II : LXXIII - LXXVI The Image of Shame

What is more pathetic than the once upon a time glory? What use there is to talk about past achievements or a history of bounty when the present is pitiful? 19th Century Greece wasn't in her prettiest condition, and from Byron's point of view, it's saddening because here it is, the country whose luxury of culture and art made him worship her. He's been longing for this land since he was a boy. And now, upon a first step onto Grecian shore, he's disappointed, devastated, enraged, yet still hopeful. He sees himself in the image of shame Greece holds: memories of glory days, a presence of confusion and a prospect with no clarity. And as for me? I see China, with 5000 years of stories and a brilliant tapestry of ancient civilization, beautiful but just like any antique, molding. And many of us are still indulging ourselves with the incomparable accomplishments our ancestors made some thousands of years ago: the compass, the gun powder, printing techniques (debatable, I know, debatable), and indeed, paper. In an era when the younger generations are all going paperless, we truly need to reconsider our situation here.

Over the past few centuries, nothing significant has come out of China in a groundbreaking, innovative way. Indubitably there have been brilliant theorists and people with amazing skills, decoding works of others, creating different versions of what already exists, finding shortcuts, and some of the more developed cities, have been indulging themselves with luxurious goods and a materialistic lifestyle. Granted that it's not a unique problem, but a universal one that I see no difference between east and west, but forgive my deepest love for my country, I need to point it out and slap my hometown in the face, and I'm hoping more can stand by me.

I'm never a person of aggression, or someone who raise their voices to get heard. I'm not a courageous person in lots of ways, but don't you see the people suffer and don't you feel the pain of being unable to help in any significant way? As I was typing away right here on my Mac Pro, my parents are just getting back home, yes, my home that is 14 hours away in flight. They have to put on face masks when walking outside in the sulfur air under the grey skies. You can barely see the charming scene at the Bund.

There's hardly a tyrant since Qing Dynasty now, yet one way or another, people suffer because of natural causes and various invasions. Wars and social reforms, left millions of people live under water for what it seems to be, eternity. Indeed China "opened for business" after 1949, but many of the psychological doors are still slammed shut. There isn't a sense of freedom when it comes to arts, and expression. Still, it's hardly a unique problem but something I have experienced in almost every country I've been to, yet based on my own familiarity, my dearly beloved mother land, really needs to open her mind a little.

It's a sad site in Greece when Byron paid his visits to the ruined temples where gods supposedly once resided. Those structures are listless, and like tombs of their past lives instead of the monuments they were meant to be. Like in Shanghai, highrises and fortresses of department stores, have become trophies of superficial commercial achievement, but without substances.

Things don't change, progresses can never be made unless we move forward without pauses. The notion of slowing down and smell the roses doesn't exist in the development of societies. It might sound harsh, but I say it with only love and sincerity: one is only alive when looking forth and moving forward; boasting about what we've done in the past is like making a eulogy, and laying down a coffin for a person still alive.

There's so much to see, so much to do in this world, beautiful and probably never to be perfected. And human being a species so fragile yet powerful, so cowardice yet ruthless, so insignificant yet sometimes one can make such a huge difference. It's a beautiful thing to be living at a time of despair because you see much potential, and step one, is to be optimistic and kind.

What Byron saw in the Souliotes is determination, without which nothing can be achieved. There's no shame in temporary failure as long as it's recognized. The most dangerous situation? Lying on our backs and talk about "remember when" and "we used to". That would be the real images of shame.