Undying human will

Even the fury of nature in the great "Storm Scene" in Shakespeare's King Lear would look milder in comparison. But the gigantic might of Sichuan's earthquake that leveled more than a dozen towns and took thousands of lives in an instant has this in common with the Shakespearian storm - it shows the fragility and vulnerability of man in the face of elemental fury.

This quintessential truth was attested again not only by the disappearance of thousands of lives in a matter of minutes, but also by the destruction of what had been achieved with the efforts of several generations.

But the other side of the picture is the unyielding will of individuals and inconceivably huge force of human endeavor when organized as a collective.