Prologue#
Few people in the village are religious, while many are not. Those who are religious mainly believe in Christianity, though not very devoutly. Those who do not believe in religion may hold some beliefs in Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, or ghosts. For instance, some elderly people are afraid to go out alone at night. But overall, there is nothing commendable about the religion in the village.
Thus, many people naturally conclude that the village has no religion and that the people have no faith. In my view, faith is the highest degree of conviction in something. Religion is the highest degree of conviction in something in a communal form. Therefore, having faith does not necessarily mean believing in gods or Buddhas; it can also mean believing in other things, as long as it is a conviction of the highest degree. From this perspective, everyone has faith. When more people possess this faith, it becomes a religion.
Faith#
So what do people believe in most firmly? What do the people living on this land believe in most firmly?
When I asked people while they were working, they told me it was, of course, money. Indeed, it is money, but money is merely a tool, a power; while it is important, it does not indicate direction.
Therefore, we need to trace back to the theory of the social contract.
Faith is quite similar to the meaning of life; it is just that faith is a definite meaning, while the meaning of life is a more open-ended answer. The former emphasizes a definite answer, while the latter never has a definite answer. Faith is certainty, while meaning is pursuit. Faith can form religion, and the pursuit of meaning can also form religion.
But whether it is faith or the meaning of life, survival is essential. Survival is the greatest religion. There are two ways to survive: one is to strengthen oneself, and the other is to reproduce. For living beings, only upon reaching sexual maturity can they reproduce. The process of sexual maturity is a way of strengthening oneself. Expanding this rule to a higher dimension is equally reasonable. If a person can continually strengthen themselves or is strong enough, they may not need to reproduce. Just like in the stage before sexual maturity, if they are sufficiently new and full of vitality, they cannot and will not hope to reproduce. Conversely, if one is eager to reproduce and pursues fertility, then that species is too precocious. Precocious species are often not robust enough because of their short growth cycle. In the animal kingdom, many species exist solely for reproduction; I can't recall their names at the moment. They spend their entire lives preparing for reproduction and die once it is over. Of course, this kind of reproductive strength is also a form of strength, but it is too thin.
So, if the people on this land are not strong enough and are too precocious, they will naturally focus more on reproduction. If this land remains barren and cannot support individuals in their pursuit of strength and fullness, then more late-maturing species will be eliminated, and early-maturing species will become even more precocious, turning into a wholehearted breeding machine. It begins with birth and ends with reproduction.
Process#
Birth#
Shakespeare once said, "We cry when we are born, for we have come to this ugly stage."
Recently, a relative told me that I should be "filial." She said she cares most about her parents. I replied, "I am not a filial person; the term filial is a moral and ethical concept. In my definition, filiality is extremely superficial... "You won't give me a penny if you have money, and I won't give you a dime if I have money, so discussing these matters is, to put it bluntly, meddling..." After a round of verbal sparring, she seemed to be choked into silence.
Many people also say that one should be "grateful" to their parents. This word is similar to "filial," as both terms compel people to do things from the heart, but "compel" and "from the heart" are contradictory. In fact, people in this world pay more attention to "compelling," and how many care whether it is "from the heart"?
This coercion begins the moment we arrive on this ugly stage.
This is also a flaw of the social contract theory; we do not voluntarily sign a contract with our parents, the state, or this world, but are raped without cause. From the moment we are born, we must accept the fact that we have been born and are immediately assigned various identities, whether tragic or lowly.
At the beginning of everyone's life, parents do not hold a contract asking, "Do you wish to be our child and be born?" They are merely mating, voluntarily or involuntarily. This is precisely what other pigs, cows, sheep, and cats in nature do.
Even more absurdly, if a person confines someone of the opposite sex, mates with them, and produces many children, it is essentially rape plus illegal confinement, yet due to the numerous offspring, this characterization becomes extremely difficult to establish. The chained woman of Feng County is an example, and such behavior can absolutely be replicated and has been proven repeatedly. Rape for the purpose of sexual desire is intolerable to society; however, rape for the purpose of reproduction, a more heinous act, seems to be excusable.
This is the religion of reproduction.
Our birth is merely an indispensable link in the religion of reproduction, necessary to maintain the operation of this group. This is itself a phenomenon, a survival instinct, and there is no reason to criticize it. It is just that humans not only have reproductive organs but also thinking organs; parents can only choose to let their children be born but cannot fully control it; survival is not just about reproduction but also about strengthening oneself. Reproduction is not an easy task, and there are those who cannot reproduce.
Marriage#
Birth is forced, but mating is voluntary. Although rape exists, people can mostly control their mating, while birth is something that cannot be chosen.
The wedding night is a great event in life, but the joy of mating does not end with that night; it runs through a person's entire life.
A person may never mate in their lifetime, yet they may be attracted to the opposite sex their entire life.
Attraction to the opposite sex is an instinct; even elderly people who have lost their sexual function cannot be said to dislike the opposite sex. This attraction is no longer merely a sexual matter but an aesthetic one. Or it can be understood that even if sexual function is completely lost, one still has the ability to appreciate sexual beauty.
However, similar to the chained woman incident, while mating is a very common and joyful thing, everyone tends to keep mating hidden and put marriage on display. Mating does not necessarily aim for reproduction, but marriage is mostly for the purpose of reproduction.
Reproduction#
In China, once a woman becomes a mother, she is first a mother and then herself.
Someone once asked me how I view this statement, and I replied:
"In my family, we used to raise pigs, and I observed that over 90% of the pigs are qualified sows, while a small portion will bite and drive away piglets. Among the qualified sows, about 30% are very maternal pigs. In an ordinary family, an ordinary individual does not have anything particularly precious or particularly clear thoughts. Once she becomes pregnant, her world completely changes. It's like a small boat on a calm sea; a gentle breeze can fill her sails and give her the courage to move forward.
But if a person possesses too many things that set them apart from ordinary people, they are like a sailing ship that has already set sail; a child may change their speed and course, but they will not deviate from their direction. In China, this statement can still be considered true today, but we see that biological instincts are gradually being suppressed, so this statement is not as powerful as it once was."
Perspective#
When I try to describe something, it always starts out vague and then gradually becomes clear. Just like the hidden religion, I always need to lay out everything I think before I can contemplate it. In the "process," this is my presentation of it, entirely illogical. Now I realize that I should view the religion of reproduction from the perspective of the group, the perspective of appearance, and the non-individualistic perspective. So, let's change the "perspective."
Developing oneself and reproducing are two paths, but they are not mutually exclusive. A person's self-development may not only lead to reproduction but may also result in more offspring. Therefore, the issue is not whether to choose reproduction, but rather being forced to reproduce, being compelled to reproduce, and reproducing wholeheartedly. Reproduction has become a burden. The religion of reproduction is most prevalent in times of hopelessness because the path of self-development is fraught with difficulties and lacks hope, while reproduction becomes a barely feasible path. At this time, the religion of reproduction appears splendid on the outside but is rotten within.
When you ask some elderly women about the meaning of life, this is already beyond their scope, as they are more focused on having faith rather than seeking meaning. They might say, "Marrying a daughter-in-law and having children, that's just how it is." At this moment, they may indeed believe that reproduction does not hold much significance. However, after this brief moment of wisdom, everything they discuss will return to the religion of reproduction. Because, in the religion of reproduction, there are always some people with many descendants, while there are always some who are separated from their spouses and children, left alone in old age. Is that not enough for them to worship the religion of reproduction again?
But in reality, these women with many descendants and children hide many unpleasant truths. Just as described in the dark village, they will not mention the truly bad things. The increase in descendants is the greatest gift of the religion of reproduction, but the more people there are, the more issues arise. Just like during the feudal system of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Spring and Autumn period still adhered to rules, but during the Warring States period, it became even more reckless, with bloodlines becoming thinner and struggles becoming fiercer. These elderly women, who have toiled their entire lives, will feel sad about the religion of reproduction if they have few descendants; if they have many descendants, they will secretly feel sad. Because the more descendants there are, the less controllable it becomes, and the risks become even less controllable. Yesterday, they may have been proud in front of others, but today they might be alone in sorrow. "You can't say it, you can't say it." A relative of mine sometimes says this.
I once wrote about the appearance of people, feeling somewhat too heartless, viewing people so superficially, so unlike humans. But compared to the believers of the religion of reproduction in the village, I am still somewhat out of my depth. Imagine if we were an elderly woman in the village, how would we view the world and a person? Their answers are remarkably consistent.
If young, "Are you still in school?" As if age were a matter of whether one is in school. If in school, "Where do you go to school, what grade are you in?"
If of average age, "What do you do? Where do you work? How much do you earn? Are you married? How many children do you have? How old are the children?"
If old, "How many children do you have? Have you finished your business? Are your children married? Are your children still in school? How much do your children earn in a month?"
To put it bluntly, these people speak of the elegant side of reproductive organs, euphemistically calling it marriage, having children, and working. Whenever there is some contradiction that needs to be criticized, "cunt" and "dick" all come out. Words like "selling cunt" and "dick fucking"... At this moment, even gynecologists would mention reproductive organs.
I really think that these people do not lack faith; rather, they are devout believers in the religion of reproduction, and they are indeed too devout. They do not care what religion you believe in or what you do; in their eyes, you are merely an object of the religion of reproduction. They have no other standards of evaluation; the standard of the religion of reproduction is sufficient. No matter how superficial I may be, I cannot compare to these believers in terms of superficiality.
But one must also admire the religion of reproduction; it is a miracle of evolution. Anyone who can discuss reproductive organs with you in this grand manner is a result of the filtering of the religion of reproduction, which maintains the purity of its believers.
Humans are exquisite machines; in a poor place, what could be more beneficial than having more children? Problems that cannot be solved in this generation can be left for the next generation to solve, and the next generation can leave them for the generation after that to solve. Tomorrow and tomorrow, there are so many tomorrows! As long as there is always a next generation, problems can always be postponed, and there is always hope for solutions, thus always hope. The drive for mating and marriage brought about by reproduction can be elevated to an aesthetic level; the religion of reproduction is great.
Conclusion#
Reproduction is a vast topic and a profound one. Everything we do is constantly related to reproductive organs and reproduction, as can be seen when we curse with "cunt" and "dick." This piece still follows my style of chaotic logic, but if I do not express it for a long time, it will lead to constipation. This may just be a beginning; the topic of reproduction is too large, and there will be time for more in the future.