She’d overcome the trials from the natural disasters that happened, and she’s now, on a smooth ride of life, translated…
In that Long Hour of Awaiting Rescue, Ji Liao Grabbed a Hold of His Daughter’s Cold Hands, and Kept Humming that Nursery Tune He’d Sung to Her Regularly…………
On May 12, 2008 at 14:28:04, the earthquake at 8.2 on the Richter Scale happened in Sichuan, China, with mortality and injury of over 100,000. A good looking, slim figured dancer, Ji Liao, was crushed inside her destroyed home, the ten-story building suddenly crashed down; her daughter of not yet a year-old, Bugs and her mother-in-law, died instantaneously.
Ji Liao was finally rescued out by a short and stout rescuer, but couldn’t keep her legs, needed to get amputated. And as she waited for the rescuers, Ji Liao held onto to her daughter’s already cold hands, and started humming out that nursery rhyme she’d sung her regularly; she’d never forgotten, that even in times of disasters, a mother should give all she could to her own young.
Ji Liao’s husband their home that’s crumbled down. And afterwards, after Ji Liao had passed through her surgeries, she’d asked her husband, why didn’t he give her a pull in that key moment? Her husband said, that it was, to make her stronger in the future. The very next year, they were, divorced, but Ji Liao still spoke well of her husband. She knew, that although he didn’t say it, but she knew, that he was, greatly impacted by the loss of his own mother and daughter back then.
Showing the Choreographed Dances that Touched People’s Hearts
In the process of her physical therapy, Ji Liao made everybody’s heart ache for her. She’d finally gotten her hard-to-come-by inspiration to create, but as she’d learned to stand back up, she’d almost passed out from the pains. If it wasn’t her strong will, someone else may have given up, and left oneself inside the darkened home, sitting on a wheelchair, and never being able to, pass through the handicaps. But being as petit as she was, she’d carried her strong will onward, bitten down hard, and, she was able to stand up longer than she had from before, she’d started doing splits and stretches, didn’t believe that she won’t be able to dance again.
After the harsh training of her physical wellbeing, as well as her own becoming, two months after her surgery, Ji Liao was able to show her touching dance moves in the public, on the surface of a huge drum. Overnight, Ji Liao became the warrior of life in the public’s eyes, an assortment of press media came to interview her.
Then, the Ya-An Earthquakes happened, in the shortest time, Ji Liao rushed over to the site, put herself on the front lines for the rescue; and as people saw she was handicapped, they’d turned her down, but she’d told them, that being small-framed, she could manage into the rubbles to get the victims out. She’d also stressed that back then, it was also, another petit figured individual who’d helped her get out.
Slowly, Ji Liao became famous, being pure and straightforward, the friends in media asked her, that although she didn’t have her legs, but being beautiful, she must have, some suitors! She’d laughed loudly, said, there wasn’t a brave enough man who’d stood outside her house and hollered, “I love you! Ji Liao!”
Once in New York, she’d met Rong Wang and Ching-Yuan, a couple. They were very kind, Rong Wang was already retired, and drove for Master Sheng-Yen; while Ching-Yuan was the editor of the Sheng-Yen’s writings, to transcribe the materials orated by the master. Later, they’d both moved back to Taiwan. They have two sons, both outstanding, both graduated out of prestigious universities in the U.S., and works in Shanghai and San Francisco.
Once, she’d wanted to meet up with Rong Wang and his wife, but heard that they were rushing to Shanghai, to deal with a curve ball thrown by their eldest son, Charles. Charles is a professional prosthetic maker, sent to Shanghai by his company. Later on, Rong Wang told me, that his son told him abruptly he was getting married, the two of them were originally very pleased, but as they’d learned, that their future daughter-in-law was without her legs, as the mother, Ching-Yuan naturally worried, that after they wed, her son not only had to work, he’d still needed to look after his handicapped wife, and if they have children, then, he would be totally overworked, playing the role of a father AND a mother………
That’s right, Ji Liao, just so happened, was their daughter-in-law.
Rong Wang saw how tense things became between his wife and son, he’d felt awful and uneasy. She’d told Ching-Yuan, that Master Sheng-Yen told us, that everybody is equal, that we should treat them with mercy. That if it were one of their friends who’d had troubles, everybody should lend a helping hand. And now, they’re faced with the issues, they should also, view it as nothing abnormal. He believed, that Ji Liao, who’d crawled out of the valley of shadows of doubts, and having crawled out of hell, she would know more about what life really meant than other women, and can cherish the love she’d found with their son too. And so, Ching-Yuan stopped being against them in marriage.
Kept All the Rides of Her Emotional Rollercoaster to Herself
In 2014, Charles and Ji Liao came to give the family and friends a wedding banquet, and I’d wanted to take the opportunity to do a story of Ji Liao, Rong Wang naturally said yes; but, Charles had, refused to show his face on video, and it’d, gave me a hard time. Surely, Ji Liao’s story was worth telling, but, how was she able to climb up to heaven from hell, and found a wonderful, excellent husband who’d cherished her, this should help soothe the minds of all of Ji Liao’s friends and hopefully, help those who are having a hard time in life, to face their own futures bravely, to seek out the happiness that belonged to oneself.
Finally, the program didn’t make it; on the day of their wedding banquet, I went abroad, for another show.
In November of 2017, it came time for Charles’s brother, Yu-Fang to get married, they hosted a banquet in Taiwan, and, Rong Wang told me early, that I must be there, and I’d, agreed, on that very noon, I’d flown from Tokyo back to Taiwan, this banquet, I was, going to attend, no matter what! On the eve, everybody was there, and Rong Wang was more the ecstatic, toasted everybody in the banquet hall. Suddenly, he’d brought his eldest son, Charles and Ji Liao to me. And finally, I saw this match made in heaven, and their already a year-old lovely young daughter.
Although the banquet was really rowdy and noisy, we’d become, best friends from a long time ago, immediately gotten connected, and we’d decided, that we will, meet back up again on another day, to share our plans, and our beliefs with each other.
During this period of time, perhaps, Rong Wang had spoken good things about me to his son and daughter-in-law, the two of them in the café, were extremely courteous toward me, called me, “Uncle Dou”. And as they’d told me of their views of not-for-profit, and I’d shared all of my accumulated experiences with them; on the way, I’d hoped that they could tell me about their future plans, but, they both shook their heads, Ji Liao said, they hoped, to hear more of my stories.
Seeing these two young people in their early thirties, accumulating all they already had in the passages of life, how they can walk along together, hand-in-hand, deciding to face whatever comes next with each other; I’d needed to keep my emotions in check a couple of times, told myself: I’d needed to, take advantage of the passions and time left in my life too, I’d needed to lend them a helping hand when they are in need.
I’d already made a next date with them, and will be introducing them to a lot of the warriors of life whom I’d come to know, and walk along their sides. Of course, for the woman, who’d crawled out of hell—Ji Liao, this Taiwanese daughter-in-law, I’m sure, that she will become a figure for the handicapped community in China, becoming a bridge for those who were handicapped from both sides of the coasts, and make more beautiful music.
So, this is a story of love, of inspiration, of how someone never gave up hope in her darkest hour, and being able to, overcome the obstacles in her life, and get what she rightfully deserved, it’s such an inspiration to the rest of the world, isn’t it?