Thursday, 12 January

Thirtieth day of the eleventh lunar month, Yiwei year

Showers with fine patches

F.T. Cheng replied to my letter. He said he was quite happy to learn that I have handed over the restaurant to Zhongxiong, because my friends in the United States thought it was a joke that I had opened a restaurant. This concept of my so-called friends in the United States is really the joke instead. I used my own effort to raise my family. I do not feel guilty towards my ancestors and society. [As the Analects said, when I] was in shabby clothing I did not feel shameful before a man dressed elegantly. Those friends in New York seem to be so influenced by the American environment that they are gradually becoming tainted by money worship. I felt really sad for them. The reason why I insisted we decline the suggestion of Kitty to go to the United States was because, firstly, it rejects coloured races, and secondly, its ethical view differs from mine. Recently, the exclusion movement of coloured races has re-kindled in several states in the south of the United States, and the concept of my friends in the United States have changed like this. This strengthens my belief that my determination seems to have been quite right.

In the evening I took Kitty, Defeng and Lehua to Cirque d’Hiver to watch the circus. The program was just so-so.