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Preface to the Chinese Edition

Part I
Introduction to a place of stunning beauty is unnecessary. Just go and see it with your own eyes. Preface to Santorini—A Place Never to Miss is superfluous as well. Just read and feel it with your heart. This is what I believe. But Liu Shen disagrees with me. He insisted I write preface for his book Santorini—A Place Never to Miss. The main reason, I guess, is because I went there with him. That trip sticks in my mind. Yet, after reading Liu Shen’s book, I began to realize that the trip to Santorini is carved on his heart. My memory of the trip is no comparison to his. Along our trip, sometimes he was silent, sometimes he was talkative; sometimes he led the way, sometimes he lagged behind; sometimes he clamored for more drinks, sometimes he bustled for poker games; sometimes he was topped with a hat, sometimes he was dressed in T-shirt. There was no telling what he would come up with next. However, taking pictures is the only thing he did all the time no matter where we went, no matter what we saw. Click. Click. Click. The click sound accompanied us all the way long. All of us thought he was acting like any tourist, and it was great fun to travel with him. What we didn’t see was the pain he was bearing deep in his heart at the time. He was not alone. In his heart, he had someone travelling with him. He was silent because he was keeping her company in her break; he talked loudly because he was sharing with her; he charged forward because he was following her; he lingered behind because he was waiting for her to catch up; he played poker games because she wanted a little fun; he proposed toasts because she needed blessings. His cap was to protect her from the sun; his T-shirt was to shield her from the wind…
Part II
We were leaving the next day. “The night when we parted, Yuhong and I sat in a restaurant on Shazui St. Her beautiful face looked haggard. Her radiance dimmed. There, sad and depressed, she sat. I knew she couldn’t have eaten anything that day. I ordered a bowl of porridge and fried fish, hoping she could take some. She ate nothing. We sat there, speechless.”
Arriving at Santorini, “you’ll witness the horrible ruins indicating the devastating eruption that swallowed the whole place thousands of years ago. You could feel in this place the perfect harmony between the realm of spirit and the reality of modern life. Disaster and happiness amazingly come up to you side by side. The contrast is shuddering. This island has suffered more than anywhere in the world. The pain imposed on the people of this island surpasses that of any bloody and cruel war. Yet, any other place is no comparison to Santorini. The caldera and the blue sea have uttered their dialogue between Heaven and Hell. Yet, both the plaintive cries and hearty laughter have died away.”
As soon as we returned, “I flew to Beijing immediately to see Yuhong. Pressed with time and work at Shenzhen, I couldn’t stay long with her in Beijing. I told her about Greece and Santorini. … She browsed in the laptop the pictures taken in Greece. She was so concentrated that I could hardly see any sign of illness on her face. She noticed a little girl in the picture of a narrow alley. The girl was wearing a white dress. She wowed at the dress, “It’s beautiful and chic.” This is Yuhong. She loves beauty and she loves to make herself look beautiful. At that moment, I felt sad. I couldn’t look her in the eyes. I remembered the sad story and beautiful scenery of Santorini.”
All this is why I say a preface is truly unnecessary for Santorini—A Place Never to Miss. The book is already perfectly complete. It is just like a symphony of fate.
Part III
While we were in Santorini, Liu Shen mentioned that he was planning to write about it. I strongly opposed his idea of writing on his travels. There are already too many of them. Why bother? Save the trouble and the paper to serve as contribution to our green planet. He smiled and said, “No trouble at all.” Now I understand that he had a companion within his heart during the travels and he was not afraid of any trouble. His heart was troubled. He brought a saddened heart to that stunningly beautiful island, and in turn he was determined to bring the splendor of this island back to the beautiful her. “This book could hardly be considered as my travel notes. It is, rather, a record of my complex emotional journey at the time. I give my heartfelt gratitude to Santorini. God gave me this opportunity at this very moment and in such a mood to arrive at such a place. I felt blessed. I felt favored mystically by God. I saw a hint of miracle --- a revelation that inspired me with life, its value and its meaning.” He didn’t tell us this in Santorini. He bore the secret and the pain by himself. His travel in Santorini thus became a spiritual pilgrimage. If he had told me about his mind and heart, I would have helped him collect more materials and take more pictures. What a pity!
Although this book does not need a preface, I struggled to have written this piece. It’s my homage to his pilgrimage of beauty. After all, I went to Santorini with him. What’s more, I know her, too.
 

Shenzhen  
Jan. 4th, 2009

中文版序

一

绝美之地是不需要序言的，去看去体验就是了；《绝美之地》同样不需要序言，去读去体会就够了。可是刘深不这么看，他坚持让我给他的《绝美之地》写序，究其原­因，大概是我和他一同去了圣托里尼岛的缘故。我当然对那次旅行印象深刻，但是读了刘深的文字我才知道，我的印象再深刻，也比不上刘深的印象深刻。一路上他时而沉默，时而喧哗，时而先锋，时而掉队，时而席间嚷着喝酒，时而船上闹着打牌，时而头上冒出顶帽子，时而身上飞来个T恤，简直花样百变。唯一不变的，是不停地拍照，到哪儿都拍，见什么都拍，拍拍拍。我们都道他是很称职的旅人和很好玩的游伴，哪里知道，他心里其时正承受着巨大的苦痛。他不是一个人在旅游，而是两个人在同游。另一个人在他心里：沉默的时候是陪她休息，喧哗的时候是和她对话，冲锋陷阵时是追着她前行，掉队时是等她跟上来，打牌是为了和她一起嬉戏，喝酒是为她祈祷祝福，帽子是为她遮阳的，T恤是为她挡风的……
二

第二天就要出发了。“临别之夜，我和雨虹坐在沙嘴路旁的一间餐厅里，她往日美丽的容颜显得憔悴和黯淡，神情阴郁而消沉。我知道她一定是一整天没有吃东西，要了一碗白粥和煎鱼，希望她能吃一点，但她一动没动。我们就那样沉默无语地坐着……”
到了圣托里尼。“你会目睹数千年前火山吞噬过的恐怖的残骸，你会感受这里的精神世界与现实生活之间是如何完美和谐——灾难与幸福不可思议地一同呈现在你面前，这是多么令人不寒而栗的对比！这里遭受过的痛苦已然超越了人类之间任何血腥残杀的战争，这里展现的美景让你所到过的任何地方无以伦比——火山口和蔚蓝色的汪洋诚然是天堂与地狱的对话，你会听到哀嚎与欢笑都已经沉寂的声音。”
回来了。“我立即飞往北京去见雨虹。因为还要赶回深圳工作，我们在一起的时光很短暂。我谈起了希腊，谈起了圣托里尼……她在电脑上翻阅着我拍回来的照片，她看得十分专心，好像没有任何疾病的困扰，在一张小巷的照片中，她突然注意到一个少女游客身着的那条白色的短裙，她赞叹那条裙子很漂亮，很时尚——这就是雨虹，她是那么爱美的女孩子。此刻，我的心里感到一阵辛酸，我不敢直视她的微笑，我想到了圣托里尼的凄美。”
所以我说，《绝美之地》真的不需要序言。书的结构已经如此完整，完整得像一部命运交响曲。
三

在圣托里尼岛上时，刘深就已经表达了要写这部书的想法。我当时极力阻拦他，说现在市面上这类游东逛西的书太多太滥了，你何苦又辛辛苦苦地增加一本，还是节约点纸张就权当植树造林了吧。他只淡淡一笑，说：“不辛苦。”现在我才知道，他是两个人在旅游，他真的不怕辛苦，因为他“心苦”。他把心里的凄美带到这绝美的岛上，他执意要把岛上的凄美再带给绝美的她。“这本书并不是一本游记，而是记录我那段复杂情感经历的心灵笔记。因为我从内心深处感谢圣托里尼，是上苍给了我这样一次机会，在这样的时间，以这样的心情，抵达这样的地点。那是我的幸运，那是我所得到的神秘的偏爱，那也是一种神奇的暗示——它给了我关于生命价值与人生意义的深深的启迪。”他当时没有把这些话说出来，他独自承担着隐秘与隐痛，他的圣托里尼岛之行因此变成了一场朝圣的仪式。如果他把真实的心情和想法说出来，我想我一定会帮他多搜集些材料，多拍几张照片。
尽管《绝美之地》不需要序言，我仍然剪剪贴贴地写了上面的话，算是向一场与美有关的朝圣仪式的致意。毕竟，我和他一同去了圣托里尼岛；况且，我也认识她。

  2009年1月4日于深圳