Chao Er Tai

約1989–90年

泛黃

POST WINGS

People often say: "Feel sorrow for the heavens, pity for humanity."
But I say:
"Humanity pities, the heavens grieve."
The heavens' grief is a great sorrow.

Not from the heart's intent,
Yet I cannot help but speak.
Not from the heart's desire,
Yet I cannot help but act.
Not from the heart's ambition,
Yet I cannot help but proceed.
Not from the heart's sweetness,
Yet I cannot help but follow.

Who in life is not sorrowful?
How pitiful can humanity be?
All people in the world are pitiable,
And that is a great sorrow.
It is the grief of the heavens.

In "Grief of the Heavens," Zhao Erdai presents not a religious pity, but an almost existential gaze. The "grief of the heavens" he speaks of does not imply that the heavens possess emotions; rather, he points out that the workings of nature and the universe inherently lack the ethics and compassion expected by humans.
This understanding of the world, rational yet unsparing, resonates profoundly with the Western philosopher Schopenhauer’s notion of "the world as will and representation."
The sorrow felt by humanity in the universe is not due to the world's cruelty, but rather because the world is indifferent to the concepts of cruelty or kindness.

"Grief of the Heavens" is not an accusation against the world, but rather an acknowledgment of its essence.
Heaven and earth are devoid of sentiment, yet humanity has feelings;
Sorrow arises precisely because of this.

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