The Railway Festival on June 9th in Taiwan is very important to the railway fans.  I would like to share with readers my warm memories and experiences related to the railway even though I am not a railway fan.

I lived with my parents in a dormitory at Shan-Hua Sugar Mill during my childhood.  The distance from one of the railways of the Sugar Mill to the enclosure of our backyard vegetable garden was less than one hundred meters and the “Small Train Station” that served various trains of the Sugar Mill was not far from my house.  In my daily life often appeared a Wu–Fen Train (meaning half size train because it runs on half-standard gauge) carrying sugarcane. The cars of this train were like a group of hardworking winded ants, weaving in and out among towns and the countryside. Cars and pedestrians must yield to it for reasons of safety. The whistles of a small blue passenger train and the train that carried sugarcane were so punctual that we set our clocks and watches by them. My father worked for Shun-Hua Sugar Mill in the Railway Department. Once in a while my parents took me with them on this small train to the downtown buffalo market or to the food market at Yu-Ching, where we bought delicious mangos and longans.  When I grew up, the Small Train accompanied me to a “Big Train Station,” Shun-Hua Station, where I commuted to high school between Shun Hua and Tainan City on a big train. 

Although I left my birthplace many years ago, many things about my good old days still remain fresh in my mind. My childhood friends and I used to pick up and chew on the white sugarcane that dropped from the passing Sugarcane Train and the delicious sweet taste that entered my mouth has not been forgotten even until today.  The scene of chasing the Small Train to school for fear of being late sometimes still appears in my dreams. I still recall that we put the nail on the railway track, waiting for the train to run over it and flatten it; then I hammered it into the pared hard guava wood to make a Spinning Top. The memories are still vivid that while I was cramming for the examination at the last minute on the train, I looked at the girls out of the corner of my eye.  The hawking of the vendors on the platform, “Delicious lunchbox” and “Ice cream pop” is still ringing in my ears. The experience that I wrote down all the names of train stations and the tunnels that the Big Train went through when I first took the Slow Train from the south to the north of Taiwan was my first self-conducted Geography class.

The Small Train for passengers had only one car; thus the driver’s cabin, where the engine was located, was also called the “Head of the Train” by local people.  Every time when I took the Small Train, I liked to sit in the front seat, enjoying the scenery and imagining that I was the driver who served passengers. The “Black Front of the Engine” was the unique feature of the Sugarcane Train.  I had one lucky chance of sitting there with my brother, who temporarily worked on the train. That gave me a chance to take an inspection tour around the countryside. The raging fires in the boiler seemed to be urging the submissive scenery along both sides of the road to go backward. My most unforgettable experience with the engine was during the lunar New Year when the traffic was congested. Other passengers and I desperately wished to fly home but could not squeeze into cars packed with people. With the tacit approval of the conductors, we were allowed to stand holding onto the handrail of the locomotive, enjoying the speed and the sensation of flying low according to the terrain of the countryside.  

The engine, the “Head of the Train,” unknowingly left in my young heart a deep impression of “guiding one’s life, doing good deeds silently, serving people enthusiastically, being free and unrestrained,” which has had great impact on my life philosophically. We country folk also called the train station the “Head of the Train.” Although people only stayed at the station for a short time, this train station served as a very important transfer station which helped tourists from all parts of the country to start another life journey. Powered by the engine, each pleasant train traveling from one place to another in all direction is like a Dharma Boat, which stops at stations with particular names, picks up passengers and guides them onto the path on which they cultivate themselves and start a new life. For years I have practiced qigong and cultivated my heart at the Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy. Under the guidance of Dr. Hong Tao-Tze, Zhang-men-ren of Tai Ji Men, I have practiced the philosophy of yin and yang, learned the wisdom of life, cultivated myself and helped others. Everything starts from the heart and a long journey starts with a single step. Today my feeling about the train is “Each Train Station is a Great Path of a New Journey” is like the expression, “Love me, love my dog.” Recent natural and man-made disasters enable me to realize that the ways of heaven are impartial but they are always on the side of a good man. Following Dr. Hong’s example in promoting world peace, and playing a role of a “spiritual engine,” I take pleasure in helping people and I am willing to make contributions to building a harmonious world. My efforts will never change. 

The Taiwan Railways Administration issued commemorative train tickets known as “Yong-Bao An-Kang,” which means “Maintaining Everlasting Peace and Good Health” a few years ago. A wave of searching for train stations across the island whose names have the connotation of good luck and happiness ensued. In Chinese, “Yong” means everlasting “Bao,” means maintenance, “An” means peace and “Kang” means health. “Yong-Bao An-Kang” is the combination of two train stations in Tainan County: Yong-Kang and Bao-An stations.  As we all know, poetry reflects one’s desires. Through the imitation of the connotation, “Yong-Bao An-Kung,” I composed a pairs of couplets and presented them to railway fans and passers-by. Written on the right couplet was “Shou-Fong Ho-Ping Yong-Bao An-Kung.” (“Shou-Fong” means longevity, “Ho-Ping” means peace). The couplet reflects my desire to wish all people peace, good health and longevity.  Shou-Fong and Ho-Ping train stations are located in the east of Taiwan. Written on the left couplet was “Jia-Lu Gei-Lai Hou-Li Cheng-Gong.” (“Jia-Lu” means increasing officials’ salary, “Guei-Lai” means Returning Home, “Hou-Li” sounds like giving you in Taiwanese pronunciation, and “Cheng-Gong” means success). The couplet expresses my blessing that people return home prosperous and successful. Jia-Lu and Gei-Lai stations are located in the south of Taiwan, Hou-Li and Cheng-Gong stations are in the central part of Taiwan. The horizontal couplet above two vertical ones is “Each Train Station is a Great Path on the Journey of Happiness.” Next time if you see these couplets at the train station, you will nod with an understanding smile.