Be a Fighter
Ba Jin

A young friend of mine asked me in a letter, “What kind of manshould I be? My answer was, “Be a fighter.”

Another friend of mine inquired, “How should I live my life?” Againmy answer was, “Be a fighter.”

The author of In Praise of the Fighter says:

Riding on the ceaseless rushing torrent of life, I should pursue andovertake it so as to create an even greater and deeper torrent of my own.

If I were a lamp, it would be my duty to light up thick darkness. IfI were the sea tide, I would marshal rolling waves to cleanse the beach of allaccumulated filth.

This quotation reflects aptly the state of mind of a fighter.

Fighters are badly needed in our time. But such fighters do notnecessarily go to the battlefield gun in hand. Their weapons are notnecessarily bullets. Their weapons may be knowledge, faith and strong will.They can bring the enemy sure death without drawing his blood.

A fighter is always in pursuit of light. Instead of basking in thesunshine under a clear sky, he holds a burning torch in the darkness of nightto illuminate people’s way so that they can continue their journey till theysee the dawn of a new day. It is the task of a fighter to dispel darkness.Instead of shirking darkness, he braves it and fights the hidden demons andmonsters therein. He is determined to wipe them out and win light. He knows nocompromise. He will keep on fighting until he wins light.

A fighter is perennially young. He is never irresolute or inactive.He plunges deep into teeming crowds in search of such vermin as flies andvenomous mosquitoes. He will flight them relentlessly and refuse to coexistwith them under the same sky. To him, life means nothing but continuousfighting. He either survives by winning light, or perishes with his bodycovered all over with cuts and bruises. Fighting just serves to increase hisstamina and strengthen his faith. In the course of the struggle, it is the“future” that serves as the beacon light to him; the “future” gives people hopeand inspiration. He will never lose his youthful vigor.

A fighter will never lose heart or despair. He will pile up brokenpieces of brick and stone to rebuilt a nine-story pagoda on the ruins offailure. No blows will ever break his will. He will never close his eyes untilhe has breathed his last.

A fighter is always fearless. His steps are firm. Once he hassettled on an objective, he will press right ahead. He is never afraid of beingtripped by a stumbling block. No obstacles will ever make him change his mind.His eyes will never be hoodwinked by false appearances. His actions are guidedby faith. He can endure any hardships or sufferings while striving to attainhis chosen objective. He will never abandon work as long as he is alive.

This is the kind of fighter we now need. He is not necessarilypossessed of superhuman capability. He is just an ordinary person. Anyone canbe fighter so long as he has the determination. Hence a few words of mine about“being a fighter” to encourage those young people who wander about in adepressed state, not knowing which way to go.