Wu Guanzhong, a famous contemporary painter and essayist, was born in Yixing, Jiangsu Province in 1919. He loved literature as a young boy and wrote many proses full of affection and thoughtfulness. The essay, "Refraining from Tears" written by him in 2000, is exquisite and imposing.
The author in this essay told us about his mixed feelings before the majestic carved works of great magnitude before Huo Qubing’s tomb. Standing before the tomb, the author just felt like crying with abandon. Why did the old man feel like having a good cry? Because our motherland is so great and because of his fears about the descendants of the eagle turning out to be sparrows. But the old man refrained from tears because he was then accompanied by his wife and surrounded by numerous spectators.
According to my calculation, Mr. Wu was in his sixties when he went by night train to Mao Ling, a sacred place in Shaanxi Province. As it was a long way from the terminal station to Huo’s tomb, Mr. Wu had to hurry on foot under the starry sky, sometimes along a broad road, sometimes on a narrow footpath. The day was just dawning when he arrived at Huo’s tomb.
The sculptures before the tomb will be his permanent spiritual prop. Whenever he was discriminated against in a foreign country, whenever he was disheartened, whenever he suffered agony, not only these stone carvings but our motherland will appear in his mind’s eye.
Our motherland once was very strong, just like one person said how proud he was, but this is not Ah Q’s philosophy of “spiritual victory”. Afterall it is always fortunate to have such an ancestor.
To shed tears for the greatness of our motherland is a happy thing, a yearning for a strong and prosperous era, and a hope for a stronger motherland.
The descendants of the eagle maybe turn out to be sparrows—this is the old man’s fears, and a worry for future generations, especially the younger generation, who are not enterprising. Our ancestors have been so indomitable, and our motherland has been so strong and great. Can the future generations be able to hold ideal and belief like their forerunners, regardless of life and death, defend our nation, move forward bravely, or make no effort to seek progress just content with their temporary comfort?
This concern of the old man is not groundless. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, as many as 3 million people turned traitors to our country and became puppet soldiers, which was the only thing in the history of any nation.
If we come to the present young people, the Boomerang Kids, the smartphone addicts and so on, can be found anywhere. Indifferent to national affairs, muddling along, and making no attempt to make progress, how do they become the pride of future generations and how to build a strong country?
It made me think of Yu Guangzhong's article "The Yellow River". In his seventies, Mr. Yu came to Shandong to see our mother river, the Yellow River. The old man, suffering over homesickness of half a century, came to see his old mother he had never seen, so as to see his mother with his own eyes, pull his mother's rough hands, and touch the wrinkles on his mother's face. After seeing his old mother, the old man did not cry because he was crying in his deep heart.
Back to the other side of the Strait, the old man always heard a faint sound of water in his study every night. It was the voice of the mother river, and the call of the mother, calling her son far apart from each other. And we could imagine that at the moment, the heart of the old man was weeping.
We young people have no reason to cry, and we must not cry because we shoulder our responsibilities and the hope that the Chinese nation will rise on our shoulders.
More because we don't have time to cry!
吴冠中（1919-2010），当代著名画家兼散文家，1919年生于江苏宜兴，自幼喜爱文学，写了大量情真意切的散文。他在2000年写的那篇随笔《哭》，细腻真切，气势不凡。
《哭》写的是吴冠中老人在瞻仰霍去病墓前的雕刻时的万千感慨，老人只想号啕痛哭，哭什么？哭祖国母亲太伟大了，哭老鹰的后代不会变成麻雀吧？可老人不敢哭，老伴跟随着他，还有那么多的观众。
我大体推算了一下，吴冠中老人去朝拜圣地茂陵的那一年，应该有60多岁了。老人坐着夜车到了终点站，离霍去病墓还老远。顶着满天的星斗，时而顺着大车道，时而沿着羊肠小道，赶到霍去病墓地，天色才开始曙明。
墓前的雕刻一直是老人精神上的支柱，老人在异国遭受歧视时，自馁时，痛苦时，便会想起这些雕刻，想起我们的祖国。
我们的祖国曾经很强大，就像一个人说他祖上多么荣耀，这不是阿Q的精神胜利法。拥有这样的祖先是幸运的，这总是值得欣慰的！
为祖国母亲的伟大而流泪，那是幸福的泪水，是对强盛时代的一种渴望，是对祖国母亲变得更加强壮的一种期盼。
老鹰的后代不会变成麻雀吧？这是老人的忧虑，是对后人，尤其是年青一代，不思进取、碌碌无为的担忧。我们的祖先曾是那样的顶天立地、指点江山，我们的祖国曾是那样的强壮、伟大，后人是否能够像先辈一样抱着理想信念，不顾生死，卫我民族，奋勇向前，还是碌碌无为，苟且偷安，不求上进？
老人的这种担忧不是空穴来风，抗日战争期间，汉奸、伪军等竟多达300万之众，这在任何一个民族历史上都是绝无仅有的事情。如果再联系到当下年青一代人中，啃老族、手机党、低头族等等，不问国事、游戏人生、得过且过、不思进取者，比比皆是。他们又如何成为后人的骄傲，又如何建设强大的国家？
我这时想起了余光中老人写的《黄河一掬》，70多岁了来到山东，要看一看魂牵梦绕的母亲河——黄河。老人跨过半个多世纪的乡愁，来看望他从未见过面的老母亲，为的是亲眼看一看母亲的样子，拉一拉母亲那粗糙的双手，摸一摸母亲脸上那饱经风霜的皱纹……见到了老母亲，可老人没有哭，因为老人把哭声留在了心里。
此后，回到海峡的那一头，每到深夜，老人书房里就传出隐隐的水声。那是母亲河的声音，那是母亲的呼唤声，呼唤着天各一方的儿子。而我们可以想象，此刻，那位年逾古稀的儿子的心在流泪。
我们年轻者更不敢哭，不能哭，因为在我们的肩上背负着责任，担着希望，中华民族在我们肩上崛起。
更因为我们没有时间流泪！
附：霍去病墓有关材料 （内容来自网络）
茂陵是汉武帝刘彻的陵墓，位于陕西省咸阳兴平市。是汉代帝王陵墓中规模最大、修造时间最长、陪葬品最丰富的一座，被称为“中国的金字塔”。
汉武帝元狩六年（前117年），骠骑将军大司马冠军侯霍去病病逝，年仅23岁，葬茂陵东侧1公里处，墓像祁连山。
汉武帝元封五年（前106年），大司马大将军长平侯卫青病逝，葬茂陵东北一公里处，墓像庐山，与霍去病墓并列。
霍去病（前140年—前117年），西汉名将、杰出的军事家、民族英雄，是名将卫青的外甥。他打破匈奴骑兵天下无敌的神话，对捍卫大汉文明做出了突出贡献！
中国五千年历史中最年轻的战神，在二十三岁的时候就走到了生命的尽头，千年来让无数后人为之扼腕叹息！
霍去病因病去世，武帝很悲伤，调遣边境五郡的铁甲军，从长安到茂陵排列成阵，给霍去病修的坟墓外形像祁连山的样子。霍去病的墓至今仍然矗立在茂陵旁边，墓前的“马踏匈奴”的石像，象征着他为国家立下的不朽功勋。
Translator: @bring
Author:@bring
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