2017-中华人文-NO.1

　　《中华人文（2017 NO.1）》：　　The mayor, of course, knew about his dream, that he wanted to seek a place called "No. 1 Three Wells", buthe never asked about it, as if he didn't know. But there were times when hewould size up the old cobbler, mending shoes with his head down, for a long while, as if he wanted to solve the mystery that was the older man. By any account, he should understand this old man. The cobbler had been part of his life since he was a boy. Back then, he only knew him as a kind, skilledcobbler; an agreeable man who sat, like a statue, always at the front of the alley; a man who only ever buried his headin his work, speaking little, to the pointof being taciturn. When he heard aboutthe little slip of paper, he was, in truth, both amazed and moved. Apparentlyhe had never truly understood him. It is not easy for a man to really understand another.　　Only later on did the mayor realize that it was no easier for a man to understand himself either. He only came to this realization slowly after he got into trouble. As deputy mayor and then mayor, he had resisted hundreds of bribes. He once believed that he had sufficient self-control to hold out against any temptation, to be a good mayor. But one night, he accepted a hundred thousand yuan that he should not have accepted. Before this, people had come to him with bribes exceeding a million, and he had resisted. But before this mere hundred thousand, he stumbled.　　The mayor got into trouble. Almost everyone in the city was in disbelief. How could the mayor have gotten into trouble? He had done so many great things, so many good things, during his term as mayor. How could he have gotten into trouble all of a sudden? A hundred thousand was nothing! They even believed that, had the mayor accepted a bribe, it should have been over a million; a hundred thousand was beneath him. A hundred thousand yuan ruined a mayor. They sincerely felt sorry for him, before starting to curse angrily the lowlife who bribed him. That fellow became the public enemy of the whole city.　　……