A Dance with the Void

I created a flag, inspired by this poem and its philosophical significance. I sewed two pieces of two-tone fabric, one red and silver, the other black and silver. Initially, these fabrics are silver on both sides, reflecting the surroundings like mirrors. However, as the fabric is tossed and swung, the colors of red and black gradually emerge. This is not just a physical flag; it is a symbol of struggle and a profound declaration of the meaning of life. The design of this flag reflects the spirit of resistance to death, the refusal to succumb. The silver side represents a previous attempt to blend harmoniously with the environment, to compromise and yield. The silver mirror effect reflects the outside world, as if the individual in the calm moments of life tries to avoid confronting fate, attempting to reconcile with death. However, as the flag is continuously swung, its inertia gradually reveals the black reverse side—a symbol of resilience and the dark forces of struggle. Soon after, the defiant red emerges from within the flag, gradually taking over, revealing the true face of the individual—one that transitions from silence to an eruption of life.

This transformation mirrors the shift from passively accepting death to actively resisting it. The dynamic movement of the flag, as it is swept by the wind, represents the individual’s struggle with death and symbolizes the philosophical shift from submission to defiance. Initially, the flag’s front attempts to harmonize, but as it swings, it begins to manifest its conflict with the environment. The complexity of the life-death dichotomy starts to unfold, as the individual’s independence, resistance, and true essence gradually emerge through the flag's movement—this is not just a resistance to death but a reclaiming of the meaning of life itself.

Through this design, I hope the audience will perceive a sharp transformation: even in the moment of longing to blend in with death quietly, the individual still possesses the strength to stand up and break free. The flag’s continuous changes reflect the impermanence and complexity of life, revealing how an individual, in the shadow of death, can choose to exist authentically. The fading of silver represents the previous peace, while the emergence of black and red is a challenge to death, marking the shift from passive acceptance to active resistance.

Each wave of the flag is an awakening of power, a challenge to the unavoidable fate of death, declaring that even in the darkest moments, life can still shine with resilience and independent existence.

In Dylan Thomas's Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night, death is not just the end of life, but the ultimate test of individual existence. Through the intense imperative language, the poem calls upon everyone to resist death, expressing that even in the face of an inevitable fate, one should confront the end with anger and courage. Thomas repeatedly emphasizes "Do not go gentle into that good night," and within this simple yet profound command, we feel the tension between life and death—death, as the end of existence, sparks deep reflection on the essence of life. The contrast between light and night represents the eternal conflict between life and death, but also symbolizes the choices and struggles of the individual in their brief existence. By linking "the fading of the light" with the arrival of death, Thomas conveys the fragility and transience of human existence, as well as the resistance an individual can exhibit in the face of death.

The poem is not only an emotional outburst but also a profound reflection on existentialism, nihilism, and the manifestation of being. The attitude of resistance to death presented in the poem aligns with Jean-Paul Sartre's existentialist philosophy. Sartre argued that "existence precedes essence," meaning that humans first exist and then, through actions, choices, and commitments, create their own meaning in life. For Sartre, the individual is not a predetermined being but one who creates their existence through free will. Thomas’s poem embodies this philosophical idea, showcasing the individual's right and capacity to resist death through strong feelings of defiance. Death, as the ultimate threat to existence, is not the end that nullifies life's meaning; rather, it provides an opportunity for the individual to define their existence through choice and resistance. Within Sartre's framework, Thomas’s poem demonstrates an unwavering free will: even though death is unavoidable, the individual can still choose how to face it.

Unlike Sartre's view of free will, Nietzsche’s philosophy focuses more on the challenge of nihilism and the subversion of life’s essence. Nietzsche believed that the collapse of traditional moral and value systems led to the nihilization of human existence, where life no longer had inherent meaning. In Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Nietzsche introduced the concept of the "Übermensch" (Overman), advocating that individuals should transcend traditional morals and the limitations of life to create their own meaning. Thomas's expression in Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night is precisely a resistance to nihilism. Confronting the arrival of death, Thomas calls on humanity to refuse the engulfing void of nihilism with anger and determination. By "fiercely resisting the fading of the light," Thomas elevates the struggle for life to a philosophical level beyond nihilism, declaring that humans should create profound meaning in their brief lives, refusing to let the shadow of nihilism consume our existence.

Thomas’s poem also closely relates to Heidegger's philosophy of being. In Being and Time, Heidegger discusses death as the “ultimate possibility” that reveals human finitude and forces the individual to face the essence of their own being. Heidegger believed that it is only through the recognition of death that the individual can truly achieve "being-toward-death." In this philosophical framework, death is not merely an end but an integral part of existence, making the experience of being more real and concrete. Thomas’s poem unfolds the meaning of life through this tension of existence. In facing death, the individual should not fall silent or despair; instead, they should resist to affirm the value and power of life. Therefore, in Thomas's poem, death is not just the end of life, but a test and manifestation of life’s value. The imperative language in the poem stimulates the individual to reflect on death, and through this reflection, the individual can ultimately transcend nihilism and create an independent meaning of existence.

Moreover, through the repeated imperative phrases and the use of contrast, Thomas creates a powerful tension between life and death. In the opposition of light and night, light represents life, continuity, and hope, while night symbolizes death, finality, and closure. Through this contrast, Thomas not only makes us feel the inevitability of death but also makes us aware of the fleeting and fragile nature of life. By resisting death, the individual can still imbue life with meaning even when facing its end. This philosophical attitude of life and death struggle mirrors Arthur Schopenhauer’s pessimism and Heidegger's thinking on being, highlighting how humans, when confronted with an inescapable fate, can still find meaning through choice and action.

Through a philosophical reading of Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night, we can see that Thomas combines the core ideas of Sartre’s free will, Nietzsche’s overcoming of nihilism, and Heidegger’s manifestation of being. Not only does Thomas express a strong resistance to death in his poem, but through this resistance, he conveys the freedom of choice and the meaningful tension between life and death in human existence. The poem is more than an emotional outburst; it is a philosophical declaration, asserting that, even when faced with the ultimate test of life, the individual can still choose how to live meaningfully and how to face death without relinquishing their fight and creativity.

我制作了一面旗帜，灵感来源于托马斯的这首诗及其哲学意义。我缝制了两块双色布，红色与银色、黑色与银色的组合。在最初，这些布料的双面呈现出银色的镜面效果，而随着布料的抛动与摆动，红色和黑色的色彩逐渐显现。这不仅仅是物理上的旗帜，它是斗争的标志，是对生命意义的深刻宣言。这面旗帜的设计正如诗歌《不要温和地走进那个良夜》中展现的反抗精神——抵抗死亡，拒绝屈服。这面旗帜以银色为起始，象征着曾经试图温和融入环境的顺从与妥协。银色的镜面效果映射着外界的世界，仿佛个体在生命的平静时光中尝试着不与命运抗衡，试图与死亡和解。然而，随着旗帜被不断甩动，它的惯性开始显现，银色的柔和面逐渐暴露出它的黑色反面——象征着坚韧和抗争的黑暗力量。紧随其后，斗志激昂的红色从旗帜的内里迸发出来，逐渐占据视野，揭示了个体从沉默到爆发的真实面貌。

这种渐变的过程，恰如生命中从温和迎接死亡到奋力反抗的转变。旗帜的动态，在风的吹拂下，展现了个体与死亡的斗争，也象征着从顺从到反抗的哲学变迁。起初，旗帜的正面试图融入、温和与环境相容，但在不断的挥舞和摆动中，它显现出与环境的冲突。生死对立的复杂性开始展现，个体的独立性、抗争性和生命的本色在旗帜的舞动中逐渐呈现——这不仅是对死亡的反抗，更是对生命意义的重新夺回。

通过这种设计，我希望观众能够感受到一个鲜明的转变：即使在最初渴望融入和安静死亡的时刻，个体依然拥有摆脱束缚、站立起来，用全力反抗的力量。旗帜在不断的变化中，反映出生命的无常与复杂，揭示出个体在死神的阴影下如何选择真实的存在。银色的消逝代表着曾经的安宁，而黑色与红色的显现则是对死亡的挑战，标志着生命从消极的接受转变为积极的抗争。

每一次的旗帜挥舞，都是一次力量的觉醒，是对死神不可避免命运的挑战，宣告着即使在最黑暗的时刻，生命依然能够展现出顽强的光芒与独立的存在。

在狄兰·托马斯的《不要温和地走进那个良夜》中，死亡不仅是生命的终结，更是对个体存在意义的终极考验。诗歌通过强烈的命令式语言，直接呼唤每一个人对死亡的反抗，表达了即使面对无法逃避的命运，个体也应以愤怒和勇气面对终结。托马斯反复强调“不要温和地走进那个良夜”，在这一简洁却深刻的命令中，我们感受到了一种生死之间的张力——死亡，作为存在的尽头，激发了对生命本质的深刻思考。光明与夜的对立，既是生命与死亡之间的永恒冲突，也象征着个体在短暂生命中的选择与抗争。托马斯通过将“光明的消逝”与死亡的到来联系起来，传达了人类存在的脆弱和短暂，以及个体在死亡面前仍然可以展现出来的抵抗力。

这一诗歌不仅是情感的爆发，更是对存在主义、虚无主义和存在的显现的深刻反思。托马斯在诗中表现出的反抗死亡的态度，与让-保罗·萨特的存在主义哲学不谋而合。萨特提出，“存在先于本质”，即人类首先存在，然后才通过行动、选择和承诺来赋予自己生命的意义。对于萨特而言，个体不是预定的存在，而是通过自由意志创造自己的存在。托马斯的诗歌便体现了这种哲学观念，诗中通过强烈的反抗情绪展现了个体拒绝屈服于死亡的权利和能力。死亡作为终极的存在威胁，并不是消解生命意义的终结，而是反而激发了个体通过选择和抗争来定义自己存在的机会。在萨特的框架下，托马斯的诗歌展现了一种不屈的自由意志：即使死亡无法避免，个体依然可以选择如何面对它。

与萨特的自由意志观不同，尼采的哲学更多地聚焦于虚无主义的挑战和对生命本质的颠覆。尼采认为，传统道德和价值体系的崩溃导致了人类存在的虚无化，生命不再具有先验的意义。在《查拉图斯特拉如是说》中，尼采提出了“超人”的概念，主张个体应超越传统的道德和生命的有限性，创造出属于自己的生命意义。而托马斯在《不要温和地走进那个良夜》中的表达，恰恰是对这种虚无主义的反抗——面对死亡的到来，托马斯呼吁人类在生命的终结之前，要以愤怒与斗志来拒绝虚无的吞噬。通过“愤怒地反抗光明的消逝”，托马斯将生命的抗争提升到一种超越虚无的哲学层面，宣告人类应在有限的时光里为生命创造深刻的意义，不让虚无主义的阴影吞噬我们的存在。

托马斯的诗歌与海德格尔的存在哲学也存在着紧密的关系。海德格尔在其《存在与时间》中提到，死亡是**“终极的可能性”，它揭示了人类的有限性，迫使个体面对自我存在的本质。海德格尔认为，死亡促使个体意识到生命的本质，只有通过对死亡的认识，个体才能真正实现“在世存在”（Being-toward-death）。在这一哲学框架下，死亡并非简单的终结，它是个体存在的一部分，反而使得存在本身变得更为真实与具体。托马斯的诗歌正是通过这种存在的张力来展开生命的意义。在面临死亡时，个体并不应该沉默或消沉，而是应当通过反抗来彰显生命的价值与力量。因此，在托马斯的诗歌中，死亡不仅仅是对生命的结束，而是对生命价值的检验和显现。诗中的命令式语言，正是激发个体对死亡的反思，借由这种反思，个体最终能超越虚无，创造一个独立的存在意义。

此外，托马斯通过反复的命令语句和对比手法，构建了生与死之间的强烈张力。在光与夜的对立中，光代表着生命、延续、希望，而夜则象征着死亡、结束和终结。在这种对比中，托马斯不仅让人们感受到死亡的不可避免性，更让人意识到生命的短暂与脆弱。通过反抗死亡，个体在面临终结时依然能够为生命赋予意义。这种生死对抗的哲学态度，与亚瑟·叔本华的悲观主义和海德格尔的存在思考相似，突显了人类在面对不可抗拒的宿命时，如何通过选择与行动为自己的存在赋予意义。

通过对《不要温和地走进那个良夜》的哲学解读，我们可以看到托马斯在面对死亡的哲学抗争中，结合了萨特的自由意志、尼采的虚无主义超越和海德格尔的存在显现的核心思想。托马斯不仅在诗中表达了对死亡的强烈反抗，也通过这种反抗传递出人类在有限生命中的选择自由和生死之间的意义张力。这首诗不仅是一种情感的抒发，它更是一种哲学的宣言，宣告着在面临生命的终极考验时，个体依然可以选择如何活得更加有意义，如何面对死亡时不放弃抗争与创造。