Awakening from a Mirror Dream

Name: Awakening from a Mirror Dream
Author: Zhang Guofu

镜梦觉

by Zhang Guofu (张国富)

Status: Completed
Length: 119k Words
Genre: Urban
Subgenre: Urban Everyday
Updated: 1y ago
English: Request a translation

Read on Fanqie

Synopsis

What is a dream? Is it an illusion, an extension of reality from the tangible to the intangible, another “distorted” reflection of life, or perhaps all of these? And what is a mirror dream? I think it is a process of introspection: by observing, examining, and reflecting on dreams, one comes to an understanding and is then able to see what kind of person “I” ought to be.

This book explores the theme “See as it is, think as it is, act as it is” through three main sections: Mirror Dream, Looking Back, and As It Is.

1. Mirror Dream: After getting drunk at a work function, Gao Yangming dreams that he wakes in a mist-shrouded forest, guided by the sound of a bell. He climbs to a mountain temple, where he meets an old man, a young monk, and Master Zhixuan. He listens to the old man recount his son’s life, hears about the young monk’s troubled past, and receives Master Zhixuan’s teachings. These encounters lead to the central idea: “The question is what kind of person you are. See as it is, act as it is.”

2. Looking Back: Waking from his dream in the middle of the night, Gao Yangming reflects on the hardships of his upbringing. He remembers how, after graduating from university, he became fixated on the idea that he had to make more money and threw himself into work. Drinking at business functions and scheming among colleagues left him feeling helpless, until he chose to compromise. Those compromises drove a wedge between him and his girlfriend, Sun Xiaomei. Later, after his father was in an accident, it was as if he suddenly woke from a dream.

3. As It Is: To wake as if from a dream is to gain understanding through observation, examination, and reflection. After quitting his job, Gao Yangming undertakes a period of introspection and eventually changes careers to become a psychological counselor. He realizes that the thoughts he once clung to were all about what he wanted and what he had to do to get it, rather than recognizing that he genuinely wanted to do those things and that doing them was itself his purpose.

Stats

33Chapters

24Reads · 30 days

1.6kReads · all time

9Listens

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