Who can make the world stop for three seconds

Author: Wenhuibao Bihui
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: "Who Can Make the World Stop for Three Seconds," taken from an article by Mr. Yu Guangzhong published in Bihui last year. Mr. Yu Guangzhong actually made a playful remark, saying that in today's world, who can make the world stop for three seconds? Only photographers. They tell you, "Don't move—One, two, three," and you dare not move. In fact, we all know that there is a power in the world that can make everything stop for three seconds: the moment beauty appears, the true form of goodness, the moment of love's despair. And each of us has our own specific imagination and embodiment of these. Our hope is that when you hold a copy of Bihui Anthology, the world will also stop for three seconds. Haha.
The 2004 Bihui Anthology, following last year's format, is edited and organized by content into several sections, with columns such as "Daily Life," "Commentary," "Records," "Translated Works," and "Dear Partners." "Daily Life" seems to be gentle, with Yang Lan's "Born Under the Monkey Sign," Lei Shuyan's "Wild Teaching," and Peng Rui'ao's "Five-Year Plan About Mother," nourishing life with deep emotion and humor; yet there is also Jin Yucheng's "Horse Language," where the grandeur, courage, romantic passion, and relentless breaking of all barriers of the horse give a different definition of daily life. It is pleasing that the "Commentary" section includes a significantly larger number of articles than in previous years—discussions on the of text messages, the lack of privacy in diaries, the relocation of residential houses, and the debate between standard answers and collective cheating. These questions and vigilance in various places are the benchmarks of our thoughts planted in the earth.
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Unfortunatly became a column for mourning the departed, "Dear Partners"
Last year, those who left us included Huang Lai, Chen Zhongwei, Zang Kejia, Chen Yuan, Lu Xing'er, Yasser Arafat, and Marguerite Duras. May it be that in our soft calls, the departure of "Dear Partners" does not signify isolation, for life and death may have no boundary.
Newly added content includes an album titled "Greece·Olympics." The Athens Olympics brought anticipation, excitement, and joy to the past year. It is not just a four-year sports event but also, due to Greece's involvement, revealed fresh elements of civilization. Greek civilization, ancient yet ever-new, has become a mirror for our time. The writings of the writer Zhang Chengzhi and the philosopher Chen Jiaying make one reflect deeply. Another new section is "Hometown and the World," part of which comes from last year's newly established "Urban Correspondence" column, and the rest are writings from writers around the world. In this era of globalization, hometown and the world have become the two poles that stir our nerves. Han Shaogong's "Moonlit Boat Sounds," Xi Ye's "Dream of Guns," Chen Pingyuan's "Professors in Paris," Katy's "An Ordinary Johannesburg Twilight," and Xu Jin's "City Lights" record the temperature of changes in this complex world. Amid these diverse details and warmth, how should we position ourselves, and how do we leap forward?
The "Art" album begins with "The Topic of That Afternoon" (Zhao Chuan) and includes debates on modern art, such as "Is the Solitude of the Prophet or the King's New Clothes?" (Lin Guofang). The "Dialogue" column originated from two excellent dialogues: Zhang Ling and Hu Xiaoming's discussion on the Ma Jiajue incident, titled "Spring, the Nature of Heaven," and a fierce debate between Chen Danqing, Zhang Yonghe, and others on whether the "New Jiangnan Water Town" style of Chinese architecture is possible, titled "A Sentimental Jiangnan."
In 2004, special thanks go to Mr. Wu Guanzhong, Mr. Liu Shaha, and Ms. Chi Zijian. Mr. Wu Guanzhong's late-life autobiography, "I Bore the Paintings, and the Paintings Bore Me," was published in Bihui first, taking us into the passionate and precious journey of an artist's heart. The "Liu Shaha Column" and "Memoirs of Simple Living" (Chi Zijian) are two outstanding columns in the 2004 Bihui, with their writings coherently presenting a life rich in history, depth, and emotion. Regrettably, only one piece could be selected during the book editing process. Here, apologies are extended to both authors and readers.
In this anthology, the names of two authors are highlighted in a black box: Ma Hua and Susan Sontag. If Bihui has long advocated a life accompanied by writing and reading, then these two have unintentionally become the epitome of the carefree ideal of "writing life, writing death." Should a writer die in writing?
Sontag's commentary on the U.S. military's abuse of prisoners in Iraq is her last article written before her passing. Even in her final moments, she offered an important observation on contemporary civilization: "Previously, people guarded their private lives as if they were secrets, but now, people clamor to appear on television programs, exposing their privacy. The photos reveal not only a culture of shamelessness but also an extreme veneration of cruel acts devoid of remorse."
The young volunteer Ma Hua drowned in a river at the foot of Mount Meili. I have never forgotten the late night when the news of his death reached us. A poet friend in Beijing called me excitedly: "You should do something for Ma Hua. Since Gu Cheng's passing, the idealism of poets has been wandering in death for years. But Ma Hua brought idealism to life."