【推荐1】As a little boy, the first time I stepped into the Taekwondo dojang (跆拳道道场), I knew that I had discovered my interest. The physical training, mental focus, and spiritual development of Taekwondo drew me in, and I started a journey that would change my life.

My journey began as a White Belt filled with excitement. I was introduced to the basic skills, forms, and principles of Taekwondo. With each belt promotion (晋级), I faced new challenges. The training pushed me to test my limits and develop mental strength. Self-control became the most important part of my training. Early mornings and late nights were spent improving skills, perfecting forms, and pushing myself to the edge of tiredness. Taekwondo taught me valuable lessons, not just on the training floor but also in other areas of my life.

The path to the Black Belt was not without challenges. I experienced moments of frustration (挫折) and wanted to give up.   However, it was during these challenging times that I discovered the power of determination (决心). With the support of my teachers and friends, I found the strength to push through the hard times. Each challenge became an opportunity for growth. Dealing with these challenges strengthened my desire to become a Black Belt and inspired me to keep pushing forward.

Beyond the physical and mental aspects, the art has taught me to treat others with kindness. It has allowed me to face life’s challenges with a calm and focused mind. Taekwondo has also taught me the importance of leadership, as I now have the opportunity to guide and inspire junior students on their own journeys.

Finally, after years of training and personal growth, I stand before you as a Black Belt.   I have grown both physically and mentally, gaining valuable life skills along the way. As I continue my journey, I look forward to meeting new challenges and inspiring others.

【推荐1】In 2019, a white-haired senior was awarded the Friendship Medal, the highest order of honor of China for foreigners. It was Isabel Crook. In her more than a century of life, she spent more than 90 years in China and cultivated (培养) a large number of foreign language talents for China.

In 1915, Isabel was born in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. After graduating from the University of Toronto in 1938, Isabel couldn’t wait to return to China. With hard work, she and her colleague completed the survey of over 1,500 families in some villages in Bishan County. She recorded the daily life of the villagers in Xinglongchang with detailed field notes, which give the young people today some idea of the state of affairs in villages at that time.             

In 1947, Isabel and her husband David Crook came to China to observe and study the ongoing land reform. A year later, they completed the study and accepted the invitation to stay in China for language teaching.

One could hardly imagine the teaching conditions in the midst of a war. They asked their students to take small stools (凳子) with them so that they could give class everywhere. They tailored (定制) teaching approaches to suit students’ different language proficiency levels. Without handy teaching materials, they collected articles from English newspapers and magazines. In oral English teaching, Isabel asked students to watch their teachers in a given conversation first. Since there were no tape recorders at school, she had to perform the conversation again and again.

Isabel retired in 1981, but she returned to Southwest China many times to set up scholarship for children from poor families. She also went to Inner Mongolia, Ningxia and other places to help with foreign language teaching. Isabel died in 2023 in Beijing.

【推荐2】Born and raised in Kunming in Yunnan province, Yin Jiongjie is the son of two musicians and grew up listening to music and watching music performances. His father bought lots of recordings and DVDs of world-renowned classical musicians and symphony orchestras to ensure that his only son had as much exposure to music as possible.

As a child, Yin learned to play the piano and the violin. Later, he gave up the latter and focused instead on the piano. Even then, he decided that he would become a conductor one day. “There can be over 100 musicians in an orchestra but there is only one conductor. The conductor is like the composer’s messenger, which is a magical experience,” he said.

When he was 14, Chen Lin and Chen Bing, two conductors from the Central Conservatory of Music came to Kunming to choose students. Yin’s father allowed him to perform for them. Standing on the stage of the theater at the Yunnan Arts University, Yin raised his baton (指挥棒) and demonstrated how he would conduct to a recording of Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 From the New World. Ten months later, he moved to Beijing and enrolled at the Middle School Affiliated (附属) to the Central Conservatory of Music and later studied at the university under Chen Lin.

Since 2015, Yin has been chosen by the Central Conservatory of Music to participate in several master classes with conductors, among them South Korea’s Chung Myung-whun and Canada’s Yannick Nezet-Seguin. “There’s a huge gap between the training you receive in a conservatory and what is required of a professional conductor. The most basic thing is to build and expand my repertoire, and gain a deep understanding of each piece,” he says. “It is a skill that involves psychology, body language, knowledge of history, culture and music, and a sensitivity to everything that makes us human. And I have a long way to go.”

【推荐3】Wang Mengmeng uses volunteers at the Expo 2010 Shanghai as the subject for her third book on the work of volunteers in China. The 27-year-old writer, herself a volunteer, has decided that the last three books will be about those who contribute their time to the Expo. She said she would try to reflect what Expo volunteers had done to boost the image and statue of this world event. “I am deeply moved by what they have done for the event and I have a strong desire to document their work and achievements,” she said. The young writer said she was currently preparing to research the subject and interview Expo volunteers. Wang presented copies of her latest book, Mijiu, to more than 50 Expo volunteers at the Shanghai Book Fair.

Her book looks at the lives and work of volunteers protecting the environment and endangered animal species. “My new book about the Expo volunteers will be my last on volunteers,” she said at a ceremony. “Volunteers can play a big role in making the world harmonious,” she said. “It is my pleasure to present copies of my book to Expo volunteers.” “The theme I express in the book should accord with (与……一致) that of the World Expo, letting people live in a harmonious world.”

Wang has channeled her energy since her graduation from university in 2006 to volunteer work. She started as a volunteer teacher in a poverty-stricken area in Yunnan province. She then volunteered to work at the Natural Protection Zone in Yancheng, Jiangsu province. These volunteer experiences helped her complete the first two books on the work of volunteers.

Her first book describes the happiness and hardships teachers faced when they worked in the poverty-stricken mountainous areas. The second tells a story about two generations of Chinese and foreigners protecting the environment and wildlife in China. She suffered a lot when living and working with locals as a volunteer. But all this provided abundant material for her novels, she said. “Being a volunteer helps me learn a lot from the people. It helps me mature,’’ Wang said.