Sunday, 20 February

Light snow, quite cold

I have written to Li, saying he should try to break his relationship with a certain lady because he is almost 50 and the lady not yet 30. On the girl’s side, she felt that she was making a big sacrifice, and hoped that on the man’s side he would have something to compensate for that. The conditions she hopes for must be very high, and they might not be easy for the man to keep to. So in the end the girl will be very disappointed. Secondly on the girl’s side, she thought that she was still able to find a better suitor. In the thoughts of modern girls, a better suitor should have the following conditions: 1) young and handsome 2) capable and talented 3) having a senior position and wealthy 4) attentive and obedient 5) never leave her alone. But Mr. Li has none of these and he is already married. It is pointless to ruin another person and make himself suffer. A break may incur big suffering, but it will be wiser to stop now.

The whole day I felt depressed and lost and I could not sleep in the afternoon. When I thought of the past, I was overwhelmed by sadness. I felt remorseful for what I had done in the past. I can blame no one as it is my own fault.

I received an invitation from Foreign Minister Molotov inviting me for dinner on the 23 of this month for the Red Army Festival. But it specifies that it requires a dinner suit and medals. In the past, when other countries have stated dinner suit and medals, the Soviet Union has absolutely prohibited these things, saying they are the decadent vestiges of imperialism and modern states have tended to simplify (the standard). People rarely wear dinner suits during wartime. But suddenly at the end of last year, the Soviet Union announced the etiquette for diplomatic uniform and regulated that the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should wear uniform when they are working. If there is any celebration, the invitation card will specify that the Diplomatic Corps should wear uniforms and medals. Things in the world are always changing and we cannot predict using common sense. This is particularly true with matters concerning the Soviet Union.

I studied Russian for four hours as I was too bored since I had nothing to do. I could only use homework to ease my boredom.