Jade & Gold

I once knew a lady whose name was Jade/Gold. It's a fairly traditional Straits Chinese name, and one which connotes a certain excellence of nature, status, behaviour, and culture. This is a long overdue post.

The lady I speak of had very sharp instincts. While she could be cutting to some, she was genuinely kind to many; often, she would restrain herself and get to the root of a matter, rather than belabour the already-suffering victim of her wrath. She was talented and intelligent as a researcher and an observer of political events. Yet, unlike with so many of that ilk, she deliberately chose not to enter into political factionalism, manipulate, curry favour with, or cause divisions amongst her colleagues.

She was respected as a teacher, valued as a colleague, wise as a mentor. While there are some who said she was selfish or self-serving, my considered opinion (and that of decades of her students) remains the same: she gave of herself to those who deserved, to some of those who did not deserve, and even to some of those who deserved nothing at all. But she was wise in knowing her limits and impeccable in explaining why she would or would not do something.

She has since gone to a better place, from which she communicates by email. Strangely enough, many heroes of that long-forgotten dynasty still live there, and some even visit here once in a while. With them gone, the earthly city is bereft of some very useful and uncommon talent; it is all very well to say that no one is irreplaceable, but when you take out a tooth, the replacement (even if made from sapphire and titanium) is just not YOUR tooth. It's like replacing jade and gold with paper money. The substitution might be adequate, but the intrinsic value is depleted.