Home>Service> Awardees of Fervent Global Love of Lives Award> 19th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2016> Taiwan Tree King—Lai Bei-yuan
Taiwan Tree King, Lai Bei-yuan
【Plant Trees for the Planet】
It takes only one day to cut down a tree,
yet even a single tree can benefit future generations;
to turn a barren landscape into forests,
and leave our descendants as well as the earth assets that money can't buy.
I often pray that one day I can be reincarnated as a tree and come back to the forest. I hope when the day comes, these trees have already spent thousands of years standing here.
─ Lai Bei-yuan
The “Three-No's” Principle
Having spent over NT$ 2 billion, Lai Bei-yuan, who is also called Lai san (in Japanese, “san” is a title of respect added to a name), has bought 130 hectares of land to plant trees. Over the past thirty years of his work, around 300 thousand trees had been planted in Dasyue Mountain. Lai san has a “Three No's” principle when it comes to planting trees: No cutting, no selling, and no inheriting.
Planting Native Trees
The forest used to be filled with piles of garbage, and was used to plant pears, lemons and plums; it also had some banana trees that were abandoned long. After thirty years of Lai san's constant effort, the uncultivated land was transformed into a forest with hundreds of native trees including Taiwan incense cedar, beech, Taiwan red cypress, Taiwan pine, cedar, Subcostate crape myrtle, stout camphor trees and Taiwan cherry.
Reviving Ecology
Over the years, Lai san has also contributed to forest ecology through planting trees. During the process of photosynthesis, cloud and mist is formed as water vapor is emitted into the air; rain comes shortly thereafter. With water, there comes life. Not only endangered spices of insects start to appear, but also animals like crested serpent-eagle and boars that belong to the top of the food chain show up in the forest.
Earning Reputation for Taiwan
Lai san's passion of afforestation only grows more and more even after thirty years of work that he is nicknamed “A tree lover” by his friends. With everything that he has done, Lai san is no second to the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Wangari Maathdi from Kenya, and “Earth angel” Felix Finkbeiner, a German boy who was only nine years old when he started planting trees in native Germany.
A Lifetime Career
Lai san have always emphasized that he is not only planting trees, but also “planting” hope, time and happiness for future generations. His dream is to plant 500 thousand native evergreen trees by himself during his lifetime. Lai also expects that everyone who walks into the forest could follow his act to plant and protect as many trees as possible, and never cut trees for thousands of years to come. He believes the earth can be saved as long as people keep planting trees.
Building Forests of Hope
For the past thirty years, Lai san has spent over NT$ 2 billion to plant 300 thousand trees in Taiwan. Step by step, he keeps alive his dream with family's support and positive feedback from the society. Lai also contributes to reviving the ecology that he got the opportunity to share the ideas with President Ma Ying-jeou and people from home and abroad; he was therefore named “The ambassador of forests”. Lai also serves as a motivation for his own family and other enterprises to start planting trees. Lai is the “Taiwan Tree King,” he believes that planting trees is just like signing a contract with nature that lasts for thousands of years, and all the efforts will definitely pay off. For one generation after another, these trees are going to grow into forests of love, health and hope. It's with this kind of dedication that, out of 2459 applicants worldwide, Lai Bei-yuan made it the best candidate for winning the Global Fervent for Love of Lives Medals, awarded by Chou Ta-kuan Cultural & Educational Foundation. For recommendation of candidates, please contact our foundation anytime. (Tel: 02-29178770. Fax: 02-29178768. Our website: http://www.ta.org.tw. E-mail: ta88@ms17.hinet.net)
Taiwan Tree King, Lai Bei-yuan, who is also called Lai san, has been planting trees in Dasyue Mountain, Taiwan for thirty years. His dream and promise is to plant 500 thousand native evergreen trees by himself during his lifetime; let the trees be rooted here in Taiwan, and leave more forests to the world. (Quoted from Taiwan Tree King, Lai Bei-yuan's Facebook)
Taiwan Tree King, Lai Bei-yuan, who is also called Lai san, has been planting trees in Dasyue Mountain, Taiwan for 30 years. His dream and promise is to plant 500 thousand native evergreen trees by himself during his lifetime; let the trees be rooted here in Taiwan, and leave more forests to the world. When it comes to planting trees in the forest, Lai always say: “It's something meaningful to do; it gives people hope and bring them happiness.” When he is faced with adversity, he believes that God would stand by him to help; He would offer him money when he runs out of it. Lai also believes in the existence of the Spirit of trees and mountains; he often talks to the trees: “Grow well, and there will be countless people who come to worship you.”
Since 1985, Lai san has spared no effort and money to plant native trees including Taiwan incense cedar and stout camphor trees in Dasyue Mountain, where there used to be filled with garbage. A biography of Lai, A promise of Lai san that lasts a thousand years, has recorded his journey. For the past thirty years, Lai san has spent over NT$ 2 billion buying ten mountains and 130 hectares of land to plant 300 thousand trees in Taiwan.
A Career in Pursuit of Value
60-years old Lai comes from the biggest transportation company, Ta Ming Transportation Service in central Taiwan. However, he chose to leave the family business when he was 29 then started to sell land and apply for loans; he later invested all his property in Dasyue Mountain, buying land and plant trees. Lai also established a “Three-No's” principle when it comes to planting trees: No cutting, no selling, and no inheriting. What Lai aims to pass on to generations is his “career of planting trees to save the earth.”
Lai san's passion of afforestation only grows more and more even after thirty years of work that he is nicknamed “A tree lover” by his friends. His biggest dream is to plant 500 thousand native trees by himself during his lifetime. Lai once said, “I often pray that one day I can be reincarnated as a tree and come back to the forest. I hope that these trees can live thousands of years! ”
Out of Lai's thirty years of career, there were twenty years during which nobody understood what he was trying to accomplish, nor did anyone know why he left the family business to buy land and plant trees. Lai got up at five o'clock early in the morning to drive a hundred kilometers back and forth the land to plant trees, and it was all because of his fondness for them. He loves the idea that trees would always strive for standing a hundred or even a thousand years. Lai thought, “ People gain happiness when they give and ask for nothing in return. I know pursue the value instead of the price of something, because value is permanent yet price can only last for thirty to fifty years.”
The World Would Stand by Me Once the Difficulty is Overcome
However, barely did anyone support Lai at the beginning. The road which led him all the way into the mountains separated him from his family and friends. Planting trees had become a lonely mission for him to accomplish. Every time when Lai bought one more piece of land or planted two more trees, he would excitedly invite his family and friends to see his work in the mountains. Nevertheless, all he received from them were criticism and voices of doubts as to whether he could succeed. After relatives went to visit him in the mountains several times, they became more straightforward by telling Lai:”You can't make money out of planting trees, why not go run a poultry farm? You'll be able to sell the chickens in three to five months!”
Most of Lai's relatives became rich from transportation business and owned big houses and famous cars; they were pretty disapproving upon seeing the large field that was not making money. Gradually, Lai's relatives didn't want to spend time with him anymore, including Lai's wife and children, who only visited him when they needed to gather for religious events. It was as if Lai had become a stranger to all of his family members. But Lai still believed with all his heart that this little hope of his would grow as days went by. He said: ”The world would stand by me once the difficulty is overcome”
The Touching Moment
Lai's forest used to be filled with garbage, and abandoned fruit gardens including pears, plums, lemons, oranges and bananas. Through Lai's hard work and perseverance, he finally turned the ”Mountain of garbage” into the “Mountain of native trees.” As time went by, the environment was improved because of all the trees Lai had planted. Also, during the process of photosynthesis, cloud and mist is formed as water vapor is emitted into the air; rain then comes shortly thereafter. With water, there comes life. Today in the forest, Taiwan cherry trees blossom, endangered spices of insects live in it as well; animals like crested serpent-eagle and boars that belong to the top of the food chain also show up.
People can hear various sound of nature in the forest today.
Crested serpent-eagles circle overhead, cicada are singing as they cling to the trees. White lipped tree frog are croaking as they mate, making sounds like“da da da da.” Formosan Brown Prinia are also singing in underbrush, along with Whistling Green Pigeons that wear camouflage.
If you listen closely enough, you would hear the sound of water flowing underground as these 300 thousand trees have gathered ground water to form a brook. Some people say that most of the trees planted privately in Taiwan are planted by Lai san; he planted so many trees that there are even people who want to recommend him to apply for Guinness World Records.
Lai's Pillar of Strength
As trees grew taller and the once barren mountains were turned into forests, some changes in terms of life, land and nature started to take place. To Lai san, life is only fulfilled when he can do what he loves until he is left with no time and energy. Up until now, Lai has planted hundreds of different trees, including Taiwan incense cedar, beech, Taiwan red cypress, Taiwan pine, cedar, Subcostate crape myrtle, stout camphor trees and Taiwan cherry. Although he needs to spend a large amount of money planting trees, he has won himself confidence and a sense of achievement; he has also won people around the world health and a sustained environment.
The journey to realizing dreams is undoubtedly lonely. After Lai san decided to spend all his time planting trees in the mountains, his wife, Lai Yi-bao, became the only one responsible for supporting the family financially. She was forced to deal with creditors every month. Although Lai Yi-bao used to lead a desperate life crying all day long, she still chose to support her husband. A lot of people said Lai san did have a hard time planting trees, but Lai Yi-bao struggled even more as she had to put up with criticisms and ran the transportation company to support Lai san with the expense planting trees.
Drink Coffee to Plant Trees
Before turning twenty years old, Lai's children could only see their father went to the mountains early in the morning and left them at home with their mother. However, more than thirty years have passed, Lai's perseverance ultimately paid off to impress everyone. Today, trees have changed to an important role that brings Lai's family together; Lai's two sons also joined him to plant trees.
In 2001, Lai's eldest son, Lai Jian-zhong started to plant coffee trees, hoping to establish a sustained tree planting business with the revenue generated from coffee trees. In 2012, the brick and mortar coffee shop, Yun Dao Coffee, opened and advocated the idea of ”Drink coffee to plant trees.” Yun Dao Coffee is a social enterprise that put environment well-being instead of profit first; the meals and decorations in the shop also introduce Lai san and his trees. This is a place viewed as the starting point to the green cycle, and delivers messages from the forest via five senses.
To Influence the Influences
Trees can conserve water and soil, absorb carbon dioxide to improve air quality and sustain ecosystems; the advantages of planting trees are undoubtedly countless. Lai san is willing to spend millions of NT dollars to buy tree seedlings yet reluctant to eat a one hundred NT dollar meal. To Lia san, a single tree can benefit generations; it takes only one day to cut down a tree, yet to plant one and wait for it to grow is not that easy. His ideas have appealed to religious groups, CEOs from companies listed on the the Taiwan Stock Exchange and even the President of Taiwan; these people even visited him in person.
Environmental friendliness and the social responsibilities of enterprises have become more and more important in business management. There were CEOs who decided to have on-the-job training for top-level managers in the forest. A lot of top-level managers had come to the forest to learn from Lai san, including President of Qisda, Li Kun-yao; Vice President of Gigabyte, Liu Ming-xiong and General Manager of Taiwan Mirror Glass Enterprise, Lin Zhao-sui.
Liu Ming-xiong, Vice President of Gigabyte have always supported Lai san. He thought that very few people in their thirties would have the ambition to plant trees like Lai san, since they still feel uncertain about their future. He said, “Human beings grow in nature, and we will eventually go back to it.” Liu supported Lai's dream and he also influenced more people to give back land to the earth.
Yang Ma-li, Vice President and General Editor of Global Views Monthly thought, people like Lai san are hard to find in Taiwan. There are many role models in the world who devote themselves to charity and environmental protection just like Lai san. Lai san has always persisted doing what he thinks would benefit generations, even though he used to be so alone.
Deputy Director of Forestry Bureau, Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, Yang Zhi-hong said he was deeply touched by Lai san, who once said, “One day after my decease, I will be even greater than Wang Yong-qing, the founder of Formosa Plastics Group; he left only pollution to the earth, but I will be leaving trees that benefit the planet.”
Lai san hopes that after visiting the forest, business leaders could rethink their ways of living and reflect on the idea of “What is it that my company can leave to the society?” Lai also expects them to plant more trees to implement the idea of “planting trees to save the earth.”
A Dream Left to Future Generations
Temperature in the forest gradually drops below 20°C during daytime as autumn comes, leaves are about to turn brown. Leaves of beeches are turning yellow, they fall like rain as wind blows. Maple trees now have the leaves like look green and yellow, they hang like stars in the sky. Stout Camphor trees are still covered with red buds like fire burning in the branches. The evergreen Taiwan Incense Cedar shine white and bright in the treetops, as if they are covered with snow.
With eyes closed and a cup of tea held in his hand, Lai san sat in the tea pavilion outside of the house; the scent of sweet olive filled his nostrils as he took a deep breath. “How wonderful this all is! I have to say I'm so proud of myself.” Looking back his commitment in life, 59-year-old Lai san was all smiles.
With all the serenity and peace he had, did Lai san still have any dream unrealized?
Lai san put down the cup and said seriously, “I hope that people get along well and have no fight over assets like my relatives did. ” This is Lai's original intention establishing the Foundation.
Lai san told his son that, with so many beautiful trees he has left to the world, nobody should cry when he's gone; instead, every of them should send him away with a smile for all the wonderful things he had done. Lai Jian-zhong couldn't agree to this almost cold-blooded request in the first place. It was not until Lai Jian-zhong spent time adjusting his mindset that he was able to smile and tell his father, “Yes, I will wear a smile when the moment comes.”
Lai Jian-zhong understood well that, it will take time longer than his life to see his father's forest grow and to see the fruitful result of Yun Dao Coffee's green cycle work. “You can say my father and I are both doing things that would only pay off after we're gone.” He said.
Lai san has been collecting all the media reports about his work; these reports were in the forms of newspapers, magazines and discs, all sealed properly in boxes and buried in several places in the forest. He called them “Time capsules.” Lai said, if he was buried in the forest after he passed away, his descendants would be able to find those “treasure” and talked about his story of planting trees together.
It's Now a Global Movement to Plant Trees to Save the Earth
Besides Lai san, there are many more organizations and individuals planting and saving trees in Taiwan. In European countries and the U.S.,“Plant trees to save the earth” is also a growing trend.
Planting trees has become a movement that develops beyond countries and generations.
In the year 2004, 64-year-old Wangari Maathai became the first female Nobel Peace Prize winner in Africa. She was Deputy Minister for Environment, Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife, Kenya when she received the prize.
Wangari Maathai was a smart girl that she was sent by church nuns to Western countries for higher education; she was among the very few females that received a Doctorate degree and became a university professor in Africa.
She found in an experiment that Kenya government logged a large amount of trees in order to create tea and coffee farm; this had led to river sediment deposition and flood. In 1977, she launched Green Belt Movement to encourage women to plant trees. The movement was faced with adversities because it acted against the dictatorship's interests; Wangari Maathai was even put in jail because it. When the dictator left office, Wangari Maathai was finally made Deputy Minister for Environment, Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife, Kenya. During thirty years of Green Belt Movement, 600 plant nurseries were started, and thirty million trees were planted in thirteen countries in Africa.
What Wangari Maathai didn't expect was three years after she received the Nobel Peace Prize, a German boy found her story online when he was doing homework: Felix Finkbeiner, who was then only nine years old. Felix thought to himself, “If Wangari Maathai could spend thirty years to plant thirty million trees in Africa, we as children should manage to plant in each country at least one million trees. ”
Felix first presented his idea in class before he was invited to give the same presentation for the principal. He even carried the laptop with him and went to schools nearby to explain climate crisis and the idea of planting trees to everyone.
Two months after the presentation, Felix and his classmates planted the first tree in the campus.
He then worked with the UN project, “Plant for Planet”; later he went on to collaborate with Wangari Maathai's “Billion Tree Campaign.” Felix had successfully planted fifty thousand trees after a year, and reached the goal of planting one million trees in Germany in 2011.
To Form A Culture of Planting Trees
Lai san also planned to plant 500 thousand trees when he just got started. After his family and friends joined him, he declared that he will set no limits to the number of trees to plant.
Lai smiled and said, “As long as I am still here, I will keep moving forward. I know from up above that I should only leave the world when I am of NT$ 1 billion in debt (because of buying land and trees to plant), the time has not come yet!”
Day after day, year after year, more than thirty years have passed. The roads in Dasyue Mountain had changed from rocky roads to asphalt roads; time filed and things changed yet Lai san remained the same. He still drove to the mountains everyday early at five a.m., digging holes to plant trees until sunset.
Lai Jian-zhong likes to ask his father, “What would you be like now if you didn't insist on planting trees at the beginning?”
“I'd go crazy!” replied Lai san.
The answer to this question would never change, no matter when and how many times it's asked. Small trees have all grown into big ones, their lives are always inextricably intertwined with Lai san's. Not only do the trees cannot survive without Lai san, Lai san cannot do with them as well.
It's not only Lai san, Taiwan and the world cannot live without trees. One man's perseverance is perhaps understood as stubbornness sometimes, yet if everyone joined him, it becomes a kind of culture. Therefore, when people in Taiwan and all around the world start to plant trees together, the culture to live in harmony with nature is formed, and the planet along with everything living on it will be saved.
During Edo times in Japan, the agricultural leader and philosopher, Ninomiya Sontoku, once said:
Those have foresight are rich, those without are poor.
Those have foresight plant trees that take hundred years to grow,
they are rich because of sowing in spring to harvest in fall.
Those without foresight have no patience for seeds to grow,
they are obsessed with things that doesn't need time and effort to develop;
they desire harvest yet refuse to sow,
and that is why these people are poor.
Lai is undoubtedly the rich. It takes only a hundred years for people to perish, yet more than a thousand years cannot tear down a tree. It takes only one day to cut down a tree, yet even a single tree is what the future generations would have to depend on.
“I devote all my life and energy taking care of these trees, whether I am planting, watering or trimming them.” Lai san often talks to his trees. “There will be a lot of people visiting you in the future, remember to wear your biggest smile to welcome them!”
Lai san acts as the “spokesman ” for the trees now, but these trees will be speaking for him after he's gone.
“I often pray that one day I can be reincarnated as a tree and come back to the forest. I hope that these trees can live thousands of years! ” Lai san held the cup up, proposing a toast to the sky.
Lai san is a role model for every of us to follow. The hope is there will be more and more people like Lai san, planting trees restlessly one generation after another and make it a sustained effort. Just like Chou Ta-kuan, who fought cancer bravely wrote in his poem ”Plant a Tree”：
“We will also plant ourselves as a tree,
generations planting on and on ….
will grow and become forests of health,
will grow and become forests of love,
will grow and become forests of hope.”
●Taiwan Tree King Lai Bei-yuan's philosophy●
◎Lai san only grows “the right trees.” There are over a hundred species of trees in his forest, including Taiwan incense cedar, Taiwan beech, Taiwan red cypress, stout camphor trees, Taiwan pine, Taiwan cypress, ceder tree, Taiwan Yew, Taiwan cherry and Single-seed Juniper. Most of them share the characteristics of having deep roots, long life and are native to Taiwan. Their sizes are among the biggest species of trees that grow over ten meters tall, and they protect the earth with strong root systems. Taiwan red cypress can live at least a thousand years, they are among the most representative native trees in Taiwan. Trees should meet the criteria above to be the right kind of trees to plant.
◎Diamond is not the most valuable in the world, the environment is. But environment is the most difficult to create.
◎The life of planting trees is divine, and eternity in an hour.
◎Plant trees to give hope for future generations. Even one single tree can benefit the earth.
◎I spent thirty years nurturing the mountains; thirty years from now, the mountains will be places that I can depend on.
◎There are two kinds of enormousness in the world: one with limits and the other without. Land and properties still have limits no matter how enormous they are, yet the enormous growth of trees is unlimited.
◎The pollution caused by human activities needs to be compensated by planting trees, so that we don't leave only environmental debt to the earth when we die.
◎Garbage is the wound to the earth, pollution is the killer to the world.
◎Planting trees is a way for us to compensate for damage caused in the past, and to invest hope in the future.
◎Trees planted in pots are trees planted by people who pursue their own interests, it's a kind of “individual love.” Trees planted in the mountains are trees planted by people who pursue the world's interests, it's a kind of “collective love.”
◎I have walked the same path for thirty years, I know the results are going to show as long as I persist in it; all I need to do is carry on doing it.
◎It's nothing to own ten houses or cars; a true hero is someone who possesses ten mountains.
◎I aim for the stars when I started planting trees. Go big, or go home!
【Plant Trees for the Planet】
It takes only one day to cut down a tree,
yet even a single tree can benefit future generations;
to turn a barren landscape into forests,
and leave our descendants as well as the earth assets that money can't buy.
I often pray that one day I can be reincarnated as a tree and come back to the forest. I hope when the day comes, these trees have already spent thousands of years standing here.
─ Lai Bei-yuan
The “Three-No's” Principle
Having spent over NT$ 2 billion, Lai Bei-yuan, who is also called Lai san (in Japanese, “san” is a title of respect added to a name), has bought 130 hectares of land to plant trees. Over the past thirty years of his work, around 300 thousand trees had been planted in Dasyue Mountain. Lai san has a “Three No's” principle when it comes to planting trees: No cutting, no selling, and no inheriting.
Planting Native Trees
The forest used to be filled with piles of garbage, and was used to plant pears, lemons and plums; it also had some banana trees that were abandoned long. After thirty years of Lai san's constant effort, the uncultivated land was transformed into a forest with hundreds of native trees including Taiwan incense cedar, beech, Taiwan red cypress, Taiwan pine, cedar, Subcostate crape myrtle, stout camphor trees and Taiwan cherry.
Reviving Ecology
Over the years, Lai san has also contributed to forest ecology through planting trees. During the process of photosynthesis, cloud and mist is formed as water vapor is emitted into the air; rain comes shortly thereafter. With water, there comes life. Not only endangered spices of insects start to appear, but also animals like crested serpent-eagle and boars that belong to the top of the food chain show up in the forest.
Earning Reputation for Taiwan
Lai san's passion of afforestation only grows more and more even after thirty years of work that he is nicknamed “A tree lover” by his friends. With everything that he has done, Lai san is no second to the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Wangari Maathdi from Kenya, and “Earth angel” Felix Finkbeiner, a German boy who was only nine years old when he started planting trees in native Germany.
A Lifetime Career
Lai san have always emphasized that he is not only planting trees, but also “planting” hope, time and happiness for future generations. His dream is to plant 500 thousand native evergreen trees by himself during his lifetime. Lai also expects that everyone who walks into the forest could follow his act to plant and protect as many trees as possible, and never cut trees for thousands of years to come. He believes the earth can be saved as long as people keep planting trees.
Building Forests of Hope
For the past thirty years, Lai san has spent over NT$ 2 billion to plant 300 thousand trees in Taiwan. Step by step, he keeps alive his dream with family's support and positive feedback from the society. Lai also contributes to reviving the ecology that he got the opportunity to share the ideas with President Ma Ying-jeou and people from home and abroad; he was therefore named “The ambassador of forests”. Lai also serves as a motivation for his own family and other enterprises to start planting trees. Lai is the “Taiwan Tree King,” he believes that planting trees is just like signing a contract with nature that lasts for thousands of years, and all the efforts will definitely pay off. For one generation after another, these trees are going to grow into forests of love, health and hope. It's with this kind of dedication that, out of 2459 applicants worldwide, Lai Bei-yuan made it the best candidate for winning the Global Fervent for Love of Lives Medals, awarded by Chou Ta-kuan Cultural & Educational Foundation. For recommendation of candidates, please contact our foundation anytime. (Tel: 02-29178770. Fax: 02-29178768. Our website: http://www.ta.org.tw. E-mail: ta88@ms17.hinet.net)
Taiwan Tree King, Lai Bei-yuan, who is also called Lai san, has been planting trees in Dasyue Mountain, Taiwan for thirty years. His dream and promise is to plant 500 thousand native evergreen trees by himself during his lifetime; let the trees be rooted here in Taiwan, and leave more forests to the world. (Quoted from Taiwan Tree King, Lai Bei-yuan's Facebook)
Taiwan Tree King, Lai Bei-yuan, who is also called Lai san, has been planting trees in Dasyue Mountain, Taiwan for 30 years. His dream and promise is to plant 500 thousand native evergreen trees by himself during his lifetime; let the trees be rooted here in Taiwan, and leave more forests to the world. When it comes to planting trees in the forest, Lai always say: “It's something meaningful to do; it gives people hope and bring them happiness.” When he is faced with adversity, he believes that God would stand by him to help; He would offer him money when he runs out of it. Lai also believes in the existence of the Spirit of trees and mountains; he often talks to the trees: “Grow well, and there will be countless people who come to worship you.”
Since 1985, Lai san has spared no effort and money to plant native trees including Taiwan incense cedar and stout camphor trees in Dasyue Mountain, where there used to be filled with garbage. A biography of Lai, A promise of Lai san that lasts a thousand years, has recorded his journey. For the past thirty years, Lai san has spent over NT$ 2 billion buying ten mountains and 130 hectares of land to plant 300 thousand trees in Taiwan.
A Career in Pursuit of Value
60-years old Lai comes from the biggest transportation company, Ta Ming Transportation Service in central Taiwan. However, he chose to leave the family business when he was 29 then started to sell land and apply for loans; he later invested all his property in Dasyue Mountain, buying land and plant trees. Lai also established a “Three-No's” principle when it comes to planting trees: No cutting, no selling, and no inheriting. What Lai aims to pass on to generations is his “career of planting trees to save the earth.”
Lai san's passion of afforestation only grows more and more even after thirty years of work that he is nicknamed “A tree lover” by his friends. His biggest dream is to plant 500 thousand native trees by himself during his lifetime. Lai once said, “I often pray that one day I can be reincarnated as a tree and come back to the forest. I hope that these trees can live thousands of years! ”
Out of Lai's thirty years of career, there were twenty years during which nobody understood what he was trying to accomplish, nor did anyone know why he left the family business to buy land and plant trees. Lai got up at five o'clock early in the morning to drive a hundred kilometers back and forth the land to plant trees, and it was all because of his fondness for them. He loves the idea that trees would always strive for standing a hundred or even a thousand years. Lai thought, “ People gain happiness when they give and ask for nothing in return. I know pursue the value instead of the price of something, because value is permanent yet price can only last for thirty to fifty years.”
The World Would Stand by Me Once the Difficulty is Overcome
However, barely did anyone support Lai at the beginning. The road which led him all the way into the mountains separated him from his family and friends. Planting trees had become a lonely mission for him to accomplish. Every time when Lai bought one more piece of land or planted two more trees, he would excitedly invite his family and friends to see his work in the mountains. Nevertheless, all he received from them were criticism and voices of doubts as to whether he could succeed. After relatives went to visit him in the mountains several times, they became more straightforward by telling Lai:”You can't make money out of planting trees, why not go run a poultry farm? You'll be able to sell the chickens in three to five months!”
Most of Lai's relatives became rich from transportation business and owned big houses and famous cars; they were pretty disapproving upon seeing the large field that was not making money. Gradually, Lai's relatives didn't want to spend time with him anymore, including Lai's wife and children, who only visited him when they needed to gather for religious events. It was as if Lai had become a stranger to all of his family members. But Lai still believed with all his heart that this little hope of his would grow as days went by. He said: ”The world would stand by me once the difficulty is overcome”
The Touching Moment
Lai's forest used to be filled with garbage, and abandoned fruit gardens including pears, plums, lemons, oranges and bananas. Through Lai's hard work and perseverance, he finally turned the ”Mountain of garbage” into the “Mountain of native trees.” As time went by, the environment was improved because of all the trees Lai had planted. Also, during the process of photosynthesis, cloud and mist is formed as water vapor is emitted into the air; rain then comes shortly thereafter. With water, there comes life. Today in the forest, Taiwan cherry trees blossom, endangered spices of insects live in it as well; animals like crested serpent-eagle and boars that belong to the top of the food chain also show up.
People can hear various sound of nature in the forest today.
Crested serpent-eagles circle overhead, cicada are singing as they cling to the trees. White lipped tree frog are croaking as they mate, making sounds like“da da da da.” Formosan Brown Prinia are also singing in underbrush, along with Whistling Green Pigeons that wear camouflage.
If you listen closely enough, you would hear the sound of water flowing underground as these 300 thousand trees have gathered ground water to form a brook. Some people say that most of the trees planted privately in Taiwan are planted by Lai san; he planted so many trees that there are even people who want to recommend him to apply for Guinness World Records.
Lai's Pillar of Strength
As trees grew taller and the once barren mountains were turned into forests, some changes in terms of life, land and nature started to take place. To Lai san, life is only fulfilled when he can do what he loves until he is left with no time and energy. Up until now, Lai has planted hundreds of different trees, including Taiwan incense cedar, beech, Taiwan red cypress, Taiwan pine, cedar, Subcostate crape myrtle, stout camphor trees and Taiwan cherry. Although he needs to spend a large amount of money planting trees, he has won himself confidence and a sense of achievement; he has also won people around the world health and a sustained environment.
The journey to realizing dreams is undoubtedly lonely. After Lai san decided to spend all his time planting trees in the mountains, his wife, Lai Yi-bao, became the only one responsible for supporting the family financially. She was forced to deal with creditors every month. Although Lai Yi-bao used to lead a desperate life crying all day long, she still chose to support her husband. A lot of people said Lai san did have a hard time planting trees, but Lai Yi-bao struggled even more as she had to put up with criticisms and ran the transportation company to support Lai san with the expense planting trees.
Drink Coffee to Plant Trees
Before turning twenty years old, Lai's children could only see their father went to the mountains early in the morning and left them at home with their mother. However, more than thirty years have passed, Lai's perseverance ultimately paid off to impress everyone. Today, trees have changed to an important role that brings Lai's family together; Lai's two sons also joined him to plant trees.
In 2001, Lai's eldest son, Lai Jian-zhong started to plant coffee trees, hoping to establish a sustained tree planting business with the revenue generated from coffee trees. In 2012, the brick and mortar coffee shop, Yun Dao Coffee, opened and advocated the idea of ”Drink coffee to plant trees.” Yun Dao Coffee is a social enterprise that put environment well-being instead of profit first; the meals and decorations in the shop also introduce Lai san and his trees. This is a place viewed as the starting point to the green cycle, and delivers messages from the forest via five senses.
To Influence the Influences
Trees can conserve water and soil, absorb carbon dioxide to improve air quality and sustain ecosystems; the advantages of planting trees are undoubtedly countless. Lai san is willing to spend millions of NT dollars to buy tree seedlings yet reluctant to eat a one hundred NT dollar meal. To Lia san, a single tree can benefit generations; it takes only one day to cut down a tree, yet to plant one and wait for it to grow is not that easy. His ideas have appealed to religious groups, CEOs from companies listed on the the Taiwan Stock Exchange and even the President of Taiwan; these people even visited him in person.
Environmental friendliness and the social responsibilities of enterprises have become more and more important in business management. There were CEOs who decided to have on-the-job training for top-level managers in the forest. A lot of top-level managers had come to the forest to learn from Lai san, including President of Qisda, Li Kun-yao; Vice President of Gigabyte, Liu Ming-xiong and General Manager of Taiwan Mirror Glass Enterprise, Lin Zhao-sui.
Liu Ming-xiong, Vice President of Gigabyte have always supported Lai san. He thought that very few people in their thirties would have the ambition to plant trees like Lai san, since they still feel uncertain about their future. He said, “Human beings grow in nature, and we will eventually go back to it.” Liu supported Lai's dream and he also influenced more people to give back land to the earth.
Yang Ma-li, Vice President and General Editor of Global Views Monthly thought, people like Lai san are hard to find in Taiwan. There are many role models in the world who devote themselves to charity and environmental protection just like Lai san. Lai san has always persisted doing what he thinks would benefit generations, even though he used to be so alone.
Deputy Director of Forestry Bureau, Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, Yang Zhi-hong said he was deeply touched by Lai san, who once said, “One day after my decease, I will be even greater than Wang Yong-qing, the founder of Formosa Plastics Group; he left only pollution to the earth, but I will be leaving trees that benefit the planet.”
Lai san hopes that after visiting the forest, business leaders could rethink their ways of living and reflect on the idea of “What is it that my company can leave to the society?” Lai also expects them to plant more trees to implement the idea of “planting trees to save the earth.”
A Dream Left to Future Generations
Temperature in the forest gradually drops below 20°C during daytime as autumn comes, leaves are about to turn brown. Leaves of beeches are turning yellow, they fall like rain as wind blows. Maple trees now have the leaves like look green and yellow, they hang like stars in the sky. Stout Camphor trees are still covered with red buds like fire burning in the branches. The evergreen Taiwan Incense Cedar shine white and bright in the treetops, as if they are covered with snow.
With eyes closed and a cup of tea held in his hand, Lai san sat in the tea pavilion outside of the house; the scent of sweet olive filled his nostrils as he took a deep breath. “How wonderful this all is! I have to say I'm so proud of myself.” Looking back his commitment in life, 59-year-old Lai san was all smiles.
With all the serenity and peace he had, did Lai san still have any dream unrealized?
Lai san put down the cup and said seriously, “I hope that people get along well and have no fight over assets like my relatives did. ” This is Lai's original intention establishing the Foundation.
Lai san told his son that, with so many beautiful trees he has left to the world, nobody should cry when he's gone; instead, every of them should send him away with a smile for all the wonderful things he had done. Lai Jian-zhong couldn't agree to this almost cold-blooded request in the first place. It was not until Lai Jian-zhong spent time adjusting his mindset that he was able to smile and tell his father, “Yes, I will wear a smile when the moment comes.”
Lai Jian-zhong understood well that, it will take time longer than his life to see his father's forest grow and to see the fruitful result of Yun Dao Coffee's green cycle work. “You can say my father and I are both doing things that would only pay off after we're gone.” He said.
Lai san has been collecting all the media reports about his work; these reports were in the forms of newspapers, magazines and discs, all sealed properly in boxes and buried in several places in the forest. He called them “Time capsules.” Lai said, if he was buried in the forest after he passed away, his descendants would be able to find those “treasure” and talked about his story of planting trees together.
It's Now a Global Movement to Plant Trees to Save the Earth
Besides Lai san, there are many more organizations and individuals planting and saving trees in Taiwan. In European countries and the U.S.,“Plant trees to save the earth” is also a growing trend.
Planting trees has become a movement that develops beyond countries and generations.
In the year 2004, 64-year-old Wangari Maathai became the first female Nobel Peace Prize winner in Africa. She was Deputy Minister for Environment, Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife, Kenya when she received the prize.
Wangari Maathai was a smart girl that she was sent by church nuns to Western countries for higher education; she was among the very few females that received a Doctorate degree and became a university professor in Africa.
She found in an experiment that Kenya government logged a large amount of trees in order to create tea and coffee farm; this had led to river sediment deposition and flood. In 1977, she launched Green Belt Movement to encourage women to plant trees. The movement was faced with adversities because it acted against the dictatorship's interests; Wangari Maathai was even put in jail because it. When the dictator left office, Wangari Maathai was finally made Deputy Minister for Environment, Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife, Kenya. During thirty years of Green Belt Movement, 600 plant nurseries were started, and thirty million trees were planted in thirteen countries in Africa.
What Wangari Maathai didn't expect was three years after she received the Nobel Peace Prize, a German boy found her story online when he was doing homework: Felix Finkbeiner, who was then only nine years old. Felix thought to himself, “If Wangari Maathai could spend thirty years to plant thirty million trees in Africa, we as children should manage to plant in each country at least one million trees. ”
Felix first presented his idea in class before he was invited to give the same presentation for the principal. He even carried the laptop with him and went to schools nearby to explain climate crisis and the idea of planting trees to everyone.
Two months after the presentation, Felix and his classmates planted the first tree in the campus.
He then worked with the UN project, “Plant for Planet”; later he went on to collaborate with Wangari Maathai's “Billion Tree Campaign.” Felix had successfully planted fifty thousand trees after a year, and reached the goal of planting one million trees in Germany in 2011.
To Form A Culture of Planting Trees
Lai san also planned to plant 500 thousand trees when he just got started. After his family and friends joined him, he declared that he will set no limits to the number of trees to plant.
Lai smiled and said, “As long as I am still here, I will keep moving forward. I know from up above that I should only leave the world when I am of NT$ 1 billion in debt (because of buying land and trees to plant), the time has not come yet!”
Day after day, year after year, more than thirty years have passed. The roads in Dasyue Mountain had changed from rocky roads to asphalt roads; time filed and things changed yet Lai san remained the same. He still drove to the mountains everyday early at five a.m., digging holes to plant trees until sunset.
Lai Jian-zhong likes to ask his father, “What would you be like now if you didn't insist on planting trees at the beginning?”
“I'd go crazy!” replied Lai san.
The answer to this question would never change, no matter when and how many times it's asked. Small trees have all grown into big ones, their lives are always inextricably intertwined with Lai san's. Not only do the trees cannot survive without Lai san, Lai san cannot do with them as well.
It's not only Lai san, Taiwan and the world cannot live without trees. One man's perseverance is perhaps understood as stubbornness sometimes, yet if everyone joined him, it becomes a kind of culture. Therefore, when people in Taiwan and all around the world start to plant trees together, the culture to live in harmony with nature is formed, and the planet along with everything living on it will be saved.
During Edo times in Japan, the agricultural leader and philosopher, Ninomiya Sontoku, once said:
Those have foresight are rich, those without are poor.
Those have foresight plant trees that take hundred years to grow,
they are rich because of sowing in spring to harvest in fall.
Those without foresight have no patience for seeds to grow,
they are obsessed with things that doesn't need time and effort to develop;
they desire harvest yet refuse to sow,
and that is why these people are poor.
Lai is undoubtedly the rich. It takes only a hundred years for people to perish, yet more than a thousand years cannot tear down a tree. It takes only one day to cut down a tree, yet even a single tree is what the future generations would have to depend on.
“I devote all my life and energy taking care of these trees, whether I am planting, watering or trimming them.” Lai san often talks to his trees. “There will be a lot of people visiting you in the future, remember to wear your biggest smile to welcome them!”
Lai san acts as the “spokesman ” for the trees now, but these trees will be speaking for him after he's gone.
“I often pray that one day I can be reincarnated as a tree and come back to the forest. I hope that these trees can live thousands of years! ” Lai san held the cup up, proposing a toast to the sky.
Lai san is a role model for every of us to follow. The hope is there will be more and more people like Lai san, planting trees restlessly one generation after another and make it a sustained effort. Just like Chou Ta-kuan, who fought cancer bravely wrote in his poem ”Plant a Tree”：
“We will also plant ourselves as a tree,
generations planting on and on ….
will grow and become forests of health,
will grow and become forests of love,
will grow and become forests of hope.”
●Taiwan Tree King Lai Bei-yuan's philosophy●
◎Lai san only grows “the right trees.” There are over a hundred species of trees in his forest, including Taiwan incense cedar, Taiwan beech, Taiwan red cypress, stout camphor trees, Taiwan pine, Taiwan cypress, ceder tree, Taiwan Yew, Taiwan cherry and Single-seed Juniper. Most of them share the characteristics of having deep roots, long life and are native to Taiwan. Their sizes are among the biggest species of trees that grow over ten meters tall, and they protect the earth with strong root systems. Taiwan red cypress can live at least a thousand years, they are among the most representative native trees in Taiwan. Trees should meet the criteria above to be the right kind of trees to plant.
◎Diamond is not the most valuable in the world, the environment is. But environment is the most difficult to create.
◎The life of planting trees is divine, and eternity in an hour.
◎Plant trees to give hope for future generations. Even one single tree can benefit the earth.
◎I spent thirty years nurturing the mountains; thirty years from now, the mountains will be places that I can depend on.
◎There are two kinds of enormousness in the world: one with limits and the other without. Land and properties still have limits no matter how enormous they are, yet the enormous growth of trees is unlimited.
◎The pollution caused by human activities needs to be compensated by planting trees, so that we don't leave only environmental debt to the earth when we die.
◎Garbage is the wound to the earth, pollution is the killer to the world.
◎Planting trees is a way for us to compensate for damage caused in the past, and to invest hope in the future.
◎Trees planted in pots are trees planted by people who pursue their own interests, it's a kind of “individual love.” Trees planted in the mountains are trees planted by people who pursue the world's interests, it's a kind of “collective love.”
◎I have walked the same path for thirty years, I know the results are going to show as long as I persist in it; all I need to do is carry on doing it.
◎It's nothing to own ten houses or cars; a true hero is someone who possesses ten mountains.
◎I aim for the stars when I started planting trees. Go big, or go home!
Awardees of Fervent Global Love of Lives Award- 27th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2024
- 26th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2023
- 25th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2022
- 24th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2021
- 23rd Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2020
- 22nd Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2019
- 21st Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2018
- 20th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2017
- 19th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2016
- 18th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2015
- 17th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2014
- 16th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2013
- 15th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2012
- 14th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2011
- 13th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2010
- 12th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2009
- 11th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2008
- 10th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2007
- 9th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2006
- 8th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2005
- 7th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2004
- 6th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2003
- 5th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2002
- 4th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2001
- 3rd Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2000
- 2nd Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 1999
- 1st Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 1998
- Fervent Global Love of Lives Award
- Literary Composition Award
- Melody of Hope Award and Scholarship
- Cancer Fighting Wish Scholarship
