I Worship Vitality and Love Freedom
Shen Congwen

I worship vitality and love freedom. I extol the plucky and the strong in heart. Any person who is vigorous in his actions or spirit—who doesn't jockey for petty advantage or care about material gain and public prestige—if he can stiffen his backbone and go his own way, straight as a ramrod, then I accept him as a friend, as a man. No matter that what he knows is different from what I know, that his political ideology is opposite to mine, or that his religious beliefs and mine are in conflict. I love this kind of person. I respect him. He might be a little wild, or a little crude, but only people like him stand behind great accomplishments and great literary works. He'll fail sometimes, then try again. In fact he'll stumble often. But he'll get up again immediately.