Cai Lam: A crooked philosopher who likes to eat and drink

In my impression, Cai Lam seems to always be associated with the word "food".

But if you think carefully about what Cai Lam does, I am afraid it is really difficult to answer for a while. However, in the eyes of different people, Cai Lam's image seems to be varied.

In Jin Yong’s eyes, Cai Lam is a very interesting friend.

According to Jin Yong, Cai Lan was well-informed and knew a little bit about everything. Whether it was music, chess, calligraphy and painting, or eating, drinking, whoring and gambling, he could do it all at his fingertips, which amazed others. Even when telling dirty jokes, he can tell them extremely cleverly, making the listeners laugh without feeling obscene and obscene.

In the eyes of Hong Kong diners, Chua Lam is probably a gourmet.

He likes traveling and food. He combines the two and runs a popular food tour group, leading thousands of foodies to experience food carnivals again and again.

In the eyes of literati and readers, Cai Lam may be a writer.

He loves to write short essays. He has published a lot and created many works. The subjects of his articles are diverse, including travel experiences and Zen philosophy, which are very interesting to read.

But the Cai Lam in my eyes is different from the Cai Lam in the eyes of ordinary people.

In my opinion, Cai Lan is obviously an out-and-out philosopher.

What I am talking about here is not a philosopher in the ordinary sense. Cai Lan has not developed any philosophical theories or systems.

The philosopher mentioned here is an unorthodox philosopher who likes to eat and drink, to be free, and to talk nonsense.

From the way Cai Lan behaves and reads between the lines, we can see what an unorthodox philosopher he is:

? Eating and drinking is also a kind of respect for life

Writer Yi Shu lamented in his column:

“Don’t wait for next year. Next year’s appearance, mood, and environment may be different and not as good as this year. So why not call a few people to congress today? Eat, drink, brag and be funny, today is very important."

Cai Lam's attitude towards this passage was also very direct. He "raised his hands and feet in agreement."

Some people couldn’t stand it and cursed, “You only know how to eat and drink, so why should you be so carefree and happy?” It’s so hard to make money, why should we just waste it on food and drink?

Cai Lan smiled instead of getting angry. He felt, "You are young when you have spent all your time before making plans."

It is extremely happy to eat and drink, but it is also extremely painful to live in poverty due to eating and drinking. But only by enjoying this kind of pain can we cherish the rest of our lives more, right?

What's more, the unrestrained happiness of youth may not feel like this when you are old enough to enjoy it.

"If you have wine today, you will get drunk today" can be said to be a true portrayal of Cai Lan's attitude towards life.

But Cai Lam likes to eat and drink, not just because of the joy of eating and drinking, but also out of an inner curiosity.

He was always full of curiosity about the world. He wanted to try and taste everything. Slowly, he learned how to appreciate food, how to taste food, and how to recommend food, thus becoming What people call "foodies".

Eating is a kind of knowledge in itself.

Cai Lam even said, "Eating, drinking and having fun are the most academic."

People who like to eat often want to try everything, and the food in every place is also the most academic. Everyone has to taste it. Tasting Asia, Europe, Oceania and South America, and every corner of the world is what a gourmet can do.

Eating is often an excellent social topic.

“When you talk to Ningbo people about crab paste, yellow mud snails, and stinky winter melon, they are very excited. When you talk to overseas Hong Kong people about wonton noodles, they must know which one is the best. . The conversation between you and the Taiwanese cannot be separated from oyster noodles, braised pork rice and meatballs. When you mention ham, the Spaniard holds his fingers together, kisses them deeply, and shouts: mmmmm"

If an ordinary person says that he likes eating and drinking the most, people may secretly discuss and laugh at him.

But when these words came out of Cai Lan's mouth, they brought with them some of his own philosophy of life. Eating and drinking itself is a kind of pleasure, a kind of sensory indulgence, but in the final analysis, from this seemingly superficial pleasure, find something that can make you truly happy, and gain more happiness from the process of research. This should be a very smart choice.

And this "smart choice" is not only reflected in his attitude towards eating and drinking, but also in his attitude towards life.

? How can I do what he wants, but I just want my heart to be clear?

Jin Yong said that Cai Lam is a truly chic person.

This kind of unrestrainedness does not come and go in a hurry, and pleasure and hatred are like heroes. Rather, he is said to be "frank and free-spirited and able to treat life with a relaxed and lively attitude, especially the loss or unpleasant encounters in life. He is calm and nonchalant. Not only does he appear to be like this, but he is also truly not obsessed with it and laughs it off."

What Cai Lam advocates most is the life attitude of "doing whatever you want without breaking the rules". He is used to being free and feels that other people's opinions are theirs after all and have nothing to do with him. Life is all about living for yourself. Wouldn't it be sad and ridiculous if you were shackled by other people's opinions everywhere?

He said, "A moment of brilliance is better than a lifetime of mediocrity."

Therefore, to live, you must live freely, live freely, and live according to your true thoughts. .

Even when it comes to death, he is calm, calm and cool. I feel that there is no need for a funeral. I should hold a big party before I die, let everyone eat and drink well, and say all the good things in person. Everyone will have enough fun and have a good time. It doesn't matter if they die, even after death. There is no need to keep the ashes:

“It would be wonderful to scatter the ashes in Victoria Harbor and see the brilliant night view every night, don’t you think so?”

Exactly Because of this philosophy of life, Cai Lan talks freely about anything, says whatever he thinks, and talks about whatever he has. Sometimes when people read it, they can't help but sweat for him.

For example, when he talked about marriage, he quoted Oscar Wilde's saying, "Men marry because they are tired; women marry because they are curious. Both will be disappointed." He feels that marriage is really a kind of barbarism. The system is unreasonable and violates human nature.

Another example is that he feels that he hates people clearly and hates them as much as enemies. When it comes to banning smoking, he demands a complete ban on smoking. "We want to ban and sell it, but we are so shameless!"

To be honest, it was a bit frightening when I watched it, and I felt that he was too "daring to speak out." It's hard to say whether this kind of outspokenness is good or bad, but if you consider it from the perspective of his most fundamental philosophy of life, rather than criticizing one of his extreme views out of context, you may be able to understand why he said these things.

Fundamentally speaking, Cai Lan is such a person who advocates freedom. For him, people live for fun and happiness, so freedom is the most important and the liberation of nature is the most important.

There is no problem with this attitude in itself. The difficulty is how to use this attitude to connect oneself with this society, and how to achieve a harmonious and self-consistent state in this society.

Life is really good, really fun

Cai Lam once wrote such an interesting story in a book.

In the past, in the composition class, I was asked to write "My Will", so Cai Lan wrote, "I want to open a brothel, but I was almost expelled by the teacher."

That’s all, Cai Lam explained seriously, “It would be best to rent a big house in Macau, hire famous chefs to cook delicious dishes, and recruit some women who know how to play music, chess, calligraphy and painting to accompany you. It’s great to be a performer without selling your body!” This is not enough, but also “two-year contract, double compensation if you quit midway.”

Well, serious people will want to tear up the book after reading it: why do you think about this all day long? thing.

That’s not all. Cai Lam has many dreams, such as opening a cooking school and bringing together famous chefs from all over the world; such as establishing the most comprehensive food website and including all restaurants; and opening a children’s class. Specializes in teaching children to draw and write.

But in fact, Cai Lan started working in the film industry at the age of nineteen, and later started a food business, writing column reviews for decades. He encountered the golden age of Hong Kong movies, when films were shot every day and every film could be sold.

It seems that there is an insurmountable gap between reality and ideals. Although Cai Lam often makes shocking statements, in fact he is down-to-earth in every step of his life. The two seem incompatible, but they are not contradictory.

Because he feels from the bottom of his heart, "This life is really good and really fun."

In fact, whether life is fun or not mainly depends on how you look at life. manner. If you think it's good, then it's good. If you find it fun, then it won't be boring.

Wittgenstein once said that his father was a businessman, and his philosophy was nothing more than figuring out things that could be thought of clearly, one by one, like settling accounts.

Cai Lam’s philosophy of life may be similar to that of Wittgenstein, but he is:

“Experience life while having fun, and live in ordinary times. I can feel the beauty of life in the smoke."

In him, one can often see his Laozi-like "worldly" attitude, indifferent and calm, unhurried and free, as if he is separated from outsiders. An invisible "happiness barrier".

The wonderful thing is that he also has a very "worldly" attitude towards life.

If he likes something, he does it seriously. He even came across a book that taught people how to make soy sauce. He also talked about it and bought it to read. They are particular about eating and drinking, and they are equally particular about dressing up. They even have an extraordinary theory on how to tie a bow tie, saying, "The collar should be tied independently, and the collar tip should be slightly curved in front of the collar. This bend, Very knowledgeable.”

It is inevitable to be frustrated sometimes and fall into uncontrollable negative emotions. But he is so frustrated that he understands very well that he will work hard to keep himself busy and has no time to be depressed. He can take walks and raise birds, plant flowers and race horses, read, write and play mahjong, all of which can drive away depression.

Cai Lan understands that "one life" is actually not that long. In his father's words, it is just "like last night."

Just because life is short, it is even more important to enjoy hardships.

What is the best way to be happy? Hey, didn’t I say it before?

“The best life is of course eating and drinking!”