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soidI read Lu Xun’s “Madman’s Diary” – it turned out to be super short. Pretty interesting, and not as influenced by Gogol as I thought; I guess the idea was Gogol’s Записки сумасшедшего, but the story felt deeper. Cannibalism as some strange metaphor for the capitalist world; men eat men. Then I dozed off and saw strange dreams about cannibalism and eating human flesh. I woke up in a sweat – it was a hot and sunny afternoon.
Our friends just feed us and drive everywhere, and want to hang out with us all the time; I can hardly go anywhere on my own. So, we drove again to a place to eat, and I said I wanted to take a walk before dinner – I thought of a walk around the block, but that block turned out long, and it took me over twenty minutes to round it. On one side - the car road, broad and empty, and on the other side – fences, then high rises, gates in the fences, so strangers won't enter the public outdoor space for each housing complex.
The restaurant was themed nostalgic of 1980s China: tiled cemented tables, socialist signs, and metal plates; back then all restaurants were government-owned. One sign said “Young people should work hard to find fulfillment in their life” – or something of that sort, in Chinese, of course – I said I agreed with that as long as the term “work” was defined broadly, as pretty much any meaningful activity including studying, reading, writing, crafting shit, and so on. Most of our friends at the table disagreed with the sign, saying that young people should just relax more and enjoy life – perhaps, as a reflection of the Chinese hard work culture people don’t wanna hear anything about hard work anymore.
Then we walked in the park along the river. This small city is built along the river, not built much to the sides of it, so pretty much any neighborhood has access to the river park. It was quite lively in the evening park: many people gathered in front of a loudspeaker and a phone streaming dancing to Tiktok or something, and dance as a form of exercise – for mostly older people at the square. Another group of musicians was drumming and playing other instruments – reminded me of the musicians in public squares in Europe, but without a money collection box in front. And, again, streaming everything online, another local thing. Another speaker was playing loud ridiculous electronic bangers, and a group of old Chinese guys danced and had fun. These Chinese public square activities looked interesting, a form of democratized expression – there is always something to observe in it. A Thursday night in Hulunbuir.
(written in July, edited in March 2024)