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read … It was all a nothing and a man was nothing too… Some lived in it and never felt it but he knew it all was nada… Hail nothing full of nothing, nothing is whit thee.” (陶洁, P115, 2000) Nada (nothingness) was not “fear or dread” which seemed like a very abstract notion. According to Martin Heidegger, the philosopher of nihilism after Nietzsche, Nothingness contained all outside efforts imposed on people. Nada was boundless and beyond description, but no one can escape from it whether it can be realized or not. Moreover, Heidegger thought that Nothingness was different from fear and dread. In Heidegger’s philosophical system, he regarded human being’s living state as three concepts: Sorge, Furcht and Angst, Death. (夏基松, P65,1987). In fact, Sorge refers to worry and anxiety. People live in the world and are related with the surroundings. They are worried that they might lose something and can not protect themselves. Heidegger pointed out that human being’s feeling of worry and anxiety was actually the self-examination. Heidegger demonstrated that one can realize his own existence. Human being’s worry and anxiety produced the feeling of dissatisfaction. Therefore, they dared to challenge the reality. Furcht and Angst is different from the fear and dread usually used in daily life, because one’s fear and dread are some concrete things that can be seen and touched. The concept of Furcht and Angst is abstract. It is uncertain but commonly exists. Heidegger also believed that death is inevitable. Nada commonly exists no matter whether it is realized or not. In the short story A Clean and Well-lighted Place, the characters all lived in Nada. The old man was rich but money could not bring happiness to him. Nothingness was what the old man wanted to escape from, so he tried to commit suicide but failed. Then he hid himself in a clean and well-lighted place to buy drunk. The small café was a refuge to escape from loneliness, but at last he had to leave the café. The young waiter was unaware of what he had, such as job, wife and confidence, but he would be old and lose what he once had. Hence, the youth, money and confidence can not help one withstand the metaphorical darkness. According to the analysis above, it is not difficult to understand that Nada is actually the experience of one’s own existence. Nada does not lead to pessimism, and it is the thorough understanding of life. A Clean and Well-lighted Place was a story of the coexistence of “Being” and “Nothingness”. The old man hid himself in the shadow. The undisturbed and untouched peace of night made him feel the difference. To a deaf person, the silence at night brought him relief and consolation after the day’s noise. In the short story, the lights, shadows, and the tidy café were full of symbolic meanings. The darkness symbolized Nada, while the lights symbolized the hope. Although Nada commonly exists in people’s life, the only way to resist the darkness is to keep a clean and well-lighted place in the soul, that is, love, dignity and sympathy. Conclusion Hemingway and his works had been studied for a long time. Some critics pointed out that Hemingway’s idea of Nothingness was based on his own experiences, his own living conditions and the pessimistic philosophical theories of the western countries. The short story A Clean and Well-lighted Place was Hemingway’s early work, assuming typical Hemingway’s style. From the analysis above, it can be concluded that Nada is an