Story
The 300-Mile Walk (5 Photos,5 Stories… #5)
Bill, the Photographer (5 Photos …#4)
Kitchen Confidential (5 Photos… #3)
The Grand Canyon Walls (5 Photos… #1)
“Born rich, she championed for social justice for the poor. A daughter of old south, she literally risked her life to advance civil rights.” –PBS
Write Now…Yes Right Now…
To speak, I wish, and yet I stall
One of the classic poems she copied more than a couple of times was written by Xin S Ji in the Song Dynasty (960 to 1127AD). The translation of the poem reads like this:
When young I never did know the taste of woe or sorrow,
Up to the top (floor), I loved to go;
Up to the top (floor), I loved to go—
For to compose new verses, I feigned my sorrow and woe.
Now sorrow and woe I’ve tasted, and the bitterness withal,
To speak, I wish, and yet I stall;
To speak, I wish, and yet I stall—
O how fair though chilly this autumn! I say, after all.
–Translated by Andrew W.F. Wong
Only recently, I realized that mother was using her calligraphy to express her love for life when she was in the autumn of her life. Perhaps, she wished to speak, and yet she stalled.
Note: Click here to see some of the beautiful pictures of painting and ceramics in the Song Dynasty ( 960 to 1127 AD).
Your Mother has stroke of genius to have the talent of writing calligraphy. Did she write chinese characters when she was younger?
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According to mother, she started very young. Her father (my grandfather) was a major national newspaper editor, so she had high expectation from my grandfather.
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And it paid off. Thank you for sharing this, Amy.
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Thank you Amy. It’s beautiful to read of the Song dynasty poem your mother loved.
My favourite Chinese poet – in fact probably my favourite poet, full stop – is Li Bai. it’s a bit hard to go past his brilliance. Thank you for sharing your mother’s impeccable calligraphy.
Debbie
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I don’t know much about classic Chinese poems as I should. Your comment inspired me. Now these days it’s easy to search and read on the computer or tablet. I may need some interpretation though. 🙂
Thank you for viewing my mother’s calligraphy. Glad to share it with you.
Thank you for making IP Pei posts link to your blog. I’m so humbled. ~ Amy
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Your’re welcome! IM PEi is an amazing architect and I think your blog posts about him really give amazing info that i didnt know about along with those awesome pictures. much better than linking to Wikipedia! 🙂
yes, we are all so addicted to our devices. that’s why the whole handwriting challenge is so great – we have to slow down a bit to write the ‘old fashioned’ way!
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Glad you found this series, I did it sometimes ago and have not thought about it for a while. There is a fantastic video about IM Pei (may be done by PBS) it’s on youtube now. Agree on the old fashioned way.
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Great I will search for the video when I have time. Thanks!
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