Keep Running

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2021

8K

42 seconds

Digital inkjet print on Chinese Calligraphy Practice Paper with Chinese Ancient Poems

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Paper carries words, words make up ancient poems, and ancient poems become cultural ties that tie generations together, warning us of what is wrong and right, good and bad, giving us guidelines, motivation, and purpose.

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Each generation faces unique dilemmas given to them by the times. Delayed retirement and the weakening of traditional industries leave many middle-aged people powerless to cope. High housing prices and high workloads make city life stressful for young people, and fierce competition in education makes childhood no longer relaxing. But every generation is working hard, living hard, and keeps “running,” and giving up or stopping becomes a non-existent option. We need to chase the speed of technological development; we need to chase the speed of economic growth; we need to chase the speed of our peers; we need to chase the speed of the previous generation. Too much catching up and competition makes each generation more quickly burn out like coal. Some have lost their health, others have abandoned their dreams. But when we practiced calligraphy as children, if we just saw the paper on which we practiced these tracings as a plain, white paper without words, then we could write the words we wanted to write on it at any angle and size. The red line on the paper allows us to practice to get the results we want faster, but it also allows the freedom of writing to be bound by the rules drawn by the red line and the words. Whether it is the practice of calligraphy or life, when we do not see the result as that important, there is always the option outside of the constraints and rules, but when the crowd is chasing speed, chasing goals, chasing results, how many individuals can choose to quit or stop?