As I said to you last time, love is good. But it shouldn’t turn into infatuation (痴情). In other words, we shouldn’t put love above everything else.

You know what’s funny?

When I entered the artillery (火炮) school, you were worried that I might go to war and die for nothing.

But you also said that you wanted to be a teacher after graduation, so that you could educate young men to be patriotic and even give their lives for the country when it’s in great danger.

It’s such a joke that you were OK with someone else dying for their country but not your own lover. Your students will also have lovers. They also have parents and brothers. They are also Chinese people. Why should they have to die in the war?

If their loved ones all desperately tried to keep them from going to war, there would be no hope for China. You were right when you said that I shouldn’t die for nothing.

But if I were to die for the revolution (革命) and the people, would it really be “for nothing”?

If that were the case, China would have no martyrs and the revolution will never succeed.

A martial art performance at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala Show has caught people’s eyes. The show named Walking Clouds, Flowing Water is about three tai chi (太极) performers practicing tai chi on top of landmark buildings in three cities: Shanghai, Chongqing and Guangzhou. Their movements, full of strength and skills, left audiences feeling like they were watching a martial arts blockbuster movie.

According to Liang Biying, the only woman actor of the three, Walking Clouds, Flowing Water used new camera technologies to create a special performance of traditional Chinese martial arts. “Standing on top of the skyscraper (摩天大楼), I was amazed at the wonderful sceneries. What the show wanted to express was a clash (冲突 ) between traditional culture and modern cities. We hoped to offer a new harmony between human, nature and city.”

The 21-year-old Liang started to learn martial arts when she was only 8 years old. She became very interested in tai chi and practiced it almost every day. In 2019, she won a gold medal in tai chi at the World Wushu Championship. In February 2020 Liang shared videos of her practicing tai chi during the COVID-19 pandemic on Douyin, which encouraged so many people that she was invited to give online classes for the patients.

Widely practiced across China, tai chi is regarded as one of the country’s most popular activities. “The best thing about tai chi is that it is good for both the body and mind. It can be performed anywhere and also by every person.” Liang said.

The martial art was said to be created by a Taoist named Zhang Sanfeng in the 13th century. It is best explained by the symbolic Taoist pattern: a half black-half white circle that means yin and yang respectively. The message within this symbol is that what seems opposite may be exchanged, that good may become bad, and that the powerful may lose to the weak.

① Do you know anyone born in the Year of the Tiger? Are they brave, strong, purposeful and energetic? If so, then they are a typical “tiger”.

② The tiger has been a cultural symbol in China since long ago. It’s believed to be the king of all animals, as the patterns on its forehead look like the Chinese character for “king”. So the tiger was seen as a symbol of royalty（皇族）and power in ancient times. The tiger talisman（虎符）is one such example. The tiger talisman, which has two halves, was used by the emperor to transfer troops（调兵遣将）. When the emperor wanted to transfer troops, his messenger（信 使）brought half of the talisman and matched it with the other held by the general. Only when the two halves were matched can troops be transferred.

③ Besides cultural symbols, the tiger is quite meaningful in the Chinese and English languages. In English, if someone “catches a tiger by the tail（尾 巴）”, it means he is in a dangerous situation. The Chinese phrase “Paper tiger” describes a person who is only strong on the outside. As one of the most fierce（凶猛的）animals in nature, the tiger has developed a similarly strong image in different cultures.

④ For the Chinese people, the tiger has been the symbol of protection for its strength and power as well. After the birth of a child, parents often put on a tiger hat and tiger shoes on the baby as a way to keep dangers away from their beloved child.

⑤ The tiger is also a common cultural symbol in the West. Tigger（跳跳虎）in the cartoon Winnie and Pooh is strong and energetic. In the book Life of Pi, the writer chose a tiger as the partner for Indian boy Pi on his journey   in the Pacific Ocean. The fierce tiger was a symbol of the boy’s wish to live on.

⑥ May the strong and heroic tiger lift the world out of trouble and sickness into happiness and health. Happy the Year of the Tiger!