Lunar Eclipse ~Evening stroll with my grandfather

Posted 2021-05-01 水木知心

A story shared by professor Chang Tong's grandson Jon Xu for his centennial birthday commemoration at Tsinghua University

“Jon, did you see your shadow?” my grandfather asked me while pointing to the sky in excitement.

A large portion of the bright moon was being swallowed slowly by a dark shadow. 

It was a warm but breezy summer night and I was 6 years old, then living with my grandfather and attending the Tsinghua Kindergarten. 

My grandfather and I would take after-dinner strolls through the picturesque Tsinghua University campus regularly but this evening was special. We were witnessing a lunar eclipse. 

    

According to the old folk tales I had heard, this was the night that “a hungry dog in the heavens was devouring the moon bite by bite.”

We stood on the lawn outside of our 3-story brick apartment building, I held grandfather’s hand and stared nervously into the night sky. 

Lunar Eclipse

My grandfather never missed an opportunity to teach. He would always patiently explain things to me in a way that I could understand even at six years old. He picked up a small stick from the grass and began drawing on the ground. He showed me how the Earth, Sun and Moon aligned perfectly to create this phenomenon. The Earth was slowly moving in between the sun and the moon blocking the sun’s light.

“That shadow cast on the moon is us, so you should see your own shadow up there!” Grandfather said to me with smile.

Exhaling with relief, I realized there wasn’t some hungry dog in the heavens devouring the moon. 

    

My grandfather’s words unlocked my curiosity and imagination to realize borders beyond our little campus, country or even planet. Suddenly, the world seemed small. That was the effect my grandfather had on me. No matter how young I was, he explained and taught me seemingly complicated things in simple ways that inspired me to learn and explore the world around me.

With grandpa at Great Wall (1983)

As our own shadows traveled across the moon, we continued strolling through the campus. The night’s air was clear and the sound of cicadas provided a comforting rhythm for our walk. My eyes opened wide with anticipation when I heard the loud voice of an ice cream vendor pushing his cart towards us. Back then, you can buy a red bean ice cream bar for 5 cents (fen). 

Grandfather pulled a 5-cent coin out of his pocket and handed it to the ice cream man. I gleefully enjoyed my red bean bar skipping my way in and out of the street lights on the sidewalk.

It was then, we came upon the Tsinghua Old Gate, a symbol of the founding period of the University where students would enter the then heavily guarded doorway to knowledge. 

My grandfather walked through those gates in late 1930’s in pursuit of knowledge, carrying his ambitions of achieving important work for his country. 

From my earliest memories, he would tell me stories about his days at MIT where he studied in the 1940’s. After receiving his degrees, grandfather returned to his homeland to become a pioneering force for science and engineering at a time the country he loved needed it most. His dream was to build a better future for China, one that can bring the country to the world stage in science and engineering. 

As a leading professor at Tsinghua, he dedicated his life to this goal. My grandfather and the country would experience tumultuous setbacks during tough years that followed.

His dreams were tested but his resolve to accomplish them never wavered. He always drew strength from his pursuit of knowledge. 

1980's

1990's

My grandfather looked at me enjoying my 5-cent ice cream as walking through the gate and asked:

“Do you know what is the most valuable thing you own?” The question puzzled me. Staring at my curious expression, he told me the answer: 

 “Knowledge is the most valuable thing you can possess.”

“The most important thing about knowledge is, once you obtain it, it’s yours. Nobody can take it from you.” 

As he explained this to me, his pensive eyes reflected both strength and memories of the hardships he overcame during those years. Even at that young age, I understood what this must have meant to him. 

Over the years, grandfather lost a lot of precious time to use the knowledge he had, but he was always determined to keep learning and inspiring the next generation to continue the pursuit of knowledge. They would carry on the work he pioneered to new heights. 

A decade later when I arrived on the campus of MIT to begin my own pursuit of knowledge, I would think of what he said to me and be inspired to persevere in my own journey. However difficult my challenges were, I always reflected with perspective that my grandfather overcame much more. 

40 year after graduation, grandpa visited MIT (1987)

It was getting late when we turned our stroll toward home. The moon peeked out again as the eclipse traversed to reveal a sharp crescent.

We passed by the lecture halls my grandfather taught his students in. As if recalling a lesson he taught or an explanation he gave to a curious group of students, he paused in his steps and stared at the classroom window. Looking at his expression.

I interjected: “grandpa, did you teach here? what do you teach your students?”. 

Classroom in Tsinghua compus

Truthfully, I didn’t expect to get a serious answer that I understood but was curious enough to ask. 

He looked at my wide-eyed expression and gave me a smile, “I teach my students how to ask questions.” he replied, “I teach them to always be asking-asking-asking instead of nodding-nodding-nodding.”

I had heard this phrase used by him before with my mom and uncles. The idea is easy to take for granted today, but in an education system deeply rooted in Confucian principles, we generally didn’t question our teachers. His experience abroad and out-of-the-box thinking had always been reflected in his teachings. He would instill a strong sense of intellectual curiosity in his students. He would emphasize to me that the only way to really understand something was to get to the root of it. To keep asking why until you understood the foundation of what makes it true.

Decades later when I embarked upon my entrepreneurial journey, I found this to be the most important lesson for making something new. I remembered to constantly challenge what I learned and get to the root of the problems to solve them.

story time with Grandpa (1985)

By the time we reached home, the moon had emerged completely full out of the shadows. That night before I went to sleep, I took one last glance at the brightly lit sky wondering what the future held. I had no way of knowing how long those words and lessons would stay with me, but they would become the blueprint for how I tackled challenges throughout life.

For that evening, 6-year old me was delighted to witness a “heavenly dog eating the moon” and learn the real story behind what I saw. 

Dreaming of more sweet red bean ice bar, I fell fast asleep.

1980

grandpa and ancle Ming in Park (1986)

They say the best way to teach your kids, what’s important is to set examples in your own life. My grandfather’s life was a constant reminder to generations after that pursuit of knowledge and perseverance in the face of hardship leads to success

This January, my wife and I welcomed our newborn son. On a cold evening a few weeks ago, I picked him up to gently rock him to sleep as I’ve done countless times in the short while he’s been with us. I looked down at his heavy eyelids and thought what examples I would set for him on his life journey. What lessons I would teach him to inspire his own pursuit of knowledge and happiness.

I looked out into our yard up at the night’s sky and noticed the full moon slowly being eclipsed by the Earth’s shadow, I was witnessing another lunar eclipse. I smiled at my son who was fast asleep. I’m thankful that the life examples my grandfather set has been reflected in his children and grandchildren.

I’m excited that his indelible lessons will reach another generation.

May 2017, San Francisco

Author: 

Jon Changzheng Xu, grandson of Professor Chang Tong, Tsinghua University. Same as his grandfather, he is MIT alumini. He is co-founder of FutureAdvisor is a digital investment manager registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and based in San Francisco. FutureAdvisor and successfully aquired by BlackRock. 

水木知心

The Heart

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