Fusion Sino-French

– Cecilia Ho 2024

This series is a reflection of my own French-Chinese identity — a fusion of Descartes’ introspective doubt with Laozi’s ineffable Way. Both sought to define existence: one through certainty, the other through the Tao.

“Je pense, donc je suis” becomes “Je 道, donc je suis” — Thinking is replaced by 道 (the Way) in two languages. In the companion piece, “Doute 可 Doute 非常 Doute,” I fuse Descartes’ doubt with the structure of the Tao Te Ching: as the eternal Way cannot be told, so eternal Doubt cannot be doubted. 道 is replaced by the French word ‘Doute’ (doubt). The rhyme between Dao and Doute is two civilizations resonating in my own body.

These are not translations but transmutations. Perhaps the highest form of existence lies not in thinking alone, nor in flowing, but in the courage to doubt the path while walking it.