[One Thousand Characters a Day] Hermann von Keyserling's 'The Wandering Philosopher' <2>

Editor's Note"The journey around the world is the shortest path to oneself." In the 1910s, when Hermann von Keyserling embarked on his world tour, it was a trend among European intellectuals to travel the globe under the name of the Grand Tour, and countless travel records from them remain. However, most of these world travelogues were merely records of exotic landscapes viewed through the narrow lens of Europeans. In contrast, Keyserling, who studied philosophy and geology himself and had a deep understanding of Eastern religions and philosophy, regarded the places he visited during his travels not just as sights to see but as spaces for philosophical reflection. Meeting and conversing with people also served as energy for his philosophical contemplation. The excerpt introduced today captures Keyserling’s awe of nature and humanity encountered early in his journey at the port of Aden, located at the southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula on the way to the Indian Ocean. Word count: 1080 characters.

The creative power of the Black Continent is the greatest in the world. It is the strength that comes from the eternal African spirit. In the museum, the gorilla seems to have returned to its homeland. Zebras and ostriches evoke illusions of a dry savanna within the scenery of a warm spring day. Yet, Africans fill the land where they have been brought to live with the soul of their homeland. Meanwhile, in the homeland they left, white people cool themselves by singing the songs of black people. There is no need to travel all the way to Africa to see this. However, if I had not landed at the port of Aden, it might have been difficult to gauge how much of the vague concept of 'Africa' is reality.

Here, the landscape of rocky mountains and people, the vast sandy plains and thatched huts, eagles, dromedary camels, and the loads carried on their backs blend dazzlingly into one. How well they harmonize! The gradations of each part are extremely clear and vivid. They resonate unmistakably as a whole. Wherever you listen, you hear it. Almost intensely. It is so perfect that there is no place for parts or individual originality. Instead, it immediately reveals a sensation beyond all individuality. It is very intense. The unity of the whole is not a clich?. Rather, it is a high-level archetype. Like Greek art, every repetition rides a rhythm.

The naked black man is dignified and magnificent. Here, sculpture is truly meaningless. The European body is clumsy. Artists must select only the parts of the body suitable for expression. That is why artists are so important in Europe.

Africa’s nature gives us great inspiration like a work of art. Where is a sculptor who can work as excellently as nature? It is difficult to show the possibilities of the human form at a level higher than nature. Most are far behind. Both in purely artistic terms and in the power implied by the work, they fall far short of their models.

European aesthetes value only the highest art. Should I say I am the same? Artists are said to be eternal, but they only enjoy the chance and fame of producing works by chance. Sculptors have imitated since humanity began walking on two feet, unable to express everything with gestures alone over countless ages. At such times, the work becomes a novel revelation. Most of us feel little ourselves. Poets must show unfamiliar emotions to gain people’s sympathy.

- Hermann von Keyserling, The Wandering Philosopher, translated by Hong Moon-woo, Param Book, 32,000 KRW

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.