summercomfort (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
summercomfort) wrote2015-11-09 11:49 pm
summercomfort) wrote2015-11-09 11:49 pm
Plant a melon, get a melon
(crossposted from tumblr)
So about a month ago I had to teach a lesson on the essay “三种成长” by 王鼎钧, and one part of it really hit me. It’s an essay about the three type of growth that a human experiences: growth in age, growth in skills/knowledge, and growth in 品德, which I guess I’ll translate as virtue? Anyway, here’s the quote from the original text, for those of you who can read Chinese and appreciate how well-written it is, and then I’ll do a loose translation.
So here’s my super-loose translation:
I *really* like the “plant a melon, get a melon” part -- it serves as a strong reminder that what I invest my time and energy into, is what I will harvest in the future. I can’t spend my time drawing fanart and then turn around and lament that my original stuff isn’t done. And it’s really empowering to realize that in the end the decision of what I plant is in me -- whether I want to invest in my relationship and family, or in my career. Whether I want to invest energy into being a kinder person, or to carry grudges. All those melons and beans that I choose to plant -- or not. It’s definitely exciting! I also like that it’s about planting things -- I’m not being asked to save the world, to singlehandedly dismantle corrupt systems. My responsibility is merely to do what I can. Choose to buy less stuff and eat more veggies, for example.
Anyway, just something I’ve been thinking about.
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* the word here is 乐趣, which is literally “joy and intrigue”. I think it’s usually translated as “pleasure”, but I wanted to capture the interest/intrigue part.
So about a month ago I had to teach a lesson on the essay “三种成长” by 王鼎钧, and one part of it really hit me. It’s an essay about the three type of growth that a human experiences: growth in age, growth in skills/knowledge, and growth in 品德, which I guess I’ll translate as virtue? Anyway, here’s the quote from the original text, for those of you who can read Chinese and appreciate how well-written it is, and then I’ll do a loose translation.
在人们的感觉上, 光阴如顺流而下的波浪, 品学却如逆流而上的船只。前者稍纵即逝, 后者步步费力, 听起来似乎不太公平。
然而光阴的流逝有一定的数量和速度(例如每天二十四小时), 虽然没有办法减少,可是也不会增加。我们追求知识,学习技能,培养品德, 却可以随着自己的意愿, 提高速度。种瓜得瓜, 种豆得豆, 而种瓜种豆, 操之在我。人生的责任在此, 乐趣也在此。
So here’s my super-loose translation:
From our perspective, time and aging passes like currents flowing downstream, while building virtue and knowledge is like steering a boat against the current. The former slips from your grasp in the slightest moment, the latter is a struggle every step of the way. It hardly seems fair.
And yet the flow of time has a set quantity and speed (24 hours in a day). Even though there is no way to slow it down, it does not speed up, either. Whereas our pursuit of knowledge, study of skills, and nurturing of virtue can be at our own pace. If you plant melon seeds, you will get melons, if you plant a bean, you will get beans, and the decision to plant melons or beans is wholly yours. Life’s responsibility lies in this, and life’s excitement also lies in this.
I *really* like the “plant a melon, get a melon” part -- it serves as a strong reminder that what I invest my time and energy into, is what I will harvest in the future. I can’t spend my time drawing fanart and then turn around and lament that my original stuff isn’t done. And it’s really empowering to realize that in the end the decision of what I plant is in me -- whether I want to invest in my relationship and family, or in my career. Whether I want to invest energy into being a kinder person, or to carry grudges. All those melons and beans that I choose to plant -- or not. It’s definitely exciting! I also like that it’s about planting things -- I’m not being asked to save the world, to singlehandedly dismantle corrupt systems. My responsibility is merely to do what I can. Choose to buy less stuff and eat more veggies, for example.
Anyway, just something I’ve been thinking about.
------
* the word here is 乐趣, which is literally “joy and intrigue”. I think it’s usually translated as “pleasure”, but I wanted to capture the interest/intrigue part.