Contrast Accentuation

Contrast Accentuation


海藍帆逾白 雲來山更佳 (San Francisco Bay)


江碧鳥逾白，山青花欲燃 。 (杜甫)

雲來山更佳，雲去山如畫 。 (張養浩)


Yeh Tze

癡

癡

Infidelity is often called "緋聞" in Taiwan because it is considered
to be news.

It is always a "breaking news" that news media love to broadcast,
and sadly people like to hear.

Infidelity is always destructive, and often fatal, to a marriage.

Many women (the betrayed spouses), under the influence of
traditional Chinese culture, often choose to sacrifice, forgive,
and swallow the sorrow.

The following two pieces of 明代俗曲民歌 reflect their anguish
and heartbreaking feelings:

掛枝兒

露水荷葉珠兒現，
是奴家痴心腸把線來穿。
誰知你水性兒多更變。
這邊分散了，又向那邊圓。
沒真性的冤家也，隨著風兒轉。

劈破玉

要分離，除非天做了地。
要分離，除非東做了西。
要分離，除非官做了吏。
你要分時分不得我，
我要離時離不得你。
就死在黃泉也，
做不得分離鬼。

Yeh Tze

"Big Name" Author

"Big Name" Author





It has been said: “Don’t judge a book by its cover”.
As a matter of fact, the book cover matters a lot,
since it is the first thing readers will see.

“大江大海一九四九” is a newly released book written by 龍應台 and
published by 天下雜誌.

Although I do not know the author’s or the publisher’s intention for
designing such a book cover (as shown above), I do find it to be
rather interesting.

I presume they place “一九四九” between the two colored boxes to
show that 1949 was the year when China was divided into two
countries, the "red" communist on one side and the "blue" Nationalist
on the other. The author wrote tales and stories told by those who
had crossed the “大江大海” during that period of time.

I am particularly amazed by the big print of the author’s name
龍應台 on the book cover. Her large printed name would certainly
catch readers’ eyes from the “Newly Released Books” display before
they enter the bookstore entrance door.

Ordinary, for big-name book authors like 龍應台 (in the Chinese
community), there is no need to have their names printed so big on
the book cover unless they write their own autobiography, or write
something strictly about themselves. In this book, the content focus
is “一九四九” , which is, however, the smallest printed on its book
cover.

Yeh Tze

Awaken to Nature’s Sounds

“Joy of Nature”
How to Observe and Appreciate the Great Outdoors
by Reader’s Digest 1977

Awaken to Nature’s Sounds

About a century ago, a Stone Age man wandered down from the
mountains of northern California. His name was Ishi, and he was
said to be the last member of an Indian tribe who had hidden in the
mountains since he was a child. He had never used a metal tool or
anything else not made from stone or wood. His arrival caused a
sensation in scientific circle, but what is often overlooked is that Ishi
knew how to look at the nature. Within a few minutes after he went
into the woods, Ishi would know where the animals were, where he
could find fresh water and edible plants. His sense of sight, smell, and
hearing were probably nor more acute than yours, but he simply
knew how to use them.

Sigurd Olson (1899-1982), author of “The Singing Wilderness”, had
an Indian companion by the name Jack Linklater, who, with no
imagination, could hear certain “wilderness music”, which Olson was
not able to do. Olson knew from traveling with him that Jack actually
heard something, and he recognized the fact that those who have
lived close to the nature all of their lives are sensitive to many things
lost to those in the cities.

Expert outdoors men like Ishi or Jack learn through experience.
Although we do not have to know a lot about nature to be fully aware
of it, we simply have to give our senses a chance.

Yeh Tze

怎一個愁字了得

感月吟風多少事,
怎一個愁字了得?

李清照（1084－1156）南宋女詞人

　
【一剪梅】
一種相思。兩處閑"愁"。

【行香子】
正人間天上"愁"濃。
黃昏院落，淒淒惶惶，酒醒時往事"愁"腸。

【點絳唇】
柔腸一寸"愁"千縷。

【武陵春】
載不動許多"愁"。

【醉花陰】
薄霧濃雲"愁"永晝。

【採桑子】
點滴淒清。"愁"損離人。

【攤破浣溪沙】
熏透"愁"人千里夢。

【添字采桑子】
"愁"損離人，不慣起來聽。

【月照梨花】
夢斷漏悄，"愁"濃酒惱。

【玉樓春】
道人憔悴春窗底，悶損闌干"愁"不倚。

【蝶戀花】
淚濕羅衣脂粉滿，獨抱濃"愁"無好夢。

【滿庭芳】
更誰家橫笛，吹動濃"愁"。

【鳳凰台上憶吹簫】
凝眸處，從今又添，一段新"愁"。

【壺中天慢】
被冷香消新夢覺，不許"愁"人不起。

【多麗詠白菊】
似"愁"凝、漢阜解佩，似淚洒、紈扇題詩。

【生查子】
酒從別後疏，淚向"愁"中盡。

李清照 was a very sentimental lady poet. Some other depressing,
distressing or sad words she had often used in her naive and
sentimental poetry include:

酒,淚,醉,瘦,殘,悽,慘,消,夢,怨,寂,驚,離,惶,休,憔,悴,恨,憐,惱.

Yeh Tze

Nature Walks Make Me Humble

Nature Walks Make Me Humble

Every time I was closer to nature, I was humbled.

I was humbled by the magnificent display of nature's immense power.

Over the years, we have visited many sacred places and experienced
the grandeur of nature, such as:












Photos from "Google Images"

Nature walks make us smarter, but certainly make us humble.

In his writing “前赤壁賦”, I thought 蘇東波 was quite humbled when
he saw the magnificent 赤壁 and 長江. He said:

“寄蜉蝣於天地，渺滄海之一粟。哀吾生之須臾，羨長江之無窮。”

Then, when he changed the tune to:

“挾飛仙以遨遊，抱明月而長終；知不可乎驟得，託遺響於悲風。” ,

he had ideation or delusion of grandeur.

Yeh Tze

Ancient Textures

When I thought about pine trees, two things always came to my
mind first.

The paintings like this one:


南宋馬麟靜聽松風圖

and the Chinese classical poems such as:

老松危崖，淙淙瀑泉

萬松青一色，濃濤喧大壑

耳聽松風眼看泉

靜聽松風寒

聽徹松風晝夜聲

The ancient Chinese painters and poets had shared their pleasant
visual and auditory experiences. They however seemed to ignore
the beauty down under, the beautiful soft nature-woven rugs.

It is a unique feeling as you make you way along the silent trails
under the pine trees. The carpet of pine needles is very pleasant
underfoot, even barefoot.

In one of the Sierra Club Books, by Mort and Little, there is a caption
stating:

“Neither Ottoman nor Oriental ever contrived a carpet as exquisitely
woven as that of the pine,"the woof and warp of conifer needles". It is
an ancient texture and good underfoot.”

Here are some of the "Ancient Textures", carpets of pine needles:

Yeh Tze