If crying helps | If crying doesn’t
My eyes | My eyes
Will become gushing springs | Will become dry wells

Tears wash away suffering | Tears stir stone
Developing into | Solidifying into
Emotional labor | Superstructure
Sheltering the collapse of spirit | Feeding on the flesh of the underclass

Becoming the collective | Becoming the bricks and tiles
Leaning on the flowing tears | Leaning on the stones of weeping
Nourishing oneself | Strengthening oneself
A single tear gathers into rivers | A single tear pounds the ground
Surge in, surge in, surge in | Shatter, shatter, shatter
The spine of mountains | The fortress of cities

The work draws inspiration from the Yunnan paper horse figure known as the “Weeping Goddess”—a woman who journeyed to the foot of the Great Wall, wept bitterly, and brought down the fortress with her tears. Ancient public works strictly barred women from participation, and crying was even more taboo. Meng Jiangnu was thus once regarded as a malevolent spirit who cast spells through tears, simultaneously symbolizing the collective image of women silenced yet unwilling to remain silent within grand historical narratives. The artist narratively reconstructs figures from existing folklore, integrating them into the recently launched “Rolling Poetry” project—a practice where complex, flowing sensations erupt in a manner akin to declarations. Through the imagery of “tears,” collective and personal narratives gradually blur, returning subjectivity to fluid and multifaceted role models.

Gingerstone is commonly found in the loess lands of northern China, named for its resemblance to ginger. Legend tells of Meng Jiangnu journeying a thousand miles to find her husband, where villagers gifted her a pot of dumpling soup for sustenance. Upon learning of his death, she shattered the pot in grief, and the scattered dumplings crystallized into the gingerstone we see today. During famines, villagers often used ginger stone as sustenance. Modern medicine has also discovered its medicinal properties. Thus, ginger stone transforms into a symbol of endurance and metamorphosis, channeling grief into healing power.