really about a woman’s life. About growing up poor and black on the South Side of Chicago; about getting married and struggling to maintain that marriage; about motherhood; about being thrown into an amazing and terrifying position.

I hate words like “inspirational” because they’ve become so overdone and cheese (俗气的), but I just have to say it — Michelle Obama is an inspiration. I had the privilege of seeing her speak at The Forum in Inglewood, and she is one of the warmest, funniest, smartest, down-to-earth people I have ever seen in this world.

And yes, I know we present what we want the world to see, but I truly do think it’s genuine. I think she is someone who really cares about people — especially kids — and wants to give them better lives and opportunities.

She’s obviously intelligent, but she also doesn’t gussy up her words. She talks straight, with an openness and honesty rarely seen. She’s been one of the most powerful women in the world, she’s been a graduate of Princeton and Harvard Law School, she’s had her own successful career, and yet she has remained throughout that same girl — Michelle Robinson — from a working class family in Chicago.

I don’t think there’s anyone who wouldn’t benefit from reading this book.