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A review by nacho_lvn
1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows by Ai Weiwei
5.0
I really liked Ai Weiwei’s memoir because it shines light on the pathway he has followed, the reasons that justify this particular road and the impact it has had in his life- although he reflects on the impact he has had on the world the fact that he focuses on how his path has impacted him and shaped his worldview us very important.
This book is also fundamental because it reminds us how each of us as individuals can make a decision between being complacent or facing off with an unjust system. Weiwei stresses that “when people blur what is right and wrong, what takes over is pragmatism and preoccupation with the expedient.” As a response to this, he posits the importance of freedom as a choice of the individual: “freedom is not a goal but a direction, and it comes into being through the very act of resistance.” It is our choice if we resist, or as has been elsewhere-ludicrously proposed- we exercise our “negative” freedom.
This book is also fundamental because it reminds us how each of us as individuals can make a decision between being complacent or facing off with an unjust system. Weiwei stresses that “when people blur what is right and wrong, what takes over is pragmatism and preoccupation with the expedient.” As a response to this, he posits the importance of freedom as a choice of the individual: “freedom is not a goal but a direction, and it comes into being through the very act of resistance.” It is our choice if we resist, or as has been elsewhere-ludicrously proposed- we exercise our “negative” freedom.