Flame with Dreams Red (Selected Short Essays by Xiong Zhaozheng)

Author: Xiong Zhaozheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: Around my youth, I remembered the phrase "When one achieves success, they should benefit the world; when one faces adversity, they should cultivate their virtue in solitude." From twenty to fifty, I seemed to have never truly "achieved success," so I couldn't benefit the world; but I also seemed to have never fully "faced adversity," so I couldn't truly cultivate my virtue in solitude. This life situation can be described as wanting to advance but unable to, wanting to stop but unable to. Being immersed in a Zen-infused landscape, a heart deeply polluted by life's currents can become pure, and stiff facial muscles can become soft. Moreover, you suddenly realize that the dazzling urban life you usually admire has become dim and insignificant compared to nature. Compared to nature, no grand achievement of humanity possesses eternal value. This book is a collection of selected essays by Xiong Zhaozheng. In this short essay collection, the author includes both critiques of current affairs and reflections on life; both exchanges with fellow writers and romantic sentiments toward nature. The essays are divided into two major categories: "Worldly" and "Detached." The worldly essays are full of ambition and vigor, while the detached essays are inseparable from leisurely strolls in nature and contemplative thoughts. They are like a heart-felt soup simmered by the author, rich and flavorful.