漂洋过海的爱与孝 Love and filial piety across oceans

I still remember the way grandma said goodbye to me when Ipacked my bags and got ready to return to London after spending a summerholiday at home in Sichuan.

那年我在四川老家度过了一个暑假，假期结束收拾行李回伦敦时，奶奶跟我告别的场景依然历历在目。

“Work hard, do well and don’t miss home,”she told me at the front door, trying hard to hold back her own tears.

奶奶站在门口，强忍着眼泪对我说：“好好工作，不必挂念家里。”

Then, she walked back into the house before I even got intodad’s car. I saw grandma’s frail and lonely figure slowly disappearing fromsight. A sudden feeling of guilt overwhelmed me. I longed to call out tograndma, to see her one more time, but in that moment, I found myselfhelplessly silent.

而后，在我上爸爸的车前，她便转身回了屋子。我注视着奶奶瘦小孤单的背影渐渐消失在眼前。那一瞬间，突然而至的内疚感袭满全身。我多想叫住她，哪怕再看她一眼，但那一刻，我却无可奈何地沉默了。

What I wanted was not just to spend a few more minutes, oreven days with grandma. Instead, I longed to make up to her for the times wecould have spent together over the 16 years I have lived abroad. And that, Iknew, is never possible.

我想要的不仅仅是和奶奶一起多待几分钟，或是多陪她几天。我想要的是弥补我旅居国外的16年光阴，那本该是我陪伴奶奶的时光啊。但是我知道，这永远也不可能。

Grandma was a guardian and an angel in my happy childhood.She knitted my first jumper, picked me up from kindergarten every day, and putme to bed with my favorite stories. On days when I felt full of energy, grandmawas there to play hide and seek with me all day long. But whenever I got ill,she sat next to my bed, holding my hand long into the night.

在我快乐的童年时光里，奶奶是守护神，是天使。我的第一件套头衫是奶奶织的。奶奶每天送我去幼儿园，读我最喜欢的故事哄我入睡。在我精力充沛的日子里，奶奶整日陪我玩捉迷藏。我生病的时候，她又紧紧握着我的手，陪在床前直到深夜。

She has always encouraged her grandchildren to study hard,chase after their dreams and not miss home. But with that, she was also sayinggoodbye to her grandchildren. One by one, all three of her grandchildren haveleft, for good universities, good jobs in big cities, and eventually a settledlife in the West. 

奶奶总是鼓励她的儿孙们好好读书，追寻自己的梦想，不要挂念家乡。但是她在送别孙儿时却又依依不舍。一个又一个，最后，奶奶的三个孙子都离开了家乡，他们考上了名校，在大城市有了体面的工作，甚至在西方定居下来。

She gave us all her energy, love and physical strength, andnever sought anything in return.

奶奶在我们身上倾注了她所有的能量，爱和体力，却从不求回报。

Filial piety, otherwise known as xiao, is at the core of Chinese culture. Originating from Confucianphilosophy, filial piety means love and respect for one’s elders and obeyingtheir wishes. But there is something else too. To fulfill filial piety, youhave to be there for them physically, and look after them in their old age.

孝道是中华文化的核心。孝道起源于儒家哲学，意在敬爱尊重长辈，听从长辈的话。但孝道的意义远不止于此。儿孙尽孝，须得切切实实的陪伴、照料垂暮的长辈。

Working abroad, I have always lived with the guilt of nottruly being filial. I was not there to take grandma to the hospital fortreatment for her knee injury. I was not there to help her renovate her flatafter it was badly flooded last year. And now, I hate to admit the unspeakabletruth that every goodbye could be our last.

在外工作的我常常因没能尽到孝心而自责。奶奶膝盖受伤时，我没能送她去医院治疗。家里遭遇洪水时，我没能帮奶奶翻新房子。而如今，每次和奶奶的分别都可能是最后一面，我不想去面对这可怕的现实。

This year is China’s 40th anniversary of reform andopening-up. The reforms, which changed China from a planned economy to amarket-driven one, have inspired many Chinese people to have a dream. Theopening-up allowed them to venture abroad and pursue their dreams on a globalstage.

今年是改革开放40周年。改革开放让中国从计划经济走上了市场经济，激励很多中国人拥抱梦想。开放政策让中国人走出国门，在世界舞台上追求梦想。

That, of course, comes at the cost of being away from ourfamilies and ancestral homes. 

当然，随之付出的代价就是歧路他乡。

In our modern 21st century, global migration has long becomea norm. Many of my Western friends say they feel very little connection totheir birth country, after a few significant moves across regions.

在现代21世纪，全球移民早已成为一种常态。许多西方的朋友称，经过几次移居后，他们感觉与自己与出生国的联系少之又少了。

But China’s case is a little different. Although younggenerations of Chinese people have embraced their new lives all around theworld, the unparalleled strength of our family ties and filial piety deeplybonds us to our cultural roots. Like kites flying high in the sky, we willalways be connected to the land and the people who have shaped us into who weare.

但是中国人往往不会这样。尽管中国的年轻一代在世界各地有了新生活，游子对家乡的情感和孝道之心却是植根于中国文化中的。风筝飞得再高，也不会离了那根线，而我们将永远与那片土地，那群塑造了今日之我的国民紧紧相连。