OPINION> Commentary
Undying human will
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-05-21 07:18

Even the fury of nature in the great "Storm Scene" in Shakespeare's King Lear would look milder in comparison. But the gigantic might of Sichuan's earthquake that leveled more than a dozen towns and took thousands of lives in an instant has this in common with the Shakespearian storm - it shows the fragility and vulnerability of man in the face of elemental fury.

This quintessential truth was attested again not only by the disappearance of thousands of lives in a matter of minutes, but also by the destruction of what had been achieved with the efforts of several generations.

But the other side of the picture is the unyielding will of individuals and inconceivably huge force of human endeavor when organized as a collective.

When survivors who had been buried in the rubble for 129 hours or even more than 160 hours were rescued, it proved once again that what the strong will of a person can achieve may sometimes be beyond our imagination.

Looking at the spiritual power of these individuals, who can claim that the human spirit is fragile against the might of nature? It is the same point that Shakespearian tragedies make about the indestructibility of the human spirit

When a teacher covered his students with his body to protect them, his heroism and idealism demonstrated how such good qualities of human nature make up for man's fragility and vulnerability.

When thousands of People's Liberation Army soldiers and volunteers made their way to the affected areas - some even on foot after landslides blocked highways - to rescue the victims and help the injured, it demonstrated what a mighty force collective human endeavors can be.

When people from different walks of life from all over the country and from other parts of the world responded actively to this disaster by donating money or offering help in different forms, it was a demonstration of how a nation or human beings can rise as one in fighting a natural calamity of this magnitude. This spirit makes human fragility and vulnerability insignificant.

The loss of thousands of lives will not shake the confidence of the survivors in carrying on with what those who have passed away could not finish.

It is not the first time for nature to display its ferocity in such a ruthless manner. In spite of the great loss of human lives and properties, human beings have never yielded even once to the cruelty of nature.

Throughout the history of civilization, it is this unyielding spirit that has propelled human beings to fight back one natural disaster after another. It will be no exception with the Chinese people this time.

(China Daily 05/21/2008 page10)