Encounter in the darkness

Author: Ni Zhanhe
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-06-01
Features: This is a book that is both eclectic and substantial, including the author's reading notes, theoretical reflections on her fields (theology and literature), textual interpretations of the art works she loves—movies and music—and her life memories in prose, yet filled with metaphysical thinking. Reading this book, you will encounter a series of texts from literary, artistic, and theoretical masters and non-masters, both classic and non-classic, from the East and the West. But this does not mean it is merely an exercise in flaunting knowledge or a popular introductory read. In my view, the author's reflections and experiences on human nature and the self form the starting point of her writing and also serve as the path to interpreting this book. This, of course, is related to her academic background—as a PhD student in the Department of Religious Studies and Literature at the University of Chicago—but I prefer to see it as the result and crystallization of a life experience, a way of life. Today, being an intellectual is not only a career choice but also a choice of lifestyle. The author's thoughts, questions, inquiries, or answers are not merely the result of professional work or a self-exiting "theoretical journey" (Said) from knowledge to knowledge, but are instead fully embraced and integrated by her heart, which, though young, has been sufficiently expanded by its innate sensitivity, keenness, and extensive reading and deep thinking. It is a process of brewing life wine from the spring of knowledge, one that is both about books or others and about survival and the self. Therefore, we understand why the author so clearly and passionately loves and chooses texts that tell the suffering and humble fates of everyday life and ordinary people, dissecting their images and the souls of their creators in pain and struggle; why, throughout the readings and narratives, the author often "sets herself on fire" in self-reflection, making the writing rich in texture and physicality, brimming with life's doubts, anxieties, pains, and sorrows, yet also not lacking the spiritual insight and joy of body and enlightenment; and why, while she courageously and powerfully feels, narrates, interprets, and critiques, she also genuinely expresses her own clumsiness, fragility, and humility in life. Thus, for the author, writing becomes a form of liberation and rebellion, a soliloquistic cry, and an act of salvation that is impossible yet must be done. "Darkness" is an image that reveals the absurdity and destiny of life, while "Encounter" is hope and opportunity, because it can spark a fire, illuminating the darkness. It can offer warmth to fellow travelers who may not know where the path lies but will know that there is a stranger also struggling through the mud, seeing her footprints on the journey.