Notes on the Story:

1) Kong Yiji's surname Kong = surname of Kongzi (Confucius)

2) Kong Yiji's long coat signifies that he is a scholar.

3) Yet Kong Yiji doesn't have a real job. He steals books and only books. He is literate. He's proud of his literacy - too proud to pursue labor jobs - but all he knows is useless information like knowing how to write the same character in four different ways.

4) Kong Yiji's disappearance indicates that he is insignificant to others. The apathy of Chinese people is also highlighted here.


Question: Is Kong Yiji a bad example of what an intellectual should be, or is the mass at fault for observing nothing but apathy? If someone is useless to society, does that person deserve such a banishment? Who demarcates the line between 'useless' and 'useful'? And based on what? 


Conclusion: No one is insignificant, yet everyone is insignificant. 


댓글(0) 먼댓글(0) 좋아요(0)
좋아요
공유하기 북마크하기찜하기 thankstoThanksTo
 
 
 
Renoir. Painter of Happiness (Hardcover) Taschen 25th Special Edition 104
질 네레 지음 / TASCHEN / 2009년 8월
평점 :
품절


My beloved Renoir,

Thou art barometer of mine bypast innocence and this book a coronation for those times!

댓글(0) 먼댓글(0) 좋아요(0)
좋아요
공유하기 북마크하기찜하기 thankstoThanksTo
 
 
 
Meditations (Paperback) - 마커스 아우렐리우스 '명상록' 영문판
Marcus Aurelius, Emperor of Rome / Penguin Classics / 2006년 4월
평점 :
장바구니담기


Not impressed. If Marcus Aurelius were a modern man, he would be a heavy Twitter user.

댓글(0) 먼댓글(0) 좋아요(2)
좋아요
공유하기 북마크하기찜하기 thankstoThanksTo
 
 
 


"I can feel for anyone that is unjustly treated...and I can feel for those that injure them too."


댓글(0) 먼댓글(0) 좋아요(0)
좋아요
공유하기 북마크하기찜하기 thankstoThanksTo
 
 
 

On the Illustration of the Questing Trio on the Boat:

Everything in the picture seems to foreshadow the success of Heart in rescuing Mercy. The Knight, or Heart, wears a helmet that boasts proud horns like that of Hermes. Those gilded wings, however, are bigger and soaring higher than that of Hermes. In fact, the pair almost reaches the sail, which hangs low like a shadow. The ocean surface is not the typical turquoise, either. Although only meager waves crash at the shore, the infinite stretch of the sea gives the viewer an ominous feeling on its depraved color, doubtlessly pregnant with dead bodies beneath the surface. Nevertheless, the Knight has already set one foot on the deck with its upper body thrust in forward motion. Trust and Understanding are talking to each other, seemingly unaware of the Knight's brave invasion unto their boat. Soon, they will notice him and like us, the viewers, marvel at his courage. Behind the Knight are his friends and a few spectators: Some have a faraway look in their eyes, some are afraid, and some don't even care. "Why, it's his business. Let him risk his life for love, that futile burden!," their eyes tell.


댓글(0) 먼댓글(0) 좋아요(0)
좋아요
공유하기 북마크하기찜하기 thankstoThanksTo