Fishing in the river of time

Author: Zhang Zongzi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Zhang Zongzi has long been renowned among lovers of prose for his elegant and leisurely temperament, as well as his transcendent and ethereal style, rivaling his namesake from four hundred years ago, Zhang Dai. Ten years ago, I had a chance encounter with him in the bustling streets of New York: a quiet and composed youth. Over the years that followed, I have continuously read his new works, and his otherworldly demeanor remains unchanged. The ancients hid in the city, while the moderns hide in the West. Those with ancient virtues in the modern world are trapped in the Western market. However, Zhang Dai renounced worldly luxury and entered the mountains with his hair disheveled, whereas Zhang Zongzi's nature lies in seeking solitude amidst the sea of lanterns, without anyone forcing him. This Zhang Zongzi, that Zhang Zongzi—why must the moderns be inferior to the ancients?