My Global Cultural Journey -- Wandering at the Edge of Time and Space

Author: Zhang Zhixiong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: Before visiting France, my impression of it was romantic, beautiful, exquisite, and full of thought. But when I actually arrived in France, what I saw and experienced made me realize that my original ideas were somewhat misleading. So I kept coming back to explore France, seizing every possible opportunity, and as a result, my understanding of France became clearer and clearer, as if a morning mist finally gradually dissipated before my eyes. In Italy, I yearned to experience the Renaissance that originated in Florence and completely transformed Europeans, eager to deeply inhale the air filled with artistic essence amidst countless treasures. Many countries refer to the year 1 BC as the "Ancient Times." At that time, China had already entered the period after the Qin and Han dynasties. But 5,000 years ago, was it the "Ancient Times" in our history? And at that time, in Egypt, the pyramids that still awe us today had already been built. In my view, that civilization seemed like traces of another planet. The city of Constantinople, built at great expense by the Roman Emperor, was truly a worthy "New Rome," with a layout even more magnificent than that of ancient Rome. However, its legendary history and opulence also drew attention. After more than a thousand years of construction, it was completely taken over by another power, and even the original Christian churches were converted into mosques for Muslims. Before visiting India, my impression of India was a charming beauty enveloped in fragrant incense, draped in red saris with auspicious dots on her forehead, a wise elder in white robes praising deities, ascetic monks with sun-blackened and thin bodies wrapped in cloth seeking truth, and the Bodhi, Yoga, and the Ganges. Upon arriving in India, I saw instead the overlap of a booming commercial tide and a struggling agricultural era, the intersection of an ancient civilization and a culturally chaotic society. India, to me, feels "uncertain."