The final dignity

Mr. Ba Jin made a request in his later years when he was seriously ill, hoping to maintain his final dignity, not to insert so many tubes in his body, to waste so many valuable medicines, and to let himself leave the world in peace and serenity. Of course, due to various reasons, this wish did not come true.

Dignity is very important to a person, and the final dignity is particularly important.

In the old days in China, if a king was to be executed, no matter how guilty he was, no matter whether he was captured, overthrown, or forced to step down in Zen, according to the usual practice, he could not be beheaded, beheaded, or Ling Chi, but could only drink poisoned wine and be strangled with white Ayakami, leaving him with a whole body. This is the last dignity given to him and his last privilege. This enlightened monarch, who listened to slanderers, took his daughter-in-law as his wife, killed loyal officials indiscriminately and brazenly, had no dignity to live, which was no better than walking corpses.

After his defeat, King Zhou set himself on fire and would rather die than be a captive. That was to preserve his final dignity rather than being captured by the Zhou army, humiliated and put on the execution ground again in full view of the public, it would be better to kill himself. Think about that cowardly Chen Houzhu, the enemy army is about to enter the palace, he is going to take two favourite concubines to jump into the dry well to hide, the ministers think he has no dignity, together to stop him, he still brazenly jumped into the dry well, and finally became a prisoner. By contrast, the death of King Zhou of Yin is really worthy of respect. He is a man. Although he did so many bad things in his lifetime, he deserved to die.

Although Emperor Wudi of Liang made repeated mistakes in decision-making, lost his vigilance and raised the legacy of tigers, which made Hou Jing sit up, and finally led to the chaos of Hou Jing. But at the last minute, sitting in the dragon chair, he was imposing and magnificent, and showed courage and calmness, even when he rushed into the palace with the division of tiger and wolf, but he had to be cautious and cautious. After reprimanding Hou Jing face to face, Emperor Liang Wudi left in a huff. When Hou Jing left the palace, he was so nervous that he was sweating and sighed again and again: in the end, it is the son of the Dragon! Although this can not change the fate of the fall of the Liang Dynasty, the final dignity maintained by Emperor Wudi of Liang Dynasty when the building was about to fall has always been appreciated by historians.

When the Titanic was facing a shipwreck, many people maintained their final dignity. The men gave the chance of escape to the women and children, the band was still playing methodically, and the captain was still calmly directing the final work. There was no panic, no hysteria, no crying, they were real gentlemen. Their final dignity reflects the great conscience and upbringing, and also represents the highest dignity of human beings. The shipwreck at the bottom of the sea is their eternal memorial.

The last moment came, and the jailer came in with the poison. At this time, the great Greek philosopher Socrates still had a variety of options: he could bow to the authorities in exchange for pardon, or he could follow his students to escape from prison and escape to their lives. But he would rather die with dignity than bow to power at the expense of truth, let alone damage his reputation as a fugitive. So his last words were: Ketong, I owe Asclepios a chicken, and remember to pay it for me. In 1787, the French painter Dawit fixed this sacred scene and created the famous oil painting the death of Socrates, which artistically restored the last dignity of Socrates.

The moon will be full and missing, and people will be reunited and separated. Live a worthwhile life and die a worthy death. Each of us should live with dignity and die with dignity, even at the last moment of our lives. As the Indian poet Tagore said: life is beautiful like summer flowers and death like autumn leaves.

Author: Chen Lumin