An Article I Like: Youth

I firmly believe that youth is not merely a matter of age or physical vitality. True youth lies in holding fast throughout one’s life to the convictions of one’s younger days, pursuing them with unwavering determination and tireless effort. Only then does youth reveal its true radiance.

Do not imagine that life will always be smooth and easy. First, cultivate the ability to perceive keenly the many faces of human life and society. Knowledge is a form of strength. Never compromise too easily or merely drift along in order to survive. Instead, confront society with courage and wisdom, and grow through hardship and adversity. Human life and society are indeed full of contradictions, and the problems that demand solutions are countless. Yet if we blame everything on the world around us, there can be no genuine self-growth. We must make ourselves strong enough not to be swept away by the corrupt currents of the world, but to become people capable of moving society forward and changing our surroundings. A person must be willing to transform and renew.

The values of the past continue to flow through the present, while the shape of the future is also largely conceived within the present. The elderly should not use the past merely to criticize the present; rather, they should bring the finest things of the past into the present. Young people, meanwhile, must understand the present correctly and design the future. Those in the prime of life should cherish the past, face the present squarely, and keep the future in mind. Everyone should contribute wisdom to the creation of a better present and a better future. I believe that, rather than allowing ourselves to remain separated from one another, we must cast aside our respective prejudices and seek harmony. That is the foundation of everything. Only on the basis of such a shared understanding can dialogue bear fruit.

For young people, credibility is priceless. A young person who ventures into new and unexplored territory must have the ambition to advance toward an ideal, but also the wisdom to understand the age and society in which they live. Do not become a foolish young person who possesses courage but cannot see the intentions of those in power or the direction of the times. If one insists blindly on going one’s own way, would that not also mean losing the privileges and joys of youth?

Youth is characterized by pure passion and lofty ambition, together with the courage to brave fire and water for the sake of one’s ideals. To live as a young person should is to devote oneself to one’s aspirations, to give everything one has, and to have no regrets.

Young people must strive to study and work in whatever difficult circumstances they may face, and do their best to enrich themselves. In the end, life is a contest in which one must face victory and defeat. Only through a serious engagement with life can one be tempered, strengthen one’s character, and deepen one’s knowledge and abilities. A thinker once said that shallow learning worn like an outer garment is no different from an ape covered in rubbish trying to stand upright. Do not decorate yourself with cheap “cultivation” purchased from the outside. Instead, cultivate a genuine refinement that rises from within life itself and shines beneath the skin.

Youth is the tide of the age. That people gradually grow old is a law of nature. Seen from the perspective of society as a whole, this is the succession of generations. Children become young people, and young people become adults, like great waves rolling across the sea. No force can stop them, just as no force can stop the rotation of the Earth. Young people will inevitably surge into the next era with unstoppable momentum. In this lies revolution, genuine renewal, and the pulse of living energy.

It is no exaggeration to say that the rise and fall of a nation depends on the young people who will shoulder its future. What kind of leaders educate them? How do they grow? What view of life and of the world do they develop? In what spirit do they move forward? These are the signposts pointing toward a nation’s tomorrow.

In every age and in every part of the world, the pioneers of revolution have always been young people—especially students, or people close in age to those still in school. What does this tell us? It tells us that students have a tradition and spirit of moving ahead of their times. They possess an uncompromising critical power, ideals, and the passion to advance fearlessly toward those ideals. They also possess immense power to challenge established authority and entrenched systems. When they come to believe in an idea, they may devote themselves to their cause and ideals with a spirit that would rather die than surrender. This is one of the defining qualities of youth, and especially of students. When the will of young people and students is united behind a common purpose, it can become like the fury of the sea, capable of changing society and changing history. Once such a wave gathers overwhelming force, no one can stop it or alter its course. And as it grows ever more turbulent and powerful, more and more people will find themselves joining its current and moving in the same direction. Youth is the symbol of continual construction and renewal—the movement of a life that is resilient, pure, and filled with limitless possibility.

At any time and in any place, to be as bright as the radiant sun, as open-hearted as a young eagle soaring through the sky, as broad and embracing as the sea, and, when necessary, to rise resolutely and fight evil like a raging storm—this is youth.

Youth is the time for laying foundations. Before those foundations are secure, if one constantly changes direction or falls into laziness, one will never be able to build a house. During this period of life, it often feels more satisfying to follow one’s own impulses than to accept the guidance of others. Yet if we imagine that youth is nothing more than freedom and ease, we become like a kite with a broken string, and in the end it is we ourselves who suffer. For the growth of young people, passion and the desire to improve are indispensable.

By the very nature of youth, young people should set their sights high. Without ideals, youth loses its meaning. But ideals alone are not enough. One must also be fully prepared and make tireless efforts. This principle applies not only when seeking employment or after entering the workplace, but at every stage of life.

Failure is failure, and young people should have the courage to admit it frankly. That is the honorable thing to do. Refusing to acknowledge one’s own failure and shifting the responsibility onto others is a dishonorable act. One must not only have the courage to admit failure, but also examine its causes calmly and seriously. Only then can failure become the foundation of future success. Nature, the world, and the universe never stand still. The moment you stop moving forward, your life begins to move backward. To keep exploring life, to keep creating, and to keep advancing—these are the true signs of being alive, and they are among the privileges of youth.

Young people are deeply repelled by the falsehoods and fantasies that fill society. Too many things exist only as abstract concepts without any real substance. Even so-called ideas can lose their brilliance, leaving us to wonder how much strength for living can truly be drawn from them. What young people seek is not illusion but reality, not empty concepts but genuine experience. We should especially understand the frustration of young people who have lost a goal to pursue, lost a sense of fulfillment, lost the passion that once burned within them, and become trapped in discouragement.

I have always cared deeply about young people, and in the past I have spoken with many of them. I came to realize that the fundamental problem is the absence of leaders willing to live alongside the young and move forward together with them. I believe that if the many possibilities within young people are to be further developed, society itself must be reformed. The existing social system is designed less for the young than for adults and for the protection of established interests. It would hardly be an exaggeration to say that adults often compel young people to follow paths that adults have designed for them. Young people cannot tolerate this forever. We have a responsibility to build a society that respects the young and allows the possibilities within them to flourish fully. Even if such a society cannot be created immediately, the will to create it will surely be inherited by those who come after us.

We must give young people hopes and dreams worthy of their youth. Leaders must devote all their wisdom to creating conditions in which the young can give their utmost to building their own future. In fields where young people are already fully capable of taking the lead, the torch should be passed to them without hesitation.

Move forward into the future. Hope will surely be waiting there. Infinite possibilities lie hidden within you. Live joyfully—for your own youth, and for the young friends around you. There, too, you will surely find joy. Gather your courage and live with resilience. Then the road ahead will naturally reveal itself before your eyes.

Youth is the period in which the foundations of life are laid. If the foundation is weak, whatever is built upon it will eventually collapse. Once you understand that this is the time to prepare the ground from which splendid flowers may bloom in the future, then study, work, and everything else you do become deeply meaningful.

Those who fear failure will accomplish nothing. All the great figures of the past endured failure after failure. Yet when they failed, they did not sink into despair or discouragement. They continued to struggle with determination and eventually achieved success. The true failure of youth is, rather, to flee from difficult struggles, to live without a goal, and to sink into weakness and despondency. Failure after a hard-fought struggle is a precious form of wealth in life. I hope you will not fear failure, but will live through your youth with courage and strength.