Prologue#
Few people in the village are religious, while many are not. The religious ones mainly adhere to Christianity, though not very devoutly. Those who do not believe in religion may still have faith in some Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, or spirits. 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 be faith in other things, as long as it is a profound conviction. From this perspective, everyone has faith. When more people possess this kind of faith, it becomes a religion.
Faith#
So, what do people believe in the most? What do the people living on this land believe in the most?
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; although 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; only 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, while 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 continuously strengthen themselves or is strong enough, they may not need to reproduce. Just like the stage before sexual maturity, if they are sufficiently new and full of vitality, they will not and cannot 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 their growth cycle is short. In the animal kingdom, many species exist solely for reproduction; I can't recall their names at the moment, but they spend their entire lives preparing for reproduction, and once reproduction is over, they die. 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 can only focus more on reproduction. If this land remains barren and cannot nourish individuals to pursue strength and become robust, then more late-maturing species will be eliminated, while precocious species will become even more precocious, turning into a wholehearted reproductive machine. It begins with birth and ends with reproduction.
Process#
Birth#
Shakespeare once said, when we are born, we cry for coming to this ugly stage.
Recently, a relative told me I should be "filial," saying 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 we should be "grateful" to our parents. This word is akin to "filial," both urging people to do things from the heart, but "urging" and "from the heart" are contradictory. In fact, people in this world pay more attention to "urging," 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 then we are directly 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 engaging in 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 detention, yet due to the numerous offspring, it becomes extremely difficult to establish this definition. The case of the chained woman in Feng County is like this, and such behavior can absolutely be replicated, repeatedly successful. Rape for the sake of sexual desire is unacceptable in society; however, rape for the sake of reproduction, a more heinous act, seems justifiable.
This is the religion of reproduction.
Our birth is merely an indispensable link in the religion of reproduction, a necessity to maintain the operation of this group. This itself is 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 easy, and there are those who cannot reproduce.
Marriage#
Birth is forced, but mating is voluntary. Although rape exists, most people can control their mating, while birth is something that cannot be chosen.
The wedding night is a great blessing 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 throughout their life, 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. Because 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, a person still has the ability to appreciate sexual beauty.
However, like the chained woman incident, mating, while a very common and joyful thing, is something everyone tends to keep hidden, while marriage is placed on the surface. Mating does not necessarily aim for reproduction, but marriage is mostly aimed at reproduction.
Reproduction#
In China, once a woman becomes a mother, she is first a mother, and only 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 may bite and drive away piglets. Among the qualified sows, about 30% are very maternal pigs. In an ordinary family, an ordinary individual does not possess anything particularly precious or a particularly clear thought. 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, then they are like a sailing boat already in motion; 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 one by one before I can reflect on it. In the "process," this is my presentation of it, completely 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. When a person's self is developed, it may not only lead to reproduction but possibly to more offspring. Therefore, the issue is not whether to choose reproduction, but rather being forced to reproduce, being compelled to reproduce, and wholeheartedly reproducing. Reproduction has become a burden. The religion of reproduction is most prevalent in hopeless times 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 beyond their grasp because they are more about having faith than seeking meaning. They might say, "Getting married and having children, that's just how it is." At this moment, they might indeed think 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 abundant descendants, while there are always some who are separated from their spouses and children, left alone in old age. Is this not enough for them to worship the religion of reproduction again?
But in reality, these women with abundant descendants and complete families hide many unpleasant things. 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 with more people comes more issues. 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 worked hard all their lives, if they have few descendants, will feel sorrow from the religion of reproduction; if they have many descendants, they will secretly feel sorrow. Because the more descendants there are, the less controllable it becomes, and the risks become less controllable. Yesterday, they might 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 faithful 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, how would we view a person? Their answers are remarkably consistent.
If young, "Are you still in school?" As if age were merely a transition from school. If in middle 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 they?" If old, "How many children do you have? Have they settled down? 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, work, etc. Whenever there is some contradiction that requires cursing, "cunt" and "dick" all come out. What "selling cunt" and "dick fucking"… At this time, they are even more explicit than gynecologists when it comes to 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 appear, 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 such depth is a product of the selection 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, day after day, endlessly! As long as there is always a next generation, problems can always be postponed, and there will always be hope for solutions, thus always hope. The motivation for men and women to mate and marry brought about by reproduction can be elevated to an aesthetic level; the religion of reproduction is magnificent.
Conclusion#
Reproduction is a vast topic, and it is also 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 don’t 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 more time in the future.