🌄《Su Shu Lou Blessing》Qian Mu's Former Residence respectfully wishes all my dear friends a happy Spring Festival in the Year of Bingwu, 1915!
My vision blurred, and I saw the myriad forms of dragons and snakes on the continent, as if they were illusions.
With a hint of something in his heart, he took advantage of the spring scenery in his small study and rode ahead.
While ill in a foreign land, I felt my state of mind had improved, so I wrote this to encourage myself.
Written on the first day of the year Wuwu (1898), at the age of eighty-four.
In 1978, the Year of the Horse, Mr. Qian Mu wrote this Spring Festival couplet. The steady and composed style of the couplet makes it hard to imagine that he was actually suffering from a severe stomach ailment that winter, almost to the point of death. But it was precisely during this serious illness that he began writing his only memoir, *Miscellaneous Recollections of Teachers and Friends*. In the preface, he wrote:
"I have always aspired to learning since childhood, but I have achieved nothing in my old age. How can I not feel ashamed to have made such a claim? Only my teachers and friends, from childhood to old age, have encouraged and guided me, which has made me fortunate enough not to have wasted my life. The stories of these teachers and friends will always remain in my heart and I will never forget them."
For Mr. Qian, the mutual understanding and appreciation between people is the most precious thing in life. He once said that when we sincerely communicate, understand each other, and feel no barriers, our lives will become more joyful and expansive.
With this couplet for the Year of the Horse, we wish all our dear friends: May you enjoy a happy Spring Festival with family and friends; and may your spirits soar in the new year, leading the way!
*The photo was taken in 1977, showing a view of the mountains from Waishuangxi.
# Qian Mu's Former Residence # Happy Chinese New Year
# mutual understanding and appreciation; # taking the lead.
# Mr. Qian Mu # Spring Festival Couplets
# Bingwu # Wuwu # Miscellaneous Recollections of Teachers and Friends
# Xiaozhai Spring Scenery # Sushulou Yu Shen