Life as we know itLife as we know it
“In seeking to survive and yet to retain the authenticity existing at parturition one will either be killed or go mad, if not one will constantly be on the run.” – Gao Xingjian, Soul Mountain (trans. Mabel Lee)
Category: Gao Xingjian
Consider it a giftConsider it a gift
“To be boundless to the point of forgetting one’s existence cannot be acquired.” – Gao Xingjian, Soul Mountain (trans. Mabel Lee)
Unless it’s mass murder, to pick an example at randomUnless it’s mass murder, to pick an example at random
“Not having a goal is a goal, the act of searching itself turns into a sort of goal, and the object of the search is irrelevant.” – Gao Xingjian, Soul Mountain (trans. Mabel Lee)
And that’s why we do itAnd that’s why we do it
“Philosophy in the end is an intellectual game. At limits unattainable by mathematics and the empirical sciences, it constructs all sorts of intricate structures. And as a structure is completed, the game ends. Fiction is different from philosophy because it is the product of sensory perceptions. If a futile self-made signifier is saturated in a solution of lust and at a particular time transforms into a living cell capable of multiplying and growing, it is much more interesting than games of the intellect.” – Gao Xingjian, Soul Mountain (trans. Mabel Lee)
It’s right thereIt’s right there
“The road stretches endlessly and there is always a point where the sky and earth meet, but the road just crawls over it.” – Gao Xingjian, Soul Mountain (trans. Mabel Lee)
Reach out and touch itReach out and touch it
“Non-existence exists so there is non-existence of existence; non-existence of existence exists so there is non-existence of non-existence.” – Gao Xingjian, Soul Mountain (trans. Mabel Lee)
Your choice, manYour choice, man
“If you think she is beautiful she will be beautiful, if there is evil in your heart you will only see demons.” – Gao Xingjian, Soul Mountain (trans. Mabel Lee)
Sign me upSign me up
“Who doesn’t want to go down in the annals of history and moreover be able to draw advance overtime payments as well as a writer’s fee?” – Gao Xingjian, Soul Mountain (trans. Mabel Lee)