"That pleasure which is at once the most pure, the most elevating and the most intense, is derived, I maintain, from the contemplation of the beautiful." ～Edgar Allan Poe / "Understood in its metaphysical sense, Beauty is one of the manifestations of the Absolute Being. Emanating from the harmonious rays of the Divine plan, it crosses the intellectual plane to shine once again across the natural plane, where it darkens into matter." ～Jean Delville
To feel most beautifully alive means to be reading something beautiful, ready always to apprehend in the flow of language the sudden flash of poetry.
～G. Bachelard
I would define the poetic effect as the capacity that a text displays for continuing to generate different readings, without ever being completely consumed.
～Umberto Eco
Innate in nearly every artistic nature is a wanton, treacherous penchant for accepting injustice when it creates beauty and showing sympathy for and paying homage to aristocratic privilege.
～Thomas Mann
Stay, little ounce, here in/ Fleece and leaf with me, in the evermore/ Where swans trembled in the lake around our bed of hay and morning/ Came each morning like a felt cloak billowing/ Across the most pale day. It was the color of a steeple disappearing/ In an old Venetian sky. (...)
Would they take/ You now from me, like Leonardo's sleeve disappearing in/ The air. And when I woke I could not wake/ You, little sphinx, I could not keep you here with me./ Anywhere, I could not bear to let you go. Stay here/ In our clouded bed of wind and timothy with me./ Lie here with me in snow.
~For a Snow Leopard in October, Lucie Brock-Broido
I sigh not, while thou art my soul! Fair one, thou art to me
A golden cup, with water filled of immortality.
I sit me down, that over me may fall thy shadow, sweet;
Thou art a gold-embroidered tent to shield me from the heat.
First hear my fault, and, if thou wilt, then slay this erring man;
Thou hast all power; to me thou art the Sultan and the Khan.
Thy waist is like a cypress-tree, sugar thy tongue, in sooth;
Thy lip is candy, and thy skin like Frankish satin smooth.
Thy teeth are pearls and diamonds, the gates of dulcet tones;
Thine eyes are gold-enamelled cups adorned with precious stones;
Thou art a rare and priceless gem, most wonderful to see;
A ruby rich of Mt. Bedakhsh, my love, thou art to me.
How can I bear this misery, unless my heart were stone?
My tears are blood because of thee, my reason is o’erthrown.
A young vine in the garden fresh thou art to me, my fair,
Enshrined in greenness, and set round with roses everywhere.
I, like the love-lorn nightingale, would hover over thee.
A landscape of delight and love, my queen, thou art to me!
Lo, I am drunken with thy love! I wake, but my heart sleeps.
The world is sated with the world; my heart its hunger keeps.
What shall I praise thee by, when naught is left on earth, save thee?
Thou art a deer, a Pegasus sprung from the fiery sea!
Speak but one word, to say thou art Saïat Nova’s* love,
And then what matters aught to me, in earth or heaven above?
Thy rays have filled the world; thou art a shield that fronts the sun.
Thou dost exhale the perfume sweet of clove and cinnamon,
Of violet, rose, and marjoram; to me, with love grown pale,
Thou art a red flower of the field, a lily of the vale!
___________________
*An Armenian minstrel often weaves his name into the last stanza of his song, in order that he may be known as its composer. The same peculiarity appears in the next poem.
“Watteau’s women do not care to represent Womanhood or Love or Beauty, certainly not with a capital W or L or B. They are not the sort of women who want to be regarded as forces of nature. They are not interested in being idealized or idolized. They are too much at ease to be caught up in such fantasies. They stand apart from their own beauty and their amorous adventures, as if they felt free to consider the value of love or beauty, but only the value it might have for them, for now—a private matter. They are in some sense natural aristocrats, with a freedom from social constraints that gives them the aura of supernatural beings, even of goddesses. But Watteau’s women are not goddesses in any classical sense. They have none of the traditional responsibilities of goddesses. They do not personify some value or virtue. They do not have supernatural powers. And that is precisely their charm, the key to their comic exuberance. They are goddesses who are freed from all responsibility. They are goddesses who have resigned from their roles. They are goddesses on the lam.”
～Jed Perl, Antoine’s Alphabet: Watteau and His World
A Muse, by Rosalba Carriera, Italian, about 1725,
pastel on laid blue paper, 12 3/16 x 10 1/4 in., via The Getty Museum.
Portrait of Archduchess Maria Isabella, from The History of Florence: From 59 B.C. to 1966: the two-thousand-year story of a unique city, whose way of life has influenced the world, by Marcello Vannucci.
Lady Beatrice, by George Clausen
Combing Hair, by Torii Kotondo (Japanese, 1900-1976). Japan, Oct 1929.
Prints; woodcuts. Color woodblock print; embossed.
Image: 16 1/8 x 10 5/16 in. (41 x 26.2cm);
Sheet: 18 9/16 x 11 3/4in. (47.2 x 29.8cm)
Mirror (Kagemi), by 恩地孝四郎 Onchi Koshiro (Japanese, 1891-1955), ca. 1930, woodblock print with gofun and mica, 33 x 23.1cm
“Forget this world and all its troubles and if possible its multitudinous Charlatans—everything in short but the Enchantress of Numbers.” ～Charles Babbage to Ada Lovelace
*Portrait (detail) of Ada by British painter Margaret Sarah Carpenter (1836).
Con la rosa tra le labbra, 1895, by Ettore Tito (Italian 1859-1941).
Portrait of Countess Elisa Dadiani, by Savelij Abramovich Sorin, 1919 (via)
Nayika Shringara: the romantic herione adorns herself, preparing her hair.
Jodhpur, circa 1830 (artist unknown). Gouache & gold on paper. 15 x 10.3cm.
Detail of Bacchante tenant un tambour de basque, avec deux enfants (Bacchante holding a tambourine, with two children),
by Jacques Augustin Pajou (1730-1809); Marble, Musée du Louvre.
Three Studies of a Woman and a Study of Her Hand Holding a Fan, by Antoine Watteau c.1717
When the Heart is Young (detail), 1902, by John William Godward.
Oil on canvas, private collection
Jacques-Louis David, Psyché Abandonnée (detail), 1795, Musée du Louvre
Empress Elisabeth of Austria, 1864, by Franz Xaver Winterhalter
Helene Caroline Therese, Duchess in Bavaria (4 April 1834 – 16 May 1890) of the House of Wittelsbach, nicknamed Néné, was a Bavarian princess and, through marriage, temporarily the head of the Thurn and Taxis family.
Should eyes be the window to the soul,
fingers are the dancers narrating all stories, all tales.
Ever-evolving hues of the sky:
From a morning sky after the rain, where clouds break,
ice-crazing of porcellaneous translucency,
where light filters through its celadon glaze,
purple veins of permeating sapphire—
Reminiscent of blood, of poetry ablaze, of paradoxically languishing eudaimonia;
To the vastness of qingyi’s silk in black and white,
coruscating like the darkest ink,
a cascade of singing melodies from the dancing water-sleeves—
breathing, conversing, ever-changing, ever-fixed…
Hollow flowers in the windowpanes, moonlight-swept paper drapes,
softly hide the secret never to be told, never to be known.
The secret that embroiders the most beautiful paean
from his most beautiful carnelian lips.
Qingyi (青衣)：Guimen Dan (閨門旦) is the role of the virtuous lady. It is also known as Qingyi (青衣）or Zhengdan (正旦). Qingyi means 'green robes' in Chinese, although the term traditionally extends to the colour black. This type of dan characters used to wear black robes. Qing Yi are normally mature and sometimes married women. They may be rich or poor, young or of middle age, but they have to be mature women to fall under this category. Qingyi focus more on singing and they have little movement. Opera schools in China tend to have difficulty recruiting students for this kind of role, since it requires a good voice, good looks and a good height. The most famous qingyi of the last century was Mei Lanfang. Examples of Guimen Dan are Du Liniang (杜麗娘) from The Peony Pavilion (牡丹亭) and Wang Baochuan (王寶釧）from Wujiapo（武家坡). *Via: Wikipedia
板胡歌唱著花梆子 遠處朦朧樂音 裊裊如烟飄盪
蒂安．阿柏絲*眼中黑衣白領的雙胞胎 神遊福爾摩沙兩美
指尖與臂彎圈出了一抹心 細膩綾羅下對稱著蹻工儿
「相片是關於一個秘密的秘密。 它告訴你愈多，你知道得愈少。」 ("A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know." ~*Diane Arbus)
─ 黃亭禎
I feel very proud and privileged to announce that the second poem I wrote for Mr. Chin's wonderful Xiao-Tsao (Young Grass) Academy of Art 小草藝術學院 postcard publication has been printed and produced. The image is, again, a precious old photograph from the bygone era, tinted with beautifully and subtly faded colours, which represents something perhaps more than merely a distant dream. This image of two Formosan beauties, much like the first one I wrote a poem for (see here), gave me much inspiration and I felt its narrative potential instantaneously when I laid my eyes on it.
Below I have quoted Mr. Chin's blog entry on this publication - it is, as always, beautifully written in Chinese (but I might translate it into English for my beloved readers at some point!). I would like to thank him again for giving me the opportunities to poetically interpret these captivating old photographs (something very dear to my own heart) and imagine the many stories which my mind and heart conjure up with such visual fascination. I truly look forward to writing many more poems to accompany Mr. Chin's Xiao-Tsao, a labour of love from a true artist whom I respect and admire.
This really made my day like nothing else... Another wonderfully handmade gift from Mr. Chin (look at his beautiful calligraphy!) and *loads* of Xiao-Tsao (Young Grass) Academy postcards featuring precious images, including the two with my poetry. I am continuing to write poems for Xiao-Tsao and will do it forever!! Mr. Chin's unique and rare collection of images re-ignited my passion for poetry writing in Chinese, something I had a lengthy respiro of way over ten years, but still now love it so. The wood box, with his calligraphy "亭禎詩文案" (a Pandora's Box for Ting-Jen's poetry) was what he created for me to collect all my future poem-postcards, a poetry-image collaboration between us which I hope will continue for a very, very long time. Indeed it is a Pandora's Box -- once I (re)started writing poetry in Chinese, I cannot stop (nor do I want to!!).
再次由衷感謝秦政德大哥如此費心的美好禮物，您真是太客氣了！能為小草寫詩是我的福氣。
Look, look, look...! How gorgeous it is inside too! There is even calligraphy on the side (where the box closes) in very special seal script 隸書體... ♥♥♥ I am so deliriously happy about this gift (and the previous one of course!) I'm going to cry...
* * *
And here is Mr. Chin's heartfelt and wonderfully written response (with great humour!): *via
A little while ago I was invited by the talented Mr. Peter Chin (秦政德), founder and "Volunteer Worker No. N" of Xiao-Tsao (literally, "young grass") Academy of Art小草藝術學院, to write a poem accompanying an old photograph of two Shanghainese ladies in their fineries, as I have shown a deep interest in vintage fashion, the faded grandeur of those bygone days in China (especially Shanghai), and of course, poetry. The old photograph is entitled "Chine - La Mode de Shanghai" and would then be published as postcards, amongst many other wonderful works of Xiao-Tsao. What is unique about the publications of "Young Grass Academy" is that all the postcard images you see are of the actual photographs, old maps, old postcards, magazines, posters, book covers, pictorials etc., most of which from Mr Chin's personal collections over the years, rather than taken from second-hand sources (internet, later-published anthologies or other collectors' books). Each image tells an immediate story of that specific time and its history, and most of Xiao-Tsao's poscards are deeply rooted in/related to the love of this small yet beautiful island, Formosa, the place that is forever and always our home, and where Mr. Chin calls his "Island of Dreams" (夢島).
I came across Xiao-Tsao's publications completely by chance in one of my favourite Eslite bookstores in Taipei, and almost wanted to buy every single postcard I saw on the rack that day - it was without a doubt love at first sight. All the images on the postcards are made even more personal and special by the little poetry printed on the back, mostly written by Mr. Chin himself (an artist, collector, activist, and now also a poet!). I have been a collector of postcards since pre-university days in London, when I first started reading history of art, and to this day my favourite postcards are produced by Xiao-Tsao. I couldn't help but wonder the fact that I encountered Mr. Chin's works at that time is some kind of kismet (although I do believe that sooner or later, my passion for vintage ephemera will lead me to Xiao-Tsao eventually, if not at that point in my life)... When I was invited to write poetry for Xiao-Tsao's publications/postcards, I was, needless to say, incredibly honoured and accepted with great pleasure straight away. Although it has been quite a long time since I did any 'creative writing' (and even longer since I last wrote a poem), the sepia-toned photograph, its tinted colours and the two girls gave me instant inspirations that the poem naturally flew from my fingertips (in my experience I have never written poetry in any other way)...
When I returned home this evening I received a package from Mr. Chin - there are the new postcards featuring my poem, another stack of postcards with an image of my Mr. Poetic Oneirism Mei Lanfang's old movie poster (great minds think alike, this is one of my favourite Xiao-Tsao postcards!), a seriously gorgeous selection of Xiao-Tsao's other publications, a thank-you note with Mr. Chin's wonderful handwriting on a thick, heavyweight Eileen Chang postcard with silver frame, and a beautifully, delicately handmade wooden box "Letters to/from the Island of Dreams" (夢島書寄) with his even more beautiful calligraphy on the cover. This package is the best gift I have ever received and it made my day so completely. Thank you Peter!!
I must sincerely thank Mr. Chin again for his very kind invitation and more importantly, for bringing me back to poetry writing again. It has been a real pleasure to work with you and an honour to be featured in Xiao-Tsao postcards. I look forward to many more collaborations with you in the future.
*To see more: Xiao-Tsao Academy of Art on Facebook Xiao-Tsao's archives of publications (click on each bold-font link for more)
I am in love... Such a Princess Aurora simply does not exist in the ballet world nowadays. Wish I could see Dame Margot Fonteyn dancing The Sleeping Beauty on stage. And this DVD (if it is released as one at all) is a must-find/must-have for me!
Margot Fonteyn as Aurora in Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty, choreographed by Marius Petipa at Covent Garden theatre, photo Houston Rogers. London, England, c.1960 {via V&A}
Margot Fonteyn's tutu from Act I of The Sleeping Beauty 1946, designed by Oliver Messel
"How to put something so visual, so potent with theatrical moment that even film cannot capture it, into plain words? How to explain why it is that when, to a particular strain of music, an ordinary mortal steps forward on one leg, raises the other behind her and lifts her arms above her head, the angels hold their breath?"
(from the prologue of Margot Fonteyn, by Meredith Daneman)
*See also here for Margot's Entrance of Aurora & Rose Adagio...
*Lucia Lacarra as Swanhilde in the ballet Coppélia
Coppélia is a sentimental comic ballet with original choreography by Arthur Saint-Léon to a ballet libretto by Saint-Léon and Charles Nuitter and music by Léo Delibes. It was based upon two macabre stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Der Sandmann (The Sandman), and Die Puppe (The Doll). The ballet premiered on 25 May 1870 at the Théâtre Impérial de l´Opéra, with Giuseppina Bozzacchi in the principal role of Swanhilde. Its first flush of success was interrupted by the Franco-Prussian War and the siege of Paris, but eventually it became the most-performed ballet at the Opera Garnier. The team of Saint-Léon and Nuittier had a previous success with the ballet La Source (1860), for which Délibes had composed the music jointly with Ludwig Minkus.
Giuseppina Bozzacchi as Swanhilde in the Saint-Léon/Delibes "Coppélia," Act I, Scene 2. Paris, 1870.
The story of Coppélia concerns a mysterious and faintly diabolical inventor, Doctor Coppélius who has made a life-size dancing doll. It is so lifelike that Franz, a village swain, is infatuated with it, and sets aside his true heart's desire, Swanhilde, who in Act II shows him his folly by dressing as the doll and pretending to come to life. The festive wedding-day divertissements in the village square that occupy Act III are often deleted in modern danced versions, though one of the entrées was the first csárdás presented on a ballet stage. If Mary Shelley's Frankenstein represents the dark side of the theme of scientist as creator of life, then Coppélia is the light side. If Giselle is a tragedy set in a peasant village, then Coppélia is a comedy in the same setting.
Giuseppina Bozzacchi as Swanhilde in the Saint-Léon/Delibes "Coppélia," Act I, Scene 2. Paris, 1870.
*Also, from Takeshi "Beat" Kitano's ravishing and heartrending 2002 film Dolls... (I literally had to hold my tears while watching its premiere at the Renoir Cinema in London...)
Adolph de Meyer (American, born France, 1868–1949)
view through the window of a garden
in time of daffodils(who know the goal of living is to grow) forgetting why,remember how in time of lilacs who proclaim the aim of waking is to dream, remember so(forgetting seem) in time of roses(who amaze our now and here with paradise) forgetting if,remember yes in time of all sweet things beyond whatever mind may comprehend, remember seek(forgetting find)
and in a mystery to be (when time from time shall set us free) forgetting me,remember me
~ edward estlin cummings
*Thank you Alain, for this thoughtful and exquisite poem by e.e. cummings. Thank you M♥, for Harmonic Progression of My Sorrow. And thank you Couleurs, for the two beautiful Adolph de Meyer photographs.
Adolph de Meyer (American, born France, 1868–1949)
Points of Interest in Taipei:
old houses, scholars’ dens, art spaces, tea culture & gardens etc.
Taipei is by far one of the most dynamically artistic and cultural cities in the world, with its own distinctive and profound heritage. I have compiled a list of places of interest in this wonderful city where I grew up and am becoming more and more fond of.
*This post is being constantly updated - please check back often. Also, most websites/links have an English and/or Japanese version, so do click away and explore!*
滿溢著藝術氣息的師大夜市一隅
《學者故居》 Scholars' Dens
林語堂故居 The Lin Yutang House (台北市仰德大道二段141號, Tel: 02-2861-3003) *See a beautiful photo album of Lin Yutang's residence. 殷海光故居 Yin Foo-Sun's Residence (臺北市大安區溫州街18巷16弄一之一號) {A good blog/reference site of many interesting old buildings} 李國鼎故居 Li Guo-Ding's Residence (臺北市中正區泰安街2巷3號, Tel: 02-2393-5991 要先預約) See also here. 錢穆故居 The Ch'ien Mu House (臺北市士林區臨溪路72號, Tel: 02-2880-5809) 嚴家淦故居 Yen Jia-Gan Residence (台北市中正區重慶南路二段2號、4號) *目前暫不開放參觀
溫州街小巷, 近殷海光學者故居
《老建築》 Old Buildings and Houses
台北賓館 Taipei Guest House (台北市凱達格蘭大道); 參觀資訊 http://tgh.mofa.gov.tw/ {Great photography on this blog.} 撫臺街洋樓 (台北市延平南路26號, Tel: 02-2314-5190) - No official website, but here's a wonderful blog full of info on old buildings. 市長官邸藝文沙龍 The Mayor's Residence Arts Salon (台北市徐州路46號, Tel: 02-2396-8198) 台北市中山堂 (臺北市延平南路98號, Tel: 02-2381-3137) 西門紅樓 The Red House (台北市萬華區成都路10號, Tel: 02-2311-9380) 牯嶺街小劇場 (台北市中正區牯嶺街5 巷2 號, Tel: 02-2391-9393) 台北故事館 Taipei Story House (台北市中山北路三段181-1號, Tel: 02-2596-1898) 台北之家/ 光點台北 Taipei House/ Spot Taipei (台北市中山北路二段18號, Tel: 02-2511-7786) 朝北醫院 (台北市萬華區西園路一段181號) *目前只能看外觀 古城老街區 (台北市中正區延平南路) 臺北縣立淡水古蹟博物館 Dansui Historic Sites, Taipei County (臺北縣淡水鎮中正路28巷1號, Tel：02 2623 1001) 北投溫泉博物館 Beitou Hotspring Museum (臺北市北投區中山路二號, Tel: 02-2893-9981) 台灣民俗北投文物館 Taiwan Folk Arts Museum (臺北市北投區幽雅路32號, Tel: 02-2891-2318) 吟松閣老溫泉旅館 (台北市北投區幽雅路21號, Tel: 02-28912063) 《玫瑰古蹟》蔡瑞月舞蹈研究社 Tsai Jui-Yueh Dance Institute (臺北市中山北路二段48巷10號, Tel: 02-2523-7547)
*士林官邸 (台北市福林路60號, {士林區中山北路5段460巷1號, 福林路口東南側}, Tel: 02-2881-2512, 02-2881-2912) Where the annual chrysanthemum exhibition is held: 士林官邸菊展.
殷海光故居門口
《博物館/藝廊/表演藝術中心》 Museums, Galleires & Spaces for Performance Arts
國立歷史博物館 National Museum of History (臺北市南海路49號, Tel: 02-2361-0270) *新網頁好美; 記得順道參觀植物園 國立台灣博物館 National Taiwan Museum (臺北市中正區100襄陽路2號, 二二八和平公園內; 02-2382-2699)
紀州庵新館 (台北市中正區同安街107號, Tel: 02-2364-0651) 上古藝術館 Sogo Art (台北市建國南路一段160號B1, 忠孝東路口; Tel: 02-2711-3577) 佛光緣美術館 Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery (台北市信義區松隆路327號十樓之一, Tel: :02-2760-0222) 楊英風美術館 Yu Yu Yuan Museum (台北市重慶南路二段31號, Tel：02-23961966) 岩筆模 MBmore (台北市捷運中山站地下書街B39, 近R9出口) 南海藝廊 Nanhai Gallery, National Taipei University of Education (台北市重慶南路二段19巷3號, Tel: 02-2392-5080) 台北戲棚 Taipei Eye (台北市中山北路二段113號, 錦州街入口; Tel: 02-2568-2677) 台北偶戲館 Puppetry Art Centre of Taipei (台北市松山區市民大道五段99號2樓, Tel: 02-2528-9553) 台北市立美術館 Taipei Fine Arts Museum (臺北市中山北路三段181號, Tel: 02 25957656) 台北當代藝術館 Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei (台北市大同區長安西路39號, Tel: 02-2552-3721轉301) 瑩瑋藝術翡翠文化博物館 Museum of Jade Art (臺北市104中山區建國北路一段96號1樓)
台北服飾文化館 Taipei Costume and Culture Centre (台北市萬華區西園路二段9號, Tel: 02-2304-4088) 中正紀念堂展場 National Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall 國父紀念館展場 (國父史蹟紀念館) National Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall 兩廳院: 國家戲劇院/ 國家音樂廳 National Theatre & Concert Hall 國立故宮博物院 National Palace Museum, Taipei (Always worth a visit, in any case...) 市長官邸藝文沙龍 The Mayor's Residence Arts Salon (台北市徐州路46號, Tel：02-2396-8198) 臺北縣立鶯歌陶瓷博物館 Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum (台北縣鶯歌鎮文化路200號, Tel: 02-8677-2727) 華山1914創意文化園區 Huashan 1914 Creative Park (台北市中正區八德路一段1號/ Tel: 02-2358-1914) 草山國際藝術村 Grass Mountain Artist Village (台北市北投區湖底路92 號, Tel：02-2862-2404) 台北國際藝術村 Taipei Artist Village (台北市北平東路7號, Tel：02-3393-7377) 凱達格蘭文化館 Ketagalang Culture Centre (台北市北投區中山路3-1號/ Tel: 02-2898-6500) 梅庭 The Plum Garden, Beitou (台北市北投區中山路6號, Tel: 02-2897-2647) 表演36房 Performing Arts School 36 (台北市文山區木新路二段156之1號, Tel: 02-2939-3088) 芝山文化生態綠園 Zhishan Cultural and Ecological Garden (台北市雨聲街120號, Tel: 02-8866-6258) 臺北市電影主題公園 Taipei Cinema Park (臺北市康定路19號, Tel: 02-2312-3717) 台北數位藝術中心 Digital Art Centre, Taipei (台北市士林區福華路180號, Tel: 02-7736-0708) 台北探索館 Discovery Centre of Taipei (臺北市市府路一號, Tel: 1999 {外縣市 02-27574547} 轉4547)
*Below four outside Taipei ~ 國立台灣文學館 National Museum of Taiwanese Literature (台南市中西區中正路1號, Tel: 06-221-7201) 國立台灣美術館 (台中市西區五權西路一段2號, Tel: 04-2372-3552) 泰郁美學堂 Taiyu Beaux Arts Salon (嘉義市600大雅路二段452號, Tel: 05-278 5864) 國立傳統藝術中心 Centre for Traditional Arts (宜蘭縣五結鄉季新村五濱路二段201號, Tel: 03-970-5815). Two lovely exhibitions - 情結古今蝶戀花: 明&愚編飾創作展"An Encounter with Colourful Butterflies and Flowers: Ming & Yu Design Collection" {see also 珠寶設計 古玩生香 Ming & Yu Jewellery Design}; 路轉青山巧手遇: 傳藝刺繡特展"An Encounter with Ingenious Hands: A Special Exhibition of Traditional Embroidery."
Spot Taipei光點/台北之家 is the former residence of the American ambassador to Taiwan (long long ago...), now an hauteur/art cinema, bookstore & cafe in one. David and I adore the al fresco cafe - ah, the resplendence of trees...
溫州街巷弄裡的殷海光學者故居
《品茗》 Tea Culture/ Teahouses
小慢 Xiaoman (台北市泰順街16巷39號, Tel: 02 2365 0017) - It immediately became my favourite teahouse in Taipei after only one tea session, perhaps even in the whole world. One of the most beautiful places in Taipei, and so close to where I live! (See more photos & Facebook page...) 紫藤廬 Wisteria House (台北市新生南路三段16巷1號, Tel：02 2363 7375 & 02-2363 9459); see also the Facebook official page of Wisteria House.
爾雅書馨一庭之廣生食品行 (台北市泰順街38巷25號, Tel：02 2363 3414) - Reminiscent of the nostalgic old Shanghai, visiting this teahouse is always on our to-do list whenever David and I come to Taipei. The owner used to have a fascinating and gorgeous antique shop nearby, where we discovered loads of treasures, but it seems to have closed down. Click here and here for more photos and information (in Chinese). 紅樓茶坊Cho West Cha at The Red House Theatre (台北市萬華區成都路10號, Tel: 02-2311-9380) 撫臺街洋樓「午後茶韻」 (台北市延平南路26號, Tel: 02-2314-5190)
布拉格 There's No Place Like Café Prague (台北市泰順街40巷30號, Tel: 02 2369 7722) 明星咖啡館 Astoria Café (台北市中正區武昌街一段7號2樓, Tel: 02 2381 5589) 中山堂堡壘咖啡 Fortress Café (台北市延平南路98號2樓, Tel: 02 2381 3137) 二條通 綠島小夜曲 The Island (台北市中山北路1段33巷1號, Tel: 02 2531 4594) 采采食茶文化 Cha Cha Thé (台北市復興南路一段219巷23號, Tel: 02 8773 1818/ 台北市敦化南路一段132號, Tel: 02 8773 5838) 老樹咖啡 Oldtree Café (台北市中正區新生南路一段60號, Tel: 02 2351 6463) 朵兒咖啡館 Daughters' Café (台北市松山區富錦街393號, Tel: 02 8787 2425)
《Reference Websites》
台北市古典建築 台灣古蹟列表(on Wikipedia) 台灣美術館及博物館 台北市政府文化局 Department of Cultural Affairs, Taipei City Government 文化快遞 Taipei Culture Express 文化資產 Taipei Cultural Heritage Sites
*藝遊網* 台北旅遊網 Taipei Travel Net 節氣與農諺 {臺灣節慶之美} 2010 臺北古蹟日 ~ 花現臺北城 嬉遊古蹟 國立臺灣工藝研究發展中心 National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute (南投縣542草屯鎮中正路573號, Tel：049-233-4141) AIR Taipei 藝術進駐 學學文創志業 Xue Xue Institute (台北市內湖區堤頂大道二段207號, Tel：0800-068-089)
*Musical landscapes for this post - Igor Stravinsky'sAgon.
O Man! Take heed! What says the deep midnight? "I slept, I slept—, from a deep dream have I awoken:— the world is deep, ...and deeper than the day has thought. Deep is its pain—, joy—deeper still than heartache. Pain says: Pass away! But all joy seeks eternity—, —seeks deep, deep eternity!"
~ From Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 3 (4. Sehr langsam. Misterioso)
Intermezzo from the opera Manon Lescaut by Giacomo Puccini
Herbert von Karajan and Wiener Philharmoniker
Giacomo Puccini: Intermezzo from the opera Suor Angelica
John Thomson (14 June 1837 – 29 September 1921) was a pioneering Scottish photographer, geographer and traveller. He was one of the first photographers to travel to the Far East, documenting the people, landscapes and artifacts of eastern cultures. Upon returning home, his work among the street people of London cemented his reputation, and is regarded as a classic instance of social documentary which laid the foundations for photojournalism. He went on to become a portrait photographer of High Society in Mayfair, gaining the Royal Warrant in 1881.
A Manchu lady and her maid, late Qing dynasty, Beijing, China.
A Manchu lady and her maid
Travels in China
After a year in Britain following his early travels to Southeast Asia (Singapore, Malay, Sumatra, Ceylon, India, Bangkok, Angkor etc.), Thomson again felt the desire to return to the Far East. He returned to Singapore in July 1867, before moving to Saigon for three months and finally settling in Hong Kong in 1868. He established a studio in the Commercial Bank building, and spent the next four years photographing the people of China and recording the diversity of Chinese culture. Thomson travelled extensively throughout China, from the southern trading ports of Hong Kong and Canton to the cities of Peking and Shanghai, to the Great Wall in the north, and deep into central China. From 1870 to 1871 he visited the Fukien region, travelling up the Min River by boat with the American Protestant missionary Reverend Justus Doolittle, and then visited Amoy and Swatow.
The Island Pagoda, Min River, Fukien, China, circa 1871.
A Manchu lady and her maid, late Qing dynasty, Beijing, China.
A Cantonese woman, Guangdong, China, 1870.
He went on to visit the island of Formosa with the missionary Dr. James Laidlaw Maxwell, landing first in Takao in early April 1871. The pair visited the capital, Taiwanfu, before travelling on to the aboriginal villages on the west plains of the island. After leaving Formosa, Thomson spent the next three months travelling 3,000 miles up the Yangtze River, reaching Hupeh and Szechuan.
Thomson's travels in China were often perilous, as he visited remote, almost unpopulated regions far inland. Most of the people he encountered had never seen a Westerner or camera before. His expeditions were also especially challenging because he had to transport his bulky wooden camera, many large, fragile glass plates, and potentially explosive chemicals. He photographed in a wide variety of conditions and often had to improvise because chemicals were difficult to acquire. His subject matter varied enormously: from humble beggars and street people to Mandarins, Princes and senior government officials; from remote monasteries to Imperial Palaces; from simple rural villages to magnificent landscapes.
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