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Post by lachinatown on Feb 19, 2014 17:04:27 GMT -5
Fay Chee, calligraphy is difficult to read. Panel 1: On your panel, the reading is from right side reading down (vertically), whereas on the video, it is from left 2nd line (horizontally). Skip the first line (name, author), then reading left to right. Panel 2: read from top right down. This is a better comparison:
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Post by FayChee on Feb 19, 2014 17:17:09 GMT -5
OK! I can see it now..........it will be easier when I get the panels. You have good eyes Lachinatown! Fay Chee
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Post by lachinatown on Feb 19, 2014 17:24:43 GMT -5
Yes, Fay Chee, you got it! Now we need some one to translate it.
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Post by FayChee on Feb 19, 2014 17:32:21 GMT -5
Wow, your diagram is much easier to relate to. Thanks Lachinatown Fay Chee The COCR program does not recognize calligraphy........I just tried it
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Post by lachinatown on Feb 19, 2014 21:47:05 GMT -5
Fay Chee, it is about the famous Yellow Crane Tower (Chinese: 黄鹤楼; pinyin: Huáng Hè Lóu): Yellow Crane Tower [click] From wikipedia [read left to right, line by line]... 故人西辞黄鹤楼, 烟花三月下扬州。 孤帆远影碧空尽, 唯见长江天际流
A modern English translation of the poem may follow as such:
My old friends said goodbye to the west, here at Yellow Crane Tower, In the third month's cloud of willow blossoms, he's going down to Yangzhou. The lonely sail is a distant shadow, on the edge of a blue emptiness, All I see is the Yangtze River flow to the far horizon.
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Post by FayChee on Feb 19, 2014 22:41:08 GMT -5
That's wonderful Lachinatown! You found the translation and it is beautiful and touching (and I learned a little more of Chinas history). I can't wait to find out what the others are about.
I wonder who this panel originally belonged to.......if it was just a store-bought everyday item or if the poems were personally hand-picked with deep thought and meaning.
Fay Chee
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Post by douglaslam on Feb 20, 2014 6:20:15 GMT -5
Fay Chee, in those two poems, we have two of China's best known poets. A quick check online, we have Meng Hao Ran, the author of the first one Spring Morning, who was farewell by his younger contemporary Li Bai. Li Bai was a giant of a poet, no superlative was over-lavished on him. He wrote this farewell piece for his friend Meng Hao Ran, as he was leaving what is now the city of Wuhan. Many masterpiece poems were inspired by the Yellow Crane Tower, a magnificent building which afforded unsurpassed views especially of the Yangtze River. What is standing today is not the original Yellow Crane Tower. Still, people come to climb it because of the poems.
I did not have a chance to learn the second poem, Yellow Crane Tower when I was in primary school in Hong Kong.
On my solo trip to Xian from Canton in 2010(?), the train stopped at Wuhan after mid-night. I was so tempted to get off the train and explore the city and Yellow Crane Tower. Wuhan(Wuchang and Hankow) is also remembered for in 1911, the final push to overthrow the Qing Dynasty was launched from Wuchang.
There is so much to see in China, one life time is just not enough.
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Post by FayChee on Feb 20, 2014 9:45:04 GMT -5
Douglas, thanks so much for the background information on the poems, it adds depth and dimension to the words. Perhaps you'll make it to Wuhan on your next trip.
Fay Chee
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Post by FayChee on Mar 1, 2014 1:19:43 GMT -5
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Post by tyuti1668 on Mar 1, 2014 4:14:45 GMT -5
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Post by tyuti1668 on Mar 1, 2014 5:04:50 GMT -5
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Post by douglaslam on Mar 1, 2014 7:04:47 GMT -5
Fay Chee, they are all well known poems. The fourth one is particularly well-liked. It is a great inspirational and motivational poem. The last line To a Higher Level One Must Go is found in daily usage. It is a compliment or an encouragement to urge one to aim higher. I like this poem very much. The building is another magnet for tourists. Poetry or literature inspired tourism is big business in China.
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Post by FayChee on Mar 1, 2014 9:28:48 GMT -5
Wow! what a nice surprise to wake up to!
Douglas, the background information is an extra bonus and Tyuti, I so much appreciate the videos and links that help me enjoy the spoken word.
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Post by lachinatown on Mar 1, 2014 20:41:34 GMT -5
Wow FayChee, if you will can you tell how much the final bid? not $11. It was a good buy even with the shipping charge. Looks like in good shape. We have a large painting, and we used "L" hooks. How heavy is it? You can always have it sit on the floor as a screen/conversation piece.
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Post by FayChee on Mar 1, 2014 23:00:56 GMT -5
Hi Lachinatown, I got it for $23.99 plus shipping of $21.00. The label on the box says the total weight is 13 lbs, but I had no problem lifting it. I think it went unnoticed by people bidding on gold jewelry....... It's in excellent condition, wood lacquer frame, metal corners, some kind of fabric back and front....sounds like a drum when I tap it, it's hollow not solid wood. I don't want to puncture it to hang it on the wall and I can't use it anywhere that my 5 yr old great granddaughter can add her art work on.....todays art below.... So, after taking the pictures, I put it back into the box and put it in the basement where it will probably stay until I can gift it to someone who would appreciate it and who has a large enough home to put it in. I live in a box as most of the people I know do. Fay Chee
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