Come closer to the sacred

Author: Min Huiquan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-07-01
Features: Did I tell Qian Feng all these associations inspired by the five female warriors? I told Qian Feng some of them, but not as many. Two days later, I returned to Beijing and spoke about these topics at the symposium of "East Time·East Persons." This time, I elaborated more, roughly as described above. Life is like a journey; the insights into life, career, art, and scholarship gradually emerge on this path. These are the thoughts and realizations I have gained as I reach this "golden autumn moment." Rediscovering Shi Tiesheng's academic journal has benefited me immensely. Naturally, we are doing someone else's work, but I often learn new knowledge, ideas, and brilliant methods from the manuscripts. Sometimes, I can't help but applaud the submissions enthusiastically. All of this has constituted long-term positive stimulation for my reflections on life and scholarship. I also reread some published manuscripts, such as Shi Tiesheng's interview "A Writer's Life Experience." My senior friend Qu Zongsheng, upon reading the piece, said to me, "It's truly top-notch, substantial. While others may say these things, Shi Tiesheng expresses them brilliantly." Another of my senior friends, Liu Chun (mentioned earlier), told me, "Shi Tiesheng is calm and deeply understands life; his future is boundless." After attending the "East Persons" symposium and returning home, I reread Zhang Zhan's interview with Shi Tiesheng ("A Writer's Life Experience") and felt as if a refreshing breeze washed over me. I felt as if I had rediscovered Shi Tiesheng, and his insightful remarks sparked countless associations in my mind.
The State of Writing Shi Tiesheng said that literature differs from philosophy in its simple logical deductions. Art originates from reverence and pride, as well as the perception of life. Literature has no fixed boundaries; I don't much care what it is—I just write. If I'm interested, I write. Don't ask me what it is.
According to my observations, experts often debate and define what constitutes a genre or style in writing. While such definitions are somewhat necessary for practical work, they are also extremely difficult. Compiling dictionaries is a profession dedicated to defining things. A Western lexicographer once said, "A condemned man should not be sent to the guillotine but to compile a dictionary." Here, Shi Tiesheng is speaking about the state of writing. This state aligns with artistic creation—it is chaotic and irrational.
The representative of the Freiburg School, Heinrich Rickert, proposed the "Principle of the Continuity and Heterogeneity of Reality," arguing that reality is both continuous and heterogeneous, and thus cannot be encompassed within concepts. In this sense, reality is irrational.
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What Use Is Writing? Shi Tiesheng is a disabled person. He said that when he first began writing, it was a form of self-rescue. As he walked down this path, he realized that what mattered most over the years was a sense of value. Shi Tiesheng also said that he discovered beauty in his fate—the beauty of life, the beauty of existence. He is grateful for his fate, and that is good. I think only those who have truly become trapped in a framework or immersed in other pursuits could feel such gratitude. This gratitude stems from this state of existence, from religious sentiment, and from life experiences—this very life experience is what Weber called the "ecstasy scorned by the 'outsider.'" If you lack this ecstasy, "you will never have the calling to engage in academic work."
Curiosity and Passion Shi Tiesheng said that people often say childhood is adorable. But the reason childhood is adorable is not because it is pure, but because it is curious. Curiosity gives rise to passion. Einstein said that passion is the best teacher, far surpassing responsibility.
Thus, I recalled my experiences over the past eight years. Eight years ago, when I first took up the position of editor-in-chief of "Journal of News, Radio, and Television Research," I immediately proposed a plan for interdisciplinary research on radio and television. I drafted documents, wrote papers, and traveled everywhere to promote the idea. While I was fully aware of the potential difficulties of this plan, I couldn’t resist its allure. During my travels, I collapsed—only twice in my life have I fainted like this; the other time was before this, when my mother-in-law came to Beijing for cancer treatment, and I collapsed again due to excessive travel.
Shi Tiesheng said that humans face three fundamental dilemmas in life, the first being that life is destined to be solitary, making it impossible to communicate with others. My recklessness made my work extremely difficult, so at the time, the vice president of the academy, Mr. Li Zhenshui, asked me three times to transfer to a new position with a higher title, which offered significantly better conditions. I seemed to give no thought to it and refused. Later, I turned down similar opportunities several times without fully understanding why. It was only later that I realized it was all because of curiosity and passion.
At the beginning of "A Dream Unreturned," I wrote:
It was probably in 1980. When the newspaper reported on the extraordinary ability of Tang Yu to recognize characters with his ears, people were astonished. Many thought it was impossible, but I debated with others, believing there was no reason to deny it. I then recalled a line from Mao Zedong’s "On Practice," perhaps, where he said science is still in its youth. I couldn’t prove the existence of the ear-reading phenomenon, but I also didn’t agree with the view that it was entirely impossible—there was no reason to deny it.
Later, as more such reports appeared, I would hear them and feel genuine joy, sometimes even exhilaration, and would tell anyone who would listen. I had a wish: I hoped it was true, that there was another mysterious world.
After years of research, I believe the world we face, like any specific thing, has infinite aspects and layers. Humans have only seen a small fraction of them, and superficial levels. We are facing a great revolution in our understanding of the world, and we must not blindly deny what we do not understand. I have a strong interest in exploring the unknown.
Looking back now, it is this very disposition that has sustained my academic activities and guided my editorial work. I can say that I am curious about all disciplines, even natural sciences, particularly modern physics, though I am unable to study it myself. I can only read popular books and view them as philosophical works. The journal I edit focuses on radio and television, and most of my articles are about it, but I don’t read many books or periodicals about radio and television. Instead, I read more about related disciplines and even publications. I believe it is this broad curiosity that has made my writing relatively smooth. I have endless topics, and some manuscripts are written quickly, but recently I’ve become hesitant to tackle certain subjects.