Approach Heidegger, let him see a different world
Chen Zhi said: If my story can change people’s views on the identity of "migrant workers", I am looking forward to it.
Our reporter Liu Xiaoyan and Yang Zhaokui
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In the past few days, the translation of the philosophical work "Heidegger's Introduction" by migrant worker Chen Zhi has been reported by the media, which has aroused public attention to the collision of the two identities.
On November 24, a reporter from the Workers' Daily interviewed Chen Zhi, hoping to find out why he was obsessed with Heidegger, why he translated the "Introduction to Heidegger" and his views on his identity as a migrant worker.
A house less than 20 square meters, a 1.5-meter-wide double bed, a foldable dining table full of clutter, a desk with a laptop and three stacks of books, one person...
At 7pm on November 24, in a rental house in Jimei District, Xiamen City, Fujian Province, Chen Zhi was waiting for his wife to return home from get off work.
After coming to Xiamen for nearly six months, he has not found a permanent job.
However, in the past six months, he has translated Richard Polt's philosophical monograph "Heidegger Introduction".
From the pages of the book, from the obscure text, he slowly relieved the pressure of reality and found another possibility in life.
Chen Zhi was discovered by the media because he posted on the Internet asking about the possibility of publication of philosophical works and his identity as a migrant worker.
After the accident was noticed, some publishing house editors contacted Chen Zhi, hoping to try to publish his translation works.
At the same time, he has already started the translation of another philosophical work, and hopes to receive a university education in the future.
The translation of "Heidegger's Introduction" opened another window of his life.
Why Heidegger
Chen Zhi was born in the rural area of Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province in 1990. At the age of 18, he was admitted to a mathematics major in a second school.
Chen Zhi has always been interested in issues such as the nature of feeling and the nature of consciousness. "The doubts or perplexities about these issues have led me to philosophy."
"I have read almost all the books of famous thinkers and philosophers in the library, including Heidegger's "Being and Time", but I couldn't even read the catalog at that time." Chen Zhi said, because he was too addicted to philosophy. , Ignoring schoolwork and taking the initiative to withdraw from school based on the school’s recommendations and weighing his own wishes.
The halt of school education instead made Chen Zhi go further and further on the road of self-education.
In 2011, when Chen Zhirental lived in a basement in Tongzhou, Beijing, he once again picked up Heidegger's Existence and Time.
"This book is very difficult to read. At first, I wanted to'challenge' myself. Later, my understanding of this book made me realize that its thinking is indeed very profound."
Chen Zhi believes that his introverted personality, coupled with his stuttering problem, prevents him from working for a long time at a certain job.
During this period, he traveled to Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Beijing and other places, and worked as a sewing worker in a clothing factory, a maintenance worker in an electronics factory, and a warehouse mover.
The daily heavy, tiring and monotonous repetitive work content made Chen Zhi even less time and desire to communicate with others, and he began to focus more on philosophical reading.
For a long time, he carried his Kindle with more than 1,200 e-books.
Why translate
Chen Zhi told reporters that it was Heidegger's depth of thought and the "existent problems" he always explored that made him finally attracted by this philosopher.
Therefore, when he wanted to learn more fully, he began to translate the "Introduction to Heidegger".
This is an English work. In Chen Zhi's plan, it will take at least half a year or even longer to complete the initial translation.
"Because I still need to work, the time outside of work is very limited." And his English foundation is weak, he needs to learn vocabulary from a certain translation software.
Before officially starting translation work this year, Chen Zhi kept reading and thinking about philosophy monographs.
Chen Zhi told reporters that translation is also a kind of philosophical learning activity, “Because translation requires every sentence to be understood clearly, but I will skip sentences that I don’t understand when reading, so translation allows me to read more carefully. ".
In order to complete the translation work, he needs to use the English dictionary and the Chinese translation of Heidegger's related books.
In addition, he also needs to overcome inner anxiety and loneliness.
"My anxiety comes from multiple sources, including not earning much money, guilt about my family, difficulties in understanding philosophy, and the isolation and ridicule of the people around me." In 2020, Chen Zhi met people who also came from the countryside through blind dates. Wife, and married her to start a family, which eased his loneliness.
It was in this situation that Chen Zhi completed the translation of "Heidegger Introduction" in 4 months. "My philosophical foundation is relatively weak. From my own point of view, 4 months It was done ahead of schedule."
After the initial translation, Chen Zhi wanted to proofread meticulously and contact the publishing house to publish the translation results.
To this end, he posted on Douban "Heidegger Group" introducing his status as a migrant worker and translation work.
Unexpectedly, the publishing process was not smooth, but Chen Zhi's story attracted the attention of the media.
Why cause concern
Chen Zhi understands why his story arouses the attention of public opinion.
He said: "As some commentators have said, it may be that the gap between'migrant workers' and'Heidegger' is too large, so people are surprised."
Although not good at talking and communicating, Chen Zhi also observed that many migrant workers like to read books.
"Some people read books for exams, some people read magazines, novels, etc., and some people just think reading is meaningful and fulfilling."
Before that, in order to have time for translation, he had to ask for leave from the factory from time to time, but the workers did not know what he was doing.
He said: "Abandoning the matter of reading philosophy books, I and them are in the same social status and social identity."
Chen Zhi said: "Over 10 years of observation and experience of migrant workers have made me feel that migrant workers work very hard. If my story can change some people's views on the identity of migrant workers, then I am looking forward to it. Of course, migrant workers must also have their own pursuits and continuously improve their skills or academic qualifications in order to live better."
As Heidegger said, people should "live poetically on the earth."
(At the request of the interviewee, Chen Zhi is a pseudonym)