Since Shanghai’s fight against the epidemic in March 2022, we launched the initiative to encourage Shanghai-based employees to join the volunteer-engagement network in their communities.
According to our calculations, the colleagues from distribution & AH, customer service & claims, actuarial & pricing, IT & operations, operation center, finance, marketing & communications, have already been actively engaged in voluntary programs to help those residents in their communities. They are the ambassadors of the “AXA Hearts in Action” spirit, living AXA’s purpose of “Act for human progress by protecting what matters”.
Our commitment as a “Partner” has been recognized by local authorities. Our staff volunteers have received honours and certificates from district people’s governments in praising their work in serving the community and protecting what matters most for others. I feel immensely proud of you and incredibly grateful for your kindness, your courage, and contributions.
Last month between June 20th and 25th AXA Group has been launching its annual global employee volunteering event “AXA Week for Good” across markets. On the afternoon of June 24, I joined over 60 staff and partner volunteers for a clean-up event at the Wusong Paotaiwan Wetland Forest Park. During the event, we competed in groups, and invited representatives of the environmental protection organization “Green River” to give a lecture on environmental protection at the famous ecological landmark “Yangtze River No. 11 Post Office”. All of us enjoyed the event, especially the magnificent view and the nature.
In this special occasion, we also sent postcards to the children at ” Aiyou • AXA Playroom” to show our solidarity and our commitment to protecting their future with green initiatives. After the event, we also used a WeChat mini app to calculate the carbon emission reduction efforts which has been very rewarding and I highly encourage all of you to try it out and protect the environment together!
In addition to headquarters, 14 branches in Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Ningbo, Dongguan, Fujian, Guangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan, Chongqing, Shanxi, Shandong, Henan, Foshan, and the call centers also held similar events to celebrate “AXA Week for Good”.
AXA is committed to implementing ESG practise in the Chinese market. It is AXA’s long-term commitment in the Chinese market to firmly convey the ESG concept. As a responsible corporate citizen, we will shoulder our social responsibilities, uphold our brand proposition of “Protecting your passion and moving forward with confidence”, and live up to the Group’s ESG vision. We will continue to explore and innovate in areas of sustainable development such as charity, green operation, and inclusive finance. As a foreign insurer, we will continue to leverage our capabilities to protect people, enterprises and the society, combat climate change risks, and fulfil our commitment to sustainable development. Thank you for your participation this year, and I look forward to seeing you again next time!
In the AXA Star contest, altogether 22 AXA colleagues from headquarter and branches are entitled to awards of AXA Stars in Transformation, Customer First, Integrity, Courage, and One AXA. This special column was set up for them so we can all know their stories in living the AXA values and making their contribution in the company growth.
This month we will introduce the Customer First Star – Wei Junjie from Chengdu Call Center and One AXA/Transformation Star –Wang Ying, also from Chengdu Call Center.
Customer Star – Wei Junjie’s Story:
Wei Junjie joined AXA in 2013 and has overseen the Shanghai project in the Chengdu Call Center (Telemarketing Division 1). Deeply impressed by the corporate atmosphere and culture, he decided to put down his roots here.
Junjie embodies AXA’s values by upholding the four guidelines of “customer-centric”, “customer first”, “treating customers as friends”, and “maintaining regular customers”, which has earned him dazzling performance in 2021 H1. Apart from receiving zero complaints, he also outshone his peers in renewal sign-ups, Shanghai renewal and replacement sign-ups, non-motor insurance sign-up project, and health insurance sign-ups.
Q&A with Junjei:
Q: How do you feel on winning the AXA Star Award？
Junjie: It is an honor to receive the AXA Star Award and to attend the awards ceremony at the Shanghai headquarter. I am glad and thankful for the opportunity to meet the managers and colleagues across different teams.
The AXA Star Award not only recognizes my efforts but also guides me in my future development.
I would like to thank my Ms. Zhu for her Thank you letter to my family. It makes them more supportive and recognized of my work.
In the future, I will keep up my perseverance and give it my all no matter what.
Q: Do you have good habits to help you stay healthy?
Junjie: I fish to blow off steam and develop a calm, patient, and inquisitive personality.
Watching movies to broaden my horizons and be exposed to more local customs, personal experiences, and stories in movies.
Q: Any books or TV series you would like to share?
Junjei: Hello Mr. Billionaire
This movie inspires me to cherish the people around regardless of wealth.
Wang Ying is from the Chengdu Call Center (Telemarketing Division 1) in South Four Group 3. She brought in 2.13 million in premiums last year, making her the new insurance leader of the Chengdu branch in 2020.
Ying upholds the AXA work ethics — taking her work seriously and diligently with a strong sense of purpose, as well as treating his colleagues with enthusiasm and positive energy. She shares her successful experiences with his colleagues without reserve and helps others improve. As the company is transforming, she is highly cooperative with her initiative to improve health insurance, setting a role model and driving force for the team.
Ying is adept at coordinating the efforts of the team. In the first half of 2021, she led the team towards outstanding performances in motor insurance, accident insurance, and health insurance.
Q&A with Wang Ying：
Q: How do you feel winning the One AXA/Transformation?
Ying: I am grateful for the recognition and support from my managers and colleagues. I shall keep up the hard work as an agile One AXA/Transformation Star. Unity is a virtue. Unity is a strength. “Be grateful and work hard” is what I really want to say at this moment. I have learned a lot about the company culture, which filled me with more passion and expectation for the job. This honor encourages me to forge ahead and to devote my greatest effort to the company and team.
Q: Do you have good habits to help you stay healthy?
Ying: A positive mindset means a lot to our confidence, health, and happiness. Stay cheerful, complain less, and stop spreading negativity. Not only will you be more upbeat, but those around you will also be cheered up. Improve your efficiency and make your life more fulfilling, finish your daily tasks, get busy every day, and make interesting and meaningful plans.
Q: Any books or TV series you would like to share?
Ying: I would recommend the movie The Pursuit of Happiness. There is no hurdle to overcome in life. There is no suffering that you cannot bear, keep a good state of mind, act bravely, and believe in your unlimited potential. The road of life is not easy and don’t give up. Happiness might be late, but it will surely arrive.
In the just-announced 13th Tiger Roar Awards, AXA’s integrated marketing communication campaign “AXA Confident Family” won the 2022 Tiger Roar Award for Excellence in the category of finance and insurance. This prestigious award in the marketing industry once again demonstrates AXA’s comprehensive and advanced marketing concept, and is a testament to our breakthrough attitude that is customer-centric, continuously promotes digital transformation and pushes different types of insurance scenarios based on consumer needs. This attitude resonates with our customers at multiple emotional levels, and further translates into our sales.
“AXA Confident Family” was released at the “Forum of Health Protection Solution for Chinese Households” hosted by AXA last June, and then further advertised across outdoor digital screens in core districts of major cities. Inspired by the typical structure and lifestyle of middle-to-high-end income families, this series of advertisements centered on a family of six distinct members, and demonstrated the advantages of multiple levels of insurance through a number of humorous family shorts. In order to maximize the coverage and influence of the brand’s IP and to emphasize the “confidence” aspect, we also launched the “Finding 100 Confident AXA Families” social media campaign. World-class winter sports athlete Nina Li, along with other fashion bloggers and brand managers acted as spokespeople, helping the campaign to attract a variety of participants that best embody the true appearance of a confident family.
With 1.1 billion unique views and 610,000 counts of social media interactions, “AXA Confident Family” not only delivered beautifully in numbers, but also exhibited lasting impact in subsequent user surveys: first mention rate of the brand increased by 125%, brand awareness increased by 33% and consumer purchase intention increased by 35%. It was these thoughtful and creative ideas and efforts to combine quality and effectiveness that made “AXA Confident Family” stand out from more than 4,000 participating campaigns. The jury panel, composed of experienced professionals in advertising, research institutions, communications and media, filtered and selected “AXA Confident Family” to become one of 416 finalists, making us a contender in the industry’s top 20%.
As one of the most important and prestigious awards in the domestic marketing communications industry, the Tiger Roar Awards has always been known for its independent and rigorous judging, and for its huge jury composed of more than 600 well-known industry experts. Through rigorous and standardized review processes such as an initial online review, final offline review, and defense Q&As, annual high-quality industry campaigns are selected and recorded and cutting-edge trends in marketing are highlighted, demonstrating advanced concepts and viewpoints that will lead industries forward into the future.
Climate, environment, low carbon and sustainable development… these topics are relevant to all of us. The increasingly frequent extreme weather across the world urges us to seriously consider how to actively prevent and control the risks and challenges caused by climate change. This year, the newly upgraded AXA Climate Academy has come back, with its 1.5-hour course rich in content, and Chinese subtitles embedded to help each employee better understand AXA’s carbon neutrality goal.
The whole course is divided into three main modules: • Learn the science • Rethink the business perspective • Commit to change
I hope that every one of you can enjoy the learning and have a deeper understanding of AXA’s role in addressing climate change issues by the end of June, weaving “Acting for Human Progress by Protecting What Matters” in the very fabric of your life, into the genes of our corporate culture, and contributing to the promotion our ESG strategy.
AXA Group has always been committed to the development of China’s insurance market. Based on our in-depth understanding of the policies relating to supporting the development of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as a financial hub and our long-term commitment to China, AXA Tianping Sales Company officially set up office in Qianhai, Shenzhen on December 6, 2021.
Upholding AXA’s corporate vision of “from payer to partner”, the sales company operates with a customer-focused approach to provide comprehensive and high-quality insurance solutions to its customers. While leveraging the management advantages in Hong Kong and Macau and taking advantage of the financial development surge in the Greater Bay Area, it continues to improve its professional sales team, product diversity, and service quality. The sales company achieved exceptional results in this half year, exceeding 13 million RMB in insurance premiums, and registering more than 660 employees.
As one of the most open regions in China with strong economic vitality, the Greater Bay Area has rapidly iterated insurance needs, and insurance service quality has become increasingly important. This issue of the monthly newsletter will take you on a tour of AXA Tianping Sales Company in the heart of the Greater Bay Area to learn the story of this team of exceptional individuals.
“One AXA” is not only a core value of AXA Group, but is also a shared belief that has shaped the path of AXA Tianping Sales Company. AXA’s headquarters in France, AXA Greater China, and AXATP headquarters all established the sales company with great support and expectation, and have worked together to promote its rapid development.
As the heart of the sales company, agents lay the foundation for long-term development. They not only handle sales, policy services, and claims assistance, but they also act as the gateway for sales companies to reach customers Despite the fluctuation of agent availability due to current industry transformation, AXA has been able to defy odds through the establishment of clear agent recruitment and training processes.
The sales company adheres to AXA Group’s philosophy of sound management and is committed to cultivating its own professional team of agents. Firstly, the sales company leads with excellence by selecting senior individuals in the industry who are both incredibly efficient and experienced. Their wealth of industry experience and successful case background attracts more exceptional individuals to join the insurance industry. Secondly, it stimulates passion. The sales company offers clear progression paths for agents based on compensation policy. Thirdly, the sales company believes that product quality empowers sales. By integrating AXA’s high-quality products in China to build a comprehensive product line, agents are empowered, thereby enhancing sales competitiveness.
With the full support of AXATP headquarters, the sales company leveraged the nationwide distribution network of sales companies and created an “online + offline” closed training loop to conduct regular trainings for new recruits and new products. Our powerful IT system provides smooth learning and billing experiences with the support of the online training platform and online business development platform.
Eric Wen has stated that the sales company will follow in AXATP’s footsteps and “transform for success”. It will achieve compliant and steady developments to build superior markets for AXA products in all types of insurance.
放眼更广阔的的可持续发展议题，越来越频发的极端天气让我们不得不认真思考，如何积极应对和防范化解气候变化带来的一系列风险和挑战。今年安盛气候学院全新升级，我希望每一位同事都能够认真学习，完成集团学习目标的同时，更深入地了解安盛在应对气候变化议题中所扮演的角色，将“守护生命之本，践行人类进步”的品牌使命内化为企业文化的基因，进而影响我们的行为决策。在6月20-25日那一周，一年一度的“安盛筑爱在行动员工志愿者活动周”（AXA Week for Good）也将在全球同步举行，安盛天平将积极响应集团号召，传递可持续发展理念，期待各地同事的踊跃参与，共同绽放来自中国的环保光芒。
粽叶飘香，龙舟竞渡，祝各位同事及家人端午安康，同舟共济，力争上游。
CEO Message
Dear AXA colleagues,
With the blink of an eye, we are already halfway through 2022 and will soon review our semi-annual performance results. Those determined to face difficult goals will help our company succeed; and those who do not avoid obstacles allow the rest of us to progress. Despite the impact of the Covid-19, we showed a good momentum of development in April, the premium of all business lines reached a YOY increase of 4%, 11pts above budget. Motor increased by 3% YOY, 9pts above budget; Health got 15pts above the budget with very strong performance in UMC and new PPP programs; Commercial lines increased by +38% YOY, in line with the budget; Lifestyle achieved an overall YOY increase of +81%, 24pts above budget.
The economic activities are faced with numerous challenges at the moment, and the insurance industry continues to be affected by the ongoing pandemic, the industry transformation, and stricter regulations. Despite these hurdles, we have continued to uphold our customer-centric approach, deepen our understanding of the market and consumer changes, and upgrade our development models. We are actively preserving the momentum needed for when the market improves and awaiting the turnaround.
If we take advantage of our opportunities, we will be able to make noticeable progress. AXA’s strategic commitment to China’s future growth and to the local market’s continued development is also reflected in our decision to establish a sales office in Qianhai, Shenzhen. As one of the most open regions in China with the strongest economic vitality, the insurance needs of the Greater Bay Area are rapidly iterating, with the quality of insurance service becoming increasingly important. This monthly newsletter issue will take you into AXA Tianping Sales Company, in the heart of the Greater Bay Area, to hear the stories of this team of exceptional individuals who are chasing their dreams.
While pursuing business innovation, we have also explored incorporating the concept of public welfare into our work. On the one hand, we will enrich the diversity of insurance products and services to promote business development and further market exploration; and on the other hand, we will explore effective ways to fulfill our social responsibility and strongly encourage value chain partners to contribute to public welfare. On May 8, Mother’s Day, we held the “Protect the Mothers, Protect the Families” charity livestream event, which achieved outstanding results. More than 35,000 viewers tuned in to hear the opinions and experiences of a psychologist, a nutritional expert, and a fellow AXA colleague. They learned how important protecting a mother’s health and happiness is to a family’s development. The 130,000 likes and 12,000 comments we received motivates us to continue being the trusted “partner” that protects Chinese families. For International Children’s Day, Comprehensive IP+OP offers stand-alone policy for juvenile and joined hands with the Ai You Foundation to launch the “With Love and Protection” charity campaign. Anyone who enrolls in the insurance plan will have the opportunity to support sick children in need and receive a Certificate of Love from AXA and the Ai You Foundation.
With the broader topic of sustainable development in mind, the increasing frequency of extreme weather events has forced us to more seriously consider how we can actively address and prevent climate change. This year, the AXA Climate Academy received a brand new upgrade. I hope that each of you will take this opportunity to learn more about AXA’s role in addressing climate change and help us transform our mission of “act for human progress by protecting what matters” into our company’s DNA, which will in turn influence our decisions and behaviors. During the week of June 20-25, the annual AXA Week for Good will be held simultaneously worldwide, during which AXA Tianping will actively participate in advocating for sustainability. We hope that colleagues from all over the world can join in to shine light on environmental protection from China.
As the fragrance of zongzi leaves lingers in the air and dragon boat racing takes place, we wish you and your family a happy Dragon Boat Festival. May we progress together!
放眼更广阔的的可持续发展议题，越来越频发的极端天气让我们不得不认真思考，如何积极应对和防范化解气候变化带来的一系列风险和挑战。今年安盛气候学院全新升级，我希望每一位同事都能够认真学习，完成集团学习目标的同时，更深入地了解安盛在应对气候变化议题中所扮演的角色，将“守护生命之本，践行人类进步”的品牌使命内化为企业文化的基因，进而影响我们的行为决策。在6月20-25日那一周，一年一度的“安盛筑爱在行动员工志愿者活动周”（AXA Week for Good）也将在全球同步举行，安盛天平将积极响应集团号召，传递可持续发展理念，期待各地同事的踊跃参与，共同绽放来自中国的环保光芒。
粽叶飘香，龙舟竞渡，祝各位同事及家人端午安康，同舟共济，力争上游。
CEO Message
Dear AXA colleagues,
With the blink of an eye, we are already halfway through 2022 and will soon review our semi-annual performance results. Those determined to face difficult goals will help our company succeed; and those who do not avoid obstacles allow the rest of us to progress. Despite the impact of the Covid-19, we showed a good momentum of development in April, the premium of all business lines reached a YOY increase of 4%, 11pts above budget. Motor increased by 3% YOY, 9pts above budget; Health got 15pts above the budget with very strong performance in UMC and new PPP programs; Commercial lines increased by +38% YOY, in line with the budget; Lifestyle achieved an overall YOY increase of +81%, 24pts above budget.
The economic activities are faced with numerous challenges at the moment, and the insurance industry continues to be affected by the ongoing pandemic, the industry transformation, and stricter regulations. Despite these hurdles, we have continued to uphold our customer-centric approach, deepen our understanding of the market and consumer changes, and upgrade our development models. We are actively preserving the momentum needed for when the market improves and awaiting the turnaround.
If we take advantage of our opportunities, we will be able to make noticeable progress. AXA’s strategic commitment to China’s future growth and to the local market’s continued development is also reflected in our decision to establish a sales office in Qianhai, Shenzhen. As one of the most open regions in China with the strongest economic vitality, the insurance needs of the Greater Bay Area are rapidly iterating, with the quality of insurance service becoming increasingly important. This monthly newsletter issue will take you into AXA Tianping Sales Company, in the heart of the Greater Bay Area, to hear the stories of this team of exceptional individuals who are chasing their dreams.
While pursuing business innovation, we have also explored incorporating the concept of public welfare into our work. On the one hand, we will enrich the diversity of insurance products and services to promote business development and further market exploration; and on the other hand, we will explore effective ways to fulfill our social responsibility and strongly encourage value chain partners to contribute to public welfare. On May 8, Mother’s Day, we held the “Protect the Mothers, Protect the Families” charity livestream event, which achieved outstanding results. More than 35,000 viewers tuned in to hear the opinions and experiences of a psychologist, a nutritional expert, and a fellow AXA colleague. They learned how important protecting a mother’s health and happiness is to a family’s development. The 130,000 likes and 12,000 comments we received motivates us to continue being the trusted “partner” that protects Chinese families. For International Children’s Day, Comprehensive IP+OP offers stand-alone policy for juvenile and joined hands with the Ai You Foundation to launch the “With Love and Protection” charity campaign. Anyone who enrolls in the insurance plan will have the opportunity to support sick children in need and receive a Certificate of Love from AXA and the Ai You Foundation.
With the broader topic of sustainable development in mind, the increasing frequency of extreme weather events has forced us to more seriously consider how we can actively address and prevent climate change. This year, the AXA Climate Academy received a brand new upgrade. I hope that each of you will take this opportunity to learn more about AXA’s role in addressing climate change and help us transform our mission of “act for human progress by protecting what matters” into our company’s DNA, which will in turn influence our decisions and behaviors. During the week of June 20-25, the annual AXA Week for Good will be held simultaneously worldwide, during which AXA Tianping will actively participate in advocating for sustainability. We hope that colleagues from all over the world can join in to shine light on environmental protection from China.
As the fragrance of zongzi leaves lingers in the air and dragon boat racing takes place, we wish you and your family a happy Dragon Boat Festival. May we progress together!
2022 May, AXA Tianping and Akur8, an AI-driven insurance pricing technology company, are delighted to announce their collaboration to further enhance AXA Tianping’s pricing process with Akur8’s high-performing AI technologies. With this partnership, AXA Tianping’s actuaries and pricing team will officially deploy Akur8 to unlock new potential with unique analytical insights and advanced pricing automation. AXA Tianping will become the 13th AXA entity and the first insurer in China to use Akur8 – a testament to its commitment to continuous innovation and improvement to better serve its customers.
Thanks to Akur8’s Transparent Artificial Intelligence proprietary technology, AXA Tianping will be able to shorten the time-to-market by automating rate modeling with machine learning in the pricing process, as well as improve the performance of policies with robust AI-driven predictive power. Staying true to its customer-centric approach to products and services, AXA Tianping will leverage Akur8’s next-generation technologies to respond more promptly to dynamic risk environment. It will also roll out a diverse portfolio of well-priced products to meet evolving customer demands, while maintaining full transparency and strong control.
“Akur8 brings in cutting-edge technologies to our pricing process, which helps us continue to strive for technical sophistication and empowers us to deliver valuable insurance solutions to our customers more efficiently while ensuring utmost transparency and control. We believe Akur8 will not only be an important asset to our team’s work along the whole pricing value chain, but also of great value to our customers for providing increased personalization and targeted pricing in a dynamic marketplace. We look forward to working with Akur8 in unlocking the potential of our business,” stated Scott Yin, Chief Pricing Officer & Chief Actuary at AXA Tianping.
In the AXA Star contest, altogether 22 AXA colleagues from headquarter and branches are entitled to awards of AXA Stars in Transformation, Customer First, Integrity, Courage and One AXA. This special column was set up for them so we can all know their stories in living the AXA values and making their contribution in the company growth.
This month we will introduce the Integrity Star – Miao Lili from Shandong Branch and Collaboration Star – Li Hao from Shanghai Branch.
Integrity Star – Miao Lili:
Miao Lili joined AXA in 2011, as her first job after graduation. She has worked in a wide range of positions between the Jinan Central Branch and the Shandong Branch. She has worked in administration and underwriting management, as well as, having been deputy director of operation management and director of risk management.
Under the influence of a series of factors including auto insurance reform, the company’s cornerstone business of—auto insurance—came under severe pressure to control costs. In this context, she used her meticulous, responsible, and rigorous work attitude to sort out each business type, workstream, and risk dimension that exceeded costs. By searching for patterns and trends from the data, she helped increase the proportion of quality operations, and helped significantly lower business costs. In the first half of 2021, she collaborated with the general branch to make breakthroughs in establishing and optimizing pricing models and minivans and private cars. She also formulated regulation solutions for high-risk dimensions such as ride-sharing, connected external models including traffic violations, and helped drive the company’s auto insurance business to achieve more convenient and accurate measurements and predictions.
Q&A with Miao
Q: How do you feel on winning the AXA Star award？
Miao: I feel incredibly excited and proud to receive this honor. This not only represents the leadership’s recognition of my work, but is also a sign of their trust. It’s a heavy responsibility. In the new year, I will continue to follow the strategic transformation goals of the head office, pour more enthusiasm into my work, and help AXA thrive!
Q: Do you have good habits to help you stay healthy?
Miao: Going on walks and hikes.
Q: Any books or TV series you would like to share?
Miao: Ordinary World — it introduces you to this simple yet extraordinary world.
Li Hao joined AXA’s Shanghai branch in 2020 as an underwriting manager, devoted to upholding the core value of putting customers first. He provides underwriting and insurance consultations, and answers relevant questions, all while satisfying customer needs.
Li Hao upholds the One AXA philosophy that a good team requires working together. As part of the backline support staff, he is diligent, proactive, team-oriented, and enthusiastic about his job 24 hours a day. He does his best to provide timely and useful support for business development and assuages the worries of frontline partners. In 2021, with the help of a diversified team, he achieved a 7.91% increase in full term payout ratio for the auto insurance business, a 3.22% growth in the number of private vehicles, and a 7.72% growth in the non-vehicle overlay rate, with all indicators showing positive trends.
In the first half of 2021, Li Hao took the initiative to undertake the testing and launch of the new AXA Insurance PC and mobile systems. He led his team in collaboration with the front and backlines, provided timely feedback to IT on more than 400 issues, and offered pre-testing support for AXA’s national launch. Currently, AXA Insurance has opened its Shanghai branch, the first of its kind in the jurisdiction to use all functions.
Q&A with Li
Q: How do you feel on winning the AXA Star award？
Li: I am very grateful to the company for this award! Thank you to my managers and colleagues for their support and recognition! Looking back on the past year, my team and I achieved success through our collaborative hard work. This award is recognition for both my work and for the collaboration of our team. In the future, I will continue to work hard with my teammates to ensure the company’s success in the 3.0 AXA era!
Q: Do you have good habits to help you stay healthy?
Li: Cooking: By experimenting with dish combinations and studying cuisines, I can experience the beauty life that offers.
Traveling: Traveling helps you relax and learn about entirely different cultures.
Raising pets: Pets bring so much joy into our lives. They help you forget about trivial things and make your stress disappear.
Q: Any books or TV series you would like to share?
Li: To Live by Yu Hua. This book calmly tells us a story of suffering. It shares the truth of life that we all understand and conveys the most simple, yet useful, attitude for living. In our short lives, we will encounter hardships, but we must not give up or be disheartened, because these difficult moments will eventually pass. Carpe diem! Live well, as the character Fugui does in the novel.
