I hope that twenty years from now, I’ll be a cute old man, spending time with a cute old woman. I don’t seek great wealth or status; just to be healthy and strong enough to travel and explore.

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I said that in 10 years, I’ll be a charming old man, and I will work hard to become a charming old man. The future of China must be one with good old men and good old women. Even if I am 60 years old in 10 years, I will be the youngest person in this world’s third kingdom.

Frankly speaking, if everyone sees the 50-year-old Chinese man with this physique, it’s quite impressive. But behind this physique is a phrase I believe in: the more disciplined you are, the freer you become! When it rains, I want to go for a run; tomorrow afternoon, I will play soccer. At 50 years old, I can still play big games, and it’s not a joke. Moreover, I often play with professionals. But what’s behind this? It’s discipline. I spend my remaining days running, and people might find running very monotonous. The more disciplined you are, the freer you become. Because of my discipline, I can run freely, without listening to music – because I think my own breathing is the most beautiful music while running.

I basically don’t run on a treadmill. And many people in Beijing experience severe smog; I run 5 days a week, and two days are left for the smog. Then, jokingly, I say it might be because I never stop. Every month, I draw one day of my running experience in my diary – at least 18 days each month, and when I run, they just flash by. When I run, I also take off my glasses, but more importantly, I still play soccer every week. My graduate students’ last lecture is always held at our home on that particular day, with a theme called “Fun.” I think fun is very important. I never deal with people who lack any joy or hobbies.

I would rather avoid such people – they are too frightening; if you don’t have fun, you feel like you have nothing to enjoy. You like what kind of job? In early January this year, one of my graduate students wrote for China Weekly, and we had a special issue called “Looking Ahead.” Ten years from now, my graduate students will, at the end of each graduation year, write an essay for me – and I keep those essays. Then, ten years later, I’ll continue to develop them, and I’ll also write one as a 50-year-old to a 60-year-old; 60 is a distant land that I never thought of before, but it’s just another stop on my way to 20 – writing to my students who are 30. That’s like a love letter from spring to summer. But when I’m 50 and write to 60, it’s like autumn whispering to fall. Now, I’m writing to myself ten years from now, from the whole world, about my bed, a meal, and the company of my family – this is normal.

But what will I be at 60? My title is very clear: in this long article, I said that in 10 years, I’ll be a charming old man, and China wants to be charming not just because there will be more young people like citizens who become citizens, no longer just ordinary people; energetic young people, young people who understand rules. The future of China must be one with good old men and good old women. Currently, over 60-year-olds in China exceed 2.3 billion – and that number will definitely exceed three billion in 10 years, meaning that if you consider only the population over 60, China would be among the top five countries in the world, or even the third. Imagine how frightening that is!

I don’t find it frightening. I wonder if you’ve seen online a table of the average life expectancy in various provinces and municipalities of China – Shanghai and Beijing both exceed 80 years, including men and women. Men naturally occupy a larger share of the female population. That means even if I am 60 years old in 10 years, I will be one of the youngest people in this world’s third kingdom.

Looking to the future. If women retire at 55 with an average life expectancy of 80 years, and they continue for 25 years after retirement; if men retire at 60 with an average life expectancy of 80, and they continue for 20 years after retirement! You won’t do anything but dance square dances. And I can say that the older ladies and gentlemen who are dancing square dances today are cultural habits and entertainment styles brought to them by the times.

Twenty - I was one of the youngest members of the team when I was 60 years old, and I should be what kind of person? Chinese painting says that at 60, your ears become attuned, and I believe I wouldn’t listen to anything then, always happy, still annoyed by things I shouldn’t mention, and even happiness would turn into unhappiness. More importantly, I need to figure out what to do for the young people!

• What should we do for good things? Don’t be lazy, don’t easily compromise, speak up when you need to oppose, because young people might harm their interests, can you stand in front of them and block their way? I often look at myself in the mirror now. My good friend, Tao Wei, passed away – he used to gather with us at our home, and once told me a true story. We collectively mourned together, and back then, the older generation like Chen Lao would hoard things at home, spilling everything out of the box, hiding 30-odd items under the bed. You need to tell him how much that piece of clothing cost – over 500 yuan – and then support it, lighting incense every day. Therefore, this generation of ours is used to fighting with our parents, arguing about knowledge and ideas. How much did we buy back for 700 yuan?
• 220. But it’s risky. Once, Tao Wei bought a T-shirt for his father for over 400 yuan. That shirt was really good – how much did it cost? 99, I wore it. The next day, disaster struck. When he came back from work, he praised Tao Wei and gave him 400 yuan to buy four more shirts for me. After I wore it out, Zhang Shu Li Da Ye all thought it was great, and later said the risk of lying like this is very large. Don’t do such things in the future. I don’t want to mention a specific person – in the hospital orthopedic department, an elderly man broke his bone, and the most important reason was that he bought shoes from a street vendor. Of course, I’m only talking about this on a material level. Even when you get old, you still need spiritual life and curiosity, and you should be willing to shield young people from the wind and rain, live one day happily.
• I’m very curious and excitedly waiting for my 60th birthday to arrive. I think it’s the beginning of a beautiful time.
• Thank you all.