今天是閻潤濤先生去世的頭七。閻先生為人低調，即便在家中也是如此。因此，直至他去世後網上悲聲一片，哀思如潮，家人方知他的博文擁有成千上萬的忠實讀者，感動至深，特委託本網站在此對所有讀者的厚愛和憑弔表達萬分謝意。
閻先生於2020年11月22日清晨去世，追思會於11月25號中午在位於阿拉巴馬州Pelham的Southern Heritage Funeral Home 舉行。小型追思會僅限於其妻女及近親，以及閻先生的一批生前好友通過Zoom參加了追思儀式。
已確認閻先生的死因與COVID無關，閻夫人亦並未感染新冠。疫情期間，閻先生與夫人朝夕相伴，即便偶爾外出，也是倍加小心。他驟然辭世，家人及萬千網友均無比震驚，悲痛不已。
數十年來，閻先生筆耕不輟，除已發表的大量作品和博文外，尚有第二部書稿及一批未曾公開的遺稿需要整理。我們將通過本網站與廣大網友保持聯繫，隨時告知進展狀況，此項工作可能需要一些時日，希望大家保持關注。
附：11月25日追思會悼詞（Eulogy)
送潤濤
庚子丙戌小雪，丘巒崩摧，日月無光，天泣地哀，萬物俱驚。閻神潤濤羽化登仙，駕鶴西歸。
遙想當年，一眾神州學子牢記“書中自有黃金屋，書中自有顏如玉”之古訓，應總設計師鄧公“先富起來”之聖諭，身着毛裝，四囊空空，揮淚告別江東父老，搭乘空中“五月花號”前往美利堅合眾國，結廬於弗吉尼亞州黑堡，開啟留學生涯。聞雞起舞，鑿壁偷光，個個學業精進，大器將成，只待他日金榜題名，玉人相許。惟黑堡地處荒鄉僻野，鮮聞絲竹，天長日久，不免抑鬱，時發囚徒之嘆，惜無車馬之喧。乃有好事者楊X標、賀X平、劉X竹等諸君發起空空論壇，美其名曰
“多學科討論會”，上議天文，下探地理，指點山河，激揚文字，自詡 “天下英才，盡在黑堡。”
一日，有新人與會，自薦曰：免貴姓閻，名潤濤，農家子，獨好布衣粗食，不學無術。一言未終，滿座睥睨。潤濤心知肚明，不動聲色，寥寥數語，指點迷津，其間警言迭出，妙趣橫生。眾人大驚，此乃何方神聖，伏龍鳳雛轉世，定非此人莫屬。及至歲末聚會，傳潤濤主講，黑堡萬人空巷，上至桂冠教授，下至升斗小民，爭相前往，以一睹閻神潤濤之尊容為幸事。
光陰荏苒，潤濤學業有成，功名已就，遂發遁世之念，不作出山之想，將妻攜女，遷居美利堅南方蠻夷之地阿拉巴馬，從此刀槍入庫，馬放南山，察浮雲，觀星象，終日誦經，修身養性。豈料互聯網興起，諸子百家，網上論戰，南丐北帝，各顯神通。此時潤濤十年磨一劍，大器乃成，上及天神，下接地氣，念世人迷誤，遂再度出山，籍文學城安營紮寨，普惠眾生。一歲未終，名聞遐邇，人氣鼎沸，圈粉千萬，尊為“天下第一博主”。
美利堅乃西洋之國，尚選舉。有民主、共和兩黨，四年一度，逐鹿中原，芸芸眾生，趨之若鶩。潤濤諳熟天干地支，陰陽五行，每發讖語，無不言中，奈何洋人不通華語，愚鈍蒙昧，竟無人受益。及至庚子丙戌，潤濤駕返瑤池，方獲其典籍譯文，如夢初醒，戈爾、羅姆尼、希拉里、特朗普一眾總統候選人，無不捶胸頓足，痛不欲生。嗚呼，若早得閻神潤濤教誨，豈至坐失良機，將大好河山拱手贈人乎？
潤濤雖貴為神人，仍盡世俗之義，娶妻生女，一如凡人。妻秀外慧中，心如璞玉，事業有成，著作等身，汗牛充棟，眾望所歸，為阿拉巴馬醫學院之名教授。潤濤夫妻育有二女，今已成人，有沉魚落雁之美，閉花羞月之貌，且才思敏捷，聰慧過人，皆於常春藤學府深造成材，乃華爾街風雲人物。天下周郎，無不傾心。潤濤每每提及，喜形於色。
一日不見，如隔三秋。今日網上相會，恍若隔世，惟閻君音容尚在，笑貌長存，佛心瀰漫，大愛無疆。人生苦短，天時方長，閻君先行一步，為黑堡兄弟姐妹探得桃花仙境，來年再聚，不亦樂乎？值此升仙之際，遙祝祥雲載道，一路平安！潤濤，走好，後會有期。
黑堡閻粉團
In Memory of Runtao Yan
November 22, 2020, hills and mountains collapsed; the sun and the
moon lost their light; the heaven burst into tears while the earth was
weighed down by sorrow; every creature was shaken by the shocking
announcement: Runtao Yan, the legendary genius, had ascended towards
heaven on his fairy crane.
Decades ago, following the ancient motto “the beauty and the house of
gold are buried deep in the books” and responding to the call of The
Chief Architect Deng Xiaoping “to get rich first,” a group of Chinese
students, with grand vision in their mind but not a penny in the pockets
of their Mao suit, travelled across the Pacific in the “Flying
Mayflower” after bidding a teary farewell to their loved ones. Upon
arrival, they settled down in a beautiful place called Blacksburg,
Virginia, turning a new leaf in their life. In those years, hard work
was a virtue – they would arise with the first crow of the rooster and
retire after every light went out, making big strides in their academics
with each passing day. The American dream of a grand mansion with a
beautiful Chinese wife was getting ever closer. Blacksburg, however, was
not a place of fun, without anything amounting to music or
entertainment. Determined not to allow boredom to get better of them,
Mr. Zhenbiao Yang, together with Mr. Baoping He and Mr. Xiaozhu Liu,
started a scholarly forum and named it “The Multidisciplinary Symposium
of Great Minds,” where they would explore every branch of human
learning, from astronomy to astrology, from the art of personal cult to
the sociology of matchmaking, from the science of ruling the world to
the philosophy of longevity by laundry powder. To the members,
Blacksburg, surrounded by the majestic Blue Ridge, was “the land of
crouching tigers and hidden dragons.”
One day, a stranger came to the forum and introduced himself as Mr.
Runtao Yan. He said that as a country boy his favorite foods were
noodles and sweet potatoes and, needless to say, he had no interest in
books. With all the great scholars turning their nose skyward, Runtao
pretended not to notice the disdain. In a few words, he presented “the
theory of new relativity in the universe.” It was delivered with great
ease, but the discourse was packed with unmatched humor and profound
wisdom. Before long, all the members of the elite symposium found
themselves prostrated on the floor, begging the newcomer for forgiveness
and heavenly insight, for they knew by now the gentleman who called
himself a country boy was an Aristotle in disguise. By the end of the
year, word came that Master Runtao Yan was to make a public delivery of
his wisdom and the entire Blacksburg, from professors who won Nobel
Prize to the teenagers working at McDonalds, all flocked to the sacred
pulpit, convinced that even getting a glance of the famous saint would
bring immense good luck.
Later, Runtao and his family moved to Alabama, where he devoted
himself to the study of Analects of Confucius and Dead Sea Scrolls.
Shortly after, the age of social media arrived. New forums sprang up
like mushrooms after rain and people who could not tell black from white
were posing as wise men from other stars. What was worse, fierce
fighting broke out in the cyber space and the ignorant were trying to
kill each other with their virtual swords. A kind soul by nature, Runtao
decided to save the world at the expense of his serenity. He started a
blog at the famed site City of The Illiterate and began to spread
gospel-like wisdom. Within days, tens of millions of fans gathered at
his portal, asking humbly for guidance to which Runtao obliged with the
gentleness and magnanimity of the Buddha.
The United States of America is an exotic place that adores
democracy. Every four years, followers of the two political parties –
Democrats and Republicans – participated in an election that determines
who will be the next ruler of the country. Conversant in the laws of yin
and yang as well as the art of Feng Shui, Runtao was able to correctly
predict the winner each time. Americans, however, were such a primitive
people that they did not even understand the simple language of Chinese,
hence their miserable failure in availing themselves of the great
wisdom of Runtao. After Runtao’s departure, some of his wise words were
translated into English and, upon reading them, the ill-fated
candidates, including Al Gore, Mitt Romney, Hillary Clinton, and more
recently Donald Trump, were beating their chest with the full force of
human remorse: “Why didn’t I see these sacred scriptures earlier?”
As wise as a god, Runtao nevertheless executed his worldly duties to
marry and have children. His wife is a beautiful and intelligent lady. A
dutiful wife and loving mother, she has a heart as pure as jade. She is
also a renowned professor at the medical school of University of
Alabama and her scholastic research could fill several ox wagons as well
as a rich man’s house. Runtao and his wife raised two daughters who
have since grown into maturity. Their beauty is said to be such that at
their sight the flowers would fold up and the moon would shy away.
Moreover, their intelligence reaches such an insane level that it is
almost impossible to find its match. The young ladies have graduated
from the Ivy League and become highly influencing figures on Wall
Street. Smart and handsome young men all over the world are competing
fiercely for their hands. Whenever talking about the girls, Runtao would
be filled with joy and pride.
Although we have been separated for merely one day, it does seem like
three years. Today we are gathering over the internet and it feels like
that it was ages ago when we met last time, but Runtao, your comforting
voice and sunny smile are still with us, so are your Buddha-like love
and tolerance. It is a pity that life on earth is so short and yet time
in the heaven is long-lasting. Runtao, you are just one step ahead,
looking for an ideal permanent residence for all the friends from
Blacksburg. Would it be an occasion of joy and happiness when we meet
again? While you are rising towards the heaven, we wish you a safe trip
with auspicious clouds packed along the way. Runtao, take care and the
day of the reunion will not be too far!
Gang of Blacksburg
