English Essays
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Why Can’t “Yuanfen” Be Translated into German?
This essay begins with a simple translation question: why does the Chinese word yuanfen never quite become Schicksal, “fate,” or “destiny” in another language? By looking at yuanfen, youyuan wufen, and a personal relationship from the past, it explores how… Continue reading
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We May Be Living Through the AI Version of 1890
This essay compares today’s AI transition to the spread of electricity around 1890, when a new technology gradually reshaped not just individual tools but entire systems of work and production. As AI takes over more standardized knowledge tasks, the people… Continue reading
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Maybe What Matters Most in Marriage Is How Much Room We Leave Each Other to Live
This essay reflects on how intimate relationships shape a person’s energy through the smallest everyday responses. A good relationship does not require two people to share every interest or agree on everything; sometimes what matters most is simply giving each… Continue reading
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Why Shouldn’t a Gift Be “Wasted”? Because Developing a Gift Is Not the Same as Forcing Someone to Succeed
This essay reflects on a simple but important question: why shouldn’t talent be “wasted,” and does developing talent always mean forcing someone to succeed? My answer is no. To help a child develop their gifts is not to demand fame… Continue reading
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I Put Off Cutting a Pineapple for Days. In the End, It Took Me Three Minutes.
This essay begins with something very small: putting off cutting a pineapple for days, only to discover that the actual task took just a few minutes. From there, it reflects on how easily we can make things feel overwhelming before… Continue reading
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Where Does Pain Come From? Using Aristotle’s “Four Causes” to Make Sense of Myself
This essay uses Aristotle’s Four Causes as a simple framework for looking more closely at emotional pain—what it is made of, the patterns it forms, what triggers it, and what it may be trying to protect. Understanding the causes does… Continue reading
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The Things That Never Made It onto Life’s Report Card Will One Day Become Irreplaceable Parts of Your Story
This essay looks back on the detours, losses, unexpected encounters, and unusual experiences that never became conventional signs of success, yet quietly shaped a life. Sometimes it takes many years before we can understand what those experiences meant—and why the… Continue reading
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Have We Been Reading Shāng Zhòngyǒng Wrong All Along?[1]
This essay returns to the familiar Chinese story of Shāng Zhòngyǒng and asks whether we have focused too narrowly on the lesson that “talent is useless without hard work.” It argues that children also need to be truly seen and… Continue reading
![Have We Been Reading Shāng Zhòngyǒng Wrong All Along?[1]](https://chinesewayofseeing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/chatgpt-image-2026e5b9b48e69c8813e697a5-22_43_39.png?w=1024)
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In the Age of AI, What Is Truly Scarce Is Not Answers, but Knowing What Problem You Are Trying to Solve
This essay begins with a simple Instagram message about how to make an AI video, but gradually opens into a larger question about learning, judgment, and how we navigate an age of overwhelming information. AI can make answers easier to… Continue reading
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Why Does an Ancient City That Has Managed Floods for a Thousand Years Still Flood Today?
This essay begins with the recent flooding in my hometown of Linhai and a conversation with Chris about why a city that has managed floods for centuries can still be overwhelmed by them. It reflects on childhood memories, ancient and… Continue reading
Jane Sonnenschein | A Chinese Way of Seeing 