---
title: "Reader Zong Qinghou: Drifting in the Great Transformation, Neither Joyful nor Fearful"
description: "At the 2018 China (Luohe) Food Marketing Innovation Summit and the 3rd Leisure Food Manufacturers' Precision Matchmaking Conference, free registration is underway. Zong Qinghou, the head of Wahaha, appeared on the second season of 'The Reader' and recited a poem, conveying the weight of life with sincerity. He read a passage from Ji Xianlin's 'Reflections at Eighty', dedicating it to the younger generation."
author: "New Distribution"
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published: "2018-05-07"
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# Reader Zong Qinghou: Drifting in the Great Transformation, Neither Joyful nor Fearful

> At the 2018 China (Luohe) Food Marketing Innovation Summit and the 3rd Leisure Food Manufacturers' Precision Matchmaking Conference, free registration is underway. Zong Qinghou, the head of Wahaha, appeared on the second season of 'The Reader' and recited a poem, conveying the weight of life with sincerity. He read a passage from Ji Xianlin's 'Reflections at Eighty', dedicating it to the younger generation.

△2018 China (Luohe) Food Marketing Innovation Summit and the 3rd Leisure Food Manufacturers' Precision Matchmaking Conference
Free registration is in full swing; scan the code for details.
Drifting in the great transformation, neither joyful nor fearful. When it's time to go, just go, without further hesitation.
After a year, the second season of 'The Reader' returned and aired last night! Zong Qinghou, the well-known head of Wahaha, appeared and read a poem for the young people, using his most sincere voice to convey the depth of life.
With a Hangzhou-accented Mandarin, Zong Qinghou read a passage from Ji Xianlin's 'Reflections at Eighty', dedicating it to the new generation.
**Ji Xianlin's 'Reflections at Eighty' (Excerpt)
Reader: Zong Qinghou
Looking at my body, it's ordinary, just like before. Looking at my surroundings, they're ordinary, just like before. The golden morning sun streams in through the window, ordinary, just like before. The white poplar in front of the building has indeed grown a bit thicker, but it looks ordinary, just like before. It's winter now, and the leaves have all fallen; but I believe they are curled up in the soil, dreaming of spring.
Looking back, I can clearly see a road in the gray mass, a very long road that I have walked step by step.
On this very long road, I have walked both the broad avenue and the single-plank bridge. Along the way, there are deep mountains and great marshes, as well as gentle slopes; there are apricot blossoms and spring rain, as well as autumn winds from the north; there are mountains and rivers that repeat, as well as willows and flowers in the shade; there are times of losing my way and finding it back, and times of surviving against all odds. The road is too long, the time too long, the shadows too many, and the memories too heavy.
I have become a kindred spirit of Tao Yuanming. One of his poems I appreciate greatly:
Drifting in the great transformation,
Neither joyful nor fearful.
When it's time to go, just go,
Without further hesitation.
Now I am moving forward with this spirit. As long as possible, I will do things beneficial to the country and to others. I know the future road will not be straighter or smoother than the past, but I am not afraid. Before my eyes still flicker the shadows of wild lilies and wild roses.
**Zong Qinghou's Original Aspiration**
Throughout the show, Zong Qinghou was the only reader who recited the entire piece from memory. Even though his reading was full of Hangzhou accent, it did not affect the emotion he conveyed. At this age, having experienced many hardships in life, in a sense, Zong Qinghou was reading about himself. Having gone through that most difficult era, in Zong Qinghou's view, everything is ordinary, and his life is the same as before; the marks left by that era's fate have become life itself.
Perhaps people may not notice that Zong Qinghou has entered his seventies. As an 'evergreen' in China's food industry, today's Zong Qinghou still stands on the front line of enterprise development and transformation. Now, at 73, he still insists on being 'the first to come and the last to leave' in his work! This is his original aspiration!
He said, 'If a person wants to achieve something, they must first have ideals. Now I probably don't need to continue making money; I can't spend it all in several lifetimes. But I still work hard, just wanting to contribute to society and the country.' This is his original aspiration!
As China's cloth-shoe billionaire, Zong Qinghou still wore a Zhongshan suit and cloth shoes at the scene, and the suit was issued at Wahaha's 30th anniversary celebration. In 2016, Zong Qinghou quit smoking. He listened to his mother. People should live healthily! A decades-long heavy smoker, he quit at once. So, Zong Qinghou, who 'was afraid of poverty', joked that after quitting smoking, he spends less than 50,000 yuan a year. This is his original aspiration.
At the show, Zong Qinghou talked about the 'Dawa dispute' again. He said, 'Looking at the whole event, many companies are afraid of lawsuits with foreigners. If you have reason, you can go anywhere. Don't be afraid of them. The more you fear them, the more they bully you. Moreover, China is getting stronger and should no longer be bullied. Our suppliers go to other countries and raise the Chinese flag.' When the 73-year-old man said this, his face still showed a youthful pride, and the audience burst into applause. This is his original aspiration.
**The Brand of Pain Is Life**
In 1963, Zong Qinghou's difficult youth ended, and with a casual wave of fate's hand, he began a new life journey. After junior high school, he was sent to the 'Siberia Ranch' in Zhoushan as part of the rustication movement. Over 15 years, Zong Qinghou did farm work, built dams, carried manure, and even learned to butcher pigs.
Zong Qinghou said, 'At that time, going to the countryside was voluntary because we had no money. I built up my health through all that hardship, so now work isn't too tiring.'
Stepping on the shadows of the past, he walked step by step to the present. The experiences along the way, with laughter and sorrow, sweetness and bitterness, only Zong Qinghou knows the taste.
At 42, Zong Qinghou achieved success late in life, building a beverage kingdom from scratch.
'Drifting in the great transformation, neither joyful nor fearful. When it's time to go, just go, without further hesitation.' The brand of life, the body never forgets. At sixty, Zong Qinghou's original aspiration remains unchanged!
Source: Food Industry Entrepreneur
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