Live an Authentic Life
I wanted to write a few words because of a news story I saw. In short: a woman from the Xihaigu region, from a poor family, graduated from a 211 university in Beijing. You can imagine what a sensation…
Tag: #philosophy
12 posts
Let's Talk About 'Rocket Science'
There is an English idiom — "It's not rocket science" — which roughly means something isn't that difficult. For instance, putting an elephant in a refrigerator isn't rocket science, because it's simpl…
The Beheading Dream
I had a beheading dream—dreamt that my head had been severed, and not cleanly either. So I carefully aligned the jagged edges top to bottom, securing them loosely with a scarf. This was, of course, ra…
Abstinence
I quit smoking on some day in April 2019. It was in a city in Hebei province, and I felt acutely that my throat had been severely damaged by over a decade of smoking. I resolved to quit, and I haven't…
The Good Side of All Bad Things
When I was young — younger than now — I didn't believe in dialectics at all. The idea that fortune and misfortune are interdependent? Pure sophistry. And that story about the old man at the border who…
On Worshipping the Buddha
During a vacation I once went to Wutai Mountain but passed through the gate without entering, wasting over a hundred yuan on the entrance ticket. Later, visiting the Shanxi Museum, I learned about the…
On Humility
Back in elementary school, I heard the saying: "Humility leads to progress; pride leads to decline." Then in middle school, reading collections of excellent student essays, a peer argued that humility…
On Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons
Master Xuanzang. Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons is a film rich in detail and exquisite in allegory. On the surface, it tells the story of a "professional demon hunter" subduing monsters. I…
Let's Talk About Crime
In middle school I listened to Jay Chou. One of his lyrics says, "We all have sins, each committing a different kind." I didn't quite understand it then, and I still don't quite understand it now—take…
On Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons
Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons is a film rich in detail and exquisite in allegory. On the surface, it tells the story of a "professional demon hunter" subduing monsters. In truth, it tells…
Thank You
On the way home I kept listening to Dao Lang's "Thank You." If there's one last thought before I die, I hope it would be: thank you.
Youth Crisis
Reaching thirty one morning startled to find I am not this person nor am I any of the persons who woke in shock each day before to find they were not this person either I suspect I am not the person I…