Allowing the executioners to look tall
The better to obstruct the wind of freedom" - Meaning and context.">
"Declaration", p. 62
“

I will not kneel on the ground
Allowing the executioners to look tall
The better to obstruct the wind of freedom

— Bei Dao

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I will not kneel on the ground
Allowing the executioners to look tall
The better to obstruct the wind of freedom" in the context of ""Declaration", p. 62" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Bei Dao" (Quotes, The August Sleepwalker (1990): The August Sleepwalker, trans. Bonnie S. McDougall (New York: New Directions, 1990), ) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Bei Dao

About Bei Dao

Bei Dao (simplified Chinese: 北岛; traditional Chinese: 北島; pinyin: Běidǎo; literally: "Northern Island", August 2, 1949 - ) is the pen name of Chinese poet Zhao Zhenkai (S: 赵振开, T: 趙振開, P: Zhào Zhènkāi). Bei Dao is the most notable representative of the Misty Poets, a group of Chinese poets who reacted against the restrictions of the Cultural Revolution.