Pursue What I Love, Benefit All Beings, Depart When Done, Face This Life Without Regret

On the morning of May 22, 2021, the news was that earthquakes had struck Qinghai and Yunnan; after my midday nap, the news was that Academicians Yuan Longping and Wu Mengchao had both passed away, as if departing together.

That day saw sorrow: national treasures left us, the earth shook. Yuan Longping, father of hybrid rice, lived to 91; Wu Mengchao, father of hepatobiliary surgery, to 99. Both blessed the world greatly and lived long—truly, 'the benevolent live long.'

Yuan Longping reportedly fell in the fields and, after hospital admission, died soon after; Wu Mengchao had long been bedridden by illness. Comparatively, Yuan was the more fortunate, likely dying suddenly from a cardiovascular or cerebrovascular accident without much suffering at the end.

Both lived like willing oxen, steadily doing research and each opening a new era in a discipline. Media interviews showed them grounded yet forthright and humorous; their innocent wisdom was admirable. They devoted themselves to beloved work—one clinical, one research. Their work benefited the world: they blessed humanity without wasting their own lives.

Passing away in one's nineties is a 'happy funeral' in our countryside. The final joy of life is a good end. Both elders, in their nineties, remained clear-headed, sharp, and cheerful—itself a good end.

The rarest state in life is theirs: pursuing what they loved, benefiting all beings, departing when done, without regret. They are fine role models, showing how not to waste one's years.

The world is full of temptation. Some drown in decadence; others withdraw to the mountains and idle away their lives. Neither appeals to me. I revere people like Wu and Yuan—indifferent to fame yet immersed in scholarship and accomplished. They were neither captured by worldly glitter nor fled into nihilism; they had a detached heart yet built worldly achievements. This is the highest realm generations of Chinese scholars have pursued.

The old saying is 'a national scholar is peerless,' but Yuan and Wu are a worthy pair. Both were high-minded scholars nurtured by Chinese civilization and the true backbone of our nation. While feeding their families, they shouldered the heavy task of relieving the people's suffering that others would not or could not bear; therefore people revere them from the heart.

They wrote the great goodness of the human world; human nature's radiance shines from them. Because of them the world is brighter. I wish there were more such people, standing like lighthouses guiding others along the right path.