Czeslaw Milosz and Jian-li YangJay Nordlinger Aug. 25, 2004 Czeslaw Milosz has died — which reminds me of Jian-li Yang. Why? Jian-li, you will recall, is the Chinese scholar, democrat, and human-rights activist who is now confined to some Communist dungeon. I have written about him many times — but I first met him in 2001. He dropped by the office here, and I asked him "what book best described the Chinese situation, as far as intellectuals were concerned." (I'm quoting from my original piece on this.) "And his answer I found touching: He said, 'Milosz's Captive Mind.' This is, indeed, one of the great explanatory books of our time, and it reaches across every boundary and every age, really." I thought of this on hearing of Milosz's death. His is a book for the ages, and he led a life for the ages. It was one of those lives that define anti-totalitarianism. He was needed. I'm sorry he is gone; but he did his work, and then some. -------------------------- |