Li Cunxin was born in 1961, as a poor boy living under Mao’s communist regime in the Qingdao province in China, the chances of becoming a world acclaimed ballet dancer were a million to one. the peasants in his village even ate tree barks to …show more content…
in particular, were very influential on his life's path - the story of the frog in the well and the story of the guard who becomes an archer. Told to him by his father, the "Frog in the Well" alludes to a world enormous and unseen by a frog on land who is describing the realities to a frog who is confined to the bottom of a well. The frog in the well jumped and hopped and "spent his whole life trying to escape from the cold, dark well," but the "big world above remained only a dream." Li Cunxin, too, dreamed of a world where he would not feel like a "bird in a cage" or a "frog in a well." He kept his dreams alive through a story told by his ballet teacher of a guard in an emperor's palace who becomes the best archer in the land because he can see what is beyond seeing. The archer story inspires him to work hard and persevere with a steadfast spirit and determination to become the best dancer he can