Weibo user Zuoyeben was banished from the service after posting a picture of the candlelit June 4th vigil in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park. Eighty days later, he reappeared, addressing his more than three million followers with an essay that has been reposted over 161,000 times, commented on more than 92,000 times, and translated by Liz Carter at Tea Leaf Nation:
It wasn’t until the morning of June 5 that I discovered I had disappeared.
[…] It really wasn’t a big deal, because the summer has passed already. In this hot, anxious season, everything has finally passed…three years ago maybe I wouldn’t have made any “iffy” posts, but time not only ages us, it also forces us to grow up. Maybe saying you have a “sense of purpose” sounds too high and mighty, or describing a “burning urgency” sounds like building yourself up, but you can’t always be a person who pretends to be “fun.” You have to speak your own mind a little. It doesn’t matter if it’s stupid, or fake, you have to pay the price.
If you only play the part of a fun or funny person all day long, your life is really meaningless, frittered away in idiocy.
Even if people say you’re stupid or fake, that you are just rehashing old tropes, what does it matter? Your life is long. Why would you care about people pointing their fingers at you from the sidelines? On the road to being awesome, the streets are not lined with thorny bushes, but with idiots. It doesn’t matter–keep going ‘til you reach the finish line.
See also “Do Not Hype Gourmet Food or Luxury Clothing!” on CDT, featuring Zuoyeben’s message to representatives at this year’s NPC and CPPCC meetings.
