“Beyond the distant pavilion, beside the ancient road, jade green and fragrant, high grass joins the sky……” When hearing this familiar song called Sao Bie again in music class, the book My Memories of Old Beijing flooded into my mind, accompanied by lots of childhood memories. All of a sudden, I was filled with indescribably mixed emotions, both for the storyline of the book, and for my own memories.

I first read this book when I started primary school. After I finished reading it, I stared out the window and pondered for a long time. I hadn't really experienced any loss of friends or family like the author had by that time, and I thought they would always stand by my side. That was the first time I realized that our family and friends don’t always remain close to us–that  there is something called parting.

My Memories of Old Beijing describes the amazing experience of a little girl, Yingzi, and her  childhood. When talking about childhood, most of the  words that come to mind are “carefree” and “innocent”. But childhood in this novel delivers a kind of melancholy flavor. The whole book is divided into five short stories and an epilogue, each of which is filled with deep sadness and longing for the past, which is the unique melancholy taste of nostalgia.

At the beginning of the book, Yingzi accidentally discovered that her two best friends Niu Er and Xiuzhen are mother and daughter who have been separated for many years. She helped them recognize each other. Unfortunately, when Xiuzhen took Niu Er to look for her father, both of them were run over to death by a train. 

Afterwards, Yingzi's family moved to a new alley where Yingzi met a young man who had to steal things in order to support his family. The man treated Yingzi kindly and Yingzi was too young to discern whether he was good or bad. They played as friends until one day Yingzi picked up a small bronze Buddha on the grass. A detective saw it and, thinking that the young man stole the Buddha, arrested him. 

When Yingzi was nine years old, her nanny Song Ma was told that her son drowned two years before, and her daughter was sold to others by her husband, a circumstance she never knew. Thereafter, Yingzi's father died of lung disease, and Song Ma also left her family. That was the day when Yingzi had her elementary school graduation ceremony. She bid farewell to her childhood in ignorance.

This book was written by a Taiwanese woman, writer Lin Haiyin, based on her childhood from ages 7 to 13 years old. During that time, her hometown was occupied by the Japanese.The young author’s family was unwilling to live under the torture of the Japanese invaders so they decided to move to Beijing .This experience then started an incredible and unforgettable childhood memory for the author. After she had grown up, she left Beijing. When she saw a group of  camel caravans coming under the winter sun and heard the familiar sound of bells ringing again one day, her childhood memories and longing for Beijing were aroused, so she decided to record the past as an intriguing narrative.

Throughout the novel, every story is tinged with the sadness of parting, as Yingzi was faced with departing loved ones  again and again. She met all kinds of interesting people, and they all left a deep impression on her, but those people who helped her grow up left her one by one for different reasons.

When I read this book again, years later, I had experienced some partings, including some meetings and greetings with someone which I never expected would be for the last time. Parting again and again is the normal state of life, we have no way to avoid it , all we can do is to cherish the memories of when we were together. Also, we should understand that farewells are not just sad, but the people who leave can teach us a lot. 

Farewells make people grow. At the beginning of the novel, Yingzi was still a naughty child who would not get up until noon, but at the end of the novel, after the loss of her father, and after saying goodbye to so many close friends and family members, Yingzi realized her responsibility for the family. This is the process of witnessing a child with a childlike innocence gradually turning into a sensible and mature adult. 

I start to think about what parting has brought me from my own experiences. Last year, I said goodbye to my family and friends and came to Singapore for high school. In the beginning, I encountered many difficulties and some language barriers. Without the company and help of my friends and family, I was surrounded by the feeling of loneliness and helplessness. I had no choice but to deal with the difficulties by myself. This helped me become stronger and more independent. After experiencing partings, we are then able to grow into the person who can protect himself and overcome the difficulties.

Another distinctive feature of this book is the author's perspective. In this book, you will look at the world from the perspective of a child, and look at the joys and sorrows in the world. From the young child’s point of view, I saw the good side and kindness of those people considered bad guys by the adults.In many cases, good and bad are not clearly defined. What we have to do is to believe in the power of kindness and keep love and beauty.

Through the young child’s eye, I also saw the underground status of women in the old society, the feudal conservatism of thought and the misfortune of fate. From the works of many Chinese writers, we can see women destroyed by feudal family ethics. Similarly, in this novel, the tragic women in Yingzi's eyes all appeared with a tragic color. They each struggled to survive in their own world, and walked away with helplessness and coincidence. Entering Yingzi's life, left in the end.

I start to think about how lucky I am, living in a world where most women are accessing more rights than in the past. Although there is not yet complete equality between men and women , more and more people have realized the problem and are starting to speak up to equalize women's status. I am now able to receive the same quality of love and education as boys do, instead of being discarded like Niu Er.

The more times I read the book, the more inspiration and truth I get from it. Although it is a story about Yingzi, I can see my own shadow in it. Childhood will eventually fade away, but the memories that remain in my heart will never fade away.