It was a day off today. This morning, I talked with a Chinese friend on WeChat. We used English to enjoy that talking (we used the video function,) and I found it was really an wonderful event. Even though it was a little bit embarrassing for me (actually, I must have shaved my beard!) she showed her huge kindness/gracefulness certainly therefore I actually/deeply can have enjoyed this wonderful event.
But, after having that meeting I have thought - What on earth can I recall as any Chinese essences? What can I think from any Asian countries? You might/would say I'm just trying to be hypocritical, or simply this topic is too sensitive to enjoy, but I have to go back to this issue/fact... Basically, I am an Asian one with black hair, black eyes, and yellow skin. But I always tend to look at the Western countries as England and America.
Remembering this country Japan's history, I can see that we Japanese once had tried to follow the Western countries' rapid progress so hardly/seriously (we say this as "leave Asia to enter Europe [脱亜入欧]".) That efforts have enabled us to learn various products of Western cultures (from politic to pop culture...) So I won't say it must be simply bad/wrong, but I try to imagine how the other Asian countries see this Japanese figure. Is this strange, or cool?
After having a nap, I have read Kazumi Saeki [佐伯一麦], a great Japanese novelist's collection of essays. His novels are often described as "Shi-shousetsu [私小説] (Wikipedia says this can be said as "I-Novel".)" which is a collection of achievements which are based on his own personal memories (but he has tried to reproduce the novels as fiction.) How can I introduce this great tradition of Japanese "Shi-shousetsu"? This idea, this question is also so provoking for me.
And after finishing reading that novel by Saeki, with remembering Victoria, I started reading Masha Gassen's powerful work "The Future is History". It seems a great achievement which is telling me a secret history of Russia. I can't see why I am reading this - but who knows? As my inspiration/hunch whispers, I keep on enjoying them...
