Read. Issue 1

Author: Zhu Yong, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: The more certain a conclusion is, the more easily it is challenged. The more bland and superficial the preaching, the more interesting the reading process becomes, as it fosters a kind of game between the wise and the foolish, akin to a cat and mouse. Here, I must emphasize that the importance of reading surpasses the importance of the text. The text is an end, while reading is a beginning. Reading and publishing belong to two different disciplines. Publishing often deals only with the surface of ideology, whereas reading reveals the true core of a generation's thought—the parts that can be said and the parts that can remain unsaid. Yet it truly functions, much like all mysterious scientific laws. It never boasts, but only those who are sensitive can perceive its existence. We regard the history of thought as too grand because we forget the precious doubts and reflections hidden in the noisy sounds of reading. Yet the latter rarely speak, and they hold little sway in the history of discourse. They reveal their value silently in the form of thought.