The Brightness of Sirius

李汉荣Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House · ChinaJul 2026

Rating 4.0
Word count
148K words
Chapters
137
ISBN
9787530685143

Tags

Essays and Miscellany Nature ObservationAnimismHumanistic CareCuriositySpiritual ComfortSlow ReadingDaily ReflectionsStargazing MeditationBeautiful EssaysMicrocosm

Summary

This is a collection of essays. In a clamorous, crowded city, to look up at the starry sky, at the brightest star in the whole heaven, at the infinite and the eternal, and to feel the weariness of life dissolve thread by thread in the breathing of the stars—this is the discipline of the impractical dreamer. In this book we meet a man who has sunk deep into life: he chats with ants by a mountain path, perceives information from three hundred million years ago in a single grain of sand, hears the joy and sorrow of birds in their songs, and catches in a cat's eyes the secrets they will never speak… So minute, so warm, and yet so vast as to astonish. Through this, one may feel the heartbeat of the universe and gain growth, wisdom, breadth of mind, and magnanimity—and thereby come to know the true Dao of life.

Editor's review

The Brightness of Sirius is an essay collection by Li Hanrong; its title evokes the image of gazing up at the brightest star in the night sky and points to a “discipline of the impractical dreamer” willing to lift his eyes to the infinite and eternal even amid a clamorous city. In these pages the author sinks deep into life: chatting with ants by a mountain path, perceiving information from three hundred million years ago in a grain of sand, hearing the joy and sorrow of birds in their songs, and catching in a cat’s eyes the secrets they will never speak. These observations are minute and warm, yet so vast as to astonish; reading them lets one feel the heartbeat of the universe and gain growth, wisdom, and breadth of mind. Li Hanrong’s essays are known for their lucid language and the blending of self and world; this book continues in that vein, treating all things in nature as beings one can converse with rather than mere objects of description. Read one or two pieces in the morning or before sleep to draw your thoughts back from screens and chores and practice gazing and listening again; keep it at hand for rereading as a bedside book to steady the mood. Readers used to fast-paced reading might slow down and follow the author’s gaze to a flower or an insect, and experience the nourishment found in the “useless.”

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Reading tips

  1. Read one or two pieces at a time, then close the book and sit quietly for a moment to let the images settle.
  2. Choose morning or before sleep, and keep away from screens to enter the author’s mood more easily.
  3. When you encounter concrete images such as ants, sand, or birdsong, try recalling similar observations in your own life.
  4. Keep a pen to mark lines that move you, and reread them after a while to notice how your responses change.

About the publisher

Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1958

Founded in August 1958 and restructured into Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. in 2009, Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House is known for publishing essays and fiction, and it hosts the journals Fiction Monthly and Essays. Its 757 titles in the library span classic works, culture, folk literature, essays and miscellaneous writings, foreign literature, and general biography. They include Lao She's Camel Xiangzi, Zhu Ziqing's selected essays and Classic Essays, Fu Lei's Twenty Lectures on Masterpieces of World Art, and a Chinese translation of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa's Rashōmon, as well as cultural and performing-arts titles such as the illustrated Biography of Liang Qichao and A Dictionary of Crosstalk. Its authors include Lao She, Zhu Ziqing, Wu Qichang, Fu Lei, Xue Baokun, Gao Yucong, Wei Zhiqiang, and Ryūnosuke Akutagawa.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 一 被遗忘的情书
  3. 在一片绿叶上度过一生
  4. 清晨六点，鸡鸣
  5. 一颗牙开始摇晃
  6. 鸡蛋的回忆
  7. 对一位陌生长者的歉意
  8. 可爱的生灵
  9. 为自己燃一炷香
  10. 被遗忘的情书
  11. 一群傻瓜在菜地里
  12. 二 在松林里
  13. 感激那棵小松树
  14. 在松林里
  15. 在山路上，与蚂蚁谈心
  16. 山野孤坟
  17. 路过菩提寺
  18. 神清气爽与词的死亡
  19. 路过废弃的飞机场
  20. 孤独鸟
  21. 深潭
  22. 一字不识而多诗意
  23. 俯身，掬一捧土
  24. 三 路遇
  25. 路过池塘
  26. 路过某羊肉馆
  27. 江边遇鳖
  28. 一对夫妻在地里种苞谷
  29. 鸟与狗的游戏
  30. 须知世上苦人多
  31. 一粒三亿年前的沙子钻进鞋里
  32. 路上的蜗牛
  33. 与一头牛相遇
  34. 目睹一个牛犊的降生
  35. 街角小店那只猫
  36. 路遇一只蝴蝶
  37. 四 李商隐听雨
  38. 时光倒流
  39. 旧照片
  40. 帽子轶事
  41. 闪电
  42. 读秒
  43. 对自恋者的轻度嘲讽
  44. 眼泪
  45. 李商隐听雨
  46. 词语们在忙什么
  47. 狂妄者
  48. 人过四十
  49. 致意
  50. 光年：对生命与命运的另一种描述
  51. 五 假若伤口会说话
  52. 烟头
  53. 假若伤口会说话
  54. 哲人之死以及生命之意义和出路问题
  55. 读兰多尔的一段话
  56. 抑郁中，与友人微聊
  57. 想起母亲那个碗
  58. 母亲的泪水
  59. 父亲，颠簸在黄昏的路途
  60. 想念杨老师
  61. 一双脚的故事
  62. 六 我的业余研究
  63. 对三十年前一盏八瓦台灯的研究
  64. 对一次彻夜失眠的得与失之研究
  65. 对一只逝世的鸟及其往事的研究
  66. 对一缕尘埃的研究
  67. 对一条鱼的身世之谜的研究
  68. 对猫的日常生活和精神生活的研究
  69. 对一部分倒影的研究
  70. 对一只狗所看见的事物及其想法的研究
  71. 对一张大额纸币的简单研究
  72. 对一款旧手机的研究
  73. 对情欲的研究
  74. 对几种鸟语的翻译和研究
  75. 对珍珠的身世及其象征意涵的研究
  76. 七 关于裤子
  77. 对裤子的礼仪学反思
  78. 对裤子的伦理学遐思
  79. 对裤子的美学幽思
  80. 对裤子的诗学逸思
  81. 对裤子的哲学玄思
  82. 对裤子的宇宙学冥思
  83. 八 医院手记
  84. 输血
  85. 静脉注射
  86. 输氧
  87. 按摩师
  88. 抑郁症患者
  89. 扫描
  90. 假肢——某君截肢后感言
  91. 面瘫
  92. 眼角膜捐赠者说
  93. 麻醉师
  94. 临终关怀
  95. 一个患晚期肺癌的八岁小女孩
  96. 孙医生
  97. 夜班护士
  98. 午夜，在医院听巴赫《圣母颂》
  99. 九 一群蚂蚁来到我父亲的坟上
  100. 蚂蚁们要在我父亲的坟上建立国家
  101. 蚂蚁对阔佬们豪华大坟和我父亲谦卑土坟的比较和研究
  102. 蚂蚁们列队向我父亲的坟和四周庄稼致敬
  103. 虚妄的“盛名”和朴素的魂灵，哪个更接近天地之厚德？
  104. 一切所谓的成功者都是失败者，大地是卑微者的大地
  105. 父亲的坟是蚂蚁们的古老花园
  106. 明月照着父亲的坟，明月是蚂蚁王国的国徽
  107. 十 天狼星的亮度
  108. 站在梯子上的人
  109. 烟：我看见内心的灰烬
  110. 是梦在叙述我们
  111. 逝者的远行
  112. 天狼星的亮度
  113. 中年这部手机
  114. 登顶
  115. 记忆的暗河
  116. 对一个垃圾堆的观察
  117. 十一 婴儿颂
  118. 婴儿的笑容是神的面容
  119. 婴儿是我们贞洁的上古之神
  120. 你看着我，就是在治疗我
  121. 柔弱无力的婴儿
  122. 在心灵的荒漠，我们渴望婴儿带着纯真的甘泉降临我们中间
  123. 唯一拥有神权的人
  124. 他刚刚从永恒那里赶到尘世
  125. 婴儿引领我们看见了不朽的深蓝
  126. 十二 童年的星空
  127. 对一次雪崩的想象
  128. 钟乳石
  129. 回忆初恋
  130. 箴言
  131. 古老的动作
  132. 人是行走的庙宇
  133. 童年的星空
  134. 峰顶
  135. 凝视一朵野花
  136. 雪界
  137. 后记 云深不知处

FAQ

What kind of book is this? It is an essay collection. Li Hanrong writes with a delicate, warm touch about nature and everyday observation, beginning from minute things—ants, sand, birdsong, cats—and pointing toward an understanding of life and the universe.
What does the title “The Brightness of Sirius” mean? It takes the image of gazing up at the brightest star in the night sky, referring to a “discipline of the impractical dreamer” who still lifts his eyes to the infinite and eternal amid the clamor of the city; through this the book expresses a spiritual pursuit beyond everyday trivialities.
I haven’t read the author’s other works. Can I start with this one? Yes. This is a collection of essays whose pieces are relatively independent and require no prior reading; you can enter through any piece and feel the author’s style and way of observing.
Does this book require a lot of time? It doesn’t require long stretches. Essays suit fragmented reading—one or two at a time—but it is best to slow down and leave room for afterthought; you will appreciate the minute and the vast more than by reading straight through quickly.

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About the author

李汉荣 Author

Li Hanrong is a Chinese essayist about whom limited public information is available; his nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background are not clearly recorded. Five of his works are included here: Our Old Objects, Meeting in a More Passionate Wind, A Collection of Works by Popular Writers for the National High School Entrance Chinese Exam, The Brightness of Sirius, and Reluctance to Let Go, generally classified as miscellaneous prose. Judging from these titles and their categorization, his writing tends to center on everyday objects, memory, and feeling, while also providing Chinese reading materials for middle school students, in a lyrical, essayistic prose style. The inclusion of the exam-oriented collection suggests that some of his pieces have entered the reading scope of the high school entrance Chinese exam and attracted attention in basic education reading selection. Overall, Li Hanrong works mainly in prose, with themes close to lived experience and personal reflection, and his writings have circulated among general readers and in middle school Chinese reading contexts.