Biography of Liu Hao-Yi (3)

1950年4月的一天，一艘运兵船航行在南海。从海南岛出发驶往台湾。高道生就在这条船上。他们是国军32军的一部分。

One day in April 1950, a military transport ship sailed through the South China Sea that departed Hainan Island for Taiwan, the boat Gao Daosheng came over on as part of the 32nd Army Brigade of the KMT National Revolutionary Army.

1949年春，国民党军为了加强后备力量，在山东地区以部分地方武装为基础，组建三个师，合编为32军。山东籍高道生作为1937年的老兵，奉调到32军。当年5月，该军由青岛海运至广东，参加广东战役。后撤退至海南岛。在海南岛战役中，32军一个师被解放军全歼。于是军部和另外两个师，乘船撤退至台湾。 

In the spring of 1949, the KMT Nationalist Army established three regiments in Shandong with the help of local military forces to strengthen its reserve force, leading to the formation of the 32nd Army. Gao, a native of Shandong who was transferred to the 32nd, had served in the military since 1937. In May of that year, the 32nd was transported by sea from Qingdao to Guangdong to join the Battle of Guangdong. Once the battle ended, the army retreated to Hainan Island. During the Battle of Hainan Island, one of the three regiments was completely annihilated by the PLA, compelling the military headquarters and the remaining two regiments to board a ship to retreat to Taiwan. 

运兵船抵达高雄港，高道生踏上这片陌生土地，心中不免一阵茫然。经过海上的颠簸，他觉得嘴里甚是无味，便买了一大袋白糖。久违的甘甜滋味，让他确认自己的味觉仍在，顿时唤起他对生活的信心。身边的山东兄弟一拥而上，抢食白糖。

When the military transport ship arrived at Kaohsiung Harbor and Gao stepped onto the strange land of Taiwan, he momentarily experienced a sense of bewilderment. After such a tumultuous journey, his mouth was very dry, so he purchased a big bag of sugar. That sweet taste he had not enjoyed in such a long time proved his taste buds were still working and instantly restored his confidence. Then, his fellow Shandong military brothers, who were all standing around, suddenly swarmed Gao and grabbed a bunch of the sugar for themselves.

经过整编，高道生被归入高雄要塞司令部，后又转调到陆军总部康乐大队，成为一名专职武术教练。在一次军中比武中，高道生与刘皓怡父亲相识。他们虽然来自不同的省籍，但同为抗战老兵，又都热衷于武术，因而一见如故，情同手足。

After the KMT troops were reorganized, Gao was placed under the Kaohsiung Fortress Command and later transferred to the Army Headquarters Recreation Brigade, where he became a full-time martial arts instructor. It was actually during an army martial arts competition that Gao first met Hao-Yi’s father. They were both veterans with a passion for martial arts, who, despite being from different provinces, hit it off right away like brothers.

刘父毕业于中央航空学校，是第10期航空班轰炸科学员。蒋公介石亲自担任航校校长，曾与宋美龄一同视察学校，检阅学员。在日军占领杭州前，校址在杭州笕桥，后迁往广西柳州。杭州笕桥是中国空军的摇篮，原址后被列为全国重点文物保护单位。

Hao-Yi’s father graduated from the Republic of China Aviation University and was a bombardier from the 10th Air Brigade. Chiang Kai-shek, the principal of the school, once conducted an inspection of the cadets together with [wife] Soong Mei-ling. Before the Japanese occupation of Hangzhou, the school was located in Jianqiao, but it later moved to Liuzhou, Guangxi. Jianqiao is widely regarded as the cradle of the Chinese Air Force. The school’s original site has therefore been designated a “national key cultural relics’ protection unit.”

刘父同班学员有相当一部分阵亡，刘父屡次奉命驾驶战斗机，执行对日军的轰炸任务，可谓九死一生。由于当时的战斗机来自不同国家，炸弹种类、飞机零件，五花八门，给训练和实战造成相当大的难度，其中一些学员是在训练时坠机身亡。“我活着的每一天，都是赚来的。”刘父很珍惜现在的生活，他常对孩子这样说。

Many cadets in her father’s class were killed in action. Father Liu, who was repeatedly ordered to fly fighter planes on bombing missions against the Japanese, had some close brushes with death, too. Since the fighter planes came from different countries, there was a large assortment of different bomb and aircraft parts, presenting major challenges in not only training but actual combat scenarios. “Every day I live is a day I’ve earned,” Hao-Yi’s father would often tell his kids, showing his appreciation for the present moment.

在一次对日作战时，一颗炮弹落在刘父身边爆炸，战友身受重伤。

During one battle with Japan, a shell landed and exploded right next to Hao-Yi’s father, seriously injuring one of his comrades-in-arms.

“我的屁股炸没了！”这位战友对刘父说。

“They blew my ass off!”, the man exclaimed to Hao-Yi”s father.

刘父小心翼翼地查看之后说：“屁股还在！” 

After taking a hard look, her father replied, “Nope, it’s still there!”  

刘父虽家在农村，家道还算殷实，有读书识字，只是未曾出过远门，见识极其有限。1936年，他受远房亲戚的影响，报考航空学校时，甚至不知道飞机是什么，别人说是天上飞的，他还以为是云彩。刘父考航校有一个插曲。在考场上，他做完大部分试题，正在思索一道难度较高的试题时，身后一位考生一边写着这道题的答案，一边嘴里念念有词。

Although her father’s house was in the countryside, their family still lived relatively well. They were literate and read, but knew very little about the outside world due to rarely ever leaving the area. In 1936, influenced by some distant relatives, when Father Liu enrolled in aviation school, he didn’t really even know what a plane was. If someone said a plane was up in the sky, he’d think it was just some clouds. There also happened to be a little incident when he took the flight school exam. As he was pondering one of the more difficult questions in the exam room after having already completed most of the test, the candidate behind him read the answer to the same question aloud while jotting down his own answer.

刘父听得真切，茅塞顿开，于是提笔发挥，完成答案。 刘父接到录取通知书，入学成为中央航校的一位学员。正是全面抗战前夕，中国大地上战云密布。

After really considering his words, Hao-Yi’s father felt inspired. He had a moment of sudden enlightenment, put pen to paper, and was able to finish the test. He then received a letter of acceptance to be a cadet at Central Aviation University, on the eve of the Second Sino-Japanese War, right as war clouds gathered over China.

刘父于当年12月入学，翌年5月完成入伍生教育。一年后日军攻占杭州，航校迁往柳州。1939年7月1日，第十期航空班毕业，学员随即投入到抗战前线。 

Hao-Yi’s father enrolled in December of that year, and then completed his enlistment in May of the following year. One year later, once Japan seized Hangzhou, the school was moved to Liuzhou. On July 1, 1939, as soon as the 10th aviation class graduated, the cadets were immediately put into action on the front lines of the war. 

抗战胜利后，刘父奉调回南京，与来自北平的知识女性刘母结婚。与刘父不同的是，刘母出身于书香门第，祖籍山东省沂水县，生长在北平。抗战爆发，刘母随家人撤至重庆，在重庆就读于国立女子师范学院，专业是中国历史。该学院为国统区最高女子学府。

After their victory, Hao-Yi’s father was transferred back to Nanjing, where he married Hao-Yi’s mother, an intelligent woman from Beiping. Unlike her father, Hao-Yi’s mother was from a family of scholars who hailed from Yishui County, Shandong. When the war started, she was evacuated with her family to Chongqing, the place she attended the National Women’s Teachers College and specialized in Chinese history. The college was the highest women’s institution in the Nationalist region.

皓怡有一哥一姐出生在南京，大哥出生于1946年，排行老二的是大姐。大姐出生不久，便过继给皓怡的舅舅。国共内战，兵荒马乱。在仓皇撤离时，刘父、刘母只带出大哥，来不及接走大姐。刘母回忆说，当年逃难，历经千辛万苦，她曾在火车车厢下面藏身。由于在空军服役的便利，刘父是乘飞机偕家带眷飞赴台湾。一直在军中供职的刘父，赴台后念念不忘重返大陆。刘母要在台北置业，均遭刘父拒绝。刘母当年看中的产业，后来都无限增值了。

Hao-Yi has an older brother and a sister were both born in Nanjing. Her older brother was born in 1946, followed by her older sister, who was given to Hao Yi’s uncle not long after her birth. Amidst the chaos and turmoil of the Chinese Civil War, when Father Liu and Mother Liu were forced to hastily retreat, they could only take her older brother. Mother Liu recalls that back when they escaped, they underwent many hardships, including once hiding beneath a train carriage. However, since Hao-Yi’s father served in the Air Force, he was able to take a plane with his family to Taiwan. Father Liu, who’d always served in the military, was eager to return to China after relocating to Taiwan. Mother Liu tried to buy properties in Taipei, but he rejected her proposals. All of those properties have now seen huge increases in value. 

推动中华武术的发展，是刘父中晚年一个显著作为。他在住家后院帮助高道生开设武馆，招收徒弟，传道授业。王松亭、高道生师徒两位高人搭档，有力地促进了国术在台湾的传播。虽然斯人已逝，现今其徒子徒孙，分门别派，多成气候，国术运动，蔚然成风。两岸开放后，武术成为两岸民间交流的重要桥梁。

One of the most noteworthy things Hao-Yi’s father did in his middle to later years of life was to promote the development of Chinese martial arts. He helped Gao set up a martial arts school in the backyard of his home, recruited students, and followed the traditional way of imparting knowledge. Wang Songting and Gao worked together to spread Chinese martial arts in Taiwan. Even though he passed away, his disciples and grandchildren are now divided into different sects and schools, and the national martial arts movement has really taken off. Since the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have opened up, martial arts has become an important bridge for civil exchanges between the two sides.

高道生首次受邀来皓怡家中，就是与他的师父王松亭一道。高道生妻小都在大陆，只身漂泊台湾。自从在刘家后院挂牌“新生武术馆”，就居住在刘家。刘父一举两得，既为发扬国术做出贡献，也方便子女每天习武。

The first time Gao was invited to Hao Yi’s home, he went with his master, Wang Songting. Gao’s wife and kids were all in China, so he lived in Taiwan by himself. He started living in the Liu family’s backyard right after they opened the Xinsheng Martial Arts School. Hao-Yi’s father was able to kill two birds with one stone: contribute to the country’s martial arts development and facilitate his kid’s daily martial arts practice.

刘父对皓怡哥哥、姐姐说：“投师如投胎，你们要有投胎再造的决心，才能跟师父学到真功夫。”

“Seeking the instruction of a master is like being reincarnated. To learn genuine kung fu from your master, it takes the determination to be reincarnated,” Hao-Yi’s father explained to her siblings.

自此，刘家前庭后院，每天“嗨嗨”声不断，俨然成了一个武馆。刘父、刘母也操练起太极拳。尚在幼稚园的皓怡，则跟着扎马步。 

From then on, the Liu family’s front and back yards were filled with constant sounds of “hai hai,” and turned into a martial arts school. Hao-Yi’s father and mother also started practicing Tai Chi. Even Hao-Yi, who was still in kindergarten, followed along with horse stance training exercises.

（未完待续）

(To be continued…)