中文收听|Listen English

"Often times, when I notice the differences in recorded history, whether between two individuals or two kinds of cultures I try to remind myself that 'history is a set of lies agreed upon', and everything is a matter of perception.  A full moon, breaking up of fellowship they are all pretty much like the loss of a horse, or a limb in the famous story told in 塞翁失马，.  The loss could be good or even healthy to one's life.  As they said over here in English, we are all but stuff that dreams are made on and our little life is but rounded with a sleep, or to simply put in Chinese, it is 人生如梦, 一场游戏 (life is but a dream or life is a game)" 
  
"I can see you are still viewing the life as nothing but a dream" said Wise Guy, "what a pessimistic 玩世不恭 son of a gun". 
  
"I play the earth (玩世), but have never been disrespectful of this world (不恭)." corrected David.  "There are different ways of playing games.  Some play games very seriously and some others do not". 
  
Wise Guy recalled what his friend was like back in the days and said: "That's right!  You have always been treating life as a game, or rather have always been playing this game called 'life' very seriously.  You used to be the one waking up first in the morning or setting timer in the previous night if we were to plan for an outing, no matter what the plan was for, hiking, dating, catching crabs, frogs or kicking some butts.  Several friends of ours used exactly the same words to describe you as 'a serious gamer' I have heard.  What are the new games that you are playing lately?"  
  
"Well, this is goofy" grimed David.  "I have been more and more serious about studying physics and earth and space science these days that I do not believe that I am playing a game any more while I am actually playing a game.  Recently I tried to mathematically and scientifically prove that everybody is living in nothing but a set of dreams, lies and illusions.  Well, don't take those statements as cynical or pessimistic view although they may sound like it.  Hear me out, it is actually very scientific, mathematical, logical, reasonable and enriched by many years of life experiences, supported by many great historical figures, and all that good stuff?  I am indeed more serious than ever about life than ever before because I can no longer tell the truth from imaginations, but sometimes I think truth and false images are the same thing -- that life is an illusion." 
  
"Are you all right?  Oh, that is the old you, and I should not be too surprised.  What did we used to call you, 'the liar who use truth to deceive people' or something?"  Wise Guy tried to remember the old nickname of his friend. 
  
"Yes.  That was my name 'the truthful liar'.  Those were the good 'o days.  University of Science and Technology of China, Earth and Space Science department.  Back then, what else have we learned over there? besides understanding the meaning of the word geology 'hammer' (锤子) in the Four River area (四川) dialect?  I lived and worked many years after stepping out of university, with out understanding what exactly the school had done to me, until we are now speaking here.  The university was the place that started revealing to me some of the most profound principles between the earth and the heaven.  Those principles included undeniable truth such as:  'life is but an illusion'; '人生如梦'; 'history is a set of lies agreed upon', '塞翁失马，焉知祸福', 'and our little life is rounded with a sleep'. 
  
"I never doubted those thoughts, what's new?  OK, are you seriously going to do to prove those theories with mathematical equations? You know I don't have time to read papers with a bunch of equations or even have the patience to read somebody else’s' logic any more", Wise Guy reminded David that he was no longer interested in doing scientific research anymore, but he was now a businessman.   


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