Explore Chapter 35 of 'Moment in Peking' with the original Chinese text, English translation, detailed Chinese vocabulary explanations, and audio of the Chinese original. Listen and improve your reading skills.
The fall of Beijing was like a heavy sigh, spreading to every corner in the autumn wind. Mulan Yao stood under the eaves of the courtyard, watching the sun sink slowly in the sky, a nameless sorrow welling up in her heart. She remembered her father Yao Si'an once saying: "Every man is responsible for the rise and fall of his country." Now that responsibility pressed down on the shoulders of every Chinese like a thousand-pound burden.
The Zeng family had already packed their belongings, preparing to migrate south. Zeng Wenpu paced in his study, the letter in his hand damp with sweat. It was an urgent message from Nanjing, urging him to leave Peiping as soon as possible to avoid falling into enemy hands. Mrs. Zeng wept silently beside him. She could not bear to leave the old house where she had lived for decades, the osmanthus trees in the courtyard, or the neighbors she had spent every day with. But the situation left no choice.
Mulan's husband Sunya hurried back from outside, his face marked with fatigue and indignation. He told Mulan that the Japanese troops outside the city were closing in, and refugees were flooding toward the city gates like a tide, their cries shaking the sky. Mulan felt a sharp pang in her heart. She recalled the scenes of her own flight in earlier years-the lost souls, the tears of displacement. Would it all happen again? She gripped Sunya's hand tightly and whispered: "We must stay together, in life or in death."
The Zeng family decided to split into two routes: Zeng Wenpu and the dependents would take the overland route, heading south via Baoding; Mulan and Sunya would take the children and retreat along the railway line with the masses of refugees. Before leaving, Mulan went to the Zeng ancestral hall and kowtowed three times before the ancestral tablets. Silently she prayed: Bless our family with safety. Bless this suffering land to find peace soon.
On the morning of departure, the sky was overcast, matching the mood of the people. Mulan looked back at the familiar gate. The red lacquer was peeling, and the plaque reading "Presented Scholar" above the lintel looked unusually pale in the morning light. She took a deep breath, turned, and stepped onto the unknown journey. The wind rose, sweeping up fallen leaves, as if telling of an era coming to an end.
The convoy crawled slowly along the dusty highway. Mulan sat in the carriage, cradling her young son, gazing out the window in thought. She remembered the Taoist philosophy her father often spoke of: All things cycle, prosperity inevitably declines. The capital had flourished for centuries, yet now it was bound to endure a catastrophe. But she also believed, as her father had said, that what is wonderful becomes foul, and what is foul becomes wonderful. The decay of old China was the sprouting of a new one. Amid the sound of falling leaves in late autumn, she seemed to hear the tune of spring and the vigorous rhythm of the coming summer.
At dusk, the convoy halted at a small town by the roadside. Refugees sat around bonfires, some sobbing softly, others silent. An old woman took Mulan's hand and said in a trembling voice: "Young lady, go south. There is hope there." Mulan nodded and shared her dry rations with a few hungry children. She understood in her heart that this war was not one person's war; it was the war of the entire nation. Only by standing united could they overcome the ordeal.
The night grew deep. Mulan gazed at the Big Dipper in the sky, her heart becoming clear. She thought of Manniang, of Mochou, of all the separated loved ones. She firmly believed that as long as they lived, there would be a day of reunion. Just as she had once been separated from her parents and later rescued by the Zeng family, fate might be tortuous, but it would always guide people toward the light. She softly hummed a nursery rhyme she had learned as a child. The song drifted in the silent night sky, bringing a touch of warmth to the weary people.
At dawn the next day, the group continued their journey. Mulan spread open a copy of "Zhuangzi" in the carriage and turned to the page that read: "The Great Way is above the Supreme Ultimate, yet not high." She recited silently, and gradually her heart calmed. She knew that the suffering of this world would eventually pass, like the tide receding, leaving only resilient shells on the shore. And she would be a pearl within one of those shells, nurturing radiance in the darkness.
Ahead, the road was still long. But Mulan was no longer afraid. She touched the jade pendant inside her robe, a gift from her father when she married. On it were carved four characters: "Follow nature's course." She closed her eyes, feeling the jolting of the carriage, as if drifting on the river of fate. She believed that as long as she held onto hope, one day they would return to Peiping, to that courtyard fragrant with osmanthus, and start life anew. And by then, China would also greet a new dawn.