Chinese Literature and Culture Volume 20

Editorial: "Every Falling Leaf Carries a Soul" by Chu Dongwei

"Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." (The Book of Genesis) Between dust and dust is life and between peace and peace is all the commotion. Is it the breath that is all that matters?

It is such a coincidence that the three translations in the current issue are haply linked together with a central theme: love in the chaotic world.

Mozi, one of the great sages, advocates jian ai, love yourself, love others. He points out that all the problems in the world is caused by selfish love, love at the cost of others. Reciprocity is the cure. The idea of jian ai, better translated as "inclusive love" than "universal love" or "impartial love", does not denounce love of oneself and one's own family and one's own country; rather it suggests putting oneself in the shoes of others in order to achieve fair play. This consideration for others while looking after one's own interest is exactly the human decency we are badly in need of in today's world. How can the problems be worked out if persons, groups of persons and nations as the ultimate groups of persons constantly highlight their own interests and blame each other for what they are doing themselves? For a long time in modern history, decency has been glorified but now it seems a few people are taking over the world and bent on throwing it away because it is no longer useful. There is a great danger of a moral decay. So the ancient wisdom in "Jian Ai, or Inclusive Love (1)," a chapter of Mozi, is still relevant today.

"Someone Else's Story" by Jin Yi, one of China's modern Leftist writers, translated by Dr. Tian Lu, gives us a picture of  the helplessness of the ordinary people of "Old China" in turmoil. Though the several farmers in the story are perfectly capable of love they cannot afford love under those dire circumstances. Both men, in love with the "wife," unable to divide their love for her and unwilling to put it to a duel, decide to sell her to a richer man and let her go. It is someone else's story but why does it evoke sympathy? "Someone else's story," as Derek Hird points out in his in-depth commentary, "Jin Yi thus reminds us, is also our own." The "disorder" in the world, as described by Mozi, is the culprit behind the tragedy. A further investigation can reveal the real conspirators against mankind.

In the third piece, "Every Falling Leaf Carries a Soul," poet He Guangshun, approaches a falling leaf and thus inquires:

Is it the the soul's upward rise or the the flesh's downfall toward its demise? 

Then he gives his answer:

Fragments of light sparkle, lighting the way of each and every home-bound worm

Every falling leaf carries a soul... 

Yes, every falling leaf carries a soul. Love yourself, love others and the world is at one.