Tang Shizeng · A Solitary Journey

Author: Tang Shizeng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-10-01
Features: In the era of globalization, how many "versions" does Tang Shizeng have? "The Tao gives birth to One; One gives birth to Two; Two gives birth to Three." Tang Shizeng 1.0, as a renowned journalist with Xinhua News Agency, held privileges, seized the moment, and had a bird's-eye view, sending faxed photos from the battlefield in time; Tang Shizeng 2.0, a best-selling author, with his books Back to Baghdad and I Was a Farmer in the USA printing 150,000 copies in one edition, and My Normandy printing 200,000 copies in one edition. This book presents the brand-new 3.0 version of Tang Shizeng. In 2003, he embarked on a solo journey of 10,000 miles, starting from Beijing, crossing the Karakoram Mountains, Hindukush Mountains, Himalayas, Tanggula Mountains, and Kunlun Mountains, along the Yangtze River, Yellow River, Indus River, and Ganges River, through Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, and Nepal, and returned to China. He showcased "the world is flat" in a popular way and revealed the original structure of "earth, water, fire, and wind" with the insight of a Buddhist sage. This book pioneers the 3.0 version of "linguistic-image writing," drawing on the democratic spirit of Western and European media. "To counter his dual dominance of 1.0 and 2.0, he wrote nothing but the preface himself, relying solely on '3rd-tier' photos to showcase the 'Tang Sanzang's Journey to the West' of version 3.0." On top of over 260 exquisite photos, a large group of figures from different fields and identities, such as Ji Xianlin, Li Zhaoxing, Zhou Guoping, Liu Xinwu, Cui Yongyuan, Kong Qingdong, Jiang Wen, Cui Jian, Jiang Kun, Zhao Tingyang, Liang Heng, Ke Yunlu, and Dai Jinhua, "comment and critique," delivering witty remarks. Among them, the oldest are in their 90s, while the youngest is only 9 years old, spanning borders, languages, cultures, races, and religions. Unrestricted by genre, word count, or style, they break the "discourse hegemony" of one person speaking for themselves, creating an "open-ended work" where multiple voices clamor and diverse opinions compete.