The will that is inherited, the surging currents of the age, people’s dreams… these are things that cannot be stopped.
As long as people continue seeking the answer to freedom, they will never cease!
Recently, an online friend thought I was impressive and said he wanted to imitate my way of studying. Of course I told him, please, don’t ever do that. My lazy, irregular, and unambitious way of studying—if anyone else tried to imitate it, it would almost certainly be ruined. And I myself have always faced the danger of becoming a heap of useless waste who accomplishes nothing, so it’s definitely not something to take casually. More to the point, my way of studying—or rather, my way of living—has, as its first principle, never to imitate anyone, and to carve out a style that belongs entirely to oneself. Without this first principle, my way would not even be possible. Therefore, my way cannot be imitated.
What is even more laughably exasperating is that this online friend even changed both the signature and the occupational information in his QQ profile to match mine. What did I put for my “occupation”? — “Fisherman.” He copied that too. I’d really like to ask whether he knows what considerations led me to the word “fisherman”? If he has no understanding whatsoever of the connotations and entanglements behind it, and still just copies the word for himself to use, that is truly ridiculous! Taking this as an occasion, I finally changed the occupation in my QQ profile too — to “pirate.”
“Fisherman” reflects a certain attitude of hesitation and anxiety toward the future deep within me. The fisherman’s state is like this: he waits at the boundary between sea and land. On the one hand, he faces the land, waiting for the call of some shepherd—in other words, that “Lord”—and then he may become an apostle, going forth to sow the Gospel upon the earth; on the other hand, he also faces the sea, waiting for the call of that captain, and then he may become a sailor, roaming and adventuring upon the ocean; and in yet another sense, he can also be content with his lot, fishing for three days and drying nets for two, at ease and at peace, comfortable and self-satisfied.
It can be said that I have long been tangled up among these three possibilities. As for going out to sea, I seem to lack sufficient courage, not to mention that domineering aura, so I look forward to encountering Luffy’s little boat, to haul me aboard. And then I only need to draw the nautical chart, to search for the historical text or “ALL BLUE,” or even just to work hard at being a brave sea warrior—that would be enough. As long as I can witness with my own eyes that man who becomes the Pirate King, that would be enough.
Continuing this life of fishing for three days and drying nets for two, my heart has not become calm like a fisherman’s; instead, it has grown increasingly anxious. My expectation of the shepherd and the captain has become ever more vague and ethereal. And besides, am I really satisfied with being merely a brave sea warrior?
No.
Pirate King, I’m going to be one!
What am I waiting for? Just a wooden barrel is enough to go out to sea. Crew members won’t come knocking at my door; I have to go recruit them myself.
No matter how the times change, the sea is still there. The sea remains there. The Grand Line, ONEPIECE, everything is there.
If you want to go on an adventure to the Grand Line, and you’re an interesting guy—come aboard my ship.
December 30, 2008
mist
2008-12-30 22:59:45 Anonymous 219.234.81.62
Didn’t I urge you a long time ago to set up a discussion group。。。and now you’re only just starting to be One Piece。。。
2008-12-30 23:24:16
A discussion group for discussing what? Where are we supposed to set it up?
There are many discussion groups and reading groups, but if I were to set one up, it would have to be a truly extraordinary discussion group. As for how to get it started, I still haven’t thought of a good breakthrough.
Today is no longer the age of the Viennese café. Discussion can very well take place on other platforms. The one I value most is blogs and forums. Unfortunately, it seems that no one especially identifies with the platform I have been trying to open up.
As the saying goes, three beget all things: as long as there are three people, then everything comes into being. With two people, at least it has come alive and started moving. But one person cannot make much of a commotion alone; if you want to stir things up, you simply can’t stir them up.
2008-12-30 23:54:31 Anonymous 219.234.81.64
Then what are you doing here summoning people onto your pirate ship。。。
2008-12-31 00:04:27
The summoning here is the same as when I posted that ad recruiting ms— I never expected it to be effective anyway……
2008-12-31 17:17:34 Anonymous 124.205.78.223
Speechless
It reminds me of a classmate in high school who clutched the railing with both hands and then shouted at us, “Don’t stop me, I’m going to jump down.” In the end we all rushed up, pried his fingers open, and nearly threw him down ourselves。。。。
I’ve started taking action. Next semester there’ll be a set theory discussion group—are you interested? Jech’s set theory. If you’re interested, please move over to the BBS and send an internal message to ganganray—-he’s also one of you Shanghai people
2008-12-31 18:40:24
Not interested~ What’s there to discuss about set theory? The discussion group I’m hoping for is not one for mutual help in studying, but one for arguing with one another.
2008-12-31 19:21:24 Anonymous 124.205.78.223
You should know that our dream is still that old anecdote about Leibniz: when a dispute arises, just take out a pen and calculate.
Argue? Better to calculate instead.
2008-12-31 19:54:38
So you’re also one of those pursuing dreams—not bad, not bad. Unfortunately, our languages are a little incompatible… My mother tongue is modern Chinese, I’m fluent in the Shanghai dialect, have a slight grasp of Classical Chinese, and can barely make some use of English. As for you, if you want to argue in Urdu, Arabic, Hindi, formal language, set theory, or whatever else, then forgive me—I won’t understand, and I won’t be able to join in~ hehe.
2009-01-12 22:48:51 Anonymous 124.205.76.191
Senior brother, you got tx’d again…
Speaking of which, are the crew members you argue with each other your opponents?
2009-01-12 22:57:55
Actually, my crew members don’t necessarily have to argue with one another; they can also be in a relation of interpreting one another. But interpretation is still, in some sense, argument. The basic goal is still to preserve the common while seeking differences.
2009-01-12 23:07:29
The meaning of “opponent” is like the person you spar with when practicing martial arts. Of course, without an opponent, one person can also train hard in internal strength and achieve great things, but it is inevitably easy to end up with something flashy and unsubstantial.
In addition, it is very good to occasionally test one’s skills against opponents from entirely different schools.
The highest realm may perhaps be to have no moves and yet surpass those with moves, but generally speaking, being able to integrate the strengths of various schools and establish a unique martial art of one’s own counts as reaching the level of a master.
Translated from the Chinese original with AI assistance. The original text is authoritative.
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