（The words of thanks were written by my mother, read by my father, and I did not participate. The memorial service was held at 4:00 p.m. on September 15 at “Jingyuan” in the funeral parlour on Xibaoxing Road, Shanghai）
To all the leaders, all the guests, all our relatives and friends:
Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedules to come and attend my father’s memorial service. In particular, I would like to thank the leaders of Zhongxin Company for personally presiding over my father’s memorial service; and thank the leaders of the Huangpu Social Security Center and the leaders of Huangpu Integrated Chinese-Western Medicine Hospital for their care for my father during his serious illness. Here, on behalf of my mother, and my younger brothers and sisters, I would like to express our heartfelt thanks for your coming! (bows three times to everyone)
My father came from an ordinary family and lost his father at the age of six. Deprived of a father’s love from childhood, he not only lived tenaciously, but also shouldered the burden of the family from an early age. Moreover, he placed great value on love: he was especially filial to his own mother and cared even more for his younger sister. He loved his wife and cherished his children. For decades, he and my mother respected and loved each other, laughing and talking together. In ordinary times, he would often patiently tell my mother stories from the past and the present, talk about everything under the sun, and ask after her well-being. He was always concerned about and worried over every younger and younger generation in the family. Whenever I came home late from work, he would sit uneasily waiting for me. Whenever he learned that his daughter was feeling unwell, he would go see her even on an empty stomach. Even when his youngest son and daughter-in-law went away on a trip, he would lie awake with worry. His concern for the grandchildren is beyond what language can describe. When my grandson was little, he startled easily in his sleep. He would wrap the quilt around the child and place him on his lap, sitting there himself for three or five hours, even through the whole night. On the eve of my nephew’s internship interview, he would painfully get down from his sickbed, use the hospital’s public telephone, and insist on saying a few words of encouragement to my nephew over the phone before he could feel at ease. For many years, he also made Chinese medicine decoctions every day for my eldest daughter-in-law, especially in the few days when his condition worsened, and he would not let the children know. Each time he decocted the medicine, in order to keep the dosage consistent, he would stand by the pot for more than ten minutes. Thinking back now, how difficult those days of boiling medicine must have been for him! During his hospitalization, despite shortness of breath and unbearable discomfort, my father never uttered a word of complaint. When his son-in-law stayed with him at night, he gestured for his son-in-law to come over to his bedside, not to ask him to do anything for him, but to say in a hoarse voice: Are you cold?
My father’s whole life was a life of constantly loving others, caring for others, until the very end of his life.
My father loved reading from childhood, and he was articulate and eloquent. When he was young, any relative or friend in trouble would come to him for advice and help in solving their problems. But once his children grew up, he took the initiative to step back and let his children decide everything, big or small. He put away his lecturing of his children, and often kept absorbing new culture and new things from them. My father was so open-minded, so enlightened.
My father also spared no effort, pouring his heart and soul into caring for and nurturing his children and grandchildren. He raised his youngest son to graduate from university, and he helped his grandson get into Peking University. When his grandson was taking part in training for a primary-school mathematics competition, he would send him to the training class and then wait alone on the street for two or three hours before picking him up and bringing him home. What he gave was all heart and soul!
Father, oh father, we will always remember your kindness in raising us.
My father was also a very content man. He took his love for others as a kind of family joy, and he regarded the achievements of his children and grandchildren as spiritual nourishment. This sense of happiness was further expressed through the everyday interactions and communication between you, our relatives and friends, so that he was able to remain in a happy mood throughout his life. Here, I would once again like to represent the whole family in expressing our most sincere thanks to you all!
My father, a great father: now, at the very time when you should have been enjoying family happiness, enjoying a peaceful old age together with mother, and at the very time when we children should have been repaying your kindness in raising us, the sudden onslaught of illness has struck, and our children’s hearts are in such pain! We did everything we could, and you endured tremendous suffering, fighting stubbornly against the disease. Yet the illness was merciless; it took your life, our good father.
Father, although you have left us forever, your voice, your face, and your smile still remain in our hearts; your strong will and noble character will always encourage us. We will turn our grief into strength, and follow your last wishes: unite in friendship, and live together in harmony. We will do our utmost to take good care of Mother, so that she may live a happy and long life. We will do our utmost to raise our children well, so that they may grow up accomplished and become useful talents. Here, Mother also wants to say to you that she will live well, live a few more years for your sake, enjoy a few more years of happiness for your sake, and take good care of Dingding and Aiai.
Father, rest assured! Father, rest in peace! (bows three times to everyone)
Wife and children, together with the grandchildren, on behalf of the whole family
September 15, 2006
Translated from the Chinese original with AI assistance. The original text is authoritative.
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