the idea of writing this book was brewed in a mountain area of the west of Hubei Province and I finished wwriting it in the Pearl River Delta. The writing last 4 years to 1992 from 1988.At the begiinning of writing I was oftern overwhelmed by excitement and passion while now at the moment of finishing I have no single relaxation from writing this book.It would be a sin for me when a not successfully written book let its readers down.
“在歷史過程裏，事物的發生和發展往往跟我們鬧別扭，惡作劇，推翻了我們定下的鐵案，塗抹了我們畫出的藍圖，給我們的不透風，不漏水的嚴密理論系統搠上大大小小的窟窿。”（錢鐘書,1982,“漢譯第壹首英語詩《人生頌》及有關二三事”）
鐵案尚可推翻，藍圖尚可塗抹，不透風，不漏水的嚴密理論系統尚可搠紮，何況我這散錢未串、引弓不滿之作？
In history,things usually didn't happen or develop as we wished.They played distasteful tricks with us,overthrew cases decided by us, smeared the blueprint drawn by us and thus poked hols, big or small, in our tight theoretical system which we once considered a bastion of iron.(quoted from Qian Zhongshu's First english Poet Ode to Life Translated into Chines by Me and the concened Anecdotes,1982)
Since the decided cases can be owerthronwn, the set blueprints can be smeard, the tight system cam be poked, not to say my not-perfect book.
倒不如放聰明壹點，不去強求創理論定系統，只求說出自己的（也許是新的）感受。好比捏泥人，不怕缺少了什麽部位，倒是怕捏出來的部位不顯神采與靈氣。
let ourselves be a litte wise not to force ourselves to create some system but just tell what's in our mind-maybe something new.Think about mud figures fabricating.We are not worried about parts missing but about the lack of spirit and soul of the parts we are fabricating.
抱定了這個宗旨，寫起來就少了許多包袱。若有蹈跡承響，自是功力不夠，絕非偷懶而陳陳相因。只要人們闔上書後說這麽壹句：“還算提出了壹個問題，”那我就達到了目的
with this princaple in my mind, I wrote with less mental pressure.If the book is not well received, it is not because I don't work hard on it but beacause I am not competent enough.when people say"Anyway,some problem is raised" at finishing reading the book, I will feel relaxed for my goal has been reached.