The highest good is like water.

Author: Xu Gang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: For about seventeen or eighteen years, I have devoted a significant portion of my time and energy to field research, understanding the ecological conditions of China's desertification, rivers, wetlands, and other environmental issues. I have traveled extensively, particularly in the western regions, more specifically west of Hexi Corridor. The sand dunes, cracked soil, and vast deserts have left a deep imprint on my heart, becoming a profound sense of life. The insights I have gained from the land, the reflections they have inspired, should be one of the most fortunate chapters in my writing career. At least in this era where the world is overwhelmingly obsessed with profit, I have shouted and watched from the wilderness. I have not become shallower, but depth and nobility are out of the question, especially when compared to all the life on the land. How can I possibly comprehend a small blade of grass in its entirety? How can I sense the towering presence of a solitary poplar tree in the desert, whose golden leaves are intoxicating in autumn? I have only, and repeated, about the land, about water, about grains and vegetables, about planting grass and trees, about approaching brilliance with caution. I have searched for the little patches of green in the desert, the background of tree planters in the wilderness, and the dead poplar trees along the Tarim River. I have also encountered ruins of a courtyard on the sand dunes, recently turned to waste, and stroked the eroding sheep dung balls, feeling the passage of time. Where are the herders and their lambs now? All the fragments, chapters, or even titles are merely records I have collected from the land and a dream.