Half Drunk Studio Notes

Author: Han Zuorong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Knowing a person is easier than knowing their face; knowing their heart is even more difficult. The saying "It's hard to find a soulmate" is true. The ancients broke their instruments to thank their soulmates because the musician could no longer find someone who could perceive their emotions through the music, and they ended up in sorrow. Love is about finding one's other half, but at a higher level, love should align with genuine friendship—lovers who are also true friends. But where can one find their other half? The differences between people are so great that searching for oneself in others is almost like a dream. As a half-soul lost in a chaotic world, one searches and searches, often finding only sorrow and hardship. To see a similar shadow in the mist might be considered happiness. Perhaps the portrait of one's soul is something one can never hope to attain in a lifetime. As Aristotle often said, "Ah, my friends, there are no friends in this world." There is a difference between general friendship and true friendship. Colleagues, drinking buddies, chess partners, shared hobbies, liked personalities, admired figures—all these require careful maintenance, sincerity, and kindness. Humility, propriety, clear distinctions between debts and obligations, gratitude, requests, and thanks are words that actually distinguish people from one another. You are you, and I am me; politeness is a way of keeping distance, not a sign of complete closeness. If there is truly no distinction between two people, as if one soul dwells in two bodies, then thanking a friend would be the same as thanking oneself, which would be overly sentimental. Who would be overcome with gratitude for doing a little more for themselves? Montaigne argued that givers should express gratitude to receivers because receiving fulfills the giver's great desire to benefit their friend. Montaigne's idea, while unconventional, is like a left hand shaking hands with its right hand—amusing yet unnecessary. But in the world, people are full of hypocrisy, saying one thing while thinking another, so it's no wonder. If one's own heart is still obscure, how can someone who doesn't know themselves recognize their other half? Most people wear masks. The body may want to do something, but the heart doesn't agree, and the heart may want to do something, but the mouth doesn't agree. Loneliness is a real state, but the moment a "second person" enters, hypocrisy begins. We use greetings, idle talk, entertainment, and flirtation to avoid or resist the arrival of our kind. In a passionate relationship, people don't want a third party to interfere, but often, rejecting love involves inserting a third person between two people, using words to separate them and thoughts to hide them. Those who fear getting blood on their clothes when you suffer, or who fear getting dirty when you are splashed with mud, or who stab you in the back after promising to fight by your side—these "friends" I also understand. Because everyone has to live. They are not you, just like pure love is impossible. Love and hate often switch places. Imagination can make one's blood flow with the colors of violets, clover, and lilies, with close intimacy and solemn vows, but once flaws and imbalances are discovered, they bring surprise, sorrow, and pain.