Preface - Breathing Time: Zi Mengwei
preface

A consciousness of one's own
Chapter 1: The Poet's Time and Space - The Case of Qu Yuan, Cao Cao, Dou Zhan, and Li Bai
Chapter 2: Qu Yuan - The First Soul to Sing Alone
Chapter 3: Cao Cao - Even a tiger will come when I call it.
Chapter 4: Dojam - Hidden Light
Chapter 5: Li Bai - Li Bai's Sudden Appearance
Chapter 6 Sima Qian - Between Body and Soul
Chapter 7: The Lost Garden
Chapter 8: Yiling - The Soul in the Ice and Snow
Chapter 9: Shang Yang - A Piece of Wood Deep in History
Chapter 10: Ha Wan-sun - A Boy's Singing?

Epilogue
Translator's Note

First of all, the title of this book itself is meaningful.
What is the pressure of time?
Let's read Zimengwei's explanation about it.

“Two infinitely greater dimensions permeate this text: time and humanity.
Time is weightless, yet it exerts pressure, playing an eternal game of destruction and birth, cold and ruthless yet lively.
The old man is facing us.
They no longer hide themselves to avoid our gaze, but rather we often see them but do not notice them or dare not look at them directly.
No one can escape the ravages of history.
Observing history, contemplating the past, and polishing the mirror of time is to reflect on oneself.
Sharijun proposes the concept of 'time unit'.
If you read the article, you will definitely feel it too.
“That time is not only pressurized, but also deeply breathing.” _ Page 10

In the very long history of mankind, humans eventually transformed from beasts to humans, and the change was very significant.
But when we look closely at this time period over the past few thousand years, a sudden sense of sadness sets in.
How slow is the change in personality? Comparing the personalities of Shang Yang, Qu Yuan, and Sima Qian with those of people today, it's difficult to discern any qualitative change.
So, there is no need to even mention the smaller time zones.
Sharijun continues to place himself in each 'time zone', digging into a pile of old books and then breaking out again.
The whole world is filled with nociception.
The pain of the past and the pain of the present become one pain.
Under Sharijun's pen, all the ancient people were exactly alike in body and mind.
His judgment is a mixture of reason and depth of emotion, so he sympathizes with Li Si, respects Sima Qian and Qu Yuan, likes Cao Cao, Tao Qian, and Li Bai, and is wary of Shang Yang and Han Fei.
History trembles, time breathes, and humanity writhes.
I like writing that combines large and small aspects, points and planes, and is full of rich character.
It is difficult to evaluate this article using concepts such as ‘critical tradition’ or ‘development tradition.’
The author's 'self-righteousness' and deep reflection coexist.
The writing is long, but it doesn't feel long.
This is a profound and yet very interesting piece of writing, one that examines the roots with a broad perspective and covers the earth with the sky.
Only when the author appears can the ancient people appear.
The tone of great Chinese prose is grand, bold, and resounding from the very beginning.
What the prose of the advanced scholars of the Hundred Schools of Thought and Sima Qian represents is the world, the universe, and the vast, complex, yet delicate human mind.
"The Pressure of Time" pursues grandeur while simultaneously pushing the boundaries of philosophical thought and the depth of humanity.

“Time seems to have no beginning or end.
Anything that has a beginning and an end is only a part of time forever.
Things can only exist in a certain 'time zone', whether long or short.
Almost all living things seen with the naked eye appear to be 'in a state of agitation'.
The process of plants growing and withering also gives this feeling.
All things seem to be well aware of one fact: time is finite. The reason history is such a boundless book is because humanity is also such a boundless book.
Reading history is like reading these two massive books.” _ Page 16

The space and time of a subjective culture where soul and personality are intertwined

Perhaps no poet can produce a deeper and heavier sense of injustice than Qu Yuan.
His space-time was vast and highly tense.
He was a person from the pre-Qin period, when the atmosphere of thought and culture was quite open and free.
Qu Yuan suffered injustice in the state of Chu and died as a result.
I wanted to do it.
Because the monarch was foolish and the country was in danger, he was repeatedly pressured into being marginalized and exiled.
If it were possible to serve Qin in the morning and Chu in the evening, there would be no such person as Qu Yuan in the human world.
This is the foundation necessary to interpret the beautiful and extraordinary aesthetic characteristics contained in Qu Yuan's songs and to understand his emotions and personality, which were different from those of ordinary people.
Unlike Qu Yuan's helpless despair, Cao Cao had long been in a position to influence the world.
He lived in the turbulent times of the late Han Dynasty, crossing countless rapids and dangerous rapids. The danger and complexity of the time and space in which he lived could be said to have reached its peak.
The various atmospheres he embodies, such as absurdity, strangeness, vastness, and grandeur, are not difficult to understand.
Cao Cao is the one who combined the personality of a politician and military leader with the personality of a poet.
In the poems he exchanged with his friends, Dojam always warned them to cherish their lives and protect them well.
In an age of rampant filial piety, who among us was not like a bird startled by the sound of a bowstring? He feared death, fearing only the prospect of dying helplessly, unable to protect his own life.
At the age of forty-one, Dojam, who had achieved nothing from his official career, returned to the countryside and lived in seclusion.
The poet recorded truthfully through poetry and prose everything that was lonely and desolate, and it makes the reader sad.
He maintained a rural life until the end of his life.
Although his wish to gain the admiration of the world was never realized, his 'monologue' repeatedly transcended time and space and reached the hearts of later generations.
Dojam was a pearl that sank after the Wei-Jin trend receded, and was close to being the 'seed' of culture.
He expanded the spirit of the sign and added a soul, the garden spirit, to Chinese culture outside of Taoism.
The inspiration that suddenly came to mind can be said to be the typical personality of Baek.
Including heterogeneous
This innate talent, which blossoms in an instant, needed someone who could suddenly spark inspiration, and also needed an emperor who could suddenly spark inspiration.
The emperor, without any hesitation, immediately granted him a high-ranking position.
Although Baek did not agree with his extraordinary poetic talent, he stubbornly believed that his political talent was unparalleled in the world.
Even in the great Tang Dynasty, there were times when inspiration would suddenly strike, and Emperor Xuanzong would seek out poets in the wild and wild fields and summon them to the court.
But it was immediately apparent that the poet was weak in political wisdom.
The emperor chose the extremely elegant method of sending a talented man who was unable to handle the heavy task back to his hometown by giving him gold.
The palace may not suit you, but the great Tang Dynasty is vast, so there will be a place for you to go.
The Tang emperor was different from the emperors of other dynasties who were always tense.
In a 2,000-year era of imperial authority, where among the literati who fell out of favor was treated with such grace? Without the Tang Dynasty, there would have been no Li Bai.
Qu Yuan's song was a sacrifice of his own life, in which he wept endlessly in despair and disappointment, unable to breathe or speak, and Cao Cao, employing a far-fetched trick, deflected his spear and recited poetry, but Xiao Xiong's ambition did not hinder the innocent heart of a child.
Dojam wanted to live his own 'life' by hiding, enduring, reflecting internally, and spouting monologues, while Baek shouted and ran wild, hanging his heart outside his chest.
In a specific historical time and space, poets were able to fully express their individuality and personality by pouring out all their emotions and performing unique 'acting'.
Although he had a concubine mentality, he was never a slave; although he was deceitful, he was not a hypocritical gentleman; although he expected fame, he was not a spineless follower.
Even when he muttered nonsense or monologued, even when he cheated, he was still a pure child, and even when he had a secret mentality, he was still more childish.
Although their living environments were clearly different, the pure hearts of children were similar.
Only by possessing a true soul and relating to a vast personality can one create a subjective cultural space and time.