His thoughts and artistic expressions about God make me think, why since ancient times have most houses have been box-shaped? Why is the space that we have created for ourselves always conceived in right angles? Right angle spaces are actually extremely hard to find in nature! It seems that there are only two possible explanations.

One explanation is that humanity always wants its creations to exist outside of nature. It is a testament to human heroism, an idealistic stance where human beings try to classify, process, or even act violently towards nature. In ancient China there was a legend about the spirit of a foolish old man who thought he could move a mountain by himself. Nowadays, people have similar exaggerated convictions in their own abilities. For example, some people think that like Superman, they can leap tall buildings in a single bound. Yet you cannot make a circle without a rule to gauge it. Rules are also standards to judge whether a society is civilized. In the West an ideology grounded in rational thought and scientific theory took precedence after the Renaissance. Westerners tend to view science as an expression of human rationality. If we look at it this way, then the respect for right angles represents rationality, civilization and human progress.

Another explanation seems to produce exactly the opposite conclusion. Human beings lack the confidence to control nature’s complex processes and are powerless to imitate them. Consequently, human beings must choose the path of least resistance, such as using lines or right angles to create a world in which they have autonomy. Those spaces that break the rules - that are not formed by straight lines and right angles - are seen as expressions of genius. Yet non-right angle spaces are very common in nature! If we look at this way, the respect for right angles represents simplicity and therefore the na?ve and helpless condition of human beings. But I am more willing to analyze these different explanations as two sides of the same coin.

These two sides have become increasingly entangled in the context of contemporary history. On the one hand, because of mankind’s scientific and technological progress humans are able to enjoy unprecedented material benefits. Yet at the same time, science and technology – the supposedly ‘rational human forces’ – also inflate our self-confidence. On the other hand, the more human beings understand the world, the less they actually know. The greater humans impact nature, the worse the disaster they bring upon themselves. This situation weighs heavily on the human spirit, and make people prone to pessimism and sadness.

Modern civilization leads one to believe that mankind is invincible. Paradoxically, modern civilization also makes people believe humans are powerless to resist the forces of nature. Such a contradiction makes people feel more confused and lost than at any other time in our history.

Hu Xiangcheng believes that forgotten Gods, rendered as statues, although seemingly simple objects of idol worship, can be a key to help us emerge from these feelings of confusion and loss.

I am an atheist. I do not believe in God. I believe that God is a creation of human beings. However, when we begin to understand that humanity lacks the strength to fight with the natural world or when we consider that our destruction of the natural world could lead to our own annihilation, I’d rather believe that God exists. Believing in God is more likely to instill in humans a sense of awe, a greater respect for nature and reverence for life itself. God will make sure that people are aware of their actions. Our respect and fear of God greatly limits our urges to destroy nature.

Following the previous point, I want to emphasize that God existed before the advent of ‘rationalism’, and essentially helped to spur man’s inclination to develop rationality. Therefore, we do not have to reinvent Gods that have left us, but people can relearn fear of Gods and respect for nature, while at the same time using our own ‘rationality’ to overcome superstition. ‘Limited Violence’ is advocated in the theory of Heaven and Humanity. That is, we should have a more accurate estimate of human intelligence; a more accurate estimate of human influence on nature; and should be active in limiting the impact of our violent actions upon nature. Our objective is to achieve a more harmonious relationship with both the civilized world that we have created as well as with nature, for it is nature that has enriched our lives and those of our ancestors. If we follow this path, then human development will eventually become more sustainable, more protective of the natural world, and active in deterring the destruction of human intelligence and civilization.

After reading Hu’s works I am glad that my thoughts can be the preface.