nan | 楠木

Last night as I was watching with bleary eyes Ding Junhui battling it out with Ronnie O’Sullivan, I accidentally thought of something else. I read on Sina a provocative headline that if Ding wins the Masters, then Snooker would become the new Ping-Pong in China. Well, that’s an interesting thought.
Oh well, unfortunately Ding lost. But still I don’t think it would massively hinder the growing popularity of snooker in China. The momentum might be slightly slowed, but the direction will not change. Ding would still go on to establish himself as one of the greatest snooker players Asia has ever produced, and the best Chinese player in history.
What I want to talk about though, is the importance of the mass public interest. No doubt many Chinese parents will be inspired by Ding’s unique path to success, which is to totally ignore the traditional (and sacred) path of school education and passionately pursue his own interest and talent. No doubt many youngsters will fail in their quest to become the next Ding or Yao or Sky. They will end up waking up one day, realizing that unfortunately, they are not especially talented, and that they are just the mediocre mass public.
As aspiring individuals who are taught throughout life to strive for excellence, perhaps there is nothing more frightening in being mediocre. Indeed, everything in our education teaches us to excel, to be the best. The pairs of shoes hung at Huanggang High School is the perfect example: the straw shoes for the losers, the leather shoes for the winners.
However, there’s nothing shameful in being mediocre. Most people are mediocre. Society is founded upon the hard work of the mediocre mass public. That great middle class, which is the stablizing force of any society, is by definition mediocre: they are in the middle, neither lavishly rich nor undeniably poor. They do not achieve “greatness”, or they wouldn’t be the middle class. They live out predicable lives, mainly concerning themselves with the simple questions of life: a house, a car, good education for their children.
Indeed, one can even argue that it is exactly because of the mediocrity of the masses, that we can cheer for the fortunate ones with talent. Without a mediocre bunch of peers equally keen in basketball to play and train with, Yao Ming would not have the environment in which his skills can be developed. Without the mediocre masses, talented artists and writers would be void of the source of their inspiration.
Greatness arises from mediocrity. This is too often viewed as simply a compliment to greatness. Let’s celebrate mediocrity for once. A cheer for the people.
And BTW, Ding will do better next time. He has the whole world to conquer.