《好好的一天》的下文的下文!

     
今日是星期一了. 天要捉弄我. 偏偏被困在辦公室內而外面有萬道陽光歡照,把個南加洲一片大地温暖起來. 而我呢? 只能妬忌地睄睄窗外的情境. 真氣殺我也! 好在今天所有的電腦軟体問題都已經解决了又早已批發給屬下去辦了. 現在放晏1, 為了減肥只叫人買些沙律2回來. 這样才可以避免美食廣塲中所有香噴噴3的誘惑! 乘有停機時間可以揮筆學習寫中文.

人生路上的行人只知來不知去. 富在深山有遠親, 貧居鬧市無人問! 人性就是這樣. 要樂不要哀. 但無哀不知樂從來, 無苦不知甜. 俗語說得好, 馬馴被人騎, 人善被人欺. 權貴千世羨, 窮賤萬人踩. 人的說話可以扭轉乾坤. 是富有就稱為財大氣粗, 非富即為污糟4鬼5!有時總覺得 若我英文不是超良, 誰會來理睬我. 另一方面亦有人指責我夸多斗靡! 我会在乎嗎. 非也. 只有天知地曉. 唯我自明良心懂.

想話6繼續多咆哮一下. 但好可惜呀… 兔仔的食物已經到了!

Today is Monday and Heaven is playing a joke on me. Why it must be in the middle of the week that I am imprisoned in the office while tons of sunshine is shining happily outside with all of Southern California being warmed up. And what of me? All I can do is to peer outside of the window in envy. It’s killing me, Larry1!

Luckily, all this morning’s software problems had been solved and are being assigned to my subordinates to take care of the details. It is now lunchtime. As I am going on a diet, I asked someone to bring back some salad for me. This is the only way I can avoid all those tempting aromas from the food court. Taking this opportunity, I begin this essay.

In this road of life, passer-bys only notice those entering but not the leaving ones. There are always distant relatives when you are rich, even if you live in the remote mountains. When you are poor in the busiest of cities, nary will anyone inquire about you! Human nature is thus - joys to be had but never sorrows. Now, without sorrow whence joy will come from? Without bitterness, sweetness is but unknown. How apt the saying is, “A tame horse will be ridden by people just as the kindred will be bullied. Millions will go goo-goo gaga over the rich and powerful but the destitute will be trodden by the very ones. Still people’s tongues will turn and twist things around. If you are rich, then you are known as the filthy rich. If you have no money then you are the dirty poor! Sometimes, I felt that if my English is not that great, who would notice me? On the other hand, others will accuse that I am a show off. So do I care? No, I don’t. Heaven knows, Earth knows, I know and my conscience knows.

Of course I can continue ranting on but alas, the rabbit food is here.

Here's a more elegant version from Andrew,  http://www.italki.com/T007303362.htm

漫漫人生路，知來不知去。富在深山有遠亲，貧居閙市無人問。趨樂避哀，人性使然。但無哀不知樂何来，無苦不知甜滋味。俗話說的好，馬馴被人騎，人善被人欺。權貴千世羡，窮賤萬人踩。人言可畏，能扭轉乾坤：富有尊蔑為財大氣粗，貧窮貶做污糟鬼！有時總覺得，若非我英文優異，誰又會給予半點理睬？！亦有人指責我夸多斗靡，我在乎嗎，切。良心為証，天知地曉。



天下熙熙，皆为利来。兄台无需介


Monday, March 26, 2012

1. 午飯時間到了. 可以去吃.

2. 沙拉

3. 形容飃搖的香氣

4. 齷齪, 骯髒

5. 不是包括廣東人在內, 他們喜歡稱別人為鬼! 例如美國鬼, 鬼妹, 鬼婆, 鬼仔(白種男兒), 鬼佬 (比較老些的白種男人)

6. 還想

7. Just a play of words from a series of advertisements in California where the owner of a sleeping mattress chain store, Larry, is offering huge discounts while his accountant is screaming, “Larry, you are killing me!” as the punch line.

A Poetic Gem

Duanqunling, http:www.Italki.com/T008309015.htm, wrote this delightful stanza in a private note. It is too wonderful not to share with others. My translation is figurative and trying to capture her essence.


文如涓涓細流疑似女，Your words trickle delicately like a lassie.
氣如排山倒海思似男。Yet its spirit tower over mountains and oceans like those of a man.
樸素迷离不能辨，        So simple and yet so profound.
化作思念留心間。        Turning thoughts of the head into sweetness of the heart.

A literal version would be,

Your essay flows delicately like a girl,
Yet its ambition can rearrange mountains and upturn oceans like that of a man.
Simplicity or wonder – hard to distinguish/separate,
Only for transforming thoughts for the heart.

It would be great if the authoress would give some comments.

Afterword,

This is really funny to the max! Duanqunling just wrote to tell me that she made a mistake. Instead of "樸素迷離", it should be "撲朔迷離"! A Chinese idiom to mean "complicated and confusing." The original meaning is "the difficulty in separating if one is a male or a female".


This comes from the description of rabbits. The male rabbit is more excitable because of its tendency to jump about while the female is serene with its eyes almost narrowed to a slit. (雄兔撲朔, 雌兔迷離). When they run together alongside, it is hard to distinguish the sex of the rabbits. (雙兔傍地走；安能辨我是雄雌). There is another meaning for 撲朔. It means the fluffiness of the hair on the male rabbit's feet. However, I now wonder if the female is not as fluffy! I used to have pet rabbits as a kid but I was never observant with such details. In any case, 朔 "means the new moon". The moon can used poetically for the rabbit and vice versa; such as the "jade rabbit" (玉兔). Ancient Chinese believe that it lives in the moon pounding osmanthus elixir.  There are two other lunar inhabitants, the beautiful fairy Chang-O (嫦娥) and the three legged toad (蟾). An opposite idiom is 一清二楚.


So now the poem becomes,


文如涓涓細流疑似女, Your words trickle delicately like a lassie.
氣如排山倒海思似男. Yet its spirit towers over mountains and oceans like those of a man.
撲朔迷離不能辨,          Difficult it is to know if you are a male or a female,
化作思念留心間.          For turning thoughts of the head into sweetness of the heart.


Duanqunling wrote the poem because she did not know if I was a male or female.  My former photo showing my lowered tilted head to a side hidden in my mass of long hair! I thank her for her compliment.

《好好一天》的下文

Cloudy Hermosa Beach, Los Angeles

  

上文 http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=738113247606980586&postID=3780580642305077006

人算不如天算. 昨日綺夢今朝散. 總想話一早流流就能飛車到海灘, 準備去享受一下温和而無優無慮的清閑. 因此借病為題與公司 請一日假, 打算完成昨日一塲狂想. 誰知一層寒冷的海霧, 竟然把全個南加洲濃罩起來! 蔭天淒淒, 微雨霏霏, 刺骨入心. 奈何奈何.


昨日搖頭擺尾的氣氛就如此一勾雲散. 一場歡喜一塲空. 我的陽光啊! 我的鶼鰈陽光啊! 為何今日偏偏要背棄我? 啀啀聲. 無法子, 唯有死地地上班. 至少可以在辦公室內去偷懶或大作此下文. 當然我的屬下一見到我的出現就愕然起來. 跌落地, 死都要執返一拃沙, 以傲笑相迎, 不須多句, 只用両字, “捉姦!”

Best laid plans always go awry. Yesterday’s dream, today’s tatters! All I wanted was to sped to the beach this morning and prepare myself a day of warmth and relaxation with no care or worry. Hence, I call in sick to let the office know that I will be taking a day off; hoping to realize my yesterday’s grand illusion. Who knew that a cold layer of marine fog would unexpectedly blanket the entire Southern California with tiny drizzles and cloudy cold piercing to my inner core? Alas, alas.

All the ebullience of yesterday was sucked out from me. All for nothing! Oh my sunlight, my beloved sunlight! Why art thou desert me? What can more can I do but in crestfallen mutterings trudging myself back to work. At least, I can skive off in my office or write this afterword essay. Of course, all my underlings were astonished to see my appearance. Even in defeat, I need to smile bravely with four words, “To catch lazy burgers!”

It's A Fine Day

  

In a wisp, time had gone past you. The summer of youth is now but the wintery years. No internal fire to spur you on but imprisoned only by the external heat of a fire log. Where had I been? I remember not. So so long ago. What I could remember is like the whisper of a dream, beckoning you to return to the misty days of once upon a time.

This was how I felt before I was jolted awake and rescued from this evil spell by the song “It’s A Fine Day” by Opus III of the 90s. How many years had passed? Let me count… One, two, three, four … twenty! Wow! Can’t be wrong! I was a recent graduate then, looking for a job to satisfy the requirements of a green card. I am sitting in my office; on the 50th floor as I look through the humungous window before me. This window; my window to the outside world with wide expanse of a far away ocean scene. I could hardly make out the slither of that that beach. Still the radio song is blaring into my ears from my iPod.

The sun is shining warmly through the glass and I longed to be a bird and fly out of this concrete cage; surging through the blue sky and feel the warm wind kissing my face. I feel like leaving everything behind and return to the wild days of my youth. Too bad, the shackles had been cast solid to the ground. No longer can I free myself even if I wanted to. Too many responsibilities on my back and the sirenic comforts are hard to resist. Signs of old age must approaching. “Make hay while the sun shines.” Ha! I have plenty of hay now but where is that wide eyed boy I once knew? I must have left him far behind… Still lost in the woods! However the song is urging me to look for him.

Back to the current question. I know I cannot soar into the blue yonder with my human wings of imagination but surely I can get up from my ass right now; whizzed down into the underground garage; hopped into my open convertible before speeding off to the warm sands of that Pacific Ocean beach. Fat chance. Not at this time. The 4pm Los Angeles Traffic? Nah! Too much frazzle of the mind before reaching the shores after a grueling battle with the freeway jam dragon. Note to myself. Call in sick tomorrow and spend a day at the beach. After all, it’s Friday tomorrow! I can afford that.

Thump, thump goes the pulsating techno beat of the song. It is finally pumping the reheated blood back into my heart. As my body gyrates to its beat, I feel that my youth is returning once more. I am young again. I am superman! Please, please don’t let them come knocking on my door to break this spell. For an hour or so, let me be what I want to be… cocking my head to and fro; my long hair dancing in the air; swaying away my shoulders and my feet kicking under the desk. I type this essay to relive those days once more. Let me go back to my disco days of youth. Let my boodies shake. I want to burst out into a dance! My flight of imagination begins now. It will be at least for another hour or two before the office lights go out that I dare dance my way to my car, iPod securely to my side and earplugs snug in my ears… Pacific Ocean, here I come! Let the weekend begin by partying under the warmth of tomorrow.

Dear readers, you think I’m crazy. Yup. I’m. Need to be once in awhile. Let my hair down, so to speak. Let me behave like the Wild Man of Borneo. Let the endless repeated song of “It’s A Fine Day” be my elixir. Life is precious and short. Can’t be that staid and dowdy Jeff all the time. I’m on my way to find my long lost brother in the woods. Let’s party man! Let me dream and dance my way into the weekend or at least until I am expired from this sudden nova burst of energy.

Youth is awed by the experience of age.
The aged is mesmerized by the innocence of youth.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjIPzyVlK60
http://www.last.fm/music/Opus+III/_/It's+a+Fine+Day

Spacing Between Words Is Important

  
"Everyday" and "every day" or "maybe" and "may be" have slightly different meanings. Other words such as, "heartfelt" is the correct form and "heart felt" is not; so is "cannot" and "can not". These words have no life or death consequence. HOWEVER, some errors in the English language will definitely cause an eyebrow to be raised and may cost your career. Remember Dan Quayle? The former US Vice President who will be remembered in history as the idiot for incorrectly telling a pupil that the word "potato" is spelt with an extra "e"! Such perceptions made him into a buffoon. He will never to amount to any office higher for the rest of his life. He did not become vice president for his good looks or capability. He was just a token office holder so that he would not outshine his boss, the elder President Bush. So for all those aspiring to a high position in the English world, be "wery wery careful" or the English "Wabbit" will haunt you to no end.


Here is a funny example that a Facebook friend sent me. It is because of the perceive lack of spacing between two crucial words that caused a well-intentioned sign to become something of a guffaw/gaffee. Safeway is a major supermarket chain in the US. In the picture below is a sign for a broken automatic checkout machine....

Either the person is a complete idiot in English or he is a master of the language! Whatever the case may be, it fits the situation and earned an immortal position in the annals of the misuse of the English language.

Enjoy!

A Way Of Life

  

A Way Of Life

A Buddhist philosophy on living in harmony with your fellowmen. The following advice is a dialog between the bodhisattvas (菩蕯), Manjusri (Wen Shu, “Keen awareness”) and Samantabhadra (Po Hsien, “Lord of Truth”) in their incarnations.

Song of Sufferance (忍耐歌)

寒山、拾得笑呵呵，我劝世人要象我。
Cold-Mountain and Can-Be-Picked1 are hee-hawing in laughter. Let me beseech ye mortals of the world to be like us,

忍一句，禍根從此無生處; Restrain one’s tongue and there is no place for the roots of evil to sprout.
饒一著，切莫與人爭強弱; To forbear is to eliminate the desire to see who is the stronger.
耐一時，火坑變作白蓮池; To endure is to turn trenches of fire into pools of white lotuses.
退一步，便是人生修行路. In backing off… ‘Tis the way of life.

寒山問曰:                             Manjusri asked,

任他嗔.                                 Let him be annoyed and displeased.
任他怒.                                 Let him be angry.
只管寬心大著肚.                 Simply be generous hearted.
终日被人欺.                        All day I am bullied and taken advantage of.
神明天地知.                        Ye Gods, Heaven and Earth know of my plight.
若還存心忍.                        Still in tolerance will I bear.
步步得便宜.                        Each step they take advantage of me.
世人欺我.                            I am bullied by the people of the world.
害我打我骂我骗我.            Harm me, beat me, curse me and deceive me.
如何處之.                            How shall I deal with them?

拾得答曰:                            Samantabhadra replied,
只管任他.                            Simply let him be.
憑他,遠他,莫要理他.          With him, distance him, ignore him.
再過幾年看他.                    After a few years, see how he fares.
身穿破衲襖.                        Clothes in tatters.
淡飯随時飽.                        Meager and tasteless food shall fill his belly.
涕唾在臉上.                        Snort shall cover his face.
不棄自乾了.                        Turning dry without wiping them away.
有人來駡我.                        There are those who come and curse me.
我也只說好.                        Still I shall bid them fair.
有人來打我.                        There are those who come and beat me.
我自先睡倒.                        I shall first lie down and be asleep.
他也省氣力.                        He shall expend his energy.
我也無煩腦.                        While I am free from vexation.
這個波羅蜜.                        Oh this, sweet sweet perfection2.
就是無價寶.                        Is such a priceless treasure.
能依這忍字.                       All just from relying on the word “forebear”.
一生過到老.                       With this I shall live to a ripe old age.

1. Cold-Mountain and Can-Be-Picked are poet monks in the Tang Dynasty, who are thought to be the incarnations of the two Bodhisattvas, Manjusri and Samantabhadra. Cold-Mountain once lived in the Temple of the Cold Mountain in Soochow or that he spent his hermitage in a cave on Tentai mountain. Can-Be-Picked was an orphan. On his way back to the temple of Country Purity, the abbot (豐干) took pity on him and took the boy with him. Collectively the Cold-Mountain and Can-Be-Picked are known as the “Twin Saints of Peace and Harmony” (和合二聖). With the abbot, they are known as the “Three Hermits of Country Purity” (國清三隱) or “Three Saints On the Same Mountain (三聖同山).

2. “paramita” – the Six Perfections in Buddhism.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C4%81ramit%C4%81
      http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%85%AD%E5%BA%A6

      It can also mean the jackfruit.

      http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B3%A2%E7%BD%97%E8%9C%9C

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

1922

  

Originally this article was conceived days before Women's Day. However, by the time I was done researching, it was in time for the day. Some elements in the essay are very appropriate to the celebration to this wonderful day.


The year was 1922 and Queen Victoria no longer sat on her throne and her grandson, George V had been reigning for twenty one years already. Europe was recovering from the Great War that had collapsed the royal Houses of the Hohenzollern and the Habsburg. The Kaiser and his cousin, the Tzar, had been swept away like leaves in the autumn. At least the former German Caesar was alive, unlike the great tragedy that had befallen on the Romanovs four years earlier. It was also the year that the ‘Sick Man of Europe’ had finally expired. The once great Ottoman Empire had disintegrated and Egypt gained her independence from Great Britain and Turkey by having a King on the throne while another Egyptian King was discovered – the tomb of Tutankhamen. The USSR was formed and Stalin became its General Secretary. Although radio was in its infancy with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) beginning its service in the United Kingdom, there were already five hundred broadcasting stations in the US. President Harding introduced the radio to the White House. The Duke and Duchess of York were married, four years before Queen Elizabeth II was born. A world record was broken and Johnny Weissmuller swam 100m in 58.6 seconds that eventually made him into a movie star – as Tarzan.

Vitamin E was just discovered and the first successful insulin treatment of diabetes was applied, just four years before the advent of TV! The British Empire was at its height with the annexation of all former German colonies to become an empire with the largest land extent, covering a quarter of the world and ruling one in four humans. On the sad side, the Barbary Lion had become extinct in Morocco. So did the Amur Tiger in South Korea and the Californian grizzly bear. Sadder still was that Benito Mussolini became the Prime Minister of Italy and Adolf Hitler seized power in Germany where hyperinflation had seen the value of the Papiermark against the Dollar rose to 1,000.

On the Asian side, the Chinese Republic was ten years old and Sun Yat Sen was the president with the Last Emperor, Puyi still living in the Forbidden City. Shanghai was known as the “Sin Capital” with rampant white prostitution. Hence we have the English word, “Shanghaied” – meaning kidnapping usually by drugging. Another nicer explanation is “to drugged men to man ships going to China”. Japan was building its military for its Asian designs.  Korea and Taiwan were its colonies while the Chinese fought among themselves.

On the American side of the world, Eva Peron of Argentina was only three years old and the Panama Canal was only eight. The Gilded Era of the US was replaced by the Progressive Era. Fortunes were amassed even more by greater efficiency and mass production of goods. While royal houses of Europe were crumbling or crumbled, the US industrial houses of Mellon, Carnegie, Bloomington, Vanderbilt, Morgan and Stanley were rising meteorically. There were four tax reductions under Treasury Secretary, Andrew Mellon who believed that lower taxes meant greater economic growth. Automobiles were beginning to replace horse buggies. Women were accepted into work places and they finally get to vote 2 years later.  It was only a year ago that the first Miss American Pageant came into existence. The shackles and conservativism of the Victorian Age were falling. It was the Roaring 20’s. Though the Prohibition was still in place, people were rebelling. It was time for fun and craziness. Women gained greater empowerment for themselves. It was also the Jazz Age and many offbeat dances came into vogue – the Charleston, the Bunny Hug and the Turkey Trot. From the most famous dancing couple, the husband and wife dance team of Irene and Vernon Castle, came the Castle Walk and the Castle Waltz.  They introduced the Tango to the American public and it became an overnight sensation for its sensual moves. From Irene Castle herself, hemlines of women went up when hers were raised. Hemlines were not the only things raised.  Eyebrows were raised too and eyes were in shock when Irene Castle bobbed her hair. Every American woman worth her salt, had theirs bobbed as well. Yes, I learnt my Americana from movies, this one comes from the “Story of Vernon and Irene Castle” starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. (Sorry can’t find a link. You have to search yourself).

Chinese culture too, became the in thing. Mahjong was played in all upper echelons of society in the major cities. Prices of Chinese porcelain, especially those of the Ch’ing Dynasty's Kang Hsi, Yung Cheng and Chien Lung periods were rocketed sky high. Thus promoting fakes made in China to satisfy this demand. The Chinese collection of Sir David Percival was starting as eunuchs were secretly selling treasures from the Forbidden City. Chinese fashion became the rage. The Cheong Sam (長衫) was modified with high slits to the hips from the informal Manchu dress, Chi Pao (祺袍). It was fashionable to wear Chinese silk pajamas. However the greatest influence was the Manchu Court official long beads. You are chic if you wear a long string of beads. However with a breasty façade, the beads will not be in place. Therefore, it became very fashionable for women to be flat chested to keep them hanging straight down! (Alas, its people were not treated in the same manner. A sign in a Shanghai park read, “No dogs and Chinaman allowed”. The Chinese Exclusion Act was still in force. It was not a good time to be Chinese in America! They were discriminated and treated like dogs). These flappers were the precursors to modern women. They wore short skirts, bobbed their hair and listened to jazz.  They were brash in wearing excessive makeup.  They drank hard and smoked with men on equal terms.  They drove in automobiles.  They treated sex in a casual manner and flaunting social and sexual norms.

For the men, well at least for college kids, bear skins and ukuleles were in vogue. As for the English language, well, much slang came into existence. See how many words you can spot that are still in use today and thus accepted into standard English usage:

Absolutely, by jingo, all wet, applesauce, atta boy/girl, bank’s closed, bearcat, beef, beeswax, bimbo, bull, butt me, cash or check, cat’s meow, cheaters, ciggy, clam, daddy, dapper, doll, dolled up, drugstore cowboy, ducky, egg, fire extinguisher, fish, fly boy, frame, gold digger, handcuff, heebie jeebies, hit on all sixes, hood, horsefeathers, jalopy, java, john, joint, kisser, level with me, moll, neck, now you are on the trolley, nobody home, on the lam, on the level, ossified, owl, pet, pipe down, putting on the Ritz, razz, real McCoy, ritzy, sap, says you, scram, Sheba, swanky, swell, take for a ride, torpedo, upchuck, wet blanket, what’s eating you, whoopee and finally, you slay me.

As for Los Angeles? It was still a sleepy town of no great consequence. New York was the center of the US. In 1922, the total number of cars was only 172,313. In the latest available figures for 2008, it  has the largest car population in the US with more than 5.8 million vehicles registered. Only five other STATES have more, California (14.2 million - not including L.A. County), Texas (8.8 million), New York (8.7 million), Florida (7.2 million), and Ohio (6.4 million) 1. Hollywood was still in its infancy of producing silent movies.

As usual, I am off my track again. Originally, I did not intend that this article to be a history lesson for the year 1922. It was supposed to be a short introduction to a movie that I am going to introduce and share with you that took place in that year. This movie, “Thoroughly Modern Mille” was made in 1967, a musical comedy that I enjoyed very much. I was able to find a copy on site that my Mainland Chinese friends can access. It starred three greatest personages from their areas of entertainment when the movie came out. Julie Andrews was the reigning movie queen for her Oscar award in “The Sound of Music” two years earlier; Mary Tyler Moore, from her just ended TV series, “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and the first lady of Broadway, Carol Channing from the still ongoing “Hello Dolly” on Broadway.

The movie contains many politically incorrect scenes deemed by today’s standards. Groups were stereotyped – Russian Jews and of course the pigtailed inscrutable Chinese. In the last few scenes of the movie, whites were made to look like heroes of effortless efficiency while the Chinese were portrayed as buffoons. I could not understand the Chinese that was spoken by the main villianess. Finally I figured it out that it was Mandarin; meaning “quickly” (速手). However, I do detect Cantonese sounds spoken in the background scenes depicting life in Chinatown. For those who had seen the more recent movie, “The Karate Kid”, see if you can recognize Pat Morita, the Karate teacher in this 1967 movie! At the end of the day, it was how Americans perceive us as such in the 1920s and even in the 60s. Whatever the case may be, how one group is viewed by another is due to how their countries treated each other. One day, they are friends and enemies in the next day.  Then they are back to being kissy kissy again. Their actions are no better than those of a squabbling married couple.

Without further ado, here is the link to the movie and others for your easy reference. Most of the things mentioned in this article can be searched easily by Google. So take out your popcorn or a cup of tea, sit back and enjoy this wonderful entertainment of song and dance.

Conceived 06 mar 2012. Completed 08 Mar 2012

1.  http://www.laalmanac.com/transport/tr02.htm

Thoroughly Modern Millie
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/USqw9EXDidY/

The Castle Walk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVyDNJaiTzM

The Castle Waltz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1zruFzWwUE&feature=related

Hello Dolly – Carol Channing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOQwxup-jv4

Hello Dolly – Barbara Streisand
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwUwsrAqBwA&feature=related

Dances of the 20s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCkkOqXUaZo&feature=related

Roaring 20s – Dance Craze
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNAOHtmy4j0&feature=related

Flappers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqLEAa_Ude8&feature=related

More Flappers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09uIxQBCxrk&feature=related

Mother Of Kings

       

http://www.iqiyi.com/dianshiju/20100504/n7997.html?event_id=4c4b3334fe39599c675a88595c3e66f5&bucket=bkt_main&area=rec02&rank=4&tag=mid

I had been bad. My mind was not in a tiptop shape for the last few days. I spent my nights watching a Chinese serial called, “Mother of Kings”. The translated title is a misnomer although it is actually quite good for advertisement purposes. It captures the basic story in just three words. It is quite a feat in doing so. Unlike in this entry, the correct translation cannot be explained clearly. It is also known by more dowdy title of “The Queens”.

The serial is based on a life story of a woman who rose from obscurity to the pinnacle of power in the imperial history of the Eastern Han Dynasty. She was pivotal in the break of the dynasty for a few short years before it rose from its ashes as the Western Han Dynasty. For those who are not well versed in Chinese history, the other major power of the day was the Roman Empire.

Women in the harem will stoop to nothing; murdering not only their rivals but the male issues of their rivals. This is also true in the harems of the Ottoman Empire. The story is unique because this is the only known case where the infatuated Emperor would allow his baby son and heir to the throne be killed with no consequences for the murderess. Great plots! However the serial skipped many more interesting historical facts. I guess the director was trying to impinge his creative marks on this film. However, what he fabricated can do no justice to the real intrigues of history.

The correct title of the series should be, “The Motherly Model of the Empire” or “The Motherly Rites of the Empire” (母儀天下). However, if translated this way, many will scratch their heads in puzzlement and too long a title. In Chinese imperial philosophy, the emperor is the Son of Heaven, the father of the empire while the Empress is its mother. All subjects are considered to be the children. A very Confucian model indeed. As such, the empress must behave like an ideal mother; a model and paradigm to the nation - in other words, a paragon of virtue. This was stressed later in the serial. Although ancient Chinese is a polygynous society, imperial law stated that there can only be one current empress at any time. Of course, all his other women can have various titles to skirt around the restriction but protocol requires that their ranks be lower than that of the empress. A more drastic way is to depose her and let another takes her place. Whichever the case may be, real power lies with the one whom the emperor favoured most.

What really prompted me to write this article were the poetic lyrics for the ending song. At the same time learning few new Chinese characters (highlighted in red). At first I was astounded by the poetic elegance which summed up the story perfectly.

兼葭蒼蒼,    His double flute sounds are far and misty.
白露為霜.    The pure dew has now become frost.
所為伊人,    This so called person,
在水一方.    Is now somewhere by the river bank.
溯洄從之,    Following the meandering, (I searched for thee).
道阻且長.    The course, full of obstacles, is long and difficult.
溯游從之,    Upstream I went following,
宛在水中央. As if I had entered into the flow.

In the fictionalized story, the main female character has an unrequited love for a nobleman who was a carefree guy. To irk and to circumvent his father’s wishes that he enters the imperial court to seek some high official post, he became a court musician to the crown prince instead; thus satisfying the literal words of his father. His favourite instrument was the flute. Later circumstances made him change his mind to become an imperial chancellor in order to protect his now unattainable love - now the empress. In the end, he was executed for treason due to court intrigue and scorn from a rival empress dowager whom he had rejected her advances (another fabrication to liven up the story). Thus 兼葭 caught my eye. 兼 means ‘double’ or ‘double ranked’. 葭 means a flute; actually a kind of reed used to make the instrument.

The second line of the poem can mean the innocence of the young girls entering the harem and has now become ruthless cold blooded killers. Because of the influence of the story, the river bank can mean the nether world. I have this visual image of the lady searching for the source of the river as if being waded into the river or as if the river had embraced her into its waters to seek the soul of her lover. A sort of the Orpheus and Eurydice story. However, I was wrong. I did some research and found that the director, like some subplots, had fiddled here and there to fit his ideas and to fit the melody. From the internet, I was surprised to find that it was an ancient poem. The keyword changed was 蒹 and not 兼. The difference is the removal of the grass radical. 蒹葭 is Phragmites communis; a kind of reed. See the following link to see how it looks like.

http://www.google.com/search?q=Phragmites+communis&hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&rlz=1I7ADRA_enUS424&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=uPtXT7D9DtHKiALfoIXLCw&ved=0CEAQsAQ&biw=1120&bih=555

蒹葭(秦風) Reeds (Winds of Chin1)

蒹葭蒼蒼,      The reeds extend far into infinity,
白露為霜.      Pure drops of dew now frosted white.
所謂伊人,      This so called person,
在水一方.      Is somewhere by the river bank.
溯洄從之,      Following the meanders, (I searched for thee)
道阻且長.      The course, fraught with obstacles, is long and difficult.
溯游從之,      Upstream I went following,
宛在水中央.   As if I had entered into the flow.

蒹葭凄凄,      How luxuriant are the reeds 淒 here is the same as 萋
白露未晞.      Pure drops of dew not yet dried.
所謂伊人,      This so called person,
在水之湄.      Is somewhere by the river’s edge 2.
溯洄從之,      Following the meanders, (I searched for thee)
道阻且躋.      The path is tricky and on the rise.
溯游從之,      Upstream I went following,
宛在水中坻3.  As if I am on a rock in the midst of the river.

蒹葭采采,      How thick, are the reeds,
白露未已.      Pure drops of dew still a forming.
所謂伊人,      This so called person,
宛在水之涘.   Is somewhere by the river’s edge
溯洄從之,      Following the meanders, (I searched for thee)
道阻且右.      The way is difficult and twisty.
溯游從之,      Upstream I went following,
宛在水中沚4. As if I am on an islet in the river.

1. The State of Chin where the First Emperor came from. The Chinese word for ‘wind” can also refer to the local customs, scenery or even political winds of change etc.

2. 湄 -The line where grasses and the water meet.

3. 坻 is a rock in the middle of a river.

4. 沚 is somewhat larger than a 3.

Wednesday, March 07, 2012