The Brilliant Galsang Flowers

This book is a collection of Yu Minhong’s newly created essays. The simple words show his wisdom in life. The book falls into six chapters： travel notes， reading notes， life feelings， life experience， education， and cultural development.

Galsang flowers， happy flowers that never wither away， are always full of energy after rains and storms. They never change regardless of the change in seasons.

Originally， the garden was a big beautiful lawn. However， someone left a muddy plot of about 100 square meters in the center of the lawn. Anyway， it looked like a rotten scar. When spring came， the grass on the lawn began to grow sturdily， while the earthy yellow muddy ground still exposed its ugly body， except for some weeds and several dandelions.

Around April， plants that looked a bit like carrots grew from the mud， but I knew they were not carrots. I lived in the countryside for eighteen years and could still clearly recognize plants. These plants kept growing dense. Soon， they grew higher than human knees. Then， buds emerged from the tall stems and branches. A few days later， flowers blossomed on some stems and branches. They were in various colors --- dark red， pink， white， pink， and white. First， they blossomed one by one and finally prospered. I took a picture of the flowers and searched for them on the internet. Then I knew it was called the Galsang flower.

I love songs about the plateau， so I know Galsang flowers are often praised in Tibetan songs. Galsang means happiness in Tibetan. That’s why Galsang flowers are also known as the flowers of happiness. I checked the explanation on the internet， which says the Galsang flower mentioned by Tibetans does not refer to a specific flower. Sometimes， all beautiful flowers are called Galsang flowers. The currently recognized Galsang flower is also known as coreopsis， while people are now used to calling it the Galsang flower.

At first， I thought this flower was the same as others. The flowers would bloom and wither， leaving fallen petals and lonely stems on the ground at last. However， these flowers were always blooming， from spring to summer and autumn. They bloomed in wind and rain. They were gorgeous under the blue sky and charming on cloudy days. The storm lasted a whole night yesterday. I thought the flowers must have been destroyed by such bad weather. In the morning， I got up and went to have a look. To my surprise， countless flowers were thriving in the sunshine under the blue sky after the rainstorm. Since they emerged from the mud in spring， it seems that they are determined to bring gorgeous colors to the world and decorate people’s boring life day after day.

In the beginning， I didn’t care about them. Then， I felt at a loss if I did not have a look at them every day. Gradually， I made a habit of jogging in the park every morning. After jogging， I will stand beside these flowers to find out whether the flowers I saw a few days ago are still there. I find that the petals of these flowers barely wither. They grow slowly， showing their brilliance and delicacy in the wind. Then， they grow old very gently. But before they grow old， new fresh flowers bloom from other buds. We can say that they bloom wave upon wave. Before the early flowers grow old， new ones are ready to bloom in batches. These flowers make it impossible to connect fallen petals with sadness and sorrow. Even if Lin Daiyu from the novel Dream of the Red Chamber saw this scene， she wouldn’t sigh： “It’s easier to see blossoms than fallen petals. In front of the steps， I am sorrowful， burying these souls.”

Regardless of the explanation on the internet， I understand why people call them Galsang flowers. Galsang flowers， happy flowers that never wither away， are always full of energy after rains and storms. They never change regardless of the change of seasons. They are Galsang flowers.

I would also like to thank the park manager whose name is unknown to me， and the ingenious gardener who retained this plot of mud and sowed seeds here. The plot of ugly mud exposed in winter has brought brilliance and beauty to people for the rest of the year.

Walking Through Life

Yu Minhong

Life Bookstore Publishing

March 2023

69.00 （CNY）

Yu Minhong

Yu Minhong， the founder and current CEO of New Oriental Education amp; Technology Group，" and member of the 11th， 12th， and 13th Committee of People’s Political Consultative Conference.