A Century of Sartre: The Journey of a Free Spirit

Author: Huang Zhongjing
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-07-01
Features: My first encounter with Sartre's works was in the late 1970s, when Foreign Literature magazine translated his play Dirty Hands, which left a profound impression on me. Later, in the April 1980 issue of World Literature, I read his No Exit, which gave me immense spiritual shock, though Sartre had already passed away by then. Since then, 25 years have passed, and the scene of eagerly reading books remains vivid in my memory—as if it were yesterday. Time flies, and it has been a century since Sartre's birth. According to foreign statistical data, among 20th-century writers and thinkers ranked by the frequency of their works being cited, Sartre firmly holds the th position. To call Sartre one of the most influential writers and thinkers of the 20th century is hardly an overstatement. For such a world-class literary and intellectual master, dedicating a biography to him on the occasion of his centenary is something I have long aspired to do.
A biography must first be truthful. Truth can be divided into two types: one can be called objective truth, such as the statement, "At one time, Sartre's mother slapped him twice in the face." This statement is either true or false, and there should be only one answer. This book strives to ensure that all factual statements are well-supported. If there is no solid evidence, it avoids definitive language and prefers to remain skeptical. When conflicting factual materials arise, meticulous analysis is conducted to determine the truth.
The other type of truth can be called subjective truth. "At one time, Sartre's mother slapped him twice in the face." What is the significance of this fact? What does it reveal? How much weight does it hold in Sartre's life journey? How did it happen? When questions reach this level, the answer should not be singular but may involve multiple interpretations. To reconstruct the truth of this event in a biography, the author must also grasp the factual materials holistically, employ imagination, and provide the event with its rightful cause, significance, and meaning. Thus, Sartre himself said that his biography of Flaubert could also be called a "novel of truth." It is called truthful not only because the objective facts are accurate but also because, through the author's subjective effort, the scenes, circumstances, and activities of the time are realisticallyed. It is called a novel because this truth incorporates the author's imagination, creativity, and can even be said to contain "fictional" elements.
People often believe that fiction is false and unrealistic, while truth is devoid of imagination and fiction. I disagree with this view. If a biography consists merely of a haphazardly of objective facts, it cannot be considered a good one. These facts may appear concrete, but they are actually abstract because they were not isolated or unrelated when they occurred. Their inherent meaning has not been revealed through the author's research and imaginative work, so they cannot yet be called fully truthful.
This book roughly follows the chronological order of Sartre's life over the past century, with each major section marked by a time period. However, readers will find that each section is not strictly limited to events that occurred within that period but instead seeks to describe, analyze, and interpret important events from a holistic perspective. For example, when writing about events during his childhood, it will discuss their impact on his adulthood; when analyzing an event during his adulthood, it may trace back to his childhood circumstances, and so on.
It should be said that while collecting and mastering a large amount of objective factual material about Sartre is undoubtedly challenging, achieving a holistic understanding of this person—or reaching his "imagined truth" or "truthful imagination"—is even more difficult. In reality, this latter exploration can be considered endless.
In short, this biography of Sartre aims to achieve three things: , objectivity: the recorded facts are objective and accurate; second, holism: through imaginative effort, the objective factual materials are organically integrated into a truthful whole, reconstructing Sartre as a person; third, vividness: in language usage, it strives to be vivid and expressive, making it easy for readers to follow.
When an author completes a work, the work is not ultimately finished—it awaits the reader's reading, resonance, and recognition. The reader is the one who ultimately completes it. Since this is the case, I will not dwell on it further. I welcome readers to engage with this work and look forward to your judgment.