To Have Lived In Songjiang

Sheng Xia

To be always on the road,

To spend two hours getting home,

And then another two back to school.

To get up early every morning,

And endure the biting freezing wind,

To fill the stomach no matter how late,

To admire the talents of others,

To find defects in one’s self,

To enjoy the beauty of languages,

Whether in the class,

On the college meadow,

Or by a bench in the gardens.

To have fun and frisk with friends,

And be stuck to desk before exams.

To know only hard work leads to success,

Because you are a SISUer.

This is to have lived in Songjiang

.

To Have Lived in China

Hong Seunghwan

To feel strange often and work hard much

To notice reality of studying abroad

And the importance of languages

To experience the part of Chinese culture

And endure the pain of communication

To realize different

To find similar things

To adapt myself, slowly, to my surroundings

To leave the campus life a little better

Whether to be a global person

Studying abroad

Or learned foreign languages in my country

To have studied and interchanged with foreigners

And felt with intimacy

To learn the nature of human is not much different

Because we have lived in the same world

This is to have lived in China

To Have Experienced China

Yang Yukai

To learn Confucianism and study Daoism:

To win the esteem of doers

And the respect of the wise；

To gain the fame of secular life

And reach the harmony with the Heaven;

To honor Yellow River and Yangze;

To remember stars and mountains;

To find your own China;

To leave the world a little better,

Through immortal beliefs,

Or a piece of the civilization;

To live a life for life itself

And sung with passion;

To understand ancestors and yourself,

For you have come to the land.

This is to have experienced China.

To Have Enjoyed Motherhood

Fu Borui

To give birth to a cherub;

To smile and praise this creature;

To gain its reliance;

And its faith in you.

To find an adult in an adolescent ;

To take his word seriously ;

To be glad to his happiness ;

Sharing and shedding tears to his sorrow.

To be annoyed and worried in his puberty ;

To correct him when he is wrong ;

To encourage him to pursue his ideal ;

Learning not to arrange everything for him.

To accept his choice for his family ;

To connect closer but live separately ;

To love but not overwhelming him with your love;

This is to enjoy motherhood.

To Have Loved

Wang Yiqiu

To respect everything and everybody:

To find shimmers of others,

And appreciate them despite their differences;

To help others spontaneously,

And not to self-sacrifice nor to expect reciprocal reactions.

To give your affection to others soulfully and ardently.

To have fun in the beautiful natural world:

To enjoy the sunshine and feel the raindrops,

To frisk in the forest and swim in the rivers.

And to travel to corners of the world,

To learn about historical and modern life there,

To have contact with peoples and exchange minds.

Then you’ll derive love from the world and people.

But that’s not enough,

To accept and gratify yourself,

Not only advantages but also disadvantages;

To content yourself with your achievements,

And to reflect when facing failures.

To look forward to a sunny day,

Even though it is rainy today;

Because you still have a world to explore,

And numerous companions to share sorrows and joys.

This is to have loved.

To Have Been a SESer

Xu Anqi

To explore often and experience much

To loiter your time away in SES, the flower garden

And under the stately dome of the library

To sing each stanza in the dim dawn

And read a curled-edge book in the tranquil night

And shed tears on the yellow pages unconsciously

To conceive a gallant speech

And speak ardently in exuberant words

To forget yourself

To forget about others’ sigh and applause

To endure infinite solitude

To learn to comfort a mewing kitty

Where there is an azure heaven overhead

A patch of gray cloud

Or have stammered in class

To treat others genuinely with gentility

And always smile serenely

To know you have been half-sage

Because you have bloomed.

This is to have been a SESer

To have floated

Shi Yiru

To speed sometimes and slow often:

To drift with sea wave

And swim along the whale;

To listen mew sing,

To encounter a miserable tsusami,

To sunbathe under the sky,

To flee when sharks flow,

Whether to chase a steamer,

To rest in an island,

Or look at the stars,

To have played and laughed with gifts,

And admitted the shortage;

To struggle even cold water has flooded you,

Because you have lived.

This is to have floated.

To Have Enjoyed Life in Changchun

Peng Shiyin

To see wildly and live fully

To win respect from social fellows in tight shirt and dragon tattoo

And the affection of the wise olds in military green coat

To take a walk in Changbai Mountains as trees start to shoot

And lead a dance on Jingyue skifield when snowflakes begin to float

To put on skates with blades for the first time

To hobble on the ice field and fall

To take a hand from a friend and jump to your feet and try again

To find the world a little better

Whether by admiring history in Manchugo Palace

and the Changying Film Studio

or prospect future as drinking beer on a barbecue feast

To have learned to say 'Za le a (咋了啊)' and 'Ga ha ne(噶哈呢)'

‘Cause that's the dialect Changchuners are proud of

To treat everyone with sincerity and honesty

So you will act

his is to have enjoyed life in Changchun.

To Have Loved

Jin Bojian

To share often and devote much

To realize essence of romantic love

And the responsibility of being hand in hand

To strive the respect of companions

And tolerate the betrayal of changed hearts

To value faith

To discover the advantages in lovers

To shape yourself

To focus on the love stories simply

Whether a ragged guy

A not good-looking chit

Or equipped with diamonds and cash

To have enjoyed and loved with passion

And hugged with blood

To know each heart can't be gained easily

Because you have missed

This is to have loved

To Have Survived

Liao Lingyun

To smile often and snivel less:

To get happiness from families

And the encouragement from friends;

To bear the suffering of surgeries

And remember the joy of recovering,

For that is the belief that keeps you going;

To be sanguine;

To seize every possible opportunity;

To be self-content;

To find progress in your treatment,

Whether by a relief of pain,

A healthy complexion,

Or just say Bon Appetit to your doctor;

To breathe heavily and feel your heart throb

And live with appreciation;

To know even bees have an ardent love of life

Because you have experienced

This is to have survived.

To Have Enjoyed the Spring

Song Yujia

To stay happy and relaxed:

To dance every sunny day

And sing when it rains;

To see plants start growing

To wait for spring flowers to bloom;

To fly a kite with friends

When the sun is shining with gentle breeze.

To say goodbye to cold winter days:

To put on light spring clothes

And go out for a sunbath;

To taste the spring tea;

To plant trees and flowers;

To read poems about spring;

To cherish every spring day

Whether it’s rain, hail or shine

Because it was short but beautiful.

This is to have enjoyed the spring.

To Have Lived in Shanghai

Wang Xinning

To stand on the top of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower

And overlook the whole city

Either in warm sunlight or romantic night

To have fun in Disneyland and return to your childhood

To visit the former residence of celebrities on Duolun Road

To take a walk in Yu Garden

And experience the daily life of old Shanghainese

To listen to their “A la” when they take pride in their family

To taste small steamed bun and wonton

To put on an elegant Qipao

And ramble in the lane when it rains

With a bamboo umbrella spread overhead

Then you may discover the charm and beauty

Of the Metropolis of Shanghai

This is to have lived in Shanghai

To Have Grown Up

Zhou Yijing

To take off your childishness

To put on a mask with hundreds of faces

To swallow the hardship of life

And the bitterness of betrayal

To taste the sweet dreams of success

And the exuberance of life

To sniff the smell of freedom

To carry up the burdens that used to be on the shoulders of your parents

Whether by taking up more and more responsibilities

Or by supporting the family with your own hands

To chew lessons from experience

To engage on things you could not enjoy

To take risk from your own decision

To understand nothing is a certain

To go through the lost days

To love with a sensitive heart and a rational mind

To strive for another new milestone

To colour your everyday life

To find the reason of your existence

Because you have grown up

This is to have been an adult.

To Have Lived In Shanghai

Shen Siyi

To walk along the river bank and streets with plane trees;

To pass by the former foreign concessions;

To have a cup of coffee,

and encounter a cat in the streets’ corner;

To catch up with concerts, plays and exhibitions;

To muddle through meals in a convenient store

At any random turning of street or lane;

To accept that things here come and go speedily;

To recollect the forgotten farmland and factories in the suburbs;

To look up the skyscrapers and the cement forest;

To shuttle, quickly or slowly, even in seemingly strange clothes, with freedom;

To be lost in the crowd, morning and evening, day and night;

To seize opportunities as well as challenges;

To be hit by it, or love it;

To feel the heartbeat of the city;

This is to have lived in Shanghai.

To Have Loved You

Liang Siyu

To indulge in sweetness,

To drown in bitterness;

Simultaneously:

To fall asleep wearing smiles,

To stay up late shedding tears;

To be haughty when feeling secure,

To be lowly when making concession;

To feel like time going nowhere

When I am ONE,

To find life enchanting

When we are TWO;

To struggle with greed, agony,

And constant sentiment;

To get lost in an inescapable maze;

To cherish all your perfect imperfections;

To make the best mistake

Because of a love-hate relationship.

This is to have loved you.

To have loved yourself

Chen Zhiqi

To stay pure but enhance vigilance;

To learn from your past mistakes

But not to hold those hard feelings for too long;

To set short-term and long-term goals

And work hard enough to fulfill them;

To take good care of your body;

To accept your imperfections;

To find the best in yourself;

To make yourself a little better,

Whether by a challenging task,

A trip to somewhere new,

Or developed strong self-temperance;

To have enjoyed your meals with enthusiasm

And cherished the time with your beloved;

To enjoy life even when you are all alone

Because you have tried.

This is to have loved yourself.

To have been a good person

Ma Jiale

To be optimistic and caring

To gain happiness

Whether through your interests

Or someone love you and you love

To bring happiness to others

Whether by telling jokes

Or having fun together

To be well-educated and sophisticated

To win respect from people around you

To partly hide your sadness

And help others carry through the difficulties

To have your own space

And respect others' privacy

To be filial to your elderships

And kind to your forever love

To devote yourself

When someone needs you

To know even a life has lived more meaningfully

Because of your existence

This is to have been a good person.

To Have Failed

Yao Yuexin

To holler often and complain much:

To lose respect to those around you

And the affection for elders;

To be criticized by virtuous men

And be scorned by law-abiding person;

To dislike kindness;

To find the defects from others;

To be full of sham and hypocrisy;

To impact badly on others,

Whether by cheat,

An insulting remark,

Or destroy others’ hopes of happiness.

To have frustrated and abandoned yourself with pessimism

And pay no attention to yourself;

To ignore others’ feelings

Because you don’t care.

This is to have failed.

To have been happy

Wang Luchen

To tidy up and throw litter

To wear clothes of your favour

And buy yourself a gift weekly

To finish the job in time

And learn new knowledge to refresh yourself

To go on an unknown trip

To meet an old friend

To have a great meal

To navigate your own life

Whether by cultivating a hobby

identifying who is worthy of your love

Or setting an ambitious dream

To have held and embraced a faith

And complied with it your whole life

To know even one corner of the world has been better

Because of your humble assistance

This is to have been happy

To Have Been Mature

You Runyu

To talk less and to do more

To be stronger physically

And to be younger mentally

To walk in the dark road still smile with hope

And to wander lonely as a cloud

Yet thy heart with pleasure fills

To be a radiance, bright without dazzling

To be a voice, mellow and full

To laugh without words and sounds

And to be silent with sense and thoughts

Those things above are

To find the nature of thou

And gain the harvest in thy soul

Not knowing where thou are from

But make sure the destination to go

And this is to have been mature.

To have enjoyed the life in Xiamen

Chen Lingjie

To pick up lovely shells on the seaside in late spring

To paddle in the sea with friends in hot summer

To chase after falling leaves in pleasant fall

And to travel along the coast in cool winter

To stop your step in the flourishing street corner

To appreciate the burning blossom of flame trees

To enjoy slow pace of life

Whether by a breeze

The sound of the piano in Gulang Island

To cherish the memory of carefree childhood

To gain happiness from family reunion

And to bid farewell to your beloved ones without shedding tears

To witness the changes taking place in this city

To name it affectionately as “my hometown”

And miss it yearningly when you travel alone

Because you have spent precious prime time there

This is to have enjoyed the life in Xiamen

To have been happy in SISU

Han Hua

To find much and experience more

To enjoy the lake’s glistening ripples after a slight rain

To seek a piece of shade under sun’s unbearable incandescence

To appreciate the beauty of SISU

Whether it is a patch of garden with flowers frisking along the wind

Or maybe the boundless sky with solitude floating along the cloud

To have sunk and feasted as much as you like

Once in a while

To give self a breed of quietness

To reward self a cup of tea and a bit of music

Or a roll of painting and a glance of overlook

To wander through a road with mottled light and shadow

Don’t spare the slight or serious footprints left

To look for the forest belonging to you

This is to have been happy in SISU

To have been an excellent person

Phurbu Drolma

To have a life goal,

Because life is struggle and harvest;

To learn to adjust yourself,

Facing success needs constant efforts,

Facing failure needs to treat it rationally,

Instead of avoiding or giving up;

To be confident all the time,

Even if you can’t be recognized by everyone,

Because successful life begins with self confidence;

To have a positive heart,

Because desire makes you motivated;

To have self respect,

Because to respect oneself can win other’s respect;

To be grateful,

Cherish everything you own,

Sincerely say thank you to life;

This is to have been an excellent person.

(Notes: Written after reading “To Have Succeed” by Ralph Waldo Emerson)

These are the  poems written by freshmen from the School of English Studies, Shanghai International Studies University (SISU). 

The supervisor, Xu Libing, is an associate professor at SISU.