A Journey Through the Realm of Gods: Selected Works of Jin Ke Mu

Author: Editor-in-Chief: Ji Xianlin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-10-01
Features: Excerpt: By chance, I overheard a conversation that was quite interesting, so I recorded it for "Talks for Inspiration." The two speakers were one who had returned from overseas for sightseeing and the other who lived in Beijing, represented as A and B.
A: I heard you have recently become interested in Chinese and world cultures. I’d love to hear your insights.
B: I barely leave my home, and I know only a little about Beijing. How can I speak with confidence about a person who travels the world?
A: Traveling more doesn’t necessarily mean knowing more or thinking more deeply. I’m like a satellite, capturing a lot of things from all sides, and I need someone like you on the ground to interpret them.
B: How dare I? But I’d like to receive some information you’ve transmitted. You’ve visited the capitals of many countries. May I ask: What is the most obvious feature of Beijing, the capital of China?
A: The feature is that it’s "the capital of China." At a glance, it’s clear it’s not the capital of any other country. You can tell just by looking at it from the sky.
B: What are the features of China?
A: China is China, not any other country. How can you summarize its features in a single sentence? I’d like to ask for your advice.
B: From my perspective in Beijing, I feel I can observe the history of China and the changes in the world. Not all capitals can do this. Looking vertically, as a capital, it can be traced back at least 1,000 years. Beijing was built by five dynasties. The rulers of these five dynasties belonged to five different ethnic groups. The Liao Dynasty was ruled by the Khitan people, the Jin Dynasty by the Jurchen people, the Yuan Dynasty by the Mongols, the Ming Dynasty by the Han people, and the Qing Dynasty by the Manchus. Today’s Beijing is both new and old; it was built over 1,000 years by many ethnic groups in the Chinese nation, yet it is also newly rebuilt, with new buildings appearing every day. This is the new contribution of contemporary China to Beijing. Go see Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. They are ancient buildings, yet they are also modern. The three archways on the square are gone, the small houses for eunuchs in the Forbidden City have been demolished, and the Tiananmen Tower has been renovated many times. Have you been to the Great Wall? Was it built by Qin Shi Huang? The cement ground is newly built. Have you seen its full 10,000-li length? It’s just a short section. Everyone thinks it’s ancient, yet it’s clearly newly built. Everyone knows Beijing is Chinese, but few remember that China is made up of many ethnic groups. Of the five dynasties that made Beijing their capital, only one was ruled by the Han people. The Temple of Heaven, where emperors offered sacrifices to ancestors on the east side of the Forbidden City, has become the Working People’s Cultural Palace. Further east is the new building of the Beijing Hotel. In Beijing, you can see the new within the old and the old within the new, one within many and many within one.
Postscript: Postscript by Wang Hua: Professor Jin Ke(mu) is truly a towering figure in academia today, with knowledge spanning East and West and connecting past and present. He is a poet, linguist, Indologist, and translator, and his presence is seen in fields as diverse as literature, history, philosophy, logic, astronomy, anthropology, cultural studies, and even natural sciences. Professor Jin writes with precision about profound subjects, gracefully navigating the vast seas of knowledge. His deep roots in traditional Chinese culture allow him to select and appreciate its essence with ease, while his strong command of foreign languages enables him to analyze foreign cultures with fluency. Even more admirable is his constant focus on the forefront of world academia, never missing any valuable information. Especially since the reform and opening-up, his insightful essays have been published frequently, discussing the world’s past and present with great depth and vigor. Even at the age of 85, he continues his work without pause. From his remarkable academic achievements, one can appreciate the grandeur of a master; his profound knowledge and thoughts are the finest nourishment for shaping souls and guiding the next generation. Shandong Education Press’s decision to publish the "Century Series of Humanities and Culture" with Professor Jin as a key figure is indeed wise.
The publisher asked for Professor Jin’s permission to entrust me with the task of selecting this collection. Without fully gathering the documents, I compiled the list and took it to Professor Jin for his guidance. To my surprise, he was very generous and approved the outline after reviewing it, immediately easing my anxiety. Our two-hour conversation with Professor Jin was more rewarding than ten years of studying poetry—it was insightful, free-flowing, and concise. I was deeply inspired and enchanted, as if listening to a sage. In truth, it was no surprise that he approved the outline, as the publisher had already consulted with him beforehand. The collection is primarily focused on foreign-related topics, and Professor Jin himself titled it "Echoes of a Soul Wanderlust in Foreign Lands." The selected essays follow this theme, though it is not a strict rule. Great scholars who span both East and West often examine issues from a global perspective, and Professor Jin is no exception. He has merged the thought characteristics, ideologies, and cultural models of the East and West, India, or Japan, understanding both the commonalities and differences. His thoughts and writings are open-ended, rarely confined to one or the other, and he often moves from one topic to another. His strength lies in using comparative and interconnected lenses to examine issues. When discussing foreign topics, he often takes China as a starting point or reference, and vice versa. Thus, the focus on foreign topics may only indicate the starting point or serve as a springboard, as purely foreign discussions without reference to other aspects are relatively rare. Within the foreign, there is the domestic, and within the domestic, there is the foreign. This constitutes a unique charm in Professor Jin’s writings.
For example, the essay "The Heart of an Eight-Banner Daughter," which offers a brilliant analysis of the novel "Women of Our Family," discusses contemporary Chinese literature but gradually expands to critique the traditional cultural traits of the Chinese people over thousands of years, using Western literature or Christian culture as a reference. Without this comparison, the interpretation might lack depth or clarity. This shows that the two are interdependent and inseparable. Moreover, by doing so, the characteristics of foreign cultures are also revealed, giving them higher meaning and value.
Of course, in terms of content, the essays in this collection are still centered on the thoughts and cultures outside China, with this characteristic remaining prominent. Additionally, the term "foreign" is quite broad, and Professor Jin’s writings indeed cover both East and West, touching on a wide range of historical and cultural forms, though the majority are about Europe, America, and India, with occasional mentions of Hebrew and Japan.
Regarding content, it can be said to be all-encompassing. For organizational and reading convenience, the book is roughly divided into several major categories: culture, philosophy, aesthetics, literature, history, science, religion and Buddhism, anthropology, and others. This classification is also "loose" rather than strictly scientific. In fact, Professor Jin’s works, like a river gathering all streams and capturing the essence of various disciplines, are highly integrative and often interdisciplinary. His style of writing, which is flexible and unbound by academic rigidity, also makes precise categorization difficult. For instance, the essay "Song of Songs · Widow’s Ode" moves from childhood experiences to romantic works from the Bible and the Jin Dynasty, to the love perspectives of Chinese and foreigners, and to the vast differences in belief and religious philosophy. Is it literature? Is it religion? It is classified under the latter to emphasize what is lacking in Chinese culture, which is precisely the subtle and profound essence of this work.
By genre, the collection includes specialized academic discussions, literary essays with a strong flavor of miscellaneous writings and prose, monologues, explanations, casual talks, and dialogues. They range from over 10,000 words to just a few hundred, without aiming for a balanced length ratio, as perhaps only this way can better reflect Professor Jin’s writing style. However, a focus on academic rigor is one of the goals of this selection. Some essays may seem clear at first glance but reveal profound meanings upon closer examination, and many require quiet contemplation rather than a quick browse.
One final note is that to better align with the collection’s purpose, some selected essays are excerpts from Professor Jin’s academic papers or works, with titles added by the editor based on the excerpted content. Due to the limitations of the editor, there may be imperfections in selection and arrangement. I sincerely welcome criticism and corrections from experts and readers.
Wang Hua
April 1997, Quancheng