Sometime in elementary school (for me, it was second grade), every Chinese kid would need to switch from writing with pencil to writing with a fountain pen - in every class. In addition to teaching us to write neatly, writing with a fountain pen was supposed to instill in us the value of doing things correctly the first time around. After all, ink, unlike graphite, was permanent, and showed our mistakes. So, if crossed-out sections or evidence of mysteriously ripped-out pages were found in our noteboks, we would be called up to the front of the class and berated for all to see.
Like any other eight-year-old having barely two years of handwriting experience, I dreaded writing with a fountain pen. Unlike the tip of a pencil, which writes in all directions, the fountain pen’s nib only put down ink properly at one angle. Furthermore, clumsy as I was, every night’s pen-refilling ritual left my hands dyed in blue. So, when we were given the opportunity to begin using gel pens (liquid ink, writes in all directions) halfway through third grade, I eagerly made the switch. I never thought I would ever voluntarily pick up a fountain pen again.
So, finding my old fountain pen from elementary schook during my trip to China was an strange yet interesting experience. I’m sure that eight-year-old Zian would never have imagined that thirteen years later, he had somehow become a fountain pen enthusiast, and own way too many bottles of ink and an unreasonable number of pens, but still feeling that he needed more. There was also a sense of nostalgia - coming back after finishing college and at the verge of graduate school, and seeing the equipment that helped me begin my academic journey all those years ago.
Unfortunately, the child-sized pen no longer feels comfortable in my hands, and years of disuse has left it clogged with ink. Like many Hero fountain pens made in that era, it also now has a cracked section, which is now unable to attach to the barrel, and the cap no longer closes tightly.
But let it, in its own, particular way, serve as a memento for reflection and introspection for years to come.