The Spark
March 28, 2026, Portugal. World Superbike Championship, WorldSSP class.
A motorcycle numbered ZX820RR-RS crosses the finish line four seconds ahead of Yamaha. The next day, the same bike recovers from third to first and wins again. Back-to-back victories. The rider, Valentin Debise, is French — but the machine under him is entirely Chinese. Engine, brake discs, suspension, calipers — all from a Chongqing company called ZXMOTO, founded by a man named Zhang Xue.
This broke decades of monopoly by Ducati, Yamaha, and Kawasaki. Watching the livestream from Chongqing, Zhang Xue cried.
Most people will focus on the championship. What moved me was something Zhang Xue once said:
“Doing something not for the result but out of genuine love — the outcome might truly be different.”
That reminded me of a line attributed to Feng Ji, the creator of Black Myth: Wukong:
“Setting out on the journey to the West is more important than obtaining the scripture itself.”
This line has been spinning in my head. Because I’ve noticed — across eras and cultures, the people who ultimately built something real were all saying the same thing.
Zhang Xue: Ride First, Learn the Gap Later
In 2013, Zhang Xue arrived in Chongqing with 20,000 yuan. He assembled motorcycles, modified them, sold them online. In 2017 he founded Kaiyue Motorcycle, scaling from 800 to 30,000 units per year. In 2024 he left to start ZXMOTO, focused on high-performance bikes and proprietary engine R&D.
The gap between Chinese motorcycle manufacturing and Japan/Italy is real. The conventional approach: catch up on technology first, then go race. Zhang Xue did the opposite: race first, discover gaps on the track, improve through the gaps.
He said:
“Maybe I’m completely inferior to you in other ways — my talent isn’t as good, my resources aren’t as good — but when my effort exceeds yours tenfold, why shouldn’t this be mine? It IS mine!”
And:
“If you do it while young, even if you fail when you grow old, you won’t regret it — absolutely not.”
That Portugal championship didn’t fall from the sky. It was earned from 20,000 yuan, through countless last-place finishes, retirements, and doubts — lap by lap.
Jiaozi: Make It First, Talk Later
Jiaozi (Yang Yu) graduated from Sichuan University’s School of Pharmacy in 2002. He abandoned a conventional career to teach himself animation. His mother’s monthly pension of 1,000 yuan was his only income. Three and a half years later, alone, he produced the short film Beat Up the Big Watermelon, which won a special commendation at the Berlin International Short Film Festival in 2008.
He wrote a line for his film that became a rallying cry for all of Chinese animation:
“My fate is my own, not decided by the heavens.”
This isn’t just a line from Ne Zha — it’s Jiaozi’s own life. A pharmacy graduate with no animation training, no industry connections, surviving on his mother’s pension, questioned by everyone. His choice wasn’t to prove he was qualified to make animation — it was to just make it.
Ne Zha grossed 5 billion RMB in 2019. Ne Zha 2 hit $2.2 billion globally in 2025, becoming the highest-grossing animated film in history. But the starting point was one person, one computer, 1,000 yuan a month, and one decision: start.
The Ancients Already Knew
Lu Xun: There Were No Roads
“There were no roads to begin with. But when enough people walk the same way, a road appears.” — Lu Xun, My Old Home
Roads aren’t planned. They’re walked into existence. The first person to walk had no road — the road appeared because he walked.
Wang Yangming: Unity of Knowledge and Action
“Knowledge is the beginning of action; action is the completion of knowledge.” — Wang Yangming
Wang Yangming spent his life arguing one point: you think you “know” something, but if you haven’t done it, you know nothing. True knowledge comes only from action. Every step on the journey is the scripture.
Lao Tzu: A Thousand Miles
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” — Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 64
Perhaps the most quoted line ever. But most people see “a thousand miles” and miss the key word: “begins.” The point isn’t the distance. It’s the starting.
Li Bai: The Hard Road
“I want to cross the Yellow River, but ice blocks the channel; I want to climb Taihang, but snow fills the slopes… Yet someday I will ride the long wind and break the heavy waves, and set my cloudy sail straight across the deep, deep sea.”
When Li Bai wrote this, his career was blocked and every path seemed closed. But the poem doesn’t end in despair — it ends in “riding the wind and breaking the waves.” Knowing the road is hard and walking it anyway — that IS the answer.
The West Says the Same Thing
Theodore Roosevelt: The Man in the Arena
“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood… who at best knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” — “Citizenship in a Republic,” 1910
Roosevelt and Zeng Guofan said the same thing: the spectator is never wrong — but never wins either.
Steve Jobs
“The journey is the reward.”
Jobs said this when Apple was nowhere near a trillion-dollar company. The point: don’t walk for the destination. The walking itself is the meaning.
C.P. Cavafy: Ithaca
As you set out for Ithaca, hope the voyage is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery. Laistrygonians and Cyclops, angry Poseidon — don’t be afraid of them: you’ll never find things like that on your way as long as you keep your thoughts raised high, as long as a rare excitement stirs your spirit and your body.
Hope the voyage is a long one. May there be many a summer morning when, with what pleasure, what joy, you come into harbors seen for the first time; may you stop at Phoenician trading stations to buy fine things, mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony, sensual perfume of every kind — as many sensual perfumes as you can; and may you visit many Egyptian cities to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars.
Keep Ithaca always in your mind. Arriving there is what you are destined for. But do not hurry the journey at all. Better if it lasts for years, so you are old by the time you reach the island, wealthy with all you have gained on the way, not expecting Ithaca to make you rich.
Ithaca gave you the marvelous journey. Without her you would not have set out. She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaca won’t have fooled you. Wise as you will have become, so full of experience, you will have understood by then what these Ithacas mean.
— C.P. Cavafy, Ithaca (1911)
The poem says it all. Ithaca’s greatest value is that it made you set out. Everything you encounter along the way — storms, harbors, strangers — that’s what you actually receive. And if the destination turns out to be less than you imagined, it hasn’t fooled you. By then, you’ll understand what Ithaca really meant.
Reid Hoffman
“Starting a company is like throwing yourself off a cliff and assembling an airplane on the way down.”
“If you aren’t embarrassed by the first version of your product, you shipped too late.”
His first principle is speed. Nobody starts when they’re ready. Everyone learns to fly on the way down — and if that first version doesn’t make you cringe, you waited too long to jump.
Jensen Huang
At Stanford’s 2024 commencement, Jensen Huang told the graduates:
“I hope suffering happens to you.”
He wasn’t cursing them. NVIDIA nearly died in 1997 — one month of payroll left. He later said building NVIDIA was “a million times harder” than expected. If he’d known the pain ahead, he probably wouldn’t have started. But he started. And the suffering taught him everything he needed.
Rilke
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” — Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet (1903)
Rilke and Wang Yangming said the same thing: you don’t find the answer and then set out — you live your way into the answer along the road.
Why “Just Start” Is So Hard
If everyone knows this, why do most people still not move?
Because setting out on the journey has a hidden cost: you expose your imperfection.
If you don’t race, you can always say “my bike is still being tuned.” If you don’t ship, you can always say “I’m still polishing.” If you don’t try building with new tools, you can always say “the technology isn’t mature enough.”
Standing still, your self-image is intact — “I just haven’t started yet; once I do, I’ll be amazing.” But once you step out, reality holds up a mirror. You see the gaps, your own clumsiness, others who are faster, better, more experienced.
Zhang Xue saw that mirror — and kept riding. Jiaozi saw it — and kept drawing. Feng Ji saw it — and kept building.
This is what “personal cultivation” means — not a moral judgment, but the ability to face real feedback without running away.
The Journey Is the Scripture
In Journey to the West, Tang Seng and his disciples endure eighty-one trials to reach Vulture Peak and obtain the scriptures. But think carefully — what are the scriptures, really?
Are they the rolls of paper with words on them?
No. The real scripture is Sun Wukong learning restraint, Zhu Bajie learning perseverance, Sha Wujing learning responsibility, and Tang Seng learning trust. These things weren’t at Vulture Peak — they were on the road.
The eighty-one trials aren’t “obstacles before the scripture” — they are the scripture.
Closing
I’ve been rebuilding my workflow with AI recently — from how I organize knowledge to how I plan my day. Honestly, 90% of the time I don’t know what I’m doing. Tools change, models change, best practices get overturned every week.
But I think of Zhang Xue, Jiaozi, and Wang Yangming’s “knowledge is the beginning of action” — you can’t fully understand before doing. You can only understand through doing.
Lu Xun said roads are made by walking. Cavafy said Ithaca is just the reason to set out. Roosevelt said credit belongs to the man in the arena. Jobs said the journey is the reward.
They’re all saying the same thing:
Setting out on the journey is more important than reaching the destination.
Because every step on that journey is the scripture.
Written April 5, 2026. A week after Zhang Xue’s championship in Portugal.
缘起
2026年3月28日，葡萄牙。世界超级摩托车锦标赛（WSBK）WorldSSP组别。
一辆编号ZX820RR-RS的摩托车冲过终点线，领先雅马哈四秒。第二天，同一辆车从第三位追到第一，再次夺冠。连续两场。骑手Valentin Debise来自法国，但他胯下的机器——从发动机到制动盘到悬挂，全部来自重庆一家叫”张雪机车”的公司。
这打破了Ducati、雅马哈、川崎几十年的垄断。远在重庆看直播的张雪，哭了。
很多人会关注那个冠军。但让我真正触动的，是张雪说过的一句话：
“做一件事不是奔着结果去，而是因为热爱，可能结果真的不一样。”
这让我想起了一句话，据说来自《黑神话：悟空》的制作人冯骥：
“踏上取经路，比取到真经更重要。”
这句话一直在我脑子里打转。因为我发现，古今中外，最终做成事情的人，都在说同一件事。
张雪：先骑出去，才知道差距在哪
2013年，张雪带着两万块钱到了重庆。组装摩托、改装摩托、网上卖摩托。2017年创立凯越机车，从年产800台做到30000台。2024年离开凯越，成立张雪机车（ZXMOTO），专注高性能摩托车和自主发动机研发。
中国摩托车工业和日本、意大利比，差距是客观存在的。传统思路是：先把技术追上来，再去比赛。张雪的选择反过来：先去比赛，在赛道上发现差距，在差距中改进。
他自己说过：
“有可能我的其他方面完全不如你，我的天赋不如你，我的资源不如你，但是我的努力比你多十倍的时候，凭什么不是我的？就是我的！”
还有一句：
“年轻做了就算到老了，失败了不会后悔，肯定不会。”
葡萄牙的那个冠军，不是从天上掉下来的。是从两万块钱、无数次垫底、退赛、被质疑中，一圈一圈跑出来的。
饺子：做了再说
饺子（杨宇），四川大学药学院毕业，2002年。放弃了稳定的职业道路，自学动画。母亲每月1000块钱的退休金，是他唯一的经济来源。三年半，一个人在家做出了短片《打，打个大西瓜》，2008年拿到柏林国际短片节评委会特别奖。
他在电影里写了一句台词，后来成了整个中国动画的精神标杆：
“我命由我不由天。”
这不只是哪吒说的话——这是饺子自己的人生。一个药学毕业生，没有动画训练，没有行业人脉，靠母亲的退休金活着，被所有人质疑。他的选择不是证明自己有资格做动画——而是先做出来。
《哪吒之魔童降世》2019年票房50亿人民币。《哪吒2》2025年全球票房22亿美元，成为有史以来票房最高的动画电影。但起点是一个人、一台电脑、每月1000块钱、和一个决定：先做。
古人早就知道了
鲁迅：世上本没有路
“其实地上本没有路，走的人多了，也便成了路。” — 鲁迅《故乡》
路不是被规划出来的。路是被走出来的。第一个走的人，脚下没有路——他走过之后，才有了路。
王阳明：知行合一
“知者行之始，行者知之成。” — 王阳明《传习录》
王阳明一辈子在说的核心就是：你以为你”知道”了，但如果你没有做，你其实什么都不知道。真正的知，只能从行中来。取经路上的每一步，才是真经本身。
老子：千里之行
“千里之行，始于足下。” — 老子《道德经》第六十四章
这可能是最被引用的一句话了。但大部分人只看到了”千里”——而忽略了”始”。重点不是距离，是开始。
李白：行路难
“欲渡黄河冰塞川，将登太行雪满山。” “长风破浪会有时，直挂云帆济沧海。” — 李白《行路难》
李白写这首诗的时候，仕途受阻，前路茫茫。黄河冰封，太行雪满——每一条路都走不通。但诗不是在绝望中结束的。它在”长风破浪”中结束。明知道路难，还要走——这本身就是李白的答案。
西方也在说同一件事
Theodore Roosevelt：竞技场上的人
“荣耀属于那个真正站在竞技场上的人，他的脸上沾满灰尘、汗水和鲜血……即使失败了，至少他在大胆尝试。” — “Citizenship in a Republic,” 1910
Roosevelt说的和曾国藩说的”躬身入局”是一回事：站在场外评论的人永远不会错——但也永远不会赢。
Steve Jobs
“旅程就是回报。”
Jobs说这话的时候，Apple还不是万亿市值。他在说的是：不要为了终点而走路。走路本身就是意义。
C.P. Cavafy：《伊萨卡》
希腊诗人卡瓦菲斯写过一首诗叫《伊萨卡》，讲的是奥德修斯的归乡之路：
当你出发去伊萨卡， 愿你的道路漫长， 充满奇迹，充满发现。 莱斯特律戈涅斯人、独眼巨人、 愤怒的波塞冬——不要惧怕他们： 只要你的思想高远， 只要有一种罕见的激情 激荡着你的灵魂和肉体， 你就永远不会在路上遇到那些东西。
愿你的道路漫长。 愿有许多个夏天的早晨， 你带着多大的愉悦，多大的欢喜， 第一次驶入从未见过的港口； 愿你在腓尼基人的贸易站前驻足， 买那些精美的货物—— 珍珠母、珊瑚、琥珀、乌木， 各种各样感官的香料—— 尽可能多的感官的香料； 愿你去许多埃及城市， 从学者那里获取知识的储备。
心中要始终怀有伊萨卡。 抵达那里是你的命运。 但不要匆忙赶路。 最好让旅途延续多年， 等你年老时才到达那座岛屿， 带着一路所得的丰盈， 而不指望伊萨卡让你富有。
伊萨卡给了你美丽的旅途。 没有它，你不会出发。 但它已经没有更多可以给你的了。
如果你发现它贫瘠，伊萨卡并没有欺骗你。 当你变得如此智慧，如此阅历丰富， 你那时就已经明白了，这些伊萨卡意味着什么。
— C.P. Cavafy,《伊萨卡》(1911)
这首诗已经说尽了。伊萨卡最大的价值，是它让你出发了。旅途中遇到的一切——风暴、港口、陌生人——才是你真正得到的东西。即使终点不如想象中辉煌，它也没有骗你。因为到那时，你已经明白了伊萨卡的真正含义。
Reid Hoffman
“创业就是从悬崖上跳下去，在下落的过程中组装飞机。”
“如果你第一版的产品没让你出洋相，那你产品面市的时间其实已经晚了。”
他的第一原则是速度。没有人是准备好了才开始的。所有人都是在下落中学会飞的——如果第一版没让你脸红，说明你跳晚了。
Jensen Huang
2024年斯坦福毕业典礼，黄仁勋对台下的毕业生说：
“我希望苦难发生在你们身上。”
他不是在诅咒。NVIDIA差点没活过1997年——只剩一个月的现金流。他后来说，创建NVIDIA比想象中难”一百万倍”。如果当初知道要承受多少”痛苦、羞耻和尴尬”，他可能不会开始。但他开始了。然后他在痛苦中学到了活下来需要的一切。
Rilke
“对你心中一切未解之事保持耐心，试着去爱问题本身。活在问题之中。也许你会不知不觉地，在某个遥远的日子里，活进答案之中。” — Rilke,《给青年诗人的信》(1903)
里尔克说的和王阳明说的是同一件事：你不是先找到答案再出发——你是在路上活成了答案。
为什么”先做”这么难
如果所有人都知道这个道理，为什么大部分人还是不动？
因为”踏上取经路”有一个隐藏的代价：你会暴露自己的不完美。
不上赛道，你可以永远说”我的车还在调试”。不发布作品，你可以永远说”我还在打磨”。不尝试用新工具改造工作流，你可以永远说”工具还不够成熟”。
停在原地，你的自我形象是完整的——”我只是还没开始，一旦开始一定很厉害。”但一旦你踏出去，现实会给你一面镜子。你会看到差距，看到自己的笨拙，看到别人比你快、比你好、比你有经验。
张雪看到了这面镜子——然后继续骑。饺子看到了——然后继续画。冯骥看到了——然后继续做。
这就是”人格修养”——不是道德审判，是面对真实反馈时不逃跑的能力。
取经路就是真经
《西游记》里，唐僧师徒四人历经九九八十一难，到了灵山取到真经。但你仔细想想——真经到底是什么？
是那几卷写了字的纸吗？
不是。真经是孙悟空学会的克制，是猪八戒学会的坚持，是沙僧学会的承担，是唐僧学会的信任。这些东西不在灵山——在路上。
九九八十一难不是”到达真经之前的障碍”——它们就是真经本身。
收束
我最近在做一件事：用AI重新构建我的工作流——从知识管理到每日任务调度。坦率讲，90%的时间我不知道自己在做什么。工具在变，模型在变，最佳实践每周都在推翻上周的。
但我想起张雪，想起饺子，想起王阳明说的”知者行之始”——你不可能在做之前就完全理解。你只能在做的过程中理解。
鲁迅说路是走出来的。卡瓦菲斯说伊萨卡只是让你出发的理由。Roosevelt说荣耀属于场上的人。Jobs说旅途就是回报。
他们都在说同一件事：
踏上取经路，比取到真经更重要。
因为取经路上的每一步，本身就是真经。
写于2026年4月5日。张雪在葡萄牙夺冠后一周。