The Swan’s Unwavering Loyalty

(Minghui.org) Swans are waterbirds with an appearance similar to geese. Swans have loud calls, and they eat plants and insects. Though they are waterbirds, they are adept fliers.

In the chapter “Heavenly Circles” in Zhuangzi, an ancient Chinese text of Taoist fundamentals, it says, “Swans are white without the need to bathe daily; crows are black without having to dye themselves black every day.” According to Shuowen Jiezi, the oldest dictionary of Chinese characters,a swan (hu) is a high-flying bird. The character hu (鵠) is often used alongside the character hong (鴻, wild goose) to symbolize lofty ambitions.

When swans migrate, they often became separated, yet they remain loyal to their partners. Most swans mate for life.

I was born in Shanxi Province in northeast China. When I was ten, my parents took me to visit my grandparents in Yuanping City, where I saw mountains for the first time. I was so excited to see such big mountains.

One sunny afternoon, my father sat down with me by a spring. We heard a shepherd whistling to his flock and saw a mischievous sheep run away. The shepherd picked up a rock and threw it at the sheep, hitting one of its horns. Seeing how amazed I was at the shepherd’s skill, my father told me a story from his childhood.

One of my father’s cousins was also a shepherd. When he was herding his flocks, he always brought a hunting rifle with him to fend off the wolves and leopards. Every spring, he’d see flocks of migratory birds returning north. One time while he was tending his sheep on the top of a mountain, he saw two swans flying overhead. On a whim, he took a shot at them and one fell. He picked it up and saw its wing was broken. He bandaged the wing and took it home. When the elders at home found out what he’d done, they scolded him: “Hunters don’t shoot swans in pairs. It’s terrible what you did.” Knowing he was in the wrong, he kept the swan in the yard and fed it.

When fall came and the birds began to migrate south, a lone swan flew over, calling sorrowfully. The swan in the cousin’s yard heard the call and responded loudly. The flying swan recognized its partner’s voice and, with no regard to the presence of humans, landed in the yard. The two seemed to enjoy their reunion. The one that came down was bigger, presumably the male. When it realized that its mate’s wing was broken and could never fly away with it, it spread it wings, raised its head, and called out in anguish. The two swans intertwined their necks and died together.

No matter how much time has passed, I have always remembered vividly the time I spent in the mountains back home. When times are hard, I remember the sweet spring water, the running creeks, the magpie’s nest on the big poplar tree at the entrance to the village, the bells and drums of the stone temple, and the swans flying overhead.

There is another species of birds that is loyal to their partners: the great hornbill (Buceros bicornis.) Once a pair of hornbills mate, they spend the rest of their lives together. During the breeding season, the male is responsible for bringing food to the female while the eggs are being incubated and to the chicks after they hatch.

The bald eagle, an enormous bird of prey, also mates for life. When one dies, the other often does, too.

The albatross, a large seabird with a wingspan of 2.5-3.5 meters (8-11 feet), is known for being faithful to its partner. Albatrosses spend over 90 percent of their time in the air, yet they always remember their partners and the locations of their nests. Once partnership is confirmed, they stay with each other for a lifetime. Even when they are separated for years, they are able to recognize their partners’ voice and appearance. When they return to their breeding grounds, the single ones start looking for mates, while the paired ones that arrive early patiently await their partners’ return.

In human society, traditionally, marriage is about supporting each other during hard times and remaining devoted through thick and thin. In the West, people vow to love and cherish each other for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. Unfortunately, with the rise in popularity of theories such as evolution and atheism, marriage is no longer backed by moral standards and faith, and infidelity, incest, and divorce are common. Humans, without a moral compass, can act worse than animals.