Archive for January, 2010
From Milosz to Marley
Posted by Sylvia Xiaorui in Thoughts on January 24, 2010
Watching a film on iPhone is probably the best way to make the long subway train ride enjoyable. My second choice would be recite a long poem, but with my declining memory it seems to be not as facile as it used to be, especially when you are on a 20 mile bicycle ride or a NYC subway train where no mobile coverage at all so Wikipedia is as far as the end of the world. So we watched PBS’s Bob Marley Story – Rebel Music.
Marley and Milosz both believed the power of muse, in music or poetry.
Just by coincidence, on October 8th 1980 Bob Marley collapsed on stage and was brought to hospital, the second day on October 9th 1980 Nobel prize for literature was awarded to Czeslaw Milosz. Read the rest of this entry »
What is poetry which does not save / Nations or people? – Czeslaw Milosz, Warsaw, 1945
Posted by Sylvia Xiaorui in Thoughts on January 22, 2010
Should poetry be reflective or instructional?
Su Dongpo was forty two years old when he had his first trial and exile from court in 1079 resulted from the Wutai Poem Incident. When his good friend Wang Shu resigned and left the capital city, the poet wrote a poem to express his resentment to the incident, along with his principle of poetry.
仁义大捷径，诗书一旅亭。
相夸绶若若，犹诵麦青青。
腐鼠何老吓，高鸿本自冥。
颠狂不用唤，酒尽渐须醒。 Read the rest of this entry »
Su Dongpo’s Recipe
Posted by Sylvia Xiaorui in History on January 21, 2010
Once a Mr. Zhang went to see Su Dongpo for a recipe of long life. Su Dongpo said: ‘I heard about a formula in Strategies of the Warring States, which has been effective for me, maybe you can try. The recipe contains only four ingredients,
- Having leisure equals having power,
- Going to bed early equals having wealth,
- A leisurely stroll is as enjoyable as a drive,
- Eating late is as good as eating meat. Read the rest of this entry »
Zhuangzi Tests His Wife
Posted by Sylvia Xiaorui in History on January 20, 2010
Continuing my excursion of Chuang Tzu through Thomas MERTON’s meditation. Incidentally at the last chapter, about his own funeral, Chuang Tzu conveniently uses the heaven and earth for his philosophical teaching, in the same fashion as Liu Ling did more than 600 years after when despising people’s ridicule.
《庄子·杂篇·列御寇第三十二》
庄子将死，弟子欲厚葬之。庄子曰：“吾以天地为棺椁，以日月为连璧，星辰为珠玑，万物为赍送。吾葬具岂不备邪？何以加此！”弟子曰：“吾恐乌鸢之食夫子也。”庄子曰：“在上为乌鸢食，在下为蝼蚁食，夺彼与此，何其偏也。”
When Chuang Tzu was about to die, his disciples began planning a splendid funeral. Read the rest of this entry »
nostalgia’s not what it used to be
Posted by Sylvia Xiaorui in Films Sing to Me on January 18, 2010
I guess nothing is more personal than nostalgia, yet nostalgia is not hat used to be, as you could not step twice into the same river; for other waters are ever flowing on to you, or for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.
One year ago when the film was just realized my friend Angelique in Shanghai wrote the following on a Facebook conversation with me: I myself was the second-generation armaments factory kid, therefore the film is conversant and familiar to me. Sending text messages to my dad while watching the film, I urge him to give a copy of the film. I am afraid that they are of that generation who have to sob when facing the past.
Jia Zhangke blurred the boundary between documentary and fictional film, which it rather controversial. Personally, as long as the works of the film director is not sensational and sentimental and not gushing with feelings, at least the has a sincere heart towards the story and the audience. Read the rest of this entry »
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