Are you much of a tea drinker David? One the great pleasures of my life is drinking good aged Sheng Pu-erh, Wuyi Oolong and some of the terpene heavy Taiwanese stuff. Gong fu of course.
No, you said, "It seems an auspicious time, therefore, to pay tribute to one of my favorite figures from China’s long and glorious cultural history: the great poet Tao Yuanming (AD 365-427), also known as Tao Quian (or T’ao Ch’ien in the Wade-Giles transliteration)."
That was a typo, produced by an autocorrect that adds a u after every q. If you had mentioned the vagrant u I would have known what you were telling me.
Obviously, when I wrote it I thought I was being clear. Obiously, I wasn't. Now, many moons later, when I wanted to find something in this essay that I quite liked, I found that the pinyin still there. Oh, well. I just thought you would like to fix it. Good night!
At a tangent: the reference to Skalkottas on whom I needed to brush up (because, despite listening fairly widely, I’d never reached the third book of his Greek Dances / erm, heard of him) makes me wonder if there is scope for describing 'discs from an extant record collection' as a companion to the volumes from the vanished library.
In my defence, I note, just by way of a quick measure of notoriety, that his work has only been played at the Proms twice: once in 1954 and once in 1991.
Before I begin my simple inquiry I want to say that your works, to put it lightly, have been a huge influence on my way of thinking and a great help during some very dark times. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your recent posts lead me to ask if you are familiar with the films of King Hu? On the surface they appear to be typical wuxia fare but are quite beautiful, artistic works with great cinematography and oftentimes a strong metaphysical or mystical theme. I would suggest that A Touch of Zen and the Mountain duology exemplify this the best. I hope you had a happy Halloween (perhaps watching Kwaidan or Kuroneko?). God bless.
King Hu somehow managed to make a seemingly ridiculous genre often beautiful and profound. A Touch of Zen is based on one of the tales from Pu Songling, whom I mentioned in my first list of books...
You are, indeed, a romantic. Tao is an interesting contrast to Li Bai who sought government service all his life and drink to excess all his life, and for whom Xian was so elusive.
But, honestly, Li Bai didn't want government service; he simply felt he must pursue it. Then he sabotaged himself so that he could return to his true passions: wine, moonlight, the songs of frogs, and so forth.
Beautiful piece. All I’ve got to add is this little gem by Wang Ji where Tao makes an appearance
Farmers
All his life Ruan Ji was lazy,
And Xi Kang was a carefree spirit.
When they met, they drank their fill,
Sat alone, wrote a few lines,
Tried raising cranes by a tiny pool,
Pastured piglets in tranquil fields.
Grass grew over Tao Yuanming's path,
Flowering trees hid Yang Xiong's cottage.
Lie on your bed, watch your wife weave,
Up a hill and urge your son to hoe-
Then turn your head and the quests for the immortals
Become all one great emptiness.
Are you much of a tea drinker David? One the great pleasures of my life is drinking good aged Sheng Pu-erh, Wuyi Oolong and some of the terpene heavy Taiwanese stuff. Gong fu of course.
I am, very much so. Pu-erh is among my favorites. Milk oolong is a daily indulgence.
Splendid! Following your recommendation I’ve been reading Pu Songling during my daily sessions. Enchanting.
陶潛 is T'ao Ch'ien in Wade-Giles, Tao Qian in 漢語拼音 or Hanyu Pinyin.
Yes, as I said.
No, you said, "It seems an auspicious time, therefore, to pay tribute to one of my favorite figures from China’s long and glorious cultural history: the great poet Tao Yuanming (AD 365-427), also known as Tao Quian (or T’ao Ch’ien in the Wade-Giles transliteration)."
You added a silent "u" to the Hanyu Pinyin.
That was a typo, produced by an autocorrect that adds a u after every q. If you had mentioned the vagrant u I would have known what you were telling me.
Obviously, when I wrote it I thought I was being clear. Obiously, I wasn't. Now, many moons later, when I wanted to find something in this essay that I quite liked, I found that the pinyin still there. Oh, well. I just thought you would like to fix it. Good night!
I did, and thank you. But at the time, no, it was not clear. Hence my bafflement.
You're welcome!
At a tangent: the reference to Skalkottas on whom I needed to brush up (because, despite listening fairly widely, I’d never reached the third book of his Greek Dances / erm, heard of him) makes me wonder if there is scope for describing 'discs from an extant record collection' as a companion to the volumes from the vanished library.
I have considered it.
In my defence, I note, just by way of a quick measure of notoriety, that his work has only been played at the Proms twice: once in 1954 and once in 1991.
Before I begin my simple inquiry I want to say that your works, to put it lightly, have been a huge influence on my way of thinking and a great help during some very dark times. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your recent posts lead me to ask if you are familiar with the films of King Hu? On the surface they appear to be typical wuxia fare but are quite beautiful, artistic works with great cinematography and oftentimes a strong metaphysical or mystical theme. I would suggest that A Touch of Zen and the Mountain duology exemplify this the best. I hope you had a happy Halloween (perhaps watching Kwaidan or Kuroneko?). God bless.
King Hu somehow managed to make a seemingly ridiculous genre often beautiful and profound. A Touch of Zen is based on one of the tales from Pu Songling, whom I mentioned in my first list of books...
You are, indeed, a romantic. Tao is an interesting contrast to Li Bai who sought government service all his life and drink to excess all his life, and for whom Xian was so elusive.
But, honestly, Li Bai didn't want government service; he simply felt he must pursue it. Then he sabotaged himself so that he could return to his true passions: wine, moonlight, the songs of frogs, and so forth.
drank...