Halcyon Days Of Youth

  
This entry was inspired by Haru... Thanks for making me remember.

http://www.italki.com/notebook/entry/208302.htm?src=italki-uhpu-fw

Gone are the days of school but now yearning to return. Gone are my childhood friends whom I play and fought with. The giants in our teachers, tall and erect. Fearsome like the ogres of storybooks are but now mere shadows of their former selves. So tiny and midget-like in my eyes of now. Silly it is of me to be so frightened and in awe even to be in their shadows then.

I speak to them and hear them talk. How shallow are their knowledge compared to what I possess. No matter how little do they know, it is them who are my teachers, teaching me the art of growing up and to be a leader amongst men. I am sure, they are proud of me. Without them, this cocky sprout would never become a mightier oak than them. For this, I thank them with all my heartfelt sincerity.

Gone are the days of laughter and chatter in the classrooms. They are now empty and silent before me. I looked in wonder at the tiny elf-like chairs and desks I once used to sit and write upon; scribbling in haste to beat the alloted essay time limit. If I now sit on it, it would surely break! Time changes everything. Essays, now I can write at the drop of the hat!

On the wooden surfaces of the desk are marks of old, forever etched in time by generations past. I fondly remembered how this mark had gotten there and how that chip came into being. So long ago and yet still so fresh in my mind. Yes, I am a giant now, of greatest stature but in my mind, a kid of so many yesteryears ago. I seemed to hear the voices of my teachers telling us to be quiet. Still so many voices in my head begging to be heard.

Gone are the years when I came back to my old school. Nary a classroom in sight. Nary a path to be seen. Now, in front of my eyes, an alien landscape I know not. Gone are the desks and chairs I once used. I should have taken them when I had the chance.

Gone are the familiar faces. Even soild buildings are not immune to time. Truely lost in the strange buildings and yet on familiar grounds I trod. No one recognized me but asked this stranger his business here. I paused and I smiled, replying in lies that I am on my way to see the headmaster. No more questions asked and went their way. For a few more moments, I pondered in sighs. Should I continue my journey? No point, I told myself. For time is a heartless traveller recognizing no friend or foe.
 
--------------------------------
 
Haru's original piece.
 
Translation Practice


我们终于来到以前憧憬的年纪，却发现已经有人订婚、有人结婚、有人出国、有人生活顺利、有人坚持梦想、有人碌碌无为......毕业时的那个蓝天早已消失不见，那个和你在操场边说着要一起走到未来的人，也早就不知道去了哪里。看着窗外的天，突然就黑了，感觉像我们的青春，突然就没了。

Finally we reach the age that we used to look forward to but only to find that some people have been engaged. Some have been married; some have goneabroad; some are living a smooth life; some are still insisting on their dreams; some are still living a mediocre life… The blue sky that belongs to the graduation seasons has been gone. We have no idea where the people who promised to accompany us to the future are. As we are looking at the sky outside of the window, it suddenly turns black. Just like our youth, it slips away without trace.

http://www.yinyuetai.com/video/226965

My polishing and correction of her above piece.

Finally we have reached the age that we as kids used to look forward to but only to find that some people are engaged, some married; some are abroad; some are having a great life; some are still insisting living out on their dreams and others in a life of idleness… Gone is the blue sky of our graduation days. Then there is the one on the quadrangle who said that we will walk together into the future, is nowhere to be seen. Looking at the sky through the window, see how gloomy it had become. Just I felt like our youth, fleeting away and suddenly gone without a trace.

Wishing Upon A Boat

Simple pleasures of an uncomplicated life.  Let not the rat races of the world come knocking here into this paradise.


Semporna, a tiny town in East Malaysia on the northern side of the Island of Borneo



小舟划水伴龍影, Rowing a little boat by the dragon’s shadow,

龍影閃罩龍宮苑. The dragon’s shadow briefly crosses the Dragon Palace garden.
宮苑為世人為天, If the Palace Garden is Earth, then man must be Heaven,

天為心靜從何怨. Heaven is the bliss of the heart, whence resentment comes from?

Thursday, June 14, 2012


18 June 2012...


The theme of the above Chinese poem was inspired when I first saw the picture. However, during my time spent in Balboa Park in this past week, I was mulling over it. The theme may be okay but the imagery was not appropriate to the picture. The movement was too fast implied by the "dragon's shadow". At the same time, the poem does not quite rhyme. I was toying with a pattern not found in Chinese. I was making the end of the previous line into the starting of the next line. It was fun and whimsical but not really good. As I was strolling through the sunny day in the park, my mind was relentless with me until I have come up with something satisfactory. At the same time, I thought it would be a good idea to let you all have a glimpse into my thought process is.


There were a number of lines, I first came up to make the poem rhyme.


划舟破水隨龍影 Rowing the boat, breaking the water, following the dragon's shadow. However, there are two things that are not quite right. First of all, not everyone at the first glance will know that the dragon's shadow refers to the longish shadow of the boat in the photo. "Breaking the water/waves" suggests faster movement than in the photo. Also one does not see any wave around the boat except the hint of ripples caused by the oar and those in further distance from the boat.


After removing the dragon's shadow, another line rose up as, 划舟破水兩邊分. This is line good except that it does not reflect the mood in the photo well. In the third line, I wanted to convey that if the imagery world of the ocean is a human world, and that we are so lucky to behave like gods in peering down to their world, we should have no worries at all. In another words, it is just the perspective in how we should percieve to avoid sorrows. This is the theme that I wanted to convey. I was trying out different phrases such as 船上童子, (Boy on the boat), 海族 (denizens of the ocean), 魚族 (clans of fish, fish denizens). However, this is too direct and explicit. Chinese like to be oblique in their arts. At the same time, keeping in mind the constraints of the rhyming structure. In the end, I came up with the following.


划舟渡眾水清深, Rowing the boat, ferrying across clear waters of the deep,
海靜無風聽漣音. Calm is the ocean, I hear ripples sound.
船下人間面上仙, If those under the boat are from the mortal world, then all above are immortals,
懮愁漂來誰之心. Should sorrow come drifting by, to whom does it belong to?


I like the phrase 渡眾, "ferrying the masses". It can be literal as in the photo ferrying his siblings or can be figurative as in salvation of the masses in Buddhist terminology. I wanted to use another Buddhist term, 苦海, "the sea of bitterness" but this ill-fits the photo and mood.

On Mother’s Day - 母親節日上

蝶舞蜂飛南加天, Bees abuzz, butterflies in dance on this day in Southern California,

花香鳥語伴身傍. Flowers in fragrance and birds twittering by my side.

竹林世外不顧聞, Care not the woes outside of this bamboo forest,

只怪落葉騷夏夢. Frowning only at falling leaves disturbing my summer dream.

每逢星期日的今天, 母親也是酒樓食館的大恩人! 對它們來說, 真真的一個隆重大節日! 食點心, 吃晚飯, 看塲戲. 這天四處人山人海, 做什么也好都要排長龍. 逼車霸位. 人又好, 車又好, 橫衝直撞, 節日氣氛偕盡散, 早已成為火燥煩悶.

母親久已跨鶴西去, 不如此日在家中後院的竹林下, 悠閒地度過他人忙碌的一個下午. 在椅牀上小睡, 醒後喝杯清茶, 改作文章, 聽聽大自然的風吹葉颯之樂.

On this every Sunday for Mother’s Day, it is a boon to all restaurants and eateries. No matter, having dim sum; at a dinner; even watch a movie, or whatever you want to do, there are throngs of crowds everywhere forming long queues. Traffic jams galore and fighting for a parking spot. Whether it is people or cars, everyone and everything is dashing here and darting there. Whatever festive mood there is, is long gone and now a heated and fiery chore.

My mother had been gone for a long time now. Might as well stay home in the midst of my backyard bamboo forest and spend an afternoon in quietude and carefreeness. Let others worry about the stress of this particular day. Take a nap on the chaise lounge. Afterwards, have a cup of tea; compose and correct some essays. In this natural setting, listen to the joy of rustling leaves.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

The Garden of Good and Evil

 

My backyard garden is a place of tranquility for me. A refuge from the noise of the outside world; an inner sanctum of a peaceful calm I sought. It may be a place for writing poems or reflections on life while sipping a cup of tea. Let not the lull of the place deceive you. It is also a place where plots and counterplots are hatched to neutralize office politics; to find a way how to delicately strangle opponents with silken cords; also to sip a cup of tea under the cool shade of the bamboo forest.


What the place really needs is a table with a zither on it, waiting for its player – preferably me, to strum the strings lambently in thought. I do not need to have the traditional incense burning to complete a classic Chinese scholar setting. You see, this place is also a garden of evening fragrance; perfumed by various jasmines, honeysuckles and daturas. Kin to the brugmansia, these are also known as angel or devil trumpets. Its fragrance is of heavenly delight while its taste is of deadly poison. In right dosages, you will be lifted into paradise; a tad too much, writhing your way to hell. Internet literature describes a journey accompanied by painful convulsions and vomiting. Not a very nice way to die. To die is never nice anyway! Never have I even put a cigarette to my lips, let alone these exotic natural hallucinogens. However, to know your poisons is a good thing.
Today, on this warm and sunny Tuesday afternoon, I am on a more sedate mission (I would indeed be a fool to write about the plots of my office sagas so publicly); sipping my cup of Chinese tea with a Chinese almond cookie or two; mulling over my new love. It had been constantly gnawing at me; caressing me and bending my mind to its will… After lunch, I decided to take the rest of the day off to enjoy the wonderful weather of a “warm” spring in Southern California. Sunshine abounds and gentle breezes rustling the bamboo leaves. What a life!

No one raises an eyebrow in the office. They know my habits well. If they want the diva to give her best, better humour her antics. They know that I will be back in the office late in the night hacking away while they are in deep slumber of a 2am dream. You see, my boss and I are cut from the same cloth! Yes, we understand each other tacitly. He has a wife that he wants to run away from and I am here because my creative mind works best at this unearthly hour. Sometimes, I wonder if my boss and I are sweethearts of the night because we have many “pillow talks”. These talks have far more weight than all the meeting discussions. We need no decorum; just plain honest talk based on hard facts. For all those who are starting on the corporate ladder, my advice is to observe the habits and likes of your bosses. Then worm yourself into their confidence. I learnt this from the Broadway show and movie, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying1.

For those interested, here's a video link to my secret garden, http://vimeo.com/40690456.

My new Love is a week-old poem that slipped into my mind on a sleepless night as I was tossing and turning in bed. I could not sleep; not because of office politics but just a simple case of insomnia.

大雨西來抝柳蔭, Great rains from the west bend the willow shade.

It is a great line begging to be capped2. Finally I came up with,

小亭東立擋馬蹄. The little pavilion stood in the east, stopping all horses’ hooves.

I felt two more lines will make a lovely poem,

金釵步搖已兼收, Golden hairpins and step danglers3 have been put away.
借問蒂下鴛鴦暖. May I dare ask, are the mandarin ducks4 under the leaves warm?

Although the English translation rhetoric is good, I did not like the structure of the last line or its rhyme.

Benben5 suggested the following sentence structure,

蒂下鴛鴦是否暖. Are the mandarin ducks under the leaves warm?

This solves the sentence structure but not the rhyming scheme. It has been bothering me ever since. I wanted closure from this love and move on with my life. I sound so superficial and shallow. Don’t I? I came up various schemes, such as,

蒂下鴛鴦度春宵. Under the leaves, the mandarin ducks spent the night of spring.
蒂下鴛鴦一對儷. Under the leaves, mandarin ducks, a lovers’ pair.

As if to compound my unsolved agony, a new character came barging into my mind unceremoniously resulting in,

橫雨西來抝柳蔭– Slanting west rains came bending the willow shade.

This slight change in my opinion is more elegant as the image is more vivid and suggestive. The first version merely implied that the rains were slanting at a westerly angle. This one is more forceful. Now the second line needs changing in order to satisfy the rules of couplet matching. Friends ask me why I have so much interest for such no-longer-chic and obsolete literary pursuits of the past. Well, I tell them that they are as valid today as in the past. To me, this form of mental exercise keeps me alert and hones my thinking. Software is very much like that. A slight change in code will have a cascading effect. Those who know programming can attest that bug-fixing is a very difficult and tedious task, an art form where with one false move everything goes haywire! Fixing one bug may introduce many more down the line. Worse are the mutual or double bugs. They may have the property of cancelling the erroneous effects of one another! Hence by removing one bug, the effects of the other now manifest itself into full force. Yes, I do reach out for other fields for metaphors and paradigms to my software writing and bug removals. I mainly draw on music and literary techniques because I do not know other areas of knowledge.

The new second line now becomes,

直路東去點山脚 (天綫) The straight road going east, touches the foothills (horizon)
直路東去摧馬蹄 The straight road going east, urges faster horses’ gait.
直路東去闖天機 The straight road going east, crashes the destiny of heaven.

The third line can remain but the last one now has a few variations.

蒂下鴛鴦只一隻 Under the leaves, only one mandarin duck is left.
不怕鴛鴦只一隻 Afraid not that a mandarin duck be alone.
不比天下江山秀 Incomparable to the beauty of the empire.

Still I am not satisfied. I am honest to myself. I know that there are things which I cannot solve. I know when I am licked. If they are not that important, I shall put them aside like old love letters in a box. Perhaps, when the next time, when I peruse them again, I may have Calliope and Erato with me... Anyway, my friend is coming to see me for an afternoon Chinese tea. Anticipating for more gossips!

The Blue Kitty - http://jeffinous.blogspot.com/2011/12/my-cats-bitch-and-tuxedo.html

1.   The 1967 movie version, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJgaaAfhR5I

2. http://www.italki.com/notebook/entry/183238.htm

3. Hairpins with danglers at one end so that when women walk, these pieces sway in elegance with
    each step. Together with the non-danglers, they are a must have for wealthy women in the imperial
   days. Danglers are designed to catch the eyes of the men as they walk and at the same time non-
   danglers are weapons for protecting their virtue either to commit suicide or to fight off would be
   rapists.

4. Mandarin ducks are symbols of love and fidelity.

5. http://www.italki.com/T008229879.htm

Same Thing, Different Packaging

     
As I always say, ideas and concepts are independent from language. Only packaging shows the cultural differences. As an example, advertisements for Asian fragrances accentuate the purity and serenity of nature with blossoms while Western (especially American) ones have images of female sexuality oozing out of every curve and the male’s - out of every muscle! Very different approaches indeed. However, with the power of American consumerism leading the way and the notion that sex sells, such differences are fading away. One just simply cannot argue with profit.

Today, I am not talking about product packaging but of cultural images. A picture is worth more than a thousand words. However, there is no accompanying image for this essay as I cannot draw, paint or illustrate; and so you, my readers will just have to do with your imagination. I had tried to find suitable images on the Internet and hopefully come up with some sort of collage to illustrate my points. I failed. I shall try in words instead.

Take a simple rainy scene. Imagine that rain is falling at angle from left to right, implying that the wind is westerly; a tree or two on the right and perhaps, a distant structure afar in the left. In our minds, each one of us will conjure this scene differently in details. However, within each different cultural group, there will be shared common experience that is considered as the norm. For example, in a western mind, it is quite logical to see a moving cloud with a human face blowing fleecy clouds of rain towards a tree. You won’t find this sort of a thing in a classical Far East depiction. Instead, a grand scene of misty clouds enshrouding in the landscape of mountains and river as the main theme. Tiny windswept willows to suggest movement or with tiny people seeking refuge from the implicit depiction of rain in the background. Western classical art is explicit and places Man and his personification at the center while Far Eastern art places nature in the foreground with details left out for the viewer’s imagination.

Now I shall try illustrate my point further by more poetic forms. An English version may be,

“Zephyr herding fleecy clouds of rain towards the tree”.

Here, Zephyr, also known as Zephyrus, is the personification of the west wind. This line paints of a pastoral setting in spring or early summer because he represents the breezes of these periods. Even a figurative translation of “The gentle west wind blowing rain towards the tree” does not quite fit quite well into a Chinese imagery. It has to be repackaged into something like,

“The westerly rain bends the willow tree”.

This is translated to suit the English mind. The literal translation would be something like, “Great rain from the west bends the willow shade (canopy)”. 大雨西來抝柳蔭. This would be the conclusion for the essay. However, this Chinese line is too good a one to let it pass. Therefore, I would like to issue a challenge to my Chinese readers, if I may, that they complete this couplet. I await eagerly for your responses.

Thursday, April 05, 2012, 5am

《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.