“Allowing my thoughts to soar with the fantasy, I can almost feel an unintentional glimpse at the world through a cottage window. It is the dream-like scenery - a world of fantasy which seems to be both real and surreal. We are living in a world of ephemerality, while many things surrounding us might be regarded as fables with unexplainable morals. Arthur Schopenhauer has once described the world as "will and representation," through which the world has been defined and depicted. Everything existing in the world is related to human consciousness, while all the feelings originate from the psychological perceptions of humans as well. Even though it is a self-constructed and self-accumulated world, it still includes unlimited ideas within. In Chu Shao-Lin's novel "Sparrows," he mentions a story about the "queen of Shaba," who lives in a world where everything is perfect. The space and the time reach no end in the kingdom of Shaba, and the people there never die.

No one knows what "imperfection" means. One day, however, one person raises a question about "what unhappiness is." Everyone is lost in the puzzle, so the person decides to look for the answer. Soon, he becomes the wise man in the kingdom as how other people see him. He figures out that the so-called "perfection" is not perfect at all since it does not include the "imperfection." As the story begins, the journey should start with the land I have stepped on, the soil I have touched, and the air I have smelled. I open a door, which leads to me an endless beach, the mountains without any trace of human, the fresh grassland, and the clouds soaring around the sky. The image creates a pleasant atmosphere, suggesting a perfect world without any worry. Everything exists peacefully. Even the sparrows which used to jump around stay quiet here. Neither spreading their wings nor flying with the colorful balloons, the sparrows have fun with themselves quietly and peacefully, showing their presence in a realistic but yet non-instinctive way. The tame omnivorous animals seem to be even quieter here, playing a harmonious game with sparrows while trying not to be noticed. Though the scene is not visualized in a strong and intensive way, it still tells the story from the both perspectives, inviting viewers to refresh their souls as well as their thoughts. Perhaps one day you happen to open the door, through which you might be able to see more stories. In your own stories, sparrows no longer take the stage but are replaced by the imagination and the atmosphere you have been experienced.”

-Huang Yisheng