松易涅

松易涅

原创作品遵循 CC BY 4.0 国际许可协议。All original works are licensed under CC BY 4.0. 博客/Blog: sungyinieh.com
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About

Preface#

This Xlog blog is my disaster recovery node, and updates will be slightly slower. The main node is: sungyinieh.com

Why I Write a Blog#

For human attention, "you" must be interesting enough—whether through actively emitted signals or observable indicators—to attract others to come closer to you. Writing is both a signal and a generator of indicators. Writing articles, papers, and books requires a considerable level of ability from the author: only when their thought intensity and expression level meet the standards can ideas be transformed into words. Writing and thinking are interrelated but distinct abilities.

While I write with the motivation of self-affirmation, I also feel a bit happy and vain when others praise my writing achievements, but these are secondary. The purpose of Marx and Engels writing "Capital" was by no means to showcase how profound their analysis and insights into human society were. Proving one's ability is one of the outcomes of writing. Everyone has different motivations and purposes for writing. Motivation is a psychological drive that stems from inner needs, desires, or emotions, answering the question of "why do something." It can be explicit or implicit, and can be internal or external, such as interest, satisfaction, and rewards or punishments. Purpose, on the other hand, refers to the desired outcome or state that actions aim to achieve, answering the question of "what result to achieve."

The desire to express and share is my main motivation. Although "when humans think, God laughs," I might as well laugh at God first. Reading texts and works, engaging in extensive reading; experiencing certain events, feeling something, and being unable to resist thinking, then wanting to express and share the results of that thinking with others. This forms a positive feedback mechanism of "reading/experiencing—thinking/reflection—expressing—sharing."

Writing is also a sense of control over life, even a sense of mastery. Many things do not develop according to one's expectations. Modern life can easily spiral out of control. Thus, I seek a fixed anchor point to stabilize my inner self and soul (if there is one). Writing is a process that one can autonomously manage. Looking around, fame and fortune are all external possessions; only thoughts cannot be stolen or lost. Writing is an activity that does not require recognition from others; it is a source of joy, bringing peace and tranquility (even if only for a moment).

A secondary motivation is the desire to be "seen" and "recognized," both of which are closely related to social connections and self-esteem. "Being seen" points to "a sense of existence," while "being recognized" points to "a sense of value" and "a sense of meaning."

I realized the concept of "sense of existence" early on. For society, a person's physical death is not the end of their life; "social death" is—being abandoned and forgotten, as if that person never existed. Of course, the deceased has already become part of history during their lifetime, supporting the brilliant historical figures of that era. I do not pursue physical immortality—Mao Zedong's preserved body is a prime example. Even if pursued, it would be futile. I once fantasized about this, like the story in "The Man from Earth," where one would inevitably become an alien to humanity, constantly living and dying under new identities, with the socially meaningful "I" becoming a wandering soul without a fixed place, similarly rejected by society. The transmission of thought and spirit achieves social immortality—Mao Zedong Thought is a prime example. I once thought of writing a book to achieve this purpose, but now I no longer pursue it deliberately, though this motivation still exists.

As for the sense of value and meaning, the former refers to the degree of acceptance by micro-individuals and macro-collectives in human society, while the latter points to philosophical inquiries about humanity, life, and even "existence" itself. The criteria for determining a sense of value are highly subjective and vague, involving both individual affirmation and collective recognition. Many self-proclaimed extraordinary individuals possess a strong self-identity at the individual level. Those engaged in public welfare and charity are more likely to gain collective recognition. Striving for the liberation of all humanity will earn both individual and collective affirmation. The contemplation of meaning is even more subjective, with religion, philosophy, and science offering different answers. Philosophically, Socrates stated in "Apology" that an unexamined life is not worth living; Pascal proposed in "Man is a Thinking Reed" that human greatness comes from thought—I only feel "alive" when I think.

My writing has two main purposes:

  1. Extract information from vast materials, filter and structure that information into knowledge, and systematize knowledge into insights and wisdom—"Materials—Information—Knowledge—Insights and Wisdom." Gradually abstracting information and logically constructing a new information system based on causal relationships.

  2. Unconditionally transmit information and share knowledge, providing public goods of information. I hope my writing can help others. While it may not be as noble as "preaching" or "teaching," "clarifying doubts" is also good.

Therefore, the blog is primarily a vessel for the writing process and, secondarily, a platform for presenting and preserving writing results. My blog resembles a “digital garden” and a reading platform. Once, I was obsessed with the "perfectionism" of "finishing before publishing," leaving incomplete articles in the draft box. Later, I came across Kaffa's blog, let go of that obsession, and began to share both drafts and completed works on the blog, sharing my shallow and structured thoughts with everyone.

Another significance of blogging is escaping external scrutiny. "Escaping" implies the existence of "scope" and "boundaries," where the scope refers to the physical territory and cyberspace of mainland China, and the boundaries refer to borders and the GFW; "external" is contrasted with internality, leaving only self-scrutiny. Apart from the chaotic era of the Republic of China, the political oligarchic authoritarian era in China is often accompanied by strict and specific speech censorship. Speech censorship is essentially thought censorship. Surface-level criticism will not be troubled by the authorities; instead, it may be praised, demonstrating the authorities' dedication to the welfare of the people. However, once one criticizes the irrationality of autocracy or completely denies it, they will face ruthless retaliation, being arrested and imprisoned, or facing execution. Today, it is not autocracy but a "party" authoritarianism that far surpasses the past. The modern proletariat in China lacks political representatives and organized group forces on the political stage, which is quite frightening and sad. The proletarians have no unions, groups, media, institutions, or parties that represent their interests... In short, there are no organizations that represent their own interests. Any public attempt to form a tightly-knit organization not permitted by the "party" will be stifled in its infancy.

When I was tinkering with my personal website in 2021, I learned about "personal blogs" and thought having my own website was a cool thing. Thus, in 2022, I legally established a personal blog, and in 2023, I joined the "Ten-Year Agreement" and "Personal Station Store" blog platforms. Later, I published a narrative about my university experience during the pandemic on the blog; I also reposted a NetEase News article titled “The Past and Present of the Prime Minister's Press Conference”, which led to a call from the Cyberspace Administration of China to remove the article. I complied. Before establishing my personal blog, I was already aware of the severe issues with the censorship of creators' expressions on commercial social platforms in mainland China and the problematic "approval first, then establish the site" model for blog establishment and operation. I am interested in history, political economy, and political science, and I cannot help but express sharp opinions. Therefore, after that phone call, I decided to establish my blog outside mainland China. Due to the sensitivity of the article's content, I also proactively withdrew from Chinese blogging platforms in mainland China to avoid drawing fire upon myself.

As for the blog's viewership, I am not particularly concerned. If someone reads it, I will be happy. If someone interacts, I will be delighted. If no one reads or interacts, I will not feel "talented but unrecognized" or "unable to see the greatness," but rather adopt a more "whatever" attitude—after all, my original intention was not to chase the feeling of "being noticed." Since I chose a blog platform rather than social media, the audience is naturally smaller. However, blogs surpass social media, as mentioned earlier, in terms of ease of sharing and lack of enforced censorship; I mainly value this aspect.

If I Stop Writing My Blog#

If my blog has not been updated for more than three months, please assume I am in a "quantum superposition state" of being arrested, ill, or deceased.

As mentioned above, my motivation for blogging is "writing," and the prerequisites for reading and thinking are a clear mind and access to reading materials. The prerequisites for writing and blogging are having paper and pen tools and internet-connected computer devices, such as a phone and a computer. Therefore, as long as I am awake, able to move freely, and have a phone or computer, I will definitely update.

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