DAILY PHOTO: A Strange Plant Stumbled Upon in the Savanna
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Warthog [Lyric Poem]
Given that "warts" and "hogs" are both unloved,
Why not prybar letters, together shoved?
A well-placed dash might do the trick,
Would "War-Thog" sound too sci-fi bombastic?
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BOOKS: “Taoism: An Essential Guide” by Eva Wong
Taoism: An Essential Guide by Eva WongMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher Site
This book offers the reader clarity about the scope of Taoism, a daunting challenge given Taoism’s long history and how it overlaps with other schools of philosophy as well as with Traditional Chinese Religion, more broadly. The book is divided into three parts: history, specialties (magic, divination, ceremony, inward training, and karma yoga,) and practices (meditation, somatic practices [e.g. qi gong and taijiquan,] and rituals and ceremonies.) The history section covers a period from pre-Taoist shamanic practices of 5,000 years ago, practices that would inform early Taoism, to a period during which Taoism became entwined with Buddhism and Confucianism. The specialties and practices sections attempt to give the reader a broad overview while avoiding discussion of “how-to.”
I found this book to be informative and interesting. It did feel more effectively geared toward someone with an interest in Taoism as religion rather than Taoism as a philosophy. The discussion does sometimes get into the weeds on issues like ceremonies and talismans (again, not in a how-to fashion, but with some arcane detail nevertheless,) but — at the same time — besides some discussion of the teachings of the Tao Te Jing and some exploration of Taoist metaphysics in the Divinational Taoism chapter, there’s not a lot of insight into Taoism as philosophy. That said, it does end each chapter with a “Further Reading” section that can point readers interested in a specific topic elsewhere.
If you’ve ever been overwhelmed at one of those bright and complicated Chinese temples and would like some insight into what Taoists do and how it’s different (or not different) from what Confucianists, Traditional Chinese Religion practitioners, and Zen Buddhists do, this is a good book to check out. If you’re solely interested in Taoism as a school of philosophy or otherwise have a specific focus such as qi gong and breathwork practices, you can probably find books that are better tailored to your needs.
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“They shut me up in Prose–” (445) by Emily Dickinson [w/ Audio]
They shut me up in Prose --
As when a little Girl
They put me in the Closet --
Because they liked me "still" --
Still! Could themself have peeped --
And seen my Brain -- go round --
They might as wise have lodged a Bird
For Treason -- in the Pound --
Himself has but to will
And easy as a Star
Look down opon Captivity --
And laugh -- No more have I --
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Marmot [Lyric Poem]
I came across a chubby marmot
In some puffed up outer garment.
A fur coat over its furry coat?
Or mainlining from the gravy boat?
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DAILY PHOTO: Drum Tower [鼓楼] of Beijing
BOOKS: “Language” by Xiaolu Guo
Language by Xiaolu GuoMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher Site
This book is excerpted from a full-length novel entitled, A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers, and it conveys what it’s like to be a stranger in a strange land — particularly when one has only a rudimentary grasp of the local language. Specifically, the story revolves around a young Chinese woman who moves to London to pursue her studies. In London, the young woman becomes involved with an older man, and much of the story looks at how culture — and particularly language — impacts the nature of the relationship. (And, also, how being in a relationship with a native of her new home impacts her language learning.)
Perhaps the most important factor influencing whether a reader will like or loath this book is how one feels about reading broken English. Like the dialectic poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar, this book isn’t written in grammatically correct standard English. The broken – “learner’s” – English is quite effective at conveying the struggle of language learning and how culture and language are intertwined. But if reading grammatically incorrect writing gives you a headache, then this book is not for you.
As for why this book consists of excerpts, it’s part of a series called “Vintage Minis” that consists of short (or excerpted) works from prominent authors from around the globe, generally with a straightforward unifying theme. [Vintage Classics is an imprint of Penguin Random House.] The fact that the book was an excerpt didn’t create a problem for me. The origin material is a literary fiction novel and doesn’t seem to be significantly plot-driven. It’s much more character-driven, and thus getting a limited picture doesn’t open up a lot of unanswered questions about what will come next. In other words, it felt like it could have been a full piece of short, character-driven literary fiction.
I enjoyed reading this slim volume. I think it offers interesting insight into being a language learner abroad. If you’re interested in the challenges of language and culture in an unfamiliar place, this thin book is well worth reading.
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“Fulani Creation Myth” by Anonymous [w/ Audio]
At the beginning there was a huge drop of milk.
Then Doondari came and he created the stone.
Then the stone created iron;
And iron created fire;
And fire created water;
And water created air.
Then Doondari descended the second time.
And he took the five elements
And he shaped them into man.
But man was proud.
Then Doondari created blindness,
and blindness defeated man.
But when blindness became too proud,
Doondari created sleep,
and sleep defeated blindness;
But when sleep became too proud,
Doondari created worry,
and worry defeated sleep;
But when worry became too proud,
Doondari created death,
and death defeated worry.
But then death became too proud,
Doondari descended for the third time,
And he came as Gueno, the eternal one.
And Gueno defeated death.
NOTE: The Fulani (also known as Fula and Fulbe) are a West African herding tribe that live in Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Guinea, and Senegal.
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DAILY PHOTO: Hindu Parade Floats
PROMPT: Proud
What are you most proud of in your life?
Keeping going.
But if pride goeth before the fall…
Tiger Riding for Beginners 