2005 China Essay Anthology

Author: Yan Leshan (Editor)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Does a person really have a soul? Zhao Jianxiong
"Does a person really have a soul?" This was the question posed by Xiang Linsuo, who had suffered immensely over it. It’s hard to say whether this can be considered progress, but fewer people are now troubled by similar questions. For years, materialist education and propaganda have been highly effective. But one consequence has been that people tend to become frivolous. The body is tangible, visible, and even touchable—no matter how dull-minded, one cannot ignore it. But where is the soul? There was once a saying that writers should be "engineers of the human soul," and those who promoted this idea did not believe in the soul themselves. So I suspect that if it wasn’t a mistranslation, it was a deception from the very beginning. Even if a soul exists, it cannot be shaped by an engineer. Something that can be mass-produced could never be a soul. Now, few writers consciously take on this burden that they were never meant to carry. Instead, many place greater importance on the body. That’s why, in Chinese publications, one has to look for "lewd texts"—anyone with experience knows to seek them in "pure literature." I say this without any intention of demeaning it. Some argue that a society’s freedom must first begin with sexual freedom. There’s some truth to that, but even in the realm of love, especially the kind that makes one lose one’s senses, it cannot be entirely devoid of spiritual elements. Pleasing the body with words is akin to masturbation, something many people of this era reject. As for the soul, it is undoubtedly something that can be addressed through literature. But if one does not believe in such a thing, what else is there to say? The current plight of literature, I believe, is largely tied to this.
There’s a saying that the difference between humans and animals lies in whether they have a soul. But how can humans know for sure that animals don’t? Many animal behaviors suggest that their bodies house a soul, while some people are merely walking corpses. I’d like to believe I have a soul, but I don’t believe one truly exists—such a contradiction leaves me with no direction or solution. Yet I suspect I’m not the only one with such confusion. In recent years, I’ve grown more inclined to focus on worldly matters—concerning the problems of a society that fundamentally denies the existence of a soul and pays no heed to it. Is this a waste of time? If you "fuck an egg," it won’t get pregnant, and nothing will happen. In fact, you can’t even "fuck an egg"—at most, you could eat it. (As for scientific development, whether it’s possible to somehow link your genes to an egg’s genes to cultivate some kind of monster is beyond me.) I care more about science than most people, perhaps because it’s actually related to the soul, and many scientists believe it exists, with one of their goals being to find and prove it. In reality, Lu Xun didn’t answer Xiang Linsuo’s question either. Reading his posthumous works and imagining what might have happened to him if he had lived in the ideal new society (which was, in fact, inevitable) cannot help but sadden one. Was Lu Xun a bit like Xiang Linsuo? This rambling old man, who pleased no one, probably had many doubts and questions no one could answer. Mao Zedong, however, spoke the truth. Decades have passed, and those involved have come forward to bear witness (still trembling with fear), yet some still refuse to believe. In truth, the soul is silent.