In the late autumn in Beijing, the leaves are yellow, and the wind is also slightly cool. This is an era of education and wisdom, and it is also a story of perseverance and choice. Chen Sikou, a woman who spent half of her life with Zhao Baoxu, a professor of political science at Peking University, showed an extraordinary attitude towards life in her later years.
Zhao Baoxu, an iconic figure of Peking University, is not only because of his profound knowledge, but also because of his educational philosophy and far-reaching influence on students. The study of political science made him a disseminator of ideas, and his death left Chen Sikou with endless thoughts and memories.
As a young man, she and Zhao Baoxu experienced war and social upheaval together, and witnessed China's transformation from closed to open. Their homes, often places of discussion among students and scholars, contain too many sparks of knowledge and wisdom. As the wife of a professor, and in the context of that special era, she was not only the pillar of the family, but also the assistant of Zhao Baoxu's exchange of ideas.
Chen Sikou's life in his later years is a profound reflection on all this. She saw the loneliness and helplessness of many of her peers, which made her think about how to age with dignity. Her choice, perhaps to outsiders, is extreme, but in her opinion, it is a deep understanding and respect for the last stage of life.
Back in the early morning of 2017, Chen Sikou was sitting in her study full of the smell of books, and the ginkgo biloba outside the window had turned yellow. She gently flipped through the political science classics she had read with Zhao Baoxu, and every time she turned a page, she seemed to hear the voice of his lectures back then.
That day, she received a call from her doctor informing her that her condition had reached the point of no return. On the other end of the phone, the doctor's voice was gentle and firm, but Chen Sikou's heart was unusually calm. She knows that everyone's life has an end, and all she has to do is to meet this moment gracefully.
She told her children about her decision: to cut off all treatment and quietly wait for the end of her life. Although it was difficult for the children to accept, they eventually respected her choice. Over the next few days, Chen Sikou fasted completely, quietly watching the world outside the window, occasionally talking to his children and Zhao Baoxu's students.
She told them, "Life is a journey, and it ends at a time. Don't grieve, my journey has been wonderful. ”
Finally, on October 21, 2017, Chen Sikou left this world peacefully in his sleep. Her departure, as she hoped, was both elegant and calm, without leaving too many stumbling blocks and reluctance to the world. Before her death, Chen Sikou left a philosophical sentence: "Life is like a play, and when it comes to the end, it is just an empty game." This sentence was later recorded by one of Zhao Baoxu's students and became a philosophical summary of her life.
In this era of rapid change, we often forget the ultimate meaning of life and lose our way between utilitarianism and impetuousness. Chen Sikou's choice reminds each of us that we should take responsibility for our own life and face every stage of life in a dignified way. In her own way, she tells us that even in the last moments of life, we have the right to choose how to face it. This kind of courage and wisdom is something that each of us should learn from.
It tells us that in the face of the inevitable end, we can choose not only how to live, but also how to leave. This choice is not only a respect for one's own life, but also the deepest understanding of life itself. When recalling the years that Zhao Baoxu and Chen Sikou have gone through together, we should think more about how to leave memorable and respectful footprints in our own life journey. Life is short, but we write it beautifully.