Biographies of World Famous People: 2 (French-Chinese Contrastive Version)

Author: Wang Beili
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: It is worth noting that the more people pursue what they call the "absolute" truth, the more they discover that it is impossible to analyze history or evaluate those who led it forward with simple concepts of good and evil. Those recognized as politicians or "great" leaders are not necessarily good people, and the figures selected in this book are no exception: Peter the Great was an extremely cruel and bloodthirsty tyrant, as Marx said, "he subdued Russia with barbarity." Alexander, perhaps along with Napoleon, is remembered largely because they were conquerors. Richelieu, during his reign of extortion and insatiable greed, died when taxes had already been pre-collected for three years. Louis XIV, though a brilliant leader, was also overly ambitious, engaged in endless warfare, and extravagant. His seventy-two years on the throne were also the seventy-two years of France's decline from power to gradual ruin. All these political figures—De Gaulle the general and Mahatma Gandhi perhaps being exceptions—cannot be easily labeled as good or bad by later generations. Regardless, they were fortunate to stand before the opportunities offered by history and their times, and ultimately seized them, thus shaping the course of history and changing the lives and destinies of millions. As Nixon onced: when the curtain falls on a play, the audience exits the theater one by one to return to their normal lives; but when a leader's career ends and the curtain falls, the audience's own lives change, and the course of history may also undergo profound changes. Alas, I think, in this era of fleeting and superficial pursuits, the species of literary figures, which were already rare, will surely go extinct like the mammoth. We are so accustomed to seeing mediocre writers who write in a contrived manner, "mass idols," and those who have exhausted their creativity by recycling old ideas. There are also the "scholarly merchants" (and "merchant scholars") who wait for the right price. When literature is inexplicably draped in the guise of "body writing," and is divided among various "handsome men," "beautiful women," and "darlings," the crown of the "literary figure," which has shone for over a thousand years, will inevitably fall from its lofty Olympus and become a useless decoration on the roadside. Yes, in this bustling world filled with temptations, everyone is busy striving for their livelihood, and authentic writing and reading seem so outdated and unsuitable for the times. If so, who would still want to be a "literary figure," and who could still become one? However, if one day you find that the clamor of the secular world has not entirely worn away your desire for purity and love, if you feel you can still weep passionately and laugh heartily, and if you still have even a sliver of unrealistic fantasy about the word "beauty," then I believe you will never forget true literature, nor forget those miraculous works that have moved your hearts countless times. A short passage, a sentence, or perhaps a single word—all are the product of a brilliant mind and refined expression, condensed from pure essence. And those authors who have achieved such brilliance—you remember them, don't you? Yes, as you stride across the threshold of the twenty-first century, you glance back casually at the past two thousand years: do you remember the stern Racine, whose world was both gentle and cruel? Do you remember the whimsical Molière, whose satire was sharp and profound? Do you remember the author of Memoirs from the Grave, who now lies quietly on a small island called "Grand Bé" outside Saint-Malo, where the winds of Normandy howl, and we can only visit him at low tide. Do you remember the author of The Red and the Black, who was discovered only 46 years after his silent death, only to find his works and the long-forgotten tomb on Montmartre, inscribed with "Aligre Bell, Milanese, who wrote, loved, and lived." And the great Hugo—on June 1, 1885, his funeral in Paris drew the entire capital, with the streets emptying of people, 21 cannon shots fired, and his massive coffin placed beneath the draped Arc de Triomphe. People called him Napoleon's most terrible enemy. A journalist present wrote, "All who have seen such a scene will never see it again; all who have not seen it will never see it." All of this is so real, so vivid. Simply recording it gave rise to this small history, and all we hope is that readers can steal a half-day of fleeting life, quickly glance through it, perhaps gaining a little knowledge, or perhaps sparking a little reflection. This is the preface!