Timelessness

I feel liberated. I am freed from the snare of Chin P'ing Mei. I finished the three inches of book, all 863 pages in 10 point print. The plum blossom has been plucked.

Yet, I feel unanchored, like I've been cast out of the cruel corruptions and petty fights of Ming Dynasty China, no longer privy to the secrets and trysts of Hsi Men's household and its inhabitants. Never mind that they all died at the end of the melodrama.

Day time soaps have nothing on these people and their intrigues for money, power, loyalty and sex.

In my world, there are not so much as secrets but known things that we choose not to say to each other. For example, sometimes I would like to go to my pilates class on my own and not have go with my two friends each time. My friends must feel the same way, but we don't tell each other that. Every once in a while, we somehow just show up to class by ourselves.

In my world, some things are not so different from 16th Century China. Fortunes are made and lost overnight depending on who supports you and who's against you. Ever worked for someone who is determined they don't want you in their office? Ever worked in a company where the director likes you and promotes you to all kinds of positions?

Everyone has their own rationales and reasons, and some people resort to deceit or self-delusional honesty to get what they want. Why else is Bush increasing forces in Iraq?

I guess that's why the Bible, Shakespeare, Dickens and Rumi are still so popular. There are just some universal truths about the human spirit and condition that transcend time and culture.

I am now going to tackle The Three Kingdoms and All Men Are Brothers. Which to read first? They are both waiting for me on my book shelf. Hey, when I am done with these, I will be like a Chinese scholar, having read all five classics.