Travel (1949)
Liang Shiqiu
Of all the races in the world, the Chinese are the most disinclined to travel. Even in times of famine, they do not lightly set outon the road to escape from hunger, preferring to stay in the same spot to eat grass, gnaw on tree bark, and swallow GuanyinTu.They are afraid that once they leave their homes, they may die on the road and thus lose their last right
-- to die in their own beds. The better-heeled are even less willing to travel: instead, they hang a picture on the wall and claim to have engaged in "armchair travel" simply by looking at it. This is what is meant by the saying, "Being active is not as good as being idle." What this really means is, "there is nothing new under the sun." After all, what are the famous sights of great mountains and rivers, anyway, if not merely a few piles of stones and a puddle of water?