Long ago, in a mythical realm in what is now China, there were three emperors: Shu, Hu and Hundun. Shu was the Emperor of the Southern Sea. Hu was the Emperor of the Northern Sea. Between them was the Centre — the territory of Hundun. The two emperors of the seas frequently met in the Centre, where Hundun always welcomed them with perfect hospitality. Shu and Hu, like us, had openings in their heads: eyes, ears, mouth and nostrils. Hundun, however, had none. He was blank and featureless. One day, Shu and Hu decided to bore holes into him, so that he too could have features like theirs. Each day, they drilled a new hole. And on the seventh day, Hundun died.
—Alexander Douglas, 2025. Against Identity. The Wisdom of Escaping the Self.