Citizens of Calais

Rodin is Rodin. He not only made a "thinker" who bowed his head and meditated widely known, but also clearly told people who speak various languages in the world that thinking is the power of human beings, and thinkers are "one" independent of rulers. The progress of society and the weight of a nation depend largely on thinkers and their thoughts.

This "thinker" can be immortal, but he left a series of immortal works for the world. In this series of immortal works, "citizen of Calais" has a unique meaning.

I was lucky enough to witness his Calais citizen group with my own eyes, walk side by side with them, and appreciate their feelings in the14th century.

It was Calais, France in the Hundred Years' War between Britain and France. The long siege has left Calais in a desperate situation, and Calais has to make peace-in fact, he is giving his life for the city. Faced with the harsh and proud conditions of King Edward III of England-six most respected Calais citizens wearing linen and tying ropes around their necks will be executed if they walk barefoot to the British military camp to hand over the city keys-Calais suddenly rises and walks out of six upright citizens! With ropes around their necks, linen clothes and Calais keys in their hands, they trudged solemnly to the place where they died. Of course, they didn't know that a man named Confucius in China said, "If you don't do just things, you won't have courage", but they did better than Confucius asked, and saved the whole city with their own death.

From then on, in this world full of darkness and tragedy, selfishness and cowardice, six brave people walked calmly and fearlessly. As they walked, the river sobbed for them. The mountains saluted them as they walked. When they walk, they radiate the most beautiful light of human nature, so that human beings will always remember how powerful a short life can be and how great and noble ordinary people can be. There is no need to seek the truth in profound classics, and there is no need to seek the remedy to save the world from those impressive and important people. These six Calais, tied with ropes and dressed in linen, leisurely walked on the historical Yuan Ye and wrote with their own steps: The truth lies in their own hearts, and only they can save themselves.

After more than 400 years, six French Calais citizens who walked endlessly in the wasteland of human history finally touched their great compatriot Rodin. He hugged them and accompanied them with his love.

Because of Rodin, we were lucky enough to go with them.

The young man with the city key in his hand held his head high, his mouth closed and his sunken eyes filled with grief and indignation. The oldest of his closest six people is the first one, named Ostag. He is the richest man in Calais and the ruler of this city. He has a fluffy beard, calm eyes and steady steps. Even if his calmness affects others, the heart of a righteous man is very complicated in the face of death. Family will never know each other again, and life will never happen again. Sadness and fear, even hesitation, are bound to surge in their hearts. But they, together, kept on walking forward, because they all knew that their death could be exchanged for the lives of relatives and compatriots in the city.

Mr. Lu Xun once told people not to look at the official genealogy for the emperor, but to look at these "backbones" buried in the ground, because China has "China backbones" that plead for the people. It seems that even if we have so many traitors, even if we have a tradition of killing just people (this tradition was still "carried forward" until the 1980s and 1990s), even if officials see that Li Yong has brought a bad head to the deterioration of social atmosphere, we should still build up our confidence with difficulty, because our just people still have no home.

So, what about you?

Don't do unjust things. Forgetting righteousness before profit. Don't make a fool of yourself. Even if you don't blindly pursue nobility, you should try to be clean and treat the cold world with warmth. As Kierkegaard said, "Look for a truth that is true to me, and look for an idea that I am willing to live for and die for". I think of these six citizens in Calais, France, and walk with them in a big joint. (Li Musheng)

(Note: After the Six Righteousness Men arrived at the British military camp, the Queen of England was moved by the Six Righteousness Men and asked the king to pardon the six men, which was allowed by Edward III).

About the author:

Li Musheng is a famous writer, essayist, poet and senior editor. 1952 was born in Jining, Shandong province, and began to engage in literary creation in the 1970s. He has published a collection of poems, Cuigu, Biography of Confucius in Cloth, and a collection of essays, such as Trees and Sensen. The collection of essays "Midnight Sunshine" won the first Taishan Literature and Art Award, the collection of essays "Quiet on Weishan Lake" won the first Guo Moruo Prose Essay Award of Chinese Writers Association, and the collection of essays "Tang Dynasty, That Free Flower" won the Bingxin Prose Award of China Prose Association, and its works were selected into various selected journals, selected books, primary and secondary school readers, and junior and senior high school papers.