Thanks to Mr. Tian Jiabing

? When I saw the news of Mr. Tian Jiabing’s death in the Shangtian High School WeChat group this afternoon, I was a little surprised, but not too sad. Because in my opinion, being able to "pass away peacefully" is really a blessing for an octogenarian, and the obituary of the Tin Ka Ping Foundation has just these four words. However, as an employee of the school named after Mr. Tian, ??as a person who has experienced Mr. Mr.’s style, listened to Mr. Tian’s teachings, and received Mr. Tian’s blessings, I have not made any psychological response to the death of Mr. Tian. No preparations were made, so knowing that the old gentleman was returning to the west on a crane, my heart was still empty for a while. All afternoon, I was thinking about writing something for the old gentleman, but I didn’t know where to start. I just thought of some things about the old gentleman from near to far.

At the end of last year, at the invitation of the Tin Ka Ping Foundation, President Cao Lili of our school flew to Hong Kong to attend the Lingnan University President’s Seminar and visited Mr. Tian. Before leaving, Principal Cao asked me to write a few words for a small gift from the school's model aircraft team to the old man, to express the greetings and blessings from the teachers and students of Tian High School to the old man. I submit the following text:

? Dear Grandpa Tian Jiabing, on the occasion of Principal Cao Lili going to Hong Kong to visit you, we sincerely ask her to express her sincere greetings to you on behalf of all the teachers and students of Nanjing Tian Jiabing Senior High School. With my dearest regards! At the same time, please also ask Principal Cao to send you a small gift to express our little thoughts. This is an airplane model jointly made by members of our school’s model aircraft team. It is a miniature version of the airplane we won the gold medal in an international competition. We placed it on a bracket with a spiritual shape of "Boundless Love" embedded in a base made of love. It means that your spirit of boundless love has given the teachers and students of Tian High School the wings to fly their ideals, allowing us to fly more powerfully. , higher and further. We are the children of Nanjing Tianjiabing Senior High School, your children, and the children of China and the world. Your broad mind and kind character have become the spiritual coordinates of Tiangao people. Please believe that on the road to pursuing excellence, we will definitely follow your example and give back to this beautiful world with a pure heart!

A few days later, Principal Cao brought back his impressions of visiting Mr. Tian and the schools under the Tian Jiabing Foundation. He told us that Mr. Tian was in good health and spirit, and his speech and thinking were clear. This makes me feel gratified, and I estimate that the old man will be satisfied with the small gift from the model aircraft team - the old man's feelings for education last throughout his life, and of course he is happy to see the various achievements made by Tian High School students! I thought at the time that this centenarian man might be able to visit our school again one day. After a while, I forgot about this idea, even the old man. I only accidentally remembered it when I saw the middle-aged bronze statue of the old man in the northeast corner of the Mu Chun Pond in front of the library. Even today, when the old man passes away, I don’t think it is a great disrespect to forget him, because the old man’s spirit has always nourished every Tiangao person, or every Tiangao person has always passed on the old man’s legacy. And this spirit is not exclusive to the old gentleman, so why should we use whether we can remember the old gentleman himself as a criterion for respect?

To be honest, my respect for the old gentleman began when I invigilated an exam fifteen years ago. I saw the words "Nanjing Tianjiabing Middle School" written in the name column of many students' test papers in the examination room, and I felt very confused because I didn't know which middle school Tianjiabing Middle School was, and I thought I was familiar with Nanjing. All the middle school names are familiar. Later I heard that Tin Ka Ping Middle School was the original No. 8 Middle School. The reason why it was renamed Tin Ka Ping Middle School was because a big Hong Kong businessman named Tin Ka Ping donated his money and determined to fund a thousand schools in the mainland. The only condition was that the schools be named after him. I think this Mr. Tian Jiabing must be a man of great stature, and I feel quite sorry that his school is not named after Tian Jiabing. Two years later, in 2005, the high schools of Nanjing No. 2 Middle School, No. 50 Middle School and Tianjiabing Middle School (No. 8 Middle School) merged, and Nanjing Tianjiabing Senior High School was established on the No. 2 Middle School campus. I was lucky enough to come to Tianjiabing from No. 50 Middle School. In high school, I became a member of a school named after this great man. I remember I was in a really good mood at that time, and I looked forward to seeing Mr. Tian in person one day. I heard that on the day the school was unveiled, the old man came. I don’t remember whether I attended the unveiling ceremony, so I don’t remember whether I saw the man I had always looked up to in my heart. Now that I think about it, Mr. Tian's hurried coming and going did not leave any impression on me, a sensitive person by nature. What a pity!

? I have met the old gentleman after all. It was 2008. I can’t remember the specific day. I just remember it was a sunny and mild afternoon. I clearly remember that the old man was 89 years old. He had silver hair, a slim figure, a strong waist, a kind face, white and intact teeth, and a strong spirit. He is not tall. He wears a dark gray suit, a crisp white shirt and a blue oval tie. He stands behind the podium with flowers, waiting for us with a smile.

Seeing that we were all sitting quietly, he came to the middle of the podium and bowed deeply to us. The venue immediately burst into warm applause. I knew the meaning of this applause: gratitude and respect—— I even think that the principal should organize all our teachers to bow to the old gentleman. After the old gentleman accepted the speech from the school leader, he began his conversation. His voice was low and his tone was calm. He told his story with a kind smile from beginning to end, as if he was reminiscing or meditating. His words were simple and humorous. From his story, I learned that he had experienced war, famine, separation, and wandering... He had been making money all his life, but he had been frugal all his life; he had made a fortune, but he had spent 8% of the money he earned. Ten years are used to help the poor and donate to education... I like to listen to the voices of benevolent people, especially the extraordinary life experiences told by benevolent people in a calm tone. The old gentleman's brief narrative is without showing off or showing off. Pretentious, without the slightest hint of admonishment, but a sense of pride - about the inheritance of family tradition, career development, giving back to one's hometown, serving the motherland... and a sense of happiness - about the ups and downs of life, being grateful to oneself The land and people, donations for education, poverty alleviation... but the happiness is integrated into every tone of his calm and leisurely voice. “My donations in mainland China have been widely carried out in Dabu County since the reform and opening up in 1978; in 1985, it was extended to counties under Meizhou City; in 1990, it was extended to cities and counties in Guangdong Province; in 1995, it was expanded to outside Guangdong Province. It now includes 34 provinces, cities and regions in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan..." "A nearly 700-square-meter independent house on Sammashi Road in Kowloon Tong was sold in 2001 and received NT$56 million, all of which was donated to education. I sold the home I had lived in for 37 years and rented a 130-square-meter apartment. This incident brought me unexpected gains - everyone unanimously praised an elderly person. The old man dedicated his life to charity and gave up a large amount of assets. This is something that few people can do. At that time, I thought that the interest of 50 to 60 million yuan would amount to 400,000 yuan per month, which is equivalent to 13,300 yuan used every night. Yuan, it’s such a waste. If I donate the money to build a school, I can see the spectacular teaching buildings and hear the sweet sound of thousands of students reading. It will be better than living by myself in terms of economic benefits and spiritual enjoyment. ..." This is the style of Mr. Tian Jiabing, this is the realm of Mr. Tian Jiabing, and this is the blessing that Mr. Tian Jiabing gave me in his brief words! ——Hearing such a voice of kindness once in your life is indeed satisfying.

? Dear Mr. Tian Jiabing, I have received your blessing, and I will spare no effort to pass on this blessing for the rest of my life.

? In my hand, there is a book "My Happy Life" written by the old man himself. On the cover, the old man has silver hair, wearing ordinary glasses, holding a fist in his left hand. Under his right cheek, his eyes narrowed into two slits, and he was smiling like a child. Now that the old gentleman is gone, I hope he still bids farewell to the world he loved with a child-like smile. Mr. Tian Jiabing's life has no regrets, only happiness! I think that in this world, the old gentleman has never left and will never leave, because he is the innocent son of the world, and we and future generations will make his innocent heart shine forever.

The night of July 10, 2018