On the evening of November 23, kissed by the tender autumn breeze, the ‘Tianfeng Securities Cup’ Debate Tournament reached its climax at Wuhan University’s Humanities Hall, drawing the curtain on a five-week intellectual journey. The autumn leaves painted the world in a golden hue, and the stage lights shone brightly against the dimly-lit audience. It was on this stage that the Economics and Management School (EMS) debate team clinched their maiden championship in the Golden Autumn Debate. This victory was not merely a triumph of scores on the leaderboard - it was a celebration of love and freedom, of values that transcend quantification.
The debate final scene
The journey had its origin in the crisp autumn air, fraught with trepidation. The team, still haunted by the near-miss of the previous year, feared an early-round exit. Second debater Jia Yiyang captured their collective anxiety: “We drew formidable opponents and an unfavorable stance.” The specter of a first-round elimination loomed large. But as the autumn breeze murmured tales of new beginnings, the team found a chance to turn the page.
In the first week of preparations, the team had realized the need for a whiteboard—a symbol of their dedication to the competition. There was a playful concern that an early elimination would render their investment futile. Captain Jia Yiyang, resolute, slapped the table and declared, “Let’s use JD!” And thus, the whiteboard arrived via JD’s next-day delivery, becoming a silent companion throughout their autumnal journey.
Before the final match, the debate team’s whiteboard was adorned not only with strategic scribbles but also with words of encouragement, charming floral patterns, and the exhortation from teachers: “Strive together for a boundless future.” As Jia Yiyang eloquently put it, “Love is like the eighty-one trials on the journey to retrieve the scriptures, not the blank sutras at the Thunder Monastery.” The beginning was not smooth, and the path was arduous, but what mattered more was the camaraderie and mutual support that carried them through.
The whiteboard showing the words from teachers and classmates
The final debate’s motion was a paradox shrouded in mystery: “If love could be quantified, would it be better or not?” The EMS team, firmly on the negative side, argued that quantification would not be an improvement. Their debate style, known for its steady defense and powerful aura, was ill-suited for a topic demanding emotional resonance. They had thrived on logical chains and abstract reasoning. However, facing an emotional topic, they chose to abandon their usual style. They prepared with vivid examples and delved deep into the essence of love and quantification. They spoke of the harm that a clear and rapid method of quantifying love could inflict on those involved and how choosing efficiency might lead to the loss of the beauty inherent in love. For once, the judges, audience, and opposing debaters heard not just facts and cold data but a clash of values and a resonance of thoughts.
Shen Bingnan during the debate
Off the stage, the team’s efforts were as vast as the minutes on stage were brief. They recounted the unquantifiable details: on Thursday afternoons, when the whole school was on break, the debaters would gather for meals, discussions, and preparations. They would start formulating their arguments on Mondays and refine them on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, only to find themselves on Thursdays, from noon till night, in a state of bewilderment as complex reasons led to the overturning of their previous ideas and details. Yet, after the ‘Black Thursdays’ came the ‘Friday Epiphanies’, where the team would emerge transformed, complete and confident, ready for the next round. Each week, they won by a single vote, a cycle of despair and elation that culminated in a 6:1 victory in the final match, a missing ticket turning into a triumphant score.
This Golden Autumn Debate was distinct from other tournaments, offering more interaction and exchange, and access to the public, thanks to its relocation to the Humanities Hall. The team, with limited emotional experiences, transformed debate jargon and techniques into narratives. From the first to the fourth debater, they chose to tell stories, from the beautiful tale of ‘Luojia Gate Umbrella’ to the harrowing stories of domestic violence and manipulation, conveying their understanding of love through stories. The audience listened, and everyone connected. Jia Yiyang’s closing remark in the rebuttal, “Love is seen because it is believed, not believed because it is seen,” resonated throughout the five weeks, proving true time and again. The love off the debate stage supported those who spoke of love on it. The EMS is known for its vibrant community, with practice debates before the competition, cheers during the matches, and post-victory team-building barbecues that filled four tables.
Zhang Xin, sensitive to light, found the stage too bright and the audience too dark, yet wherever he looked, he saw the figures of the EMS, their eyes filled with support and trust. Li Si Jing, who did not participate in the final match, spoke of the support from the sidelines, holding up cheer signs to ease the debaters’ anxiety, regardless of the outcome.
As the fourth debater, Shen Bingnan, concluded, “The best gift of love is the feeling hidden in the small details.” The team expressed gratitude to everyone who supported them, from the debate team members who practiced with them to the coaches and even the security guard at the EMC building. He would wait silently, often beyond his shift, for the team to finish their late-night preparations. The last blessing in the EMS’s top four video was from him, and though his absence at the final match was regrettable, the autumn wind blew away the sorrow, leaving only love.
The security guard encourages the debaters
When speaking of debating, the eyes of the five debaters sparkle with light. In an era increasingly focused on ‘utility’ and ‘benefit’, Li Si Jing said, “Debate constitutes the most beautiful part of my college life,” and Zhang Xin believes that “Debate is being yourself.” For Chen Che, “Debate is my utopia.”
For our debaters, debate has become a lifestyle interwoven into every aspect of life. They confessed their love for debate with deep affection—it shapes the people around them and the events they experience, a ‘Peach Blossom Spring’ they long to plunge into. Participating in and cherishing debate is a way of respecting their innocent and free soul.
The champions
The day after the competition, Shen Bingnan wrote in his circle of friends, “If my luck is to win only once in a hundred times, then I will compete a hundred times.” Luck may not favor fools, nor always geniuses, but it will favor hard-working, kind, strong, and passionate souls. Although the outcomes of debates are still quantified by the number of votes, the love and resonance conveyed by the debaters cannot be measured by numbers.
As early winter arrives and the golden autumn fades into a distant memory, the EMS debate team does not halt. They march forward, carrying with them the love and freedom that defy quantification.
Photographs: Provided by the interviewees
