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: the Foreign Literature magazine translated his play Dirty Hands, which left a very deep impression on me. Later, in the April 1980 issue of World Literature, I read his No Exit, which gave me a profound 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; in the blink of an eye, it has been a century since Sartre's birth. According to foreign statistical data, among the writers and thinkers of the 20th century, ranked by the frequency of their works being cited, Sartre is firmly in the 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 wanted 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 a certain time, Sartre's mother slapped him twice," which is either true or false—the answer should be clear. 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 uncertain. When conflicting facts arise, careful analysis is conducted to determine their authenticity.
The other type of truth can be called subjective truth. "At a certain time, Sartre's mother slapped him twice"—what is the significance of this fact? What does it reveal? How much weight does it hold in Sartre's life? How did it happen? When questions reach this level, the answer should not be singular but may involve multiple interpretations. To recreate the truth of this event in a biography, the author must also grasp the factual material as a whole, employ imagination, and provide it with the appropriate reasons, status, and meaning. That is why Sartre said 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, conditions, and activities of the time are vividlyed. It is called a novel because this truth incorporates the author's imagination, creativity, and can even be said to have "fictional" elements.
People often believe that fiction is fake or untrue, while truth is something entirely free of imagination and fiction. I disagree with this view. If a biography consists merely of a haphazard collection 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 true 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 aims to describe, analyze, and interpret important events from a holistic perspective. For example, when writing about events in 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 difficult, achieving a holistic understanding of this person—or reaching his "imagined truth" or "truthful imagination"—is even more challenging. In reality, this latter exploration can be considered endless.
In short, this biography of Sartre hopes to achieve three things: , objectivity: the recorded facts are objective and accurate; second, holism: through imaginative effort, the objective factual material is organically integrated into a truthful whole, recreating Sartre as a person; third, vividness: in language usage, it strives to be lively and expressive, making it easy for readers to follow.
When an author completes a work, the work is not truly finished—it awaits the reader's reading, resonance, and recognition; the reader is its final finisher. Since this is the case, I will not dwell on it further. I welcome readers to engage with this work and look forward to their judgment.