Railing Codex

Two years ago, I completed my thesis about a certain American film and my department handed it over to two professors for a blind peer review. Their critiques came back a few days later. One professor said that my text made contributions to the domain in question and had insight. The other said that I hadn’t considered the cultural angle as a Chinese person and my approach lacked values and responsibility—that I was a product of the intense westernization of Chinese academia.

I still managed to graduate. After moving to Shanghai, I and my works have become ever more concerned with ancient China, especially the history of language. After these experiences, I’m at a loss as to whether or not I believe in a fixed definition of China.

For now, I still use mostly Chinese language in my practice, and it’s my dream to write someday like Kafka or Charlie Kaufman.

之前一度喜欢用“然而”作为一段表述的开头，因为当我把“然而”后面的话说完的时候，“然而”前面没有说的，经常也就呼之欲出了。
前面的话在后面的话的反面的里面，像是刻一张版画，一刀下去，凹和凸、明和暗、是和否，同时生成。
然而，一个词，两个字。
然说：“是这样的”，而说：“不，是这样的”。
然留着前文的余火、余烬、余热、余温、余音、余味、余威、余毒、余孽。
然而，而要的是弃绝这种种余悸。
然而，前一个字“然”粘着前文，如同一人负刺刺杀杀父仇人复仇之前的简单寒暄，挑起话题让他放松警惕，虚与委蛇 1以便寻找时机，踩住影子令他寸步难离。然而，后一个字“而”却说，既是委蛇，势必难藏双头，说话不免结结巴巴磕磕绊绊，又不慎探出口中信子，如丫，如叉，一霎时，“而”字的四牙宛刺，已结扎了仇人的喉中话。

I used to like putting the word “however” at the beginning of a statement, because after I finished making a point through the words following “however,” whatever I hadn’t said before “however” was often revealed.
 
What came before existed within the opposite of what came after, like carving a woodblock, a stroke of the chisel, concave and convex, light and dark, yes and no, a simultaneous production.
However: a conjunction, two words.
Ever says: “It is what it is.” How says, “No, this is what it is.”
Ever holds on to what’'s been said, retaining its residual flame, its residual ash, its residual heat, warmth, sound, taste, power, evil, and sin.
However, what How wants is the elimination of all residue.
However,  “ever” sticks to the previous part of the text, just like a person’s simple pleasantries before stabbing and slashing his father’s nemesis to avenge his death, stirring up conversation to let him let down his guard, feinting and fronting to find the opportune moment to step on his shadow so he can’t budge an inch. However, “how” says that it would be hard to hide even a feint or front, to stop stuttering and stumbling, and accidentally one might let slip the core, like fuck or fork, in an instant the word “how” becoming spikes that ligate words lodged in the nemesis’s throat.

委蛇（wēi yí）：常写作“逶迤”，也作“威迤、威夷”等，此处“蛇”俗作“虵”，虵从虫也声，也是蛇的上古字，其上古音为“yí”。《山海经·海内经》记述，“委蛇”又名“延维”，蛇身而人首（有两首），身紫头红，其长与车辕相当，烦厌雷声，打雷时呆立不动。