Jumpnauts Quotes

“Chang Tian chuckled. “When I was in the kitchen, I heard the three of you debate ‘good relationships.’ My goodness, you’re all theory with no practical knowledge at all. What do you know about healthy relationships?” “All right, expert, why don’t you enlighten us?” Jiang Liu asked. “A good relationship must first allow each party to face their own faults and defects, and in that clarity, they can strive to heal and become complete. Moreover, both parties must ultimately accept the other as they are—in that process the two will repeatedly approach, resist, re-approach, re-resist; they must learn to open up and reveal their core selves and learn that it’s okay to be vulnerable without being hurt, being abandoned, or hurting and abandoning. And after acceptance, there comes the challenge of long-term trust—”
― Hao Jingfang, Jumpnauts

“Ren.” The others pondered this exchange. “Ren” is at the core of Confucianism, naming a concept that has no exact translation into other human languages. It’s a type of love that doesn’t fall within the typology of philia, eros, storge, and agape, a love that emphasizes mutual respect, exchange, and the abiding humaneness that drives true altruism. In pronunciation, it is a homonym for the word for “human.” As a hanzi, it is written as a compound formed from the hanzi for “person” and “two.” A less elegant but more digestible way to express the ideas within “ren” might be: you and I, being human together.”
― Hao Jingfang, Jumpnauts

“I reject aspects of Confucianism that emphasize hierarchy in relations, obedience to authority, and all the rites and restrictive rules of propriety,” Qi Fei said. “But there are also aspects of Confucianism that deserve consideration. For example, the belief that one should do what is right even if they know failure is certain, or the notion that the virtuous should be especially scrupulous when there’s no one around to observe their actions. These ideas are very much worth preserving.”
― Hao Jingfang, Jumpnauts