No matter where you are and what you do today, please take a moment to thank your mentors, teachers and professors.
My beloved Mentor, Thesis Advisor, and Professor, Rong Yilun laoshi, passed away on March 19th in Beijing. His friends, colleagues, and students live and work in many parts of China and in several other countries – a true teacher of 桃李满天下. I have learned from Rong laoshi a lot more about life than just the English Language and Literature from the graduate school curriculum. Rong laoshi emphasized 育人 more than 教书, and he taught by example. I learned from Rong laoshi that 育人 was a teacher’s sacred responsibility, and 教书 was an activity, a task, to reach for that goal. Rong laoshi taught us that one had to be true to oneself and to others no matter what the circumstances were.
I am grateful that I last talked with him in mid January. I promised that I would visit him again on my next trip to China and we would continue with our conversations. I will keep this promise and visit Rong laoshi at the cemetary when I am in China next time.
I am better than I was because of all my mentors, professors/teachers, and friends. In remembering Rong laoshi, I also want to thank all of you no matter where you are in the world!