父親的眼淚是我人生的救贖
父親寡言，但很嚴肅，他的想法和做法和別人不一樣：喜歡人前打罵、教導兒子；相信棒頭出孝子，因爲爺爺當年也就是這樣待他。
Dad is a reserved man of few words but is always grave and strict. What’s more, he is quite different from others in ideas and practices: recklessly cursing and beating or bringing to account his son in the presence of neighbors as he strongly believes in such a principle: a dutiful son is the product of the rod, which is deeply ingrained in his mind from his own father.
七八歲開始，我每天都捱打。父親白天工作很忙，晚上吃完飯下了桌，就開始問我今天做錯什麼事。媽媽告狀、姐姐告狀，他就用皮帶抽我，手臂上一條一條的淤血痕。所以小時候，我一直喜歡穿長袖。
At about 8 or 9 years old, I got my lump or a dressing down with each passing day. Dad busied himself outside in the day time but began to take me to task for whatever I did wrong at table after the supper. Mom and my elder sister took turns at telling on me for having made trouble here and there, so he would strap me like anything, leaving my arms a lot of bruises, so for this very reason I had to wear long-sleeve jacket in my childhood.
這造成我10歲開始就不平衡，“你打我，我就去打別人。”那時候住在眷區附近，跟裏面的孩子去附近打鬧，父親就越打越重。
So I was emotionally upset and disturbed in spite of just a 10-year-old kid, who thought, “I was indiscriminately beaten, so I would vent my spleen on other smaller kids”. At that time, we lived in a neighborhood of the military residential quarters, so I used to brawl with other kids in the neighborhood and Dad would deal me a heavier blow the next time.
結果就是，我根本沒辦法念書，一天到晚打架鬧事，初三連英文字母都寫不全，數學也不會!於是唸到感化院去了，一共待了兩年半。
It turned out that I completely lost control of this thong and found it impossible for me to concentrate on my lessons as I came to blows with other kids all day long. Everything went from bad to worse for me so much so that I couldn’t write out the English alphabet, nor could I do arithmetic. To make matters worse, I was sent into a reformatory school where I stayed remorsefully for two and a half years.
這次父親流着懺悔的眼淚對我說：“我不是不愛你，我一定要你的未來好。”
This time Dad shed bitter tears, simultaneously repentant of all he did me, saying ruthful, “Son, it is not that I don’t love you but that I should not have been so exasperated at your failure to live up to my expectations!”
當兵回來後，他給我1萬美元，叫我去環遊世界。
Retiring from the army, he gave me 10,000 US dollars for a trip around the world.
回來以後，他就說，讀萬卷書不如行萬里路，現在你遊歷了世界，從今天開始勞動。
Upon getting back from this trip, he said to me, “Book knowledge is undoubtedly valuable but he who travels far and wide should know better at the time of your life. I guess you are now fully prepared to get started for work.”
26歲時，我創了潤華機械廠，這個廠倒閉了；後來又開個染料工廠，這個工廠爆炸了。我父親只說了一句話：“衍樑啊!恭喜你得到可貴的失敗經驗，你以後比別人更不會犯錯了。”
At 26, I started up Runhua Machinery Co., Ltd., which was later poorly performed and went bankrupt; it was not long before I started to engage in a dyestuff plant which happened to be blown up. At all these, my father only gave me such words, “Samuel Yin, I will congratulate you on your being fortunately showered with the god-given setbacks and failures, which should be chalked up to your life experience so that you will make fewer mistakes in life.”
政大企研所博士畢業典禮那天，我父母來參加。父親不讚美我，就是自己在那邊哭。我也是百感交集，紅着眼眶站在臺上想：當時你對我哭，是因爲我是不良少年；現在你對我哭，是因爲我是博士。
The Ph.D. graduation ceremony was grandly commenced at National Chengchi University (NCCU) and my parents were honorably invited to show up. Dad didn’t say a single word in praise of me but cried bitterly again this time, and at this very moment, my mind was a turmoil of mixed emotions and I stood on the stage with warm tears welled up in my eyes: the first time you cried bitterly for my being a young hooligan, but this time you cried bitterly for my being a Ph.D.
我沒有打過我的孩子，因爲我是被打壞的。我常會跟孩子說：“你做得很正確、很棒，爸爸鼓勵你。”
Never have put my children right by resorting to force as I am sober-minded that I was beaten into behaving indecently. I often say to my children, “Well done! A perfect job you’ve done. Now Daddy will give you thumbs up or pat you on the back!”
