ABOUT ME

I'm Shi Yuan, you can also call me Yond. Chinese and from Guiyang, a not-so-famous city in the south-west of China. I'm currently pursuing a Master's degree in Philosophy in Barcelona, ​​Spain, and may later switch to a Master's in Literature (the field I originally hoped to apply for). However, neither of these fields would be enough to sustain my life in Europe (I'm not a pure academic, perhaps I will be in the future, but not particularly so). On one hand, I'm an étranger (selon Camus), and on the other hand, I lack the so-called courage to confront world directly (this might sound strange, but you can understand it using Kierkegaard's theories). After experiencing a major intellectual shift, I no longer frequently engage with the reality of l'autre in any way (if you've read the rest of my page, you'll know this is one of the ultimate things for me), thus falling into a state of self-contradictory distress. For this reason, I'll probably only use couchsurfing to connect with people for walks in the city together, because I still hope to build connections. However, the discourse of postmodernism is not epic. Der Engel der Geschichte of which Benjamin spoke, it only exists in the fleeting sigh of beauty. This poor soul ultimately perished in the city where I now live, which is truly laughable, as if his fate had fallen upon me. I bear his failure, yet I still maintain hope. Regardless, I have witnessed my own growth, and through it, I have been able to share in this world, all fine. Thank you.

23/03/26 Update

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

In order to allow myself to look my anxiety in the eye. I could not allow me to be false to myself, so I had to have my "hiding place" stripped away and all the tingles of my skin rooted into the rest of my mind. I want to feel people's truest breath under the city. I need to respond to the people, events and things in my life and let my sensitive senses indulge in the intoxication of reality. Reality - that's what I want.

Interests

• writing
• cooking
• trivia
• video games
• reading
• painting
• classical music
• piano
• history
• philosophy
• life
• learning languages
• dreaming
• post-rock
• d&d
• dulcimer
• architecure

Music, Movies, and Books

Books:
La Pesanteur et La Grâce —— Simone Weil
Le Livre des Questions —— Edmond Jabès
L'envers et L'endroit —— Albert Camus
Une Saison en Enfer —— Arthur Rimbaud
Le Città Invisibili —— Italo Calvino
Under the Sign of Saturn —— Susan Sontag
Бра́тья Карама́зовы —— Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский
O Livro do Desassossego —— Fernando Pessoa
太阳七部书 —— 海子

Music:
Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 'Pathétique' —— Пётр Ильич Чайковский
Piano Concerto in F Sharp Minor, Op. 20 —— Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Скря́бин
Piano Concerto for the left hand in D, Op. 83 ——Joseph Maurice Ravel
Sleep: Murray Ostril (They Don't Sleep Anymore on the Beach); Monheim; —— Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Dash And Blast —— Yndi Halda
二十一世纪不适症 —— 惘闻
Andata —— 坂本龍一

Movie:
Μια αιωνιότητα και μία μέρα —— Θόδωρος Αγγελόπουλος
La montaña sagrada —— Alejandro Jodorowsky
Sanatorium pod klepsydra —— Wojciech Has
Fire of Love
Նռան գույնը —— Սարգիս Հովսեփի Փարաջանյան
Los Versos del Olvido —— Alireza Khatami
سکوت‎ —— محسن مخملباف

Video Game:
Disco Elysium —— Robert Kurvitz and his team
Planescape: Torment —— Black Isle Studios
Pillars of Eternity —— Obsidian Entertainment
Baldur's Gate —— BioWare and Larian Studios
What Remains of Edith Finch —— Giant Sparrow
Death Stranding —— Kojima Productions
Sid Meier's Civilization VI —— Firaxis Games
Crusader Kings III —— Paradox Development Studio

I can't list all my favourite things, but have listed some of them in order to look for possible resonance. As a general rule, I don't blow off steam with most works, but I have the talent of feeling, so when I don't like something, I can always feel the reasons for my dislike quite directly. For example, I don't usually like pop music or sampling music; the former for me over-serves the market with its sycophantic expression, and the latter for me burns out the structure of the original repertoire in its remodelling of other music, and I can't stand that. But I don't get in the way of other people liking them; preference is a private thing.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

No, I don't know, although I aspire to be a bard wandering in the contemporary scene, I don't seem to have done anything epic so far ...... If I have to say, it might be living.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm not sure what to write here, couchsurfing has achieved too vague a title for this one. If the question is what I can teach, what I want to learn and what I can share, well, I'm currently studying philosophy in Barcelona, Spain, and will probably apply for a master of (comparative) literature after that, and I'm personally interested in learning foreign languages, so maybe I can teach you some of them? Even though my current foreign language skills are mediocre. Of course, I also know a bit about history, linguistics, anthropology and art (mainly music and graphic arts), so if you're interested in that, we can talk about those topics too. As for what I'd like to learn... everything real you feel, scense or experience in your life, I think.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I don't know, I haven't travelled in many places at this moment and don't have uplifting stories, which I'm very sorry about. But at least I've maintained a presence in the world for over twenty years, and if you want to hear a Chinese perspective (or mine) on some things, I'd be glad to tell you. As well, if you're craving Chinese food, or want to try a different flavour, It's a pleasure to serve you my hometown dishes.

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Spain