Not long ago, 29-year-old Jiang Chang released his original video "I spent 2 years and asked 150 people what is the meaning of life" on Bilibili. Soon the number of views of this video exceeded 270,000. , 1447 comments and messages.
What is the meaning of life?
This is not only the ultimate and core issue of philosophy, but also a realistic perplexity that every generation of youth faces as they grow up.
From 1980, the "China Youth" magazine published a letter from a reader signed "Pan Xiao", "The road of life, why is it getting narrower and narrower...", which triggered a sensational "discussion on the outlook on life" across the country; until 2016 in Beijing Xu Kaiwen, deputy director of the University's Mental Health Education and Counseling Center, pointed out in his speech that some students have "hollow heart disease" because of their value deficiencies-"they don't know why they live, what is the value and meaning of living", which sparked heated discussions.
Thinking and questioning the meaning of life may be a compulsory lesson for every generation of youth.
"If you don't need the answer to this question, this question doesn't bother you, and you can live according to your own wishes; if this question makes you painful and confused, then you should look for it." Jiang Chang said.
It is not easy to talk to strangers through the camera
Due to the misfortune of his native family, Jiang Chang has been shrouded in loneliness since he was a child, and he is often deeply involved in various emotions.
In the third year of junior high school, after reading Plato's "Utopia", he began to think: "What is the purpose of the operation of the human world? Why do people live?"
In 2021, in order to relieve his depression, 28-year-old Jiang Chang resigned from his job in Wuhan's new media operation, and began to raise his camera to point at passersby passing by, trying to solve the confusion he had since he was young: the meaning of life. what is it.
In order to see farther and save travel expenses, he also bought a mountain bike and rode all the way to visit, traveling all over Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan and Guangxi.
It is not easy to talk to strangers directly through the camera. When he mustered up the courage to ask questions, some interviewees would remain silent, some would wave their hands and refuse, and some would even speak ill at each other.
"My personality is relatively closed, but in order to get the answers I want, I must open myself." At first, Jiang Chang could only bite the bullet and stop pedestrians.
Before going out to shoot every time, he will continue to build himself mentally, "If I feel that the state is not good, I will tell myself that it is okay not to go out today, and take it slowly."
Over time, Jiang Chang has been able to get in touch with more and more diverse subjects.
In December 2021, Jiang Chang found a centenarian on the Internet. After discussing the interview with his family members in private messages, he immediately rushed over by train.
But when they arrived at the gate of the elderly community, the family members claimed that they would receive several thousand yuan in red envelopes, otherwise they refused to be interviewed.
"If it's less than 200 yuan, I can pay for it myself, but if he wants so much, I have no choice."
Although there are difficulties, Jiang Chang is often moved by the fireworks in the world along the way.
In the early morning of June 10, 2021, he followed his friends to a barbecue stand in an alley in Chongqing.
When Jiang Chang turned on the camera and proposed to shoot a video, the proprietress in an apron put her hands behind her back, too shy to speak for a while.
Seeing the tall male boss skillfully sprinkling cumin powder into the barbecue, Jiang Chang turned the camera and asked, "Who is the most important person in your life?" The boss pointed to the lady boss next to him without hesitation, and said : "My wife." Hearing her husband's answer, the proprietress turned her head and laughed.
Seeing this scene, Jiang Chang couldn't help showing an "aunt smile": "This is an unexpected effect, and the two hearts suddenly collided again. I feel that I have done a good thing."
Of course, Jiang Chang doesn’t take pictures of everyone he meets, sometimes he just wants to immerse himself in that moment and enjoy the communication itself.
On the afternoon of February 9, 2023, on the national highway from Baise City, Guangxi to Nanning City, there was a constant flow of traffic, and Jiang Chang was riding.
At this time, he saw a blind man groping in his direction on the side of the road with a cane.
He was wearing a gray Chinese tunic suit, his face was wrinkled, and he didn't wear sunglasses.
Seeing the blind man cautiously probing around, Jiang Chang felt it was dangerous, so he stopped and talked with him on the side of the road.
"I asked him what the meaning of life is. He thought about it for a while and said it was bright."
The meaning of life, different people have different answers
Jiang Chang recorded all kinds of answers he encountered during the journey through video, and made a biography of these ordinary people in his own way.
In two years, Jiang Chang interviewed about 300 people, 150 of whom were edited into the released video.
They are of different ages, occupations, and personalities...
But it is precisely because of these differences that the content presented in the video becomes vivid and vivid.
Among the answers given by the interviewees, some believe that the meaning of life lies in making contributions to society; Strive for better living conditions for your family...
Faced with this rare sample of answers, Jiang Chang often reviewed everyone's voices, wondering if he could solve his own confusion.
He found that children are mostly ignorant of the meaning of life, young people are often anxious about the future, middle-aged people are helpless because of family and career constraints, and the elderly are more open-minded and love to say "I am at this age How else can it be?"
In addition, he also found that the higher the cultural level and economic level of people, the more traces of thinking can be seen in the corresponding answers.
For example, a young man who just graduated from a martial arts school said that he wanted to "find a job and not worry his parents", while a reporter from a literary magazine tried to make his different selves "self-consistent".
It is worth noting that occupation is also an important influencing factor.
For example, volunteers who serve the disabled believe that the meaning of life is "seeing other people's smiling faces", doctors who do free clinics in the community say "let people spend the least amount of money to see a doctor", and the answer of cleaners is "labor".
This reminded him of a barber he met in Chongqing in May 2021. The other party opened a barber shop of more than ten square meters. One person was responsible for washing, cutting, and shaving customers, and struggling to support his family.
But this barber often goes to Daliang Mountain in Sichuan to do charity, delivering books, microwave ovens, and pressure cookers to local children. This is also the happiest time he thinks of.
Talking about the meaning of life, the barber said that many people in his profession suffer from occupational diseases in the lumbar spine, so his dream is to open a nationwide chain of barbershops and buy pension insurance for all barbers.
Differences in personality and life experience will also shape different cognitions.
Jiang Chang once met a middle-aged bar singer. She said that the meaning of life is to "go through many ups and downs and suffer a lot".
"At that time, her head was deeply lowered, and I could feel that she might have experienced many moments of despair and helplessness." There is also a 25-year-old girl who is working hard in Shanghai. When talking about the meaning of life, she emphasized, "I only live For once, the best of everything."
Jiang Chang remembered that when the girl said this, her eyes lit up and her body suddenly sat upright.
He later described the contrast between the middle-aged bar singer and the 25-year-old girl as "deadly" and "vigorous".
Instead of finding meaning, create it
In Jiang Chang's view, the journey of seeking answers to questions is not a straight line to the goal, but a "tortuous mountain road" that sometimes makes people feel enlightened, and sometimes makes people confused and lost.
"On the one hand, my loneliness was healed, because I saw that many people in the world would have the same confusion as me, and would also be confused and suffering. Some of them now have their own answers, and some are still suffering. Thinking hard. When I saw them, it was like seeing friends who met each other long ago."
But after hearing many answers, Jiang Chang sometimes felt lost in it: "Then why do I continue the journey? What kind of mentality should I move forward with?"
In early November 2022, an entrepreneur gathering was held on the top floor of an office building in Chengdu, where Jiang Chang helped his friends shoot videos.
When it comes to the psychological misunderstanding of entrepreneurs, a guest speaker from France mentioned that "instead of looking for meaning, it is better to create meaning".
This sentence made Jiang Chang's eyes light up.
What is the difference between finding meaning and creating meaning?
In Jiang Chang's understanding, the meaning of life obtained through searching already exists.
And creating the meaning of life is more like making one's own actions rely on in a barren grassland, rather than relying on the outside world.
"There is no so-called correct answer that will affect your free choice. Feel what you love in your heart, what moves you, what makes you feel excited, joyful and warm, what is what you mention Choose it with bright eyes." In November 2021, this interview with a female lawyer was placed at the end of "I spent 2 years and asked 150 people what is the meaning of life". In Jiang Chang's eyes, the representative of "creating" the meaning of life.
This woman was born in philosophy, but successfully obtained a lawyer's certificate and opened a law firm. She took on many big cases and realized what she thinks: trying to let those good parts influence others, and being able and effective to bring out those dark things. part of the cage.
Under the video released by Jiang Chang, many netizens also expressed their yearning for creating the meaning of life in the comments.
The comment with the highest number of likes is: "My Chinese teacher in high school told us that life is meaningless. Harvest it and grow from it."
There is a cycling route map for traveling around China on Jiang Chang’s mobile phone. Next, he plans to complete the rest of the journey in two or three years, and will insist on updating what he sees and hears on Station B.
"In the process of life, people will constantly observe the outside world, reflect on themselves, and constantly revise their cognition. Correspondingly, I will constantly change the answer to such questions about what the meaning of life is." In Jiang Chang In his eyes, this inquiry has no end, and every encounter with people will enrich his understanding of life.
Intern Shi Xianxian China Youth Daily China Youth Daily reporter Xie Yang Source: China Youth Daily