Heartbroken

 　　The torrent of society can only make the beautiful shine brighter.

　　—Epigraph Closing

　　Jia Yi's "Ode to the Owl," the lines "Gathering and scattering, news and fortune, how can there be a constant rule? A thousand changes, ever-changing, without end!" lingered in my mind. Indeed, the world is ever-changing, but the only constant is "eternal change and innovation." The innovation we often talk about is actually hidden in our choices and respect for tradition.

　　Not long ago, to cope with the immense pressure of the college entrance examination, my classmates and I went to see "Song of the Phoenix." The film tells the story of how, after a person dies, they are evaluated using suona horns—two for the morally mediocre, four for the average, eight for the superior, and only the most virtuous and respected are entitled to the "Song of the Phoenix." It made me think deeply. In this materialistic society, tradition seems to offer some guidance. When we respect the beauty within tradition, the possibility of successful innovation will be closer to us.

　　Chen Yinque, hailed as "the son of a gentleman, the professor of professors," consistently held a Chinese cultural ethos. His strong stance on language reform was well-known in academic circles. He explicitly stated that his works must be in traditional characters and vertical format, otherwise he would rather not publish them, expressing his aversion to language reforms that threatened the very foundations of Chinese culture. From this, we can see Mr. Chen's steadfast adherence to tradition. It is precisely because of this adherence that he achieved his profound scholarship, encompassing both Chinese and Western learning, and made unique contributions to research and writings in religion, history, linguistics, and textual criticism.

　　The same is true in today's society. Many people are raising the banner of innovation, but what if our innovation abandons the fine qualities of tradition, such as integrity and cooperation? Aren't the so-called innovations of "knock-offs" and "imitations" today a result of our loss of respect and reverence for tradition?

　　Wang Guowei, one of the four giants of Tsinghua University like Mr. Chen, not only proposed the three realms of life, such as "Last night the west wind withered the green trees... but that person was in the dim light," but he was also the first to use Western philosophy and aesthetics to study classical Chinese literature, leaving us with masterpieces such as "Renjian Cihua" and "Guantang Jilin". If he hadn't respected tradition, how could he have innovated accordingly? How could he bear the title of "the one who brought Chinese scholarship to a close in the last three hundred years and the pioneer of scholarship in the last eighty years"?

　　Throughout history, all those who have achieved something have done the same. Gu Hongming, because he respected tradition, pioneered the translation of the "Four Books and Five Classics" into foreign languages, allowing the world to understand Chinese culture; Lin Yutang, because he respected tradition, was able to write "Moment in Peking" inspired by "Dream of the Red Chamber"... Our lives are no different. If life is a landscape, only by respecting tradition can we talk about innovation and change on that foundation, and only then can we appreciate the great beauty of life.

　　Everyone has a field of life within their heart. No matter how society resounds with change, we must hold fast to this sacred land of tradition and beauty, because the reforms and innovations we seek are hidden in that fertile soil of beautiful tradition.

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