It Will Pass Within Three Days

Now it is not far from the complete lifting of the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic. Looking back at the words written at the beginning of the outbreak in 2020, it was expected that the strong controls would be relaxed in March of that year, but it has been 3 years now. The prediction of things was too optimistic, after all, too young, and haven’t experienced any major events. However, it is a little more reliable than the eighty-year-old Master Qi in “Four Generations Under One Roof”. In 1937, after the Japanese entered Beiping, Master Qi believed that the matter would pass within three days, and asked his family to celebrate his eightieth birthday in a big way, but it was not until 1945 that the Japanese were driven out of Beiping, taking a full eight years.

We can now say that China spent three years fighting the new coronavirus, and Beiping was under Japanese occupation for eight years, but for the historical parties concerned, we did not know when the new coronavirus would end, and when Beiping would be liberated. Even, being in the midst of it, we do not care about this period of history that seems extremely important to later generations. Great history is unfolding right in front of us, yet our steps are restricted by QR codes, our mouths and noses are sealed by masks, and we are worried about whether we can eat fresh vegetables tomorrow. Amidst all the trivialities, great history is pushed away by us, intentionally or unintentionally, and we even regard it as an irrelevant farce. We only care about daily necessities, and care little about the outside world. Only when the most basic living order cannot be maintained, and the safety of our own or our family’s lives is seriously threatened, will we suddenly realize the existence of danger.

As witnesses of great history, what exactly have we witnessed, and how much have we understood? Or are we trapped in personal trivialities. How can we stick our heads out of our own trivialities, even if only briefly, and try to understand the history happening around us or far away.

Published at: Dec 9, 2022 · Modified at: Dec 12, 2025