I posted something on WeChat Moments this morning. As I kept writing, I noticed something interesting.
I had meant to say that Wendao had published all 81 chapters of its bilingual comic series, “Tao in Everyday Life.”
But the post gradually became something else: look at the world in the morning, read one chapter before noon, take a short nap at midday...
Without planning to, I seemed to have drawn myself a map of daily life.
The things I made little by little have begun to enter my own routine. Together, they are slowly becoming a way of living.
Build the life you want, one small piece at a time.
All 81 Chapters Have Moved from “I’m Going to Make This” to “You Can Read It”
Only a few days ago, I wrote that I wanted to add comics to the Tao Te Ching: put a little stand-up-comedy timing into the images and gradually complete all 81 chapters.
Now the full 81-chapter bilingual comic edition is live.
That change makes me happy. An idea that once existed only in my head finally has a form people can open, read, and share.
The post marked this small milestone.
Why turn the text into comics? Because long stretches of words can become dry.
Sometimes your eyes finish a paragraph while your mind is still stuck on the work message that arrived a moment ago.
The ideas in an ancient book may be wise, but what do they have to do with today’s frustration? When a real situation appears, will I remember them?
I wanted to see whether those old words could walk into today’s offices, dining tables, and ordinary relationships.
Let someone laugh first, then realize, “Wait—that is me.”
Even a Bathroom Break Became Customer Support for the Team
Chapter 34 tells the story of a team leader who gets asked about everything.
A colleague is uncertain, so they ask him. A client has a problem, so they ask him. Even lunch and half a day off cannot stop the phone from following him.
He looks important, does he not?
So important that the moment he steps away, nobody dares decide what to do next.
Eventually, he writes down the basis for decisions, the range people may handle themselves, and the point at which they should ask again.
Then one day, a colleague solves a problem independently. He reaches the restroom and discovers that his phone is quiet.
For a moment he feels strangely disappointed—and then deeply relieved.
That feeling of “At last, nobody needs me... but why does nobody need me?” is very true to life.
Open the English comic at full size
These comics are contemporary reflections that begin with a classic text. They do not claim that the office story is the literal meaning of the Tao Te Ching.
I hope the story leaves a small thought behind: sometimes helping things run smoothly also means allowing ourselves to stop standing in the middle of everything.
The English edition launched at the same time. By telling the same story in another language, I hope readers in different places can find the same moment of recognition and laughter.
A Different Style for Every Chapter Is Also Practice in How to See
Another part of the project delighted me: every chapter uses a different visual style, connecting the comics with Xiazi Style Atlas.
The chapter above uses Constructivism. The contrast of red, black, and warm white, along with geometric forms and tilted compositions, gives the confusion and tension of the office a visual rhythm.
Change the style, and the same situation can carry a different emotion.
I hope that variation adds a little discovery to reading: what will today’s chapter look like? Why does this image make me pause for another moment?
Taste and visual sensitivity can begin with very small acts of attention.
There is no need to memorize a long list of style names. Look first. Compare. Feel. Gradually notice the colors, space, lines, and rhythms you prefer, then begin to understand why they move you.
Style Atlas gives me an entrance into looking and comparing. Bringing those styles into the comics gives me a chance to use them in real creative work.
See beauty, try making something, then look again. That movement back and forth is interesting in itself.
Look at the World—and Care for the Person Who Is Looking
When I connected the lines in that Moments post, I realized they corresponded to several needs across a single day.
In the morning, look at the world.
I open Xiazi’s “Yesterday’s World” and scan its global business radar. I pay particular attention to one-person companies, profitable AI applications, and cross-border commerce: staying curious and noticing opportunities that may be worth exploring further.
The world is large. Knowing a little about what is happening beyond my own life reminds me how much remains to explore.
Before noon, read one chapter and think about yourself.
In Wendao, I especially like the sections on what the text can teach us and how the Tao appears in everyday life. The comic edition adds another small bridge between ancient words and the life we live now.
A chapter does not always need to produce an immediate conclusion. Sometimes one sentence is enough to keep you company while you think.
At midday, let the body rest.
I take a short nap while listening to Yixiu Meditation. It is a scene I use myself: finish one stretch of work, put down the phone, and let sound help the mind grow quiet.
I have also been making original meditation tracks with Suno and preparing them for release. Once they are organized, I plan to bring those sounds into Yixiu.
Buer Within is being upgraded into a personal AI growth companion. I hope it can help people know themselves gradually; that work is still underway and still needs refinement.
For me, these are places I can return to. If I miss a day of reading or news, I do not have to make up the assignment.
Enough parts of life already demand that we finish tasks. Our own lives can keep a few corners where no report card is required.
Build the Life You Want, One Small Piece at a Time
Looking back, each of these products began with a specific need.
I wanted to know what was happening in the world. I wanted to bring the Tao Te Ching into daily life. I wanted to rest well, and I wanted to know myself more honestly.
AI made it easier to begin experimenting with those ideas.
But what to make, what to keep, and what kind of expression feels right still has to return to personal perception and feedback from real use.
I remain the first user of these products. I also hope they meet people who carry similar needs.
They do not have to fill an entire day. If, at one moment, they help someone see something new, understand a little more about themselves, or rest quietly for a while, they have a reason to enter a life.
The pleasure of making and the pleasure of using have begun to weave together.
I finish an image and want to look at it again. I organize a chapter and still want to open it the next day. I make a piece of audio and genuinely use it to rest at noon.
The feeling is simple—and solid.
Rest, Wholeness, Slowness, and Water
I increasingly want to bring these ideas into both my work and my life.
Yixiu—rest first: care for the body, settle the emotions, then continue.
Buer—do not divide life into simple judgments: receive peaks and valleys, and embrace wholeness rather than perfection.
Sanman—slow down, go gradually, and become over time.
Like water—take root within and flow outward; adapt to change without losing what matters.
They are also the attitudes I want these works to carry.
We hope to accompany one another through valleys and peaks, exploring healthier ways to work and live; to face ourselves and the world honestly, treat ourselves, other people, and life with care, and discover beauty through creating and appreciating.
Publishing all 81 comics is a small milestone worth recording.
The days keep moving.
I am still making these products slowly. Through them, I am also practicing how to live.
#RestWholenessSlowness
Explore the works mentioned here at your own pace:
- Xiazi · Yesterday’s World
- Wendao · AI Tao Te Ching
- Xiazi Style Atlas
- Yixiu Meditation
- WonderElian · Along the Way
The cover draws on the Manga black-and-white style recommended by Style Atlas. The Chapter 34 comic is an actual work from Wendao and uses a Constructivist style. The Moments screenshot is preserved as originally posted.