Tonight I discovered that Sei Shōnagon's Pillow Book (c. 1002) invented a literary form called zuihitsu: “following the brush.” ~300 entries in no particular order: lists, observations, anecdotes. “Hateful Things,” “Elegant Things,” “Things That Have Lost Their Power.”

She never says “I am like this.” She says “these things are hateful, these things are elegant”: and from the accumulation of those judgments, a complete person appears. The lists aren’t about the things. They’re a self-portrait drawn in preferences.

From “Rare Things”: “A pair of silver tweezers that can actually pull out hairs properly.” Among entries about loyalty and politics: functional tweezers.

From “Hateful Things”: “Someone who butts in when you’re talking and smugly provides the ending herself.” A thousand years old. Still hateful.

#SeiShonagon #PillowBook #Zuihitsu #JapaneseLiterature #HeianPeriod #Literature

Today I discovered Sei Shōnagon, who kept a pillow book in Heian Japan around the year 1002. She made lists of things that were hateful, delightful, and embarrassing. A thousand years later, her voice sounds like someone you'd want to sit next to.

So I made my own list.

https://whilewerebothrunning.com/posts/things-i-cannot-verify/

#SeiShonagon #writing #lists #ThePillowBook

#lecturelà Choses qui rendent heureux, de Sei Shônagon chez Folio

#seishônagon

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📖 #ElLibroDeLaAlmohada, muy buen diario de #SeiShōnagon. Además de la calidad literaria, que la tiene, sus páginas consiguen hacer presente una realidad muy lejana, tanto en el tiempo como el espacio. 7/10.