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Late Qing Dynasty scholar Wang Guowei once said that, all those who have achieved success must have experienced three kinds of states:

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清末學者王國維先生嘗謂：凡成事者皆須經歷三種境界，
qīng mò xuézhě Wáng Guówéi Xiānsheng cháng wèi : fán chéng shì zhě jiē jīnglì sān zhǒng jìngjiè ,

一：衣帶漸寬終不悔，為伊消得人憔悴；
yī : yī dài jiān kuān zhōng bù huǐ , wèi Yī xiāo děi rén qiáocuì ；

二：昨夜西風凋碧樹，獨上高樓，望盡天涯路；
èr : zuóyè xī fēng diāo bì shù , dú shànggāo , wàng jǐn tiānyá lù ；

三：眾裡尋她千百度，驀然回首，那人卻在燈火闌珊處。
sān : zhòng xún tā qiān bǎidù , mò rán huíshǒu, nā rénquè zài dēnghuǒ lánshān chǔ .

This three stage saying, each of them comes from a different classic Chinese poem. These poem lines are succinct, highly condensed and extremely beautiful and graceful.

1.The first stage. My clothes and belts are getting loose, yet from beginning to the end I will never regret. For her, I languish and become wan and sallow.

The literal meaning of this sentence is:
A person excessively yearns for his or her lover, and so his or her body gradually became emaciated and gaunt. Those clothes that used to be fitting, now they have become looser and looser. Mr. Wang used this poetic line to refer to we need to have determination and hard working attitude on our researching or learning or any dream goal we want to achieve.

In Chinese, we have an idiom says:
廢寢忘食 ( fèi qǐn wàng shí) which means to neglect sleep and forget about food or to skip one’s sleep and meals, so it also refers to be completely wrapped up in one’s work.

Thus, if we want to achieve some unusual success on whatever we set our mind on, we must be diligent, even be so obsessed on what we are doing that we even skip our sleep and meals and work extremely hard. For example, you now are studying Mandarin Chinese, in order to become a fluent Chinese learner, you need to totally immerse yourself in Chinese, learn Chinese so enthusiastically that you even forgot to eat and kept studying hours and hours till dawn. Then there will be a high chance that you will not only achieve the highest Chinese level but also reach your weight lose resolution.

2.The second stage. Last night west wind withered jade like green trees. Alone I climbed the high tower to see to the limit of roads which lead to the other end of the world.

During the process of pursuing a splendid goal, it would be rare to have a smooth journey all the way. Thus, even you encounter extremely upset and frustrating stumbles on the path, don’t ever give up your hope. The challenging situation can be like the green leaves got withered by western wind, and the tree suddenly lost all the vibrant living energy. When you bumped into the big mistake or cruelty of life, it would be a good time to examine your motivation and purpose, and give the future some thoughts.

Climbing to a high tower will give us a better view of all the surrounding and the landscape. In Chinese, we have a proverb says:
站得高看得远 ( zhàn de gāo kàn děi yuǎn )
Literally, it means: Stand high and see far ahead.
So, it can be translated as:
The one who stands higher takes a broader view.
or
From the most commanding height comes with the greatest vision.
With a clear view in mind, a person will know clearly regarding which plan to carry out, and will achieve a better result.

Let’s take your Chinese learning as an example again. When you failed on your Chinese test. What you should do? You surely know that you have to study harder. Take some times to give your study habit some thoughts, do some research or ask some other Chinese learners about how they studied and to gather a whole scope of view on your learning approach. After the sound reviewing stage, you will have a good understanding about how you can do to improve your Chinese and make your learning more effective.

3.The third stage. I was looking for her thousand and hundred times in the crowd. Suddenly I turned around, yet she was standing at the place with waning lamp light.

Have you ever experienced something like this? You were searching for an object high and low, here and there, all the times, but the object was like missing in the sea of mundane. However, when you were losing all the hope, at the least expected place, eureka, you found it.

This applies to your learning too. When you were bitterly looking for an answer to your problem, yet the answer was no where to be found. You were upset and disappointed, yet, maybe in a blinking of eyes, a divine light shines on you and then the answer to your prayer comes clearly right on your mind!

Therefore, don’t be disheartened on the path of learning no matter what you might meet on the journey. As long as there is life, there is hope. Don’t ever give up hope, no matter how trying the journey might be, no matter how throttling the difficulty might be …

Learning is not all easy and smooth, so is life journey. Hope you will be able to walk the path less travel by (Chinese is hard, isn’t it?) and have unforgettable views and experiences to remember in laughter or in tears ….

Wang Guowei background information:

王国维 Wang Guowei (December 2, 1877 — June 2, 1927), courtesy name Jing’an (靜安) or Baiyu (伯隅), was a versatile and creative scholar, writer and poet in late Qing Dynasty. Wang made significant achievement on the studies of ancient history, epigraphy, philology, literature and literary theory.

When there is no hope in the near future, for the ones we love, we pray for them to be OK. It would be good to extend the love to all human beings and even animals, and wish everyone and every being will be good and peaceful in the world. Let’s pray …

A classic Mandarin Chinese soothing song — prayer.

蔡琴【祈禱】Prayer

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蔡琴
Cai Qin

祈禱
Qi dao
Prayer

让我们敲希望的钟呀
ràng wǒ men qiāo xī wàng de zhōng yā
Let’s knock the bell of hope

多少祈祷在心中
duō shǎo qí dǎo zài xīn zhōng
How many prayers in the heart

让大家看不到失败
ràng dà jiā kàn bù dào shī bài
Let everyone not be able to see failures

叫成功永远在
jiào chéng gōng yǒng yuǎn zài
Tell success to stay forever

让地球忘记了转动呀
ràng dì qíu wàng jì le zhuǎn dòng yā
Let Earth forget to rotate

四季少了夏秋冬
sì jì shǎo le xià qīu dōng
Four seasons become short of summer, autumn and winter

让宇宙关不了天窗
ràng yǔ zhòu guān bù le tiān chuāng
Let the universe be not able to close heaven window

叫太阳不西冲
jiào tài yáng bù xī chōng
Let the sun not to rush to the west

让欢喜代替了哀愁呀
ràng huān xǐ dài tì le āi chóu yā
Let joy replace sorrow

微笑不会再害羞
wēi xiào bù huì zài hài xīu
Smiles won’t be shy anymore

让时光懂得去倒流
ràng shí guāng dǒng dé qù dǎo líu
Let the time know how to flow back to the past

叫青春不开溜
jiào qīng chūn bù kāi līu
Let the youth be not able to escape

让贫穷开始去逃亡呀
ràng pín qióng kāi shǐ qù táo wáng yā
Let poverty start to flee away

快乐健康流四方
kuài lè jiàn kāng líu sì fāng
Happiness and health flow to everywhere

让世间找不到黑暗
ràng shì jiān zhǎo bù dào hēi àn
Let the human world be not able to find darkness

幸福像花开放
xìng fú xiàng huā kāi fàng
Happiness blooms like flowers

让我们敲希望的钟呀
ràng wǒ men qiāo xī wàng de zhōng yā
Let us knock the bell of hope

多少祈祷在心中
duō shǎo qí dǎo zài xīn zhōng
How many prayers in the heart

让大家看不到失败
ràng dà jiā kàn bù dào shī bài
Let everyone not see failures

叫成功永远在
jiào chéng gōng yǒng yuǎn zài
Tell success to stay forever

Translated by Shu

Alison Krauss – A Living Prayer (with lyrics)

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