Friday, 27 April 2012

願 Blessings

Between mountain and sea there is faith, 
Silent and without a word. 
Between the pagodas there is a prayer flag, 
Having you in its lingering heart. 
Between meeting and parting there is kismet, 
Ephemeral and forever-changing. 
Between you and me there is yearning, 
Wistfully haunting our souls and our hearts. 


In this life, on this path, I only wish to see you again 
Even if heavens collapse 
and earth 
enervates


*Thank you dear María for sharing this word and this image...

*  *  *  *  *


And here is the original lyrics in Chinese which I quickly translated into English above. For the(my) love of Faye Wong...


《願》


在山水之間 在佛塔之間 在聚散之間 在你我之間 
在山水之間 有一份信念 是靜默無言 
在佛塔之間 有一條經幡 是為你掛牽 
在聚散之間 有一劫宿緣 是無常善變 
在你我之間 有一縷思念 是魂繞夢牽 


此生上路 哪怕天絕地穿 只願途中 能再與你相見 


嗡嘛呢唄嚒哄舍


And leaving you with another kiss...
image via Cha: An Asian Literary Journal facebook page

 

Friday, 16 March 2012

Wim Wenders’ “Pina”




I finally had a chance to watch Wim Wenders’ documentary film “Pina,” a tribute to the legendary German dancer and choreographer Pina Bausch, and a personal close friend of Wenders’. It is perhaps the best dance documentary I have ever seen.

To paraphrase Pina Bausch herself, “The aim of dance is to evoke certain things, certain emotions. Even literature can only evoke things...”

Pina, a prophet, a dreamer, and above all, a brave lover. She constantly asked her dancers this question, “What are you longing for? Where does all this yearning come from?” And this continues to be pursued in all her pieces. For me, what makes Pina Bausch’s work extraordinary is the co-existence and co-dependence of spirituality and ardour/love of life, always intensely interwoven but beautifully liberated from each other. It is utterly not of this world, and yet all about this world, all about this life. Beauty, sorrow, joy, loneliness, humour, strength... These are but some of the essential hues which paint her all-encompassing canvases of dance, but beyond dance—transcendent.

May this heartrendingly but humorously moving film by Wim Wenders bring freedom, weightlessness, and a sense of sacredness to Pina—all the qualities in her inexplicably wonderful work and being.





To Pina with Love ♥ 
(Pina Bausch, 1967, by Walter Vogel)

Never let go of the fiery sadness called desire 
(Patti Smith)

*For more on this film, please see here and here.


Something old, something new...

When too much is not enough…

A gesture can initiate a tumultuously poetic universe
That silk tassel tickling along her spine
A jade disc resting on Kundalini’s sacrum
He covers her face with the black velvet of the night, of her hair
Pearls of the mountain, softly spoken,
Whispering songs to his muse, inside of his muse,
Melodies between the arches of two crescent moons
Vertebrae, ah vertebrae under translucent mousseline
Of her vein and of her skin
Of his heart and of

his poetry


*                    *                    *                    *




蒼白,是血的原色與美學的逆鱗。
他舌尖的蓮消蝕一如
右頰的月光
聲音是時間與蛇的舞姿
交纏蜿蜒的連綴
而生存,歌詠著水波紊亂
殞落著無性之魅
猩紅,似卵與熱的曲線
錯誤的春花秋月
頹萎之靡交合在古印度的菱鏡
天人於是註定了五衰
水面下的墜



Celadon

Paleness, the primary colour of blood,
aesthetics of one disobedient scale under the Dragon’s throat.
A single lotus on the tip of his tongue eclipses as if
awash with moonbeam on his right cheek.
Voices unfurl in the choreographed, lethargic wanting
between Time and Serpent,
movements interwoven of musical trills―
winding, meandering, murmuring.
And existence, an ode to unquiet rippling, to violent waters,
perishing allures of an androgyne.
Scarlet blood, resembling the curve of an embryo and of heat

I mistake those spring flowers and autumn moon
for the decadently beautiful unison mirrored in ancient India
And angels are thus destined to decline,
falling under the water surface.
Celadon


*                    *                     *                    *


死亡美學(獻詩三島之金閣)

戰後的廢墟,重建
赭色小提琴喤泣聲線
金箔剝蝕的蒸氣與躁動的香

月華清明塗抹石橋
一如滌淨生的 死亡的確知
我兀自佇立文字的金閣
美學修長的眼睫投影
蔭翳,光正自盡。

顫抖顫抖再顫抖,這齣劇本
與血的斑痕纏綿似水
海面痛苦地沉默
光,一如岩礫,一如陰影,光的自縊。

自縊的美學倫理糾結糾結死的似非而,是。
仁波切寂然誦經
呢喃破曉前刻精神與美的歸巢
逐步逐步,緊貼眼睫的哀悽

生的諷刺文體的,死
的潔白墓塚
光正瀉落一湖的私密,若水


Death of Beauty 
(dedicated to Mishima Yukio’s Golden Pavilion Temple)

Post-war ruins, reconstructing
Vocal lines of the ochreous weeping violin
Faded gold flakes steaming breaths impatient scents

The moon colours the stone bridge of dreams
As if she was certain of death, the death which purifies life
I stand alone, inside the Golden Pavilion of words
The long lashes of Aesthetics’ eyes projecting
Shadows, Light slowly takes its own life.

Trembling shivering and quivering, this play
Coos sweet nothingness to flecks of blood like water
Romancing
The sea, painfully in silence
Light, as if brusque debris, as if a silhouette, the
Suicide of Light

Beauty and the (im)morality of suicide, entanglement and love-making
Of that which seems wrong, of the wrong that seems right
Rinpoche’s silent chanting in solitude
Whispers the homing of spirituality and beauty
Minutes before daybreak
Step by step by step, sadness kissing my eyelashes

The satire of Life, of the
Perfectly white tombstone
Of Death
Light cascading down a lake of pearlescent
Secrets, like water


*                    *                     *                    *


奔馬

夢先於現實。
而純粹
似花,似血,似詩
,似枯腐前消逝的生。


Runaway Horses (Realistically Synaesthetic Purity)

Dreams, a priori, then reality.
And purity
Resembles a flower, resembles blood, resembles poetry,
Resembles life, a priori, disappearing before decay.


*                    *                     *                    *


曉寺

(薰息,我執,唯識)

緣起於鏡花水月的無常
存活涅槃之花瓣間的阿賴耶識,似
剔透的純藍火焰蘊蓄
鏤花之詩

桃花心木質的鏤空雕花
在蒼白哀傷的殘月撫觸下
散發似水晶斷面般清明露華
濕漉而冷冽的香氛


Temple in Vijñaptimātra

(…incense, Ātma-grāha, Vijñānavāda)

Dependant arising, from the impermanence
Of mirrored flowers, of moon water
Exists ālayavijñāna between petals of nirvana, as if
Transparency of pure blue flames, and
Within which a filigree of poetry

Rosewood reliefs under caresses
Of pale sorrowful moonlight
Scent of dewdrops at dawn permeates, like
A crystal facet; the soaking, penetratingly
Icy perfume


Vijñaptimātra (唯識論): ‘Mere representation;’ the Yogācāra theory that the contents of everyday, unenlightened experience are merely a false superimposition upon actuality of dualistic concepts generated by the mind that prevent direct experience of reality as it truly is (yathā-bhūta). Some later forms of Yogācāra lend themselves to an idealistic interpretation of this theory but such a view is absent from the works of the early Yogācārins such as Asaṇga and Vasubandhu. (via)
Ātma-grāha (我執): attachment to self
Vijñānavāda (विज्ञानवाद, 唯識宗): the  Vijñaptimātra school of thought; see  here for more
Aālayavijñāna (阿賴耶識): The ālaya-vijñāna forms the "base-consciousness" (mūla-vijñāna) or "causal consciousness". According to the traditional interpretation, the other seven consciousnesses are "evolving" or "transforming" consciousnesses originating in this base-consciousness.
The store-house consciousness accumulates all potential energy for the mental (nama) and physical (rupa) manifestation of one's existence (namarupa). It is the storehouse-consciousness which induces transmigration or rebirth, causing the origination of a new existence. {via}


*                    *                    *                    *


Purple Crystal and an Ancient Serpent

gilded mirage drunken placards
float over pale grapes
wine honey wax oil and
tequila
his liquid tongue is moving back and forth her neck
moving back and forth the frightening lustful constellation around her neck
spirals around groins / you are confined in wild humidity as a fish in raw pleasures
your hipbone a deranged dream
a turn-around a temperature a kiss
her sombre secret cave abstracting mythical beasts and clouds
heavens fall the petals whirling the heavens
falling falling fall and fall
popcorns’ crying holy wrath spirits’ blasphemy
Death of life of life of Death
dying a life of a hundred years’ loneliness
philosophy below her breasts


紫水晶與蛇

紙醉金迷白葡萄
酒,蜜,蠟,油,與
龍舌蘭。
水舌游移/ 頸項的星群悸悸覬覬
鼠蹊的盤旋/ 你是狂熱的魚水之歡
你的髖骨是一場靡亂的夢
一回轉身/ 一種體溫/ 一個吻
陰晦的私處饕餮雲紋
天花亂墜天 花亂
墜墜墜,墜。
爆米花哭泣天神微慍
死的生的生的死
生生死死百年孤寂
胸線以下的哲思


*                    *                    *                    *


Decayed

birds fluttering feathers beasts secretly cringing
as if musk spreading in the mists astray, fading
then never a sound in Death/ nor breath/ not even heart
Death seals and stagnates the pale wax of light
in her mouth
as if a tooth-filing ceremony as if anaemia as if bleeding


*                    *                    *                    *


Vertigo
(Memories from a subconscious nightmare...)

It is the most lavish fragrance, the most devitalising. Does it make me want to kill? Or does it make me want to breathe. I could as if smell the flushes of crimson, and then they paled my hearing into avalanching silences. The silence was so poisonous, so decaying, so huge and hopeless; eclipsing all that was morally good or vital to my health - ceaselessly. It was my angel, my angel with waxen wings. "Was ascension such an unreachable dream?" Asked my angel. It was such a dark night, so dark that it blinded me. It blinded everything. The incandescence of the deepest night had burned the last speck of sombre stars with a lurid smile of bitter sarcasm. This humid and luxurious beauty, this lavish and choking fragrance, brought my extreme disgust and happiness into life and married them with the witness of my very own eye. May I shed my tears, which would never again be produced artificially? Or may I burst out laughing hysterically? If only I could cry out with the slightest sadness. Now this fragrance has turned its own veins into the most ecstatic earthly joy that seems so very vague, and yet so very real. Now this fragrance has left the residue in me the deepest grief. Could I have ever tasted an emotion as sharp? Or am I creating my indifferent tears woven so meticulously into my words - a world that can only be sensed visually but blindly, and can only be conceived of with such a harsh sound by an avalanching silence. I was about to woo, to woo this devitalising fragrance. And I was about to kill, to kill my angel after all the pleasure of worldliness has decayed to its core.

And now, I hear the river flowing in my body, with liquid so dark and polluted that I can hardly distinguish it from the unbounded night and the deceptively purified dream I am in. I have accumulated all my energy just to feel the retardation and inadequacy in me again, yet again. And now I hear your voice, my dearest pantomimist. Now I hear your voice, singing my song for me. You have given me a qualm, a qualitative change, and I can not even ask you to stay, to see me through the whole process - the whole process of passing. Yesterday we screamed together. I could almost feel your etherealisation, so beauteous you nauseated me. I wish I could cry, and ascend to the heavenly hell you have been presenting to me over and over again. Until I can no longer mumble, will I be led into a perfectly muted world, where I can only see your white sand dune, where I can only feel the flow of your words and murmurs of your voice crawling back into my blood, where I can only touch every single sound of your decaying petals by visualising my own pantomime. Now I see you bleeding, the sweetest nectar. Will I dream on? Whilst you live on.

And the next second I woke up soaking wet.



Les Larmes de Jacqueline (Jacqueline's Tears) Op.76 No.2 / Harmonies du soir Op.68 composed by Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) and dedicated to Arsène Houssaye.
The performance is by Werner Thomas with Münchener Kammerorchester and it's dedicated to Jacqueline du Pré.

Wednesday, 14 March 2012

Devastating Beauty

"Music expresses that which can not be said and on which it is impossible to be silent." ~Domenico Scarlatti




An exquisite coloratura soprano is as rare and unique as a blue Persian cat...

An ancient Egyptian cat (image via).


*Thank you Alain for sharing with me this mesmerising Stravinsky treasure...





"Love cannot express the idea of music, while music may give an idea of love." ~Hector Berlioz












*Bast was said to be the daughter of Ra, though long after he created the primal gods. She was originally a sun goddess, but after contact with the Greeks, she changed to a moon goddess, probably due to the Greeks associating her with Artemis. Like Artemis, Bast was a wild goddess. To those who were in her favor, she gave great blessings, but her wrath was legendary and she was sometimes listed as one of Ra's avenging deities who punish the sinful and the enemies of Egypt. This is of course in keeping with her totem animal, the cat. Cats were sacred to Bast, and to harm one was deemed a great transgression. Bast's importance in the Egyptian pantheon might be due to the great value placed on the domesticated cat by the Egyptians. Cats curtailed the spread of disease by killing vermin, and though the idea of microbes was unknown to the ancient Egyptians, they must have noticed the connection between rats and disease.
(information via From Cairo with Love)

Sunday, 26 February 2012

Letters to the Island of Dreams: 小草之夢島書寄

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)...

稚女思緒如織金花綉繾綣包裹住的青絲
玲瓏金蓮 漫遊一地軟呢抽象圖騰
卻是窗櫺內的宅院
紺碧絲絨如海波浮湧垂墜
細膩地框裱著
兩人凝滯於時空的容顏



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)

Saturday, 31 December 2011

煢煢, an old piece of mine

Thinking about translating this piece into English, written in the year preceding the Millennium. Or perhaps I will continue in Chinese... Something to contemplate/meditate/muse on, this final day of 2011.


09/28/99

煢煢


半圓形的天頂被一層月華光澤的膜緊緻地拉扯住,像一只充滿著水的氣球,虛擬著生腥的焦慮與一種無所事事的、完完全全脫離精神性的美與憂鬱。那個午后,是薄如蟬翼且裹上銀粉的新生的卵,適於討論命理與禪。雲以敏捷的腳步滑行於透明且虛弱的藍,泡沫似的溫順與漠然。青春其實是極度缺乏生命力的。在旺盛與浮躁之中貪慕假象的匱乏,而後需索從不曾或缺的旺盛;在柔弱的本質中渴求堅強與信仰,之後因對於軟弱愚蠢的不自覺與惑於自我宣稱的虛偽堅強而尋覓所謂謙恭溫潤的中庸。青春是僅只存活於對純粹的堅持下、一種具備了美卻不易碎的浪費。如果死的優雅與精神性建構了藝術中闡釋生命的美學,則生不過是為襯托死的一種附屬的存在。但是生命卻是無法磨滅的,即使蒼白而無意義,卻無止盡地散發出猩紅的血的氣味。印度神濕婆在宇宙的輪迴當中毀滅自己所創造的鏡花水月,而後使之重生,不斷重複操縱著生與死的轉輪;祂是否也感受到生命中那種匱乏虛弱的美,以及死亡中屬於生之投影的愛與信念?藍所象徵的嫌惡與非難,以清澈且充滿靈性的美存在於自然界的蒼穹。隅隅獨行的生,幾人在腐臭中仍吟哦走了調的聖詩,又幾人能擺脫所有倫常的帷幕而誠摯地憎恨與厭惡?然而這一切的思索總似時間過度充裕的青春所編織的蛛網,純白得美麗亦膚淺得軟弱。當青春終於被擺脫後,生命開始進入下一段對死複雜的戀慕和禁忌,與對消逝的水光緬懷的遺憾。


artwork inspired by a spider's web at the Setouchi International Art Festival, Inushima Museum, Japan (image via Winged Wheel's p.s. write soon!)

washi paper lantern (also via p.s. write soon!)


Tuesday, 27 December 2011

Beauty Matters

"I think that we are losing beauty, and there is a danger that with it, we will lose the meaning of life."

~Roger Scruton, philosopher & writer


于右任 書法四屏
*A micro-website compiled by the National History Museum in Taipei on Yu Youren.


Why Beauty Matters by Roger Scruton, BBC documentary (2009).



*Thank you my dearest Leanne (里杏姊姊♥) ever so much for sending this to me...

Tuesday, 18 October 2011

Madame Xiang from Nine Songs 九歌之湘夫人


湘夫人 Madame Xiang

She-shaman princess in a stone boat
in winged dragon-boat
awning of fig-vine
sweet flag paddles magnolia rudder
Rides to that Island, to that Bright Island, abode of light
Swinging her mesmere lamp, her incense burner on a gold chain
She drops her thumb-ring in the Sea
And turning, and turning, stretches her body burning
toward me
(though she told me, told me
she was not
free)
And flying dragons sweep her far away
from me
I gallop my horse in the morning
through the lowlands by the river
(*translation from unknown source, via)

湘君:
君不行兮夷猶,蹇誰留兮中洲?
美要眇兮宜修,沛吾乘兮桂舟。
令沅湘兮無波,使江水兮安流!
望夫君兮未來,吹參差兮誰思!
駕飛龍兮北徵,邅吾道兮洞庭。
薜荔柏兮蕙綢,蓀橈兮蘭旌。
望涔陽兮極浦,橫大江兮揚靈。
揚靈兮未極,女嬋媛兮為余太息。
橫流涕兮潺湲,隱思君兮陫側。
桂櫂兮蘭枻,斲冰兮積雪。
採薜荔兮水中,搴芙蓉兮木末。
心不同兮媒勞,恩不甚兮輕絕。
石瀨兮淺淺,飛龍兮翩翩。
交不忠兮怨長,期不信兮告余以不閒。
鼂騁騖兮江臯,夕弭節兮北渚。
鳥次兮屋上,水周兮堂下。
捐余玦兮江中,遺余佩兮醴浦。
採芳洲兮杜若,將以遺兮下女。
旹不可兮再得,聊逍遙兮容與。


湘夫人:
帝子降兮北渚,目眇眇兮愁予。
嫋嫋兮秋風,洞庭波兮木葉下。
白薠兮騁望,與佳期兮夕張。
鳥萃兮蘋中,罾何為兮木上。
沅有茝兮醴有蘭,思公子兮未敢言。
荒忽兮遠望,觀流水兮潺湲。
麋何食兮庭中?蛟何為兮水裔?
朝馳余馬兮江臯,夕濟兮西澨。
聞佳人兮召予,將騰駕兮偕逝。
築室兮水中,葺之兮荷蓋。
蓀壁兮紫壇,播芳椒兮成堂。
桂棟兮蘭橑,辛夷楣兮葯房。
罔薜荔兮為帷,擗蕙櫋兮既張。
白玉兮為鎮,疏石蘭兮為芳。
芷葺兮荷屋,繚之兮杜衡。
合百草兮實庭,建芳馨兮廡門。
九嶷繽兮並迎,靈之來兮如雲。
捐余袂兮江中,遺余褋兮醴浦。
搴汀洲兮杜若,將㠯遺兮遠者。
時不可兮驟得,聊逍遙兮容與。

image & text below via Xue Xue Colors, Taiwan
Sweet nostalgia: this beautiful photo brings back such precious memories... It was my first experience of seeing Cloud Gate Dance Theatre live on-stage (back when I was thirteen years of age), and Nine Songs was to become Lin Hwai-Min's work which left the deepest impression on me.


屈原的《九歌》敬天地,祭鬼神,歌頌愛情,悼念國殤,是萬民的禱告。
舞劇以屈原的原作作為想像力的跳板,呈現一場劇場儀式。


然則,神祇從未降臨。

由國際舞台設計大師李名覺操刀,取材自出生於嘉義的國寶級畫家
林玉山先生的《蓮池》,
2012年雲門技術團隊全力重建。(images via Cloud Gate Dance Theatre)
*image via

1993年8月10日 台北國家戲劇院首演

雲門二十週年紀念作《九歌》,由屈原的《九歌》出發,發展出融合古今、荷花與燭光、神話與詩的舞作。《九歌》曾在美國華盛頓甘迺迪中心、紐約下一波藝術節、澳洲雪尼奧林匹克藝術節以及歐洲各大城演出,受到國際舞評人一致推崇與觀眾的喜愛。


圖像介紹

編舞家林懷民的舞作《九歌》(1993),二度邀請國際舞台設大師設計。以台灣前輩畫家林玉山早期作品「蓮池」為稿底,再切割為直或橫的布幕,經接合、分離、交錯、昇降等變化運用,令舞台呈現華麗莊嚴又簡潔明快的風格。舞台前的荷花池與舞作中豐美的意象相互呼應,在八百盞燈火綴成的點點燈河中落幕。
1996年,《九歌》的舞台設計獲紐約舞蹈與表演藝術獎,並在隔年的「1997李名覺舞台設計回顧展」中展出。


Know more about Cloud Gate's Nine Songs inspired by Qu Yuan's cycle of poems Jiu Ge written some 2,400 years ago, in this gorgeous microsite here.



*楚辭 Chu Ci on the Chinese Text Project*


And the poetic, onirique experience of re-/discovering a dried scarlet rose (or a delicate, exquisite veined leaf) amidst the yellowed pages of a beloved old book... Chen Jialing's lotus flower.

Lotus, by Chen Jialing, *image courtesy of Sotheby's, Hong Kong.

Saturday, 23 July 2011

北斗七星: my Saptarshi (सप्तर्षि) across the blogsphere


Several months ago my little blog here was awarded the "Versatile Blogger Award" by my artist friend Ingrid Lee.  Here is what she wrote, "Thanks for sharing your the creative passion with others, you share art and culture which is close to my heart, and I'm always happy visiting your site. So I naturally thought of you when particpating in this award. (...) Poetic Oneirism, by Ting-Jen Hwang, [is] an insight into the beauty and inspiration of music, art and culture." Thank you once again Ingrid and my apologies for the very long delay...

To accept this award, I am supposed to write seven things about myself, in addition to nominating/re-gifting it to seven other - in my own words - 'virtual places of my heart.' However, I decided to instead choose ten (yes!!) songs of my favourite Chinese singer Faye Wong, with a link to each song for all my lovely readers to appreciate. These songs are listed in no particular order and I have also included some of the lyrics that I like very much. Is this not even more fun than talking about myself...? :-)

i.  Face: 
呼吸是你的臉 你曲線在蔓延 不斷演變那海岸線 長出了最哀艷的水仙 攀過你的臉 想不到那麼蜿蜒 在你左邊的容顏 我擱淺 我卻要 繼續冒險 最好沒有人會明白我說甚麼 只有你聽懂我想甚麼 你一臉沉默 甚麼 我沒說甚麼 濕濕的汗水不只一點點 你眉頭是否碰上黃梅天 來吧滋潤我的滄海桑田 你每一臉 是我一年 已好久不見 抽煙抽象的眼 雨綿綿 讓我失眠 一點一滴的沉澱 累積成 我皺紋 在你的笑臉 
(music: Faye Wong/ lyrics: the *brilliant* Lin Hsi)
*Here is another stunning live version with Faye's signature humming, "invented language"...

ii. 寒武紀 The Cambrian Age:
故事從一雙玻璃鞋開始, 最初灰姑娘還沒有回憶, 不懂小王子有多美麗, 直到伊甸園長出第一顆菩提, 我們才學會孤寂; 在天鵝湖中邊走邊尋覓, 尋覓; 最後每個人都有個結局, 只是踏破了玻璃鞋之後, 你的小王子跑到哪裡? 蝴蝶的玫瑰可能依然留在幾億年前的寒武紀, 怕鏡花水月終於來不及, 去相遇... 
(music: Faye Wong/ lyrics: Lin Hsi)

iii. 白癡 Idiot (music: San Bao/ lyrics: Lin Hsi)

iv. 彼岸花 Flowers of Paramita:
看見的 熄滅了 消失的 記住了 我站在海角天涯 聽見土壤萌芽 等待曇花再開 把芬芳留給年華 彼岸沒有燈塔 我依然張望著 天黑 刷白了頭髮 緊握著 我火把 他來 我對自己說: 我不害怕 我很愛他 
(music: Faye Wong/ lyrics: Lin Hsi)

v. 浮躁 Restless: 
九月天高人浮躁 九月裡 平淡無聊 一切都好 只缺煩惱 
(music & lyrics: Faye Wong)

vi. 誓言 Pledge (music: Faye Wong & Dou Wei/ lyrics: Faye Wong)

vii. 無常 Impermanence: 
夜風微涼 樹搖月晃 雲兒在飛 我在想 水流 花兒香 一片夜色放心上 喜中帶憂 暗中有光 怎麼度 怎麼量 田野 山崗 美麗之下的凄涼 無常 你看那山色湖光 你看那藍天白楊 看不到一絲渺茫 你再看海天碧浪 你再看晚霞曙光 禁不住匆匆忙忙 把希望留給失望 
(music & lyrics: Faye Wong)

viii. 開到荼蘼 Last Blossom (music: C Y Kong/ lyrics: Lin Hsi)

ix. 討好自己 Ingratiate Oneself: 
討好自己 現實逃避 不知不覺 抽離 漫天的是非 做我的真理 一團和氣 處事道理 遮遮掩掩 臉皮 其實都自卑 其實都自欺 討好自己 現實逃避 不知不覺 飄離
(music & lyrics: Faye Wong)

x. 流浪的紅舞鞋 (from 4:35) The Wanderer's Red Dancing Shoes
藍色黃昏 流浪兒 慵懶的歌 紅馬車 梧桐遮住了 舞蹈的鞋 馬戲團描出聲色 不管 你有一分錢或黃金萬貫 不管 你是一隻螞蟻還是個上帝 我願意翹盼 安然的醉酒微酣 紅鬍子的老人 微笑多恬淡 我的舞鞋旋轉 歌唱到瘋癲 我願棄世登仙 旋轉的車輪 來為我獻歡 我怎會疲倦

*Bonus: 明天我要嫁給妳
I am marrying you tomorrow...
**Bonus ii: 傳奇 Legend (I just love this song...
)
--------------------------------------------------
And finally, here are my seven blogs of choice (in alphabetical order), which I named after each of the seven stars in Saptarshi asterism, as they are indeed brilliant stars in their own right.



i. 天樞/貪狼 (Dubhe)  Alas de mariposa

Like a poem by Edgar Allen Poe, Alas de mariposa is an imaginarium of the darkly fascinating and exquisitely curious. At times achingly beautiful (as well as stunningly grotesque in equal measure), it enchants you with romantic classicism and Gothic lyricism - perhaps not unlike the creative mind behind this oneiric universe, the gorgeous Eurídice, her hair of black satin and skin of pale, translucent alabaster. A world of unchained imagination and poetry beckons...

{*Eurídice is also the author of the entrancing space Gabinete de Curiosidades.}


ii. 天璇/巨門 (Merak)  Couleurs

Clouds and sunrays (verso), formerly attributed to Richard Parkes Bonington. Graphite, bodycolour on paper (pale buff, stained)
An ethereal and intoxicating realm of pure elegance and poetry, pure "dreamscapes." A ceaseless stream of jewels and inspirations, with silent melodies filling a musical state of consciousness as beautiful as the sound of jade - 剔透, 清澈, 玲瓏. This is one of my favourite blogs in the virtual world, perfect for one's quiescence of light and solitude.


iii. 天璣/祿存 (Phecda)  Eric Hwang Lab


Technically speaking not a blog, but my scholarly brother's brilliant and beautiful website simply has to be included in my Saptarshi (just look at his incredible images!). Although I have mentioned this in my blog before, my brother's encouragement and confidence in me is the reason why Poetic Oneirism is here in the blogsphere today, not only as a collection of my personal inspirations (which was originally my sole intention) but it has prompted precious encounters with other creative/artistic minds and connected me with friends who now introduce me to wonders after wonders, challenge my thoughts and inspire me, in the best of ways!


iv. 天權/文曲 (Megrez)  Ingrid Creates

Ingrid is one of the most multi-talented and creative persons I know: all forms of art which include (but not limited to) oil paintings and watercolours, bakery, cake decoration, nail art, porcelain painting, embroidery, writing etc. A self-taught artist who delights in sharing her love and passion, Ingrid very kindly included my little space Poetic Oneirism in her "Versatile Blogger Award" which was the catalyst behind this post.

{*Ingrid now has a new blog, purely about her artwork and journey as an artist - Ingrid Lee Art.}


v. 玉衡/廉貞 (Alioth)  Japonisme


Lotusgreen's Japonisme is as exquisite in its poetic beauty as it is rich in its information. It is, quite simply, a blog that you must head over right now to experience the pure loveliness, the pure poetry... Amongst so many things I have learned on Japonisme, one of the most precious discoveries (well, in fact, it was lotusgreen who kindly introduced to me) has to be painter Elyse Ashe Lord. As she so kindly said of my little world,

"...it's always wonderful to be discovered by someone with a blog that makes you, well, swoon. post after post in this woman's blog, poetic oneirism, somehow make you want to use the word utterly."

And this is indeed how lotusgreen's Japonisme makes me feel - swooningly gorgeous, it utterly captivates me...


vi. 開陽/武曲 (Mizar)  Tang Dynasty Times: all the peonies of Chang'an...

How can one not fall in love with this blog simply by looking at its name "All the Peonies of Chang'an?" Leanne is a beautiful writer and true intellectual who has created a dreamlike but incredibly knowledgeable world of her thoughtful, poetic, and philosophical meditations which time and time again charm me. When I have a grown-up(!!) blog, I would love for it to be like hers, elegantly written with clarity and insight (alas this shan't happen anytime soon due to my sloth nature)... We share so many similar interests and passions that if one day I do decide to pursue a doctorate degree, I hope very much to have a supervisor as generous, knowledgeable and encouraging as the lovely Leanne. As Kyoto Journal aptly puts it:


"Leanne Ogasawara’s blog, Tang Dynasty Times, was the catalyst for this special themed issue [Silk Roads] of Kyoto Journal. In posts that read as dispatches from outposts on a journey of exploration deep into the history of relations between East and West, she reflects on aspects of what a truly global culture might encompass, presenting Tang multiculturalism and Silk Road cosmopolitanism (and much, much more) as reference points for our present times..."

Elated by the spring breeze

My horse quickens its pace
In but one short day
Do I view all the peonies of Chang'an

昔日齷齰不足誇,今朝放蕩思無涯,春風得意馬蹄疾,一日看盡長安花。

~孟郊《登科後》Meng Chao (中唐, 751-814)

(From one of my favourite blogposts of hers: All the Peonies of Chang'an - although there is not a single article in her Tang dynasty world that I do not love...!)


vii. 瑤光/破軍 (Alkaid)  Things of Beauty
Georges de La Tour's Candlelight {via}
My artistic dancer friend Michiko has piercing perceptiveness to beauty. Being aesthetic in everything she does, it is of little surprise that her blog Things of Beauty is an irresistible, inspired collection of art, music, dance, photography, words and so on... She has introduced me to numerous artists (in all artistic fields) whom I now consider to be very dear to my heart, and pieces of music which will stay with me forever. Her blog is a world where I always enjoy being in - the quiet (perhaps above everything else), simple elegance and subtle beauty - distantly alluring and yet it forever draws you in. Like a veiled diamond or Georges de La Tour's candlelight behind a Japanese screen...

I dearly miss our exchanges of each other's love and passion for art, culture, beauty, and basically everything girly. And our little conversations... Hope you are well M, and I look forward to hearing from you soon. Meanwhile, one just has to visit your poetic realm even more frequently to make up the void!


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