../

// Coronavirus
#import "/template-en.typ": doc-template

#doc-template(
title: "Coronavirus",
date: "February 14th, 2020",
body: [

On January 15th, reports about the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic were only a few words long, the infection numbers were insignificant, and the official media were full of optimism.

That day, I went home from Beijing. Leaving the dormitory, I thought of that article I read a long time ago, "Beijing Middle-aged Under the Flu." "SARS" also left me with some blurry memories. So I decided to wear a mask when passing through the railway station and also reminded my roommates. That day, there weren't many people at the railway station because the Spring Festival travel rush hadn't started yet. Wearing a mask, I seemed like an outlier in the crowd, but I didn't care.

However, I didn't have much foresight. I originally had half a box of 3M N95 masks, but thinking there was no haze in my hometown, I left them in the dormitory—truly a blunder.

Everyone knows what happened next. The news began to ferment, questioning began to rise, and after many years, I saw Bai Yansong and Academician Zhong Nanshan on TV again.

On January 23rd, Wuhan was locked down.

Fortunately, I was not in Wuhan, nor in Hubei. But today, with advanced information and a high-speed rail network reaching everywhere, Wuhan's epidemic could not be detached from any Chinese person. I was no exception.

The Spring Festival I experienced has never been as fragmented as this year. On Weibo, there was overwhelming bad news; on TV, there was a celebratory Spring Festival Gala. Although I had felt the Spring Festival Gala becoming increasingly dull several years ago, this time it didn't cause even a ripple on my Weibo or WeChat Moments. Such a scene was unimaginable in previous years. Additionally, since fireworks and firecrackers had been banned in the county since last year, it was quiet all around. Due to the epidemic, the usual New Year greetings also disappeared. Pedestrians on the street all wore masks, and more people stayed at home. Loudspeakers tirelessly broadcasted slogans like "no visiting, no walking around," which were the only remaining signs of life.

The news became a torment to one's mental health. If you only watched CCTV News, it seemed okay, but once you opened Weibo, it felt as if every post carried despair; some even let me hear wailing and roaring through the screen. This reached a peak when Dr. Li Wenliang passed away, once making me lack the courage to open social media for fear of being overwhelmed by emotions.

By the time the epidemic subsides, it should be about time to start work. The travel plans I had previously made all turned into bubbles, making me feel quite bad. I can only sigh at the fickleness of fate.

Staying at home for over a month is a good time to read books. For a long time, I have wanted to read the famous *Hyperion Cantos* series, but I have always put it off. This epidemic gave me a good opportunity, and I read quite a lot in one go.

Additionally, I spent a lot of time practicing the guitar. Over these years, although I haven't given up the guitar, my playing technique has been at a standstill, and I don't know how to improve. I previously bought a book called *A Modern Method for Guitar* by Berklee. The consistent evaluation of this book online is that it's a good book. However, the book uses staff notation exclusively, so the learning curve is still too high for me. I plan to try some online courses. I also want to get an electric guitar. Since I'm currently in home isolation, this wish is not yet realistic, so I can only make do with the Yamaha F310 acoustic guitar I have at hand for now and wait until I settle down at my workplace to make further plans.

I hope the epidemic ends soon, and the country and the people are at peace.

])