«——【Preamble】】 ——»
People can't escape birth, old age, sickness and death in this life, but some people are very open-minded in the face of life and death, while some people show fear in the face of life and death.
These two emotions are human nature, and for the elderly, how to face death in the absence of illness is the last difficult problem in life.
However, there is such an old man, and the open-mindedness and calmness she shows to the world in the face of death are staggering.
The most surprising thing is that the old man chose to say goodbye to this world in his own "unique" way.
This old man is Chen Sikou, the wife of a 96-year-old professor at Peking University, so how did the old man Chen Sikou calmly face death in her own way at the last moment of her life?
When I was young, I was in love with each other
Chen Sikou is the wife of Zhao Baoxi, a famous professor at Peking University.
Zhao Baoxi was born in 1922, when the situation in China was turbulent and warlords were fighting everywhere, but Zhao Baoxi had a heart to save the country and the people since he was a child.
Although the family is poor, his parents are open-minded, even if they smash the pot and sell iron, they have to let Zhao Baoxi read and write.
In those days of poverty, Zhao Baoxi was determined to contribute to the country. He enjoys reading and has always excelled in his studies.
In 1943, the iron hooves of the Japanese invaders were ruthlessly trampling on the ancient capital of Beiping. Zhao Baoxi was unwilling to succumb to the rule of the Japanese invaders, so he resolutely decided to pass through the layers of the Japanese blockade.
Risking his life in this way, Zhao Baoxi came to the Southwest Associated University from Beiping. Here, Zhao Baoxi came into contact with more advanced ideas and more in-depth knowledge.
During the war-torn years, the teachers and students studied tirelessly and were determined to contribute to the post-war country.
Hard work pays off, in Southwest Associated University, Zhao Baoxi not only learned all kinds of knowledge into his mind, but also called on his classmates to oppose the invasion of the Japanese invaders.
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Zhao Baoxi and his classmates returned to Beijing, at this time, the social chaos did not subside with the defeat of the Japanese invaders, and all kinds of acute social problems were also prominent.
So Zhao Baoxi and his classmates made suggestions to the national government at that time, but the government ignored them.
It was at this time that Zhao Baoxi met his future wife, Chen Sikou.
Chen Sikou was born in a scholarly family, she is a hot-blooded aspiring young man like Zhao Baoxi, because she was unwilling to succumb to the iron hooves of the Japanese invaders, so she risked her life to transfer to the Southwest Associated University.
Chen Sikou's parents were very open-minded and supported their daughter's free love, which was a very valuable idea at the time.
After Chen Sikou and Zhao Baoxi fell in love, they entered Peking University to teach. Although both are young, their knowledge is at the top of the list that a graduate of the same age cannot achieve.
Later, Zhao Baoxi made outstanding contributions to the field of political research, and became one of the most famous political scientists in China.
In 1960, Peking University re-established the Department of Political Science, and Zhao Baoxi became the main founder of the Department of Political Science of Peking University because of his outstanding talent.
Chen Sikou was later transferred to a middle school to teach because of his work, and Zhao Baoxi became a professor in the Department of Political Science of Peking University, but the difference in identity did not prevent the two from falling in love.
Since they got married, the two have respected each other like guests, have never blushed because of anything, and are a model couple in the hearts of colleagues and friends.
Grieved by the death of her husband
Zhao Baoxi devoted his life to the study of international relations and political science, and made outstanding contributions.
The students he has taught have also devoted themselves to the international field and have made great contributions to the country.
In 2012, Zhao Baoxi, a pioneer who made great contributions to international relations, China's foreign relations, and political science, died of a serious illness.
Chen Sikou is very sad, and her husband have experienced countless ups and downs over the decades, and their love has been tested by war.
After Zhao Baoxi's death, Chen Sikou fell into great grief, she didn't think about tea and food every day, which made her children very worried.
After a few months, Chen Sikou finally came out of her grief and regained her strength, and at the age of 91, she was still committed to the education of her students.
Chen Sikou said that she wanted to dedicate herself to doing something beneficial in the last bit of her life.
Unlike other widowed and elderly people living alone, Chen Sikou was very active in life for the next five years, reading books and newspapers by herself, and going for a walk in the park every day.
She often holds a photo of her husband Zhao Baoxi and looks at it, as if she is reminiscing about their sweet years for decades.
Seeing that their mother was old, Chen Sikou's children asked Chen Sikou to live with them, but Chen Sikou refused.
Because Chen Sikou didn't want to cause trouble to his children. She was alone at home, and her life was very ordinary.
Although she is over 90 years old, she still devotes her energy to studying. Chen Sikou believes that living to old age and learning old is a wise saying left by the ancient Chinese, which is applicable to any era.
Chen Sikou often talks with the elderly people living alone in the courtyard and relieves their depression.
Many old people younger than him kindly said that Chen Sikou is a confidant elder sister, and she uses an optimistic and open-minded attitude to let people see the strength and wisdom in the heart of this 90-year-old man.
Open-mindedness in the face of death
In 2015, 94-year-old Chen Sikou suddenly felt unwell at home, she began to experience dizziness and began to urinate a lot of blood.
After going to the hospital for examination, it was found that Chen Sikou had a serious tumor on his body and needed immediate surgery.
In fact, as long as this tumor is operated on and carefully treated, it can completely restore the health of the old man Chen Sikou.
But Chen Sikou made a move that surprised his children and doctors.
When the doctor wanted to push her into the ward, Chen Sikou politely refused. She told the doctor and her children that she didn't want treatment, and they thought the mother was joking.
But they know their mother's temper very well, and they know that Chen Sikou will not joke easily. Chen Sikou told his children that he was almost at the end of his life, and he didn't want to add more pain to his body, so it was better to choose conservative treatment.
However, Chen Sikou's condition was not suitable for conservative treatment, and the doctor worriedly told Chen Sikou that her condition could only be treated with surgery, and the use of conservative treatment did not have much effect.
But Chen Sikou very firmly rejected the doctor's kindness. She believes that whether the effect is good or not, it is her own choice, and she should not regret it.
Looking at the children who were already full of tears, Chen Sikou called them to the bedside, and Chen Sikou comforted the children: People always have to die. When the children heard this, they wept silently.
Fasting and watering to complete the last journey of life
For a long time afterward. Chen Sikou insisted on taking what the doctor called conservative treatment every day.
But this conservative treatment apparently did not prolong Chen's life, and after more than a year of treatment, Chen's condition suddenly deteriorated.
The doctor regretfully told Chen Sikou's children that in the hospital was nothing more than using medical means to prolong Chen Sikou's life, but Chen Sikou had to endure great pain.
After Chen Sikou learned of this situation, he resolutely wanted to go home. The children disagreed, but Chen Sikou was very stubborn, and there was no way, so the children had to send Chen Sikou home.
After returning home, the children prepared a well-prepared meal for Chen Sikou to eat, but Chen Sikou refused to eat and did not even drink water, which made the children very afraid.
They begged their mother to eat and drink, but Chen Sikou smiled and comforted her children, saying that she wanted to choose her own way of death.
The children couldn't persuade them anymore, and they also knew that their mother had a very stubborn temper all her life, and the things she decided could not be changed.
In the following days, the children looked at their mothers who did not eat or drink water, and they also tried to give their mothers protein, but Chen Sikou refused them all without exception.
The last moment finally came, on October 21, 2017, Chen Sikou, who had been on hunger strike for six days, passed away peacefully.
Before dying, Chen Sikou instructed her children to bury her with her lover Zhao Baoxi, and asked them not to cry and to be strong.
After Chen Sikou died, the children rummaged through the relics she left behind and found the diary that Chen Sikou insisted on writing every day.
There is this passage in the diary:
I have reached the last moment of my life, at the age of 96, it is also a complete life, I don't want to cause trouble for my children, and I don't want to let myself be tortured by illness, so I want to choose my own way to die to live the last hurdle of this life.
The children wept silently after seeing it, their mother was open-minded all her life, and she still maintained an open-minded heart until her death, which is incomparable to many old people.
Such a spirit is precious and amazing. Most people are very afraid of death, no matter how difficult life is, it is still good to live, especially the elderly in their twilight years, who are even more deeply worried about death.
Chen Sikou's attitude towards death is really rare in the world, and in the last days of his life, this knowledgeable old man was unwilling to let himself endure the torture of illness without dignity.
To be precise, the old man Chen Sikou personally ended his magnificent life by going on a hunger strike and cutting off water.
She is not only thinking about herself, but also does not want to burden her children because of her illness, Chen Sikou's diary also has a sentence, which means that life is not about length, but about quality.
Throughout the life of the old man Chen Sikou, she devoted herself to the education of the next generation, and devoted all her energy to the country and the people, and her life was undoubtedly full of dedication.
From Chen Sikou's story, we can draw a conclusion that while pursuing the length of life, we should also pursue the quality of life.
We may not have the open-minded spirit to face death like the old man Chen Siko, but we can try our best to learn from the old man Chen Siko's dedication.
In addition, the love between Chen Sikou and Professor Zhao Baoxi is also really enviable, and it is a role model for contemporary young people to learn.
Their love is full of ups and downs, but also full of happiness. This kind of mutual support and mutual love is the love that people really want to pursue.
All in all, the attitude of the old man Chen Sikou towards death is worth learning, after all, the ancients have a saying that people are inherently dead, or heavier than Mount Tai or lighter than a feather.
In a lifetime, as long as you reach the highest point of what you think is the quality of life, then this life is very exciting!