Speak of Giving Up (Chinese Culture and Life)

Author: Jia Pingwa
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features: The world is composed of yin and yang, and living in it is a process of gaining and losing. A classic of brilliant essays written by a Chinese author. Shi Tiesheng is one of the most admirable contemporary Chinese writers. His writing is completely intertwined with his life. On his "writing nights," Shi Tiesheng, with his disabled body, expressed thoughts that were exceptionally complete and profound.
Diary: To record dreams. When half awake at midnight, one cannot open their eyes, but slowly sit up to recall and quietly fall asleep again, allowing the dream to continue. Dreams are like past lives—sometimes doing good, sometimes committing crimes, sometimes indulging in pleasure, sometimes suffering. Record the traces and experience the emotions to observe reality, and observe oneself through oneself to know oneself. Self-awareness allows one to stand firm in the noisy and chaotic world. Eating with familiar people is delicious; eat more of what you love and less of what you don’t. You can burp, pass gas, or make jokes or curse. Can you do this with strangers? Can you do this with superiors? People say what they say, and their spiritual world determines their literary language. Some people are malicious in their hearts, and their writing is cold. Some are in love, and their writing is brilliant. Some are talented, and their writing is bold; others are modest. Those who pay attention to structure write like small (miniature gardens), while the great river never follows rules. The Western region is so beautiful, and Lin Daiyu is so good—all born from illness, giving rise to enlightenment. If you live without illness, how poor and insensitive you would be! Buddha is not in the West or in scriptures; Buddha is not in deep mountains or temples, but in the bustling crowds. As long as you are not dead, illness can give rise to a living Buddha in this world. Those who live well, or those who achieve success, actually understand two characters: (shědé—let go and gain). Not letting go means not gaining; small letting go means small gain; great letting go means great gain. Letting go and gaining, gaining and letting go fill our trivial daily lives, playing out stories of success and failure.
Sayings of Shědé includes sixty-eight essays by the author Jia Pingwa from 1981 to 2005, totaling 160,000 words. Over these twenty-five years, the world has changed greatly, and the author’s thoughts have undergone many transformations, but the humanization of nature and the harmony between humans and nature have always been the fundamental themes of his writing. As the author says, "Expressing the life and emotions of modern Chinese people through China’s traditional aesthetic methods is what I pursue in my creation."
This selection includes sixty-eight essays by Jia Pingwa, totaling 160,000 words. These writings, dating back to the essays Ugly Stone and Traces of the Moon written in 1981, span twenty-five years up to 2005. Over these years, the world has changed, and the author’s thoughts have evolved, but the humanization of nature and the harmony between humans and nature have remained the core themes of his writing. As the author states, "Expressing the life and emotions of modern Chinese people through China’s traditional aesthetic methods is what I pursue in my creation."
In this selection, the essays are largely preserved in their original form, but the titles have been significantly adjusted. The order of the essays does not follow their original publication dates but is arranged according to the intrinsic connections of their themes. The purpose of doing this is to present the editor’s selections more clearly to the readers.