Ancient cathedral:
pews & altar
long gone.
Cold air creeps
through cracks
to flicker candles,
Candles lit for
those long dead —
though long remembered —
on a cold, winter day.
Candles [Free Verse]
4
Author Archives: B Gourley
DAILY PHOTO: Scenes from Bukchon Hanok Village
DAILY PHOTO: Midtown Sundown
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Palace Pavilion [Haiku]
late afternoon sun
penetrates the pavilion —-
causing napper’s turn.
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PROMPT: Admiration
Have intense confidence that they can achieve anything, but only when they’re not an ass about it. So, have humble confidence or cool confidence?
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Cheeto Skies [Senryū]
a shade of orange
that doesn’t exist in nature…
yet - there it is!
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DAILY PHOTO: The Treasury of Chota Imambara, Lucknow
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Lake Ice [Lyric Poem]
Sun-sparkles on the lake’s far end
look icy cool beneath blue skies,
but Winter shivers, I suspend,
because late Spring is telling lies.
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BOOK: “The Emperor in Hell” [Book 5 of the “Journey to the West” Series] ed. by Jeff Pepper; trans. by Xiao Hui Wang
The Emperor in Hell: A Story in Simplified Chinese and Pinyin, 600 Word Vocabulary Level by Jeff PepperMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher Site – Imagin8 Press
This is the fifth volume in a series that abridges and simplifies the classic Chinese novel, Journey to the West, so that it can be read by a language learner with about a HSK 3 grasp of Chinese. It tells the story from Chapters 10 and 11 of the original novel. Like the preceding volume, this one doesn’t deal with Sun Wu Kong (i.e. the Monkey King — protagonist of the novel overall,) and doesn’t even deal with the monk Xuanzang — the protagonist of the true story on which the novel was based.) These chapters tell a story that feels like a diversion, though it will be involved in the segue back to the actions of the main cast.
In this book, the Jing River Dragon King gets in trouble when he makes a bet with a fortune-teller. The Dragon King has to cheat to save his pride, but this runs him afoul of the Jade Emperor. The Dragon King appeals to the human Emperor, Taizong, who agrees to help. When wires get crossed, Taizong ends up in the underworld for judgement. With the help of others and with promises made, Taizong is allowed to return to earth.
It’s an interesting story and gives some insight into Chinese mythology. As is always the case with a book such as this, events of the story must be cut or rushed. Readers may vary in their views about whether the right material was cut or thinned.
I continue to enjoy this series. This book was a little more challenging to read than earlier volumes, not because the vocabulary was harder. I think it was more that contextual cues were fewer, owing to it not being so tightly tied to the overall story.
If you’re just learning to read Chinese, I’d recommend this series as an interesting story made readable to a language learner.
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PROMPT: Cartoon
Currently, probably Rick & Morty. In my youth, I was Looney Tunes over Hanna Barbera, especially Roadrunner, Yosemite Sam, and Marvin the Martian.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 