Knowing to Return

Name: Knowing to Return
ISBN: 9798235601864

刘十一Jul 2026

2.8

Word count: 90K words
Chapters: 46
ISBN: 9798235601864

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Summary

When we were young, we were all the same—following the routine, going to school, taking exams. The first big parting was probably going to university. With the brashness of youth, we felt that even if it wasn't a top university, life wouldn't turn out too badly. As long as that drive remained, I later chose an ordinary college. During those years, the two things I did most were reading and exploring. I set myself a reading quota—four books a month. At first it was quite hard, but once it became a habit, reading felt very comfortable. What I explored most was various mountains. Whenever there was a holiday, I'd go hiking, feeling different mountain winds across different ranges, watching all kinds of sunrises and sunsets.

After graduation, I began exploring the mountain of entrepreneurship—staying up late, anxiety, worry, joy, experiencing all kinds of emotions firsthand. The taste of the emotion called 'disparity' is the most bitter. It took me a long time to realize: what disparity? It was simply that I hadn't expanded my capacity. Expanding capacity matters more than reconciliation.

Editor's review

Zhi Fan is an essayistic work grounded in the trajectory of one person's growth. Liu Shiyi begins with years of schooling that followed a set routine, using two everyday practices of the university years—reading a fixed amount and climbing mountains during holidays—as handles for self-expansion, then extends the narrative to the late nights, anxiety, worries, and joys on the "mountain" of starting a business after graduation. The most substantial part of the book is its unpacking of the emotion of "disparity": the author does not treat it as a knot to be reconciled but points toward "expansion" as a more positive path of growth. The writing does not lay out grand narratives; it advances through specific slices of life and emotional observation, and it reads as intimate. It suits readers going through a life-stage transition or troubled by comparison and anxiety, and also works as a bedside book, one or two sections each night, using the author's experience of climbing to reflect on one's own pace. It is not a success manual but more a record of the journey written by a peer.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Young people at the stage of graduation, job-seeking, or career change who need emotional reference points
Readers accustomed to routine who want to build a rhythm of reading and exploration into their lives
Newcomers to the workplace troubled by peer comparison and a sense of disparity who hope to adjust their mindset
Readers of prose who like plain essays and prefer slice-of-life narratives

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a systematic startup methodology or a hands-on business guide
Readers of genre fiction who prefer strong plots and fast-paced narratives
People hoping for specific hiking routes and outdoor guides

Reading tips

Read in chapter order; when reaching the part on "disparity," pause and write down a recent experience of disparity of your own.
Keep the book by the bed and read one or two sections each night, advancing alongside a monthly reading target you set for yourself.
When reaching the hiking passages, plan a real short hike so that the text and bodily experience verify each other.
After finishing, use a single sheet of paper to sort out your own "expansion list," naming three small explorations you can begin immediately.

版权信息
迷途
从小到大
幸运小星芒
差生边缘的中等生
找面镜子
不让竹子歪
早兴
买束花送给自己
读书
我喜欢
你是我满身伤痕，也要过来见的人
听说
十年·遇见
爱情
田边有小花开了
知返
生命是一场伟大的修行
前行的路上需要一支笔
苹果是紫色的
遇见
四季
不谈钱生活何以谈
我知道我的人生要踩些洼
生活是长期主义者
昨天的雨落在了今天
一株草给的回应
春树暮云
小河淌淌
织个毛线
回望看到什么
晚点发芽也没关系
剪刀·石头·布
不卖返程票
唐僧取的什么经
砾石与小砾石
遗失的剑鞘
好好吃饭
翻地
蒹葭月色
人好水甜
外之对话
其实我也不是懂事
水陆草木之花
回忆下了场雪
买卖

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a collection of essays?

From the available material, it recounts in the first person the experiences of schooling, reading, hiking, and starting a business; it is personal narrative in essay form rather than fiction. There is no complete plot line or cast of characters; the focus is the author's observation of his own emotions and choices, and it can be read as a record of growth.

What does the title "Zhi Fan" refer to in the book?

The material does not give a direct explanation of the title, but from the content it points to recognizing anew one's origins and rhythm after experiencing disparity and busy striving. The author stresses that "expansion is more important than reconciliation," which can be understood as: knowing to return is not retreating to where one was, but seeing oneself clearly and then continuing forward.

Will readers without entrepreneurial experience feel alienated?

Not much. The entrepreneurial part mainly describes emotional experiences such as late nights, anxiety, worry, and joy rather than business operations in detail. Even without entrepreneurial experience, readers can find resonance in more universal experiences such as schooling, reading, and hiking, and simply understand entrepreneurship as one stage of the author's life.

Is it better to read in one sitting or slowly?

Reading slowly is recommended. The book consists mostly of slices of life and emotional observation; its density lies in feeling rather than plot, and reading it in one sitting makes it easy to skim past. Reading one or two sections a day, leaving time for digestion and annotating passages that move you, suits the book's rhythm better.

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About the author

刘十一 Author

Liu Shiyi is an author included in this Chinese book database, but the publicly available information about the author is very limited: no clear record has been found regarding an English name, nationality, or dates of birth and death. The database contains one work attributed to Liu Shiyi, titled Zhifan (Returning to What Is Known), which is commonly classified under folk literature. On the basis of the existing information, this work is the main window for understanding the author: grounded in the genre of folk literature, it carries the undertones of oral tradition and rural storytelling and generally emphasizes the pace of storytelling and accessible, vivid language rather than complex textual experimentation. Because biographical material is scarce, it is difficult to trace the author's creative development or writing stages, and it would be inappropriate to speculate much about influences, personal experience, or impact. Readers approaching the author through Zhifan may note how the work handles subject matter, narrative voice, and folk flavor, and thereby appreciate this author's orientation within folk-literature writing.