J
APANESE drama series One Litre of Tears (《一公升的眼
is based on the true story of a Japanese girl, Aya
Kito (木藤亞也), who was diagnosed with a disease called
spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) (脊髓小腦變性症) when she
was 15. At the time, she was just about to start an exciting
stage of her life as a high school student.
SCA is a dreadful disease, causing the gradual loss of
淚》)
body control, leading to paralysis (癱瘓), difficulties in swallowing and the loss of the ability to speak. However, the girl
did not give up. Instead, she chose to try her best to overcome her physical disabilities, to live her remaining life to
its fullest.
Apart from Aya, there are many other examples of people who show great courage in the face of obstacles and
misfortunes in life. You must have heard of Ludwig
van Beethoven composing many masterpieces
despite being deaf. There is also a little girl in the
mainland who also suffered from loss of hearing but
became a successful pianist. These stories of great
courage inspire us to think about our own approach to
life.
Questions to ponder
The Teacher from Hell (女王教室) and One Litre of Tears are both popular, but if
you have to choose, which one do you like more? Which one do you find more
meaningful? Why?
Lesson
worth
The Teacher from Hell Maya Akutsu (阿久津真矢) has also experienced many challenges in her life (divorce and the loss of her son). Do you see anything in common (or different) between the protagonists in the dramas?
If you were Aya, how would you deal with the challenge? If you were her family
or friends, how would you help and support her?
Had Aya not faced her challenge with courage, what would you think her life
would have become? How do you think it would affect her family and friends?
What can you say about Aya and her mother? Has Aya’s story changed the way
you look at life? If yes, how?
Many people discussed the drama series on Internet, what do you think about
their views?
learning
There are many people in the world suffering from
deadly diseases but refuse to give up living, Chow
Suk-ping looks at some of them
Translated by Lon Yan
Aya was at the beginning of an exciting stage of her life.
She had just been accepted by a high school when she found
out that she had a dreadful disease that would eventually
paralyse her. The news was so shocking that made her
doubt whether she should live on.
Her condition began to deteriorate. Instead of succumbing (屈服) to her disabilities, she became stronger. She was
determined not to let the disease rob her the meaning of
life. With amazing courage, she kept a diary recording her
thoughts and feelings in fighting the disease. That was her
way of keeping up her spirit.
On 23 May, 1988, Aya passed away in the arms of her family, ending her short life of 25 years. Her mother discovered
that during the eight years when Aya could still write, she
kept a total of 46 diaries. The diaries diaries were compiled
into a book, entitled One Litre of Tears, which has sold millions of copies in Japan.
Made into a film in 2004, and into a television drama
series the following year, Aya’s story of courage and
strength in the face of adversity has been an inspiration (啟
發) and encouragement (激勵) to many, moving young people to reflect upon their own attitude towards life.
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“This is the most meaningful TV drama series I have ever
watched. It makes me think hard about life and the meaning of existence. The girl in the drama was very brave.”
“I wonder how you and I would take it if we were struck
by such a horrible disease.”
“It makes me appreciate life and the things we have. Now
“Death is not fearful. What’s fearful is giving up.”
and much more down the road...”
“Even though I may not do much, but I still want to give what I can to help
(c) 2005 FUJI TELEVISION
NETWORK,INC.
KYODO TELEVISION,LTD.
THE story of Shenzhen girl Xu Mengqi is
just as moving.
Mengqi has been living with her grandmother because her parents went overseas
to work. When she was two, she suffered
from high fever and as a result she lost her
hearing. Her condition was not noticed until
a year later when her grandmother became
suspicious because she saw Mengqi her
putting her ear to the screen while watching TV.
The grandmother took Mengqi for an
examination and it was found she had
severe hearing impairment. Her grandmother was heartbroken, but she suddenly
remembered how Beethoven continued his
work despite losing his hearing. So she
started Mengqi on piano lessons.
Mengqi had to wear hearing aids and
had to put in extra effort just to keep up.
She played for hours everyday, until her fingers became callous (繭).
In 2004, when Mengqi was six years old,
the local association for the handicapped arranged
to have her play at
a public performance. Everyone
was impressed by
her talent. After
that, Mengqi won
many prizes in
local contests and
performed frequently in public.
In 2005, she clinched the first prize in
the Schumann International Youth Piano
Contest (Asia Pacific) and was the only
contestant getting full marks.
Despite her tender age, Mengqi is setting her goals high: “I learned to play piano
because I wanted to get treatment in the
United States and to earn money to support
my grandmother. I also want to donate my
prize money to help other handicapped children in my country.”
others.”
“We should not live in the past. What matters is to do what we can
now.”
“Falling down is not a problem, because I will stand up
again. When I am on the ground, I may as well take a look
at the beautiful blue sky. At least, I am still alive today,
How people feel after watching the drama
“Little Beethoven” Xu Mengqi (徐夢琪)
Aya’s inspiring words
“Disability is a heavy load. But I must live on, though I would shed a litre of tears,
MEMORIAM
Art
IN
MEMORIAM
IN
Friday, November 24, 2006
Ludwig van Beethoven (貝多芬)
LUDWIG van Beethoven is generally regarded as one of the
greatest composers in the
history of music. However, he
began to lose his hearing from
the age of 26 and became deaf eventually.
However, many of his masterpieces, such as
his Symphony No. 5 (第五交響曲) and Symphony No. 9 (第九交響曲) were composed
when he was already deaf.
and life is smiling at me as long as I am still
I realise being healthy, being able walk around freely and
do what I like are already a great blessing.”
“This drama makes me think again about how I should
treat people suffering from serious illness. Most people
would pity them, but is that the right attitude? Is that or
the way patients want us to treat them?”
here.”
Think about this
RECENTLY, there are many reports in newspapers about young people taking
their own lives because they were frustrated. Look at the stories of
Beethoven, Aya and young Mengqi, and think about whether we should give
up the will to live so easily.
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