Girl Cutting Mango, Sam, Natalie Cutting Box

I love to watch or stare or enjoy looking at women, (there's nothing wrong, I am a guy, a guy should love something or someone beautiful, "food and lust are natural character. - Confucius" ) I can find attractiveness from every woman I think. there is inner beauty and outward fairness, like flowers or plants that poets and painters often describe in their work. Inner beauty we need to read and meditate to discover, usually women that we men live and work with; outward fairness often strikingly shine in front every men. and often countenance reveals one's character, emotion, social experience. that's why we watch movie and tv, stare at portraits in the art catalog, and a few talented novelist can write people, especially women's emotion and thought by painting characters' facial expression, look and gesture like Dream of Red Chamber. I guess because I love reading that novel and I was kind of raised by my grandma and mom so I always loved women's accompany, and I am extra sensitive to women on street or around me. their pureness of a little teenage girl, frowning or feeling bloated worrisome state in budding season, sharp and piercing wild angry nagging that drives every husband pray "O God, take this woman away.", smart and thoughtful co-worker type, administrative and authorship bossy managing type, confident and brave expression that I have seen during the earthquake, and housewife kind loving never resting character always locked in my memory. I love all of them, I even feel more close to women poets than men, I think I understand more women poet work than big name Li Po and Du Fu, I feel I'm more close to Shakespeare Sonnets because there's some sense of a woman voice in him, long enduring delicate and suffering tone, there's nothing wrong with that. Recently, there is a pretty teenage girl working her summer job at a tea house under my work building, I past by her a few times and really loved her facial expression that glows pureness and fair, so I asked her if I could take a few photo of her, as I guessed she would happily give me her permission so I did a few quick shot while she was cutting mango. she belongs to one of women beauty categories: innocent and fair or sweet.

Girl Cutting Mango

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Sam

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Natalie Cutting Box

Kneeling Art on Western and Chinese

Today, I bought a lunch box Chinese food, and I opened plastic bag discovered some art on my lunch box that really ignited my anger. the portrait shew a Chinese servant maid holding a serving plate while kneeling, such small designed print that really says something about Chinese culture and mentality about society, relationship with others, this position you never find in other culture beside Japanese and Korean, that both two countries are heavily influenced by empire era Chinese. It also reminded me how different the Western culture on this kneeling position, one position defines two people's rank, stand, value, relation, respect, how they must treat each other and how others must observe and abide this social greeting. In ancient China, son knelt before his father, people to emperor, common to official, wife to husband, live to deceased, today this lunch box designer painted an picture that restaurant waitress kneeling and serving her customer. But in Western art, there are not a lot of kneeling, I don't recall many prophets knelt before angels or God, did Moses or Jacob kneel? or any disciples to Jesus? Bible does not clearly state, or I should troll God wants us to be His friend, not His slave. However I found some related to kneeling, Ajax sorted of kneeling preparing his death, I guess the artist wanted readers to know Ajax cared nothing about worldly honor before his death, another record clearly stated a sinner begged for Lord's forgiveness so he knelt (NT), and now Tebow brand kneeling that involves prayer and thank to God for winning game. I think Westerners understand the true meaning of this position better than most Chinese, even nowadays most or almost every Chinese have no basic education of this kneeling art, one of great example: June 4th, Student kneeling down to beg China officials (the people's servants) for discussion of freedom and human rights. No wonder Democracy society was developed and built 2000 year ago in Greek and then spread to West, and China now still has no civil solution for political affair, it's the people don't have knowledge about basic value and stand on relationship. I kneel down to no one, I only bow down to truth. I now put a few kneeling pictures here to point out the fundamental difference .

Sonnet 121

'Tis better to be vile than vile esteemed,
When not to be receives reproach of being,
And the just pleasure lost which is so deemed
Not by our feeling but by others' seeing.
For why should others' false adulterate eyes
Give salutation to my sportive blood?
Or on my frailties why are frailer spies,
Which in their wills count bad what I think good?
No, I am that I am, and they that level
At my abuses reckon up their own;
I may be straight, though they themselves be bevel.
By their rank thoughts my deeds must not be shown,
  Unless this general evil they maintain:
  All men are bad, and in their badness reign.

    

Pavement

Pavement

Shakespeare Is Number One (my favorite Sonnets)

I was drinking with my friend last weekend, often every weekend on the dinner table we talked about poetry, music, art film soccer, culture, politics, of course, 52% good liquor does draw such topic. and me and my friend compared some great poets, Chinese and English, I personally respect all of the poets, but I think Shakespeare Is Number One, even though I don't understand most of his drama and poems, often pronounce his name Shakesfear, my Chinese accent, also I don't read most or that many poets include the dead and alive, however I have a few Shakespeare Sonnets as my statement why the Bard is the one, so I translated a few of my 14 favorite sonnets here, I want to retain my Chinese translation copyright, because I think my version of the sonnets are most direct, correct, creative and blend of beauty.


SONNET 15
莎士比亚十四行诗 15

When I consider every thing that grows
当我思考每一物的生长
Holds in perfection but a little moment,
保持完美只是丁点瞬间
That this huge stage presenteth nought but shows
这宏大的舞台上演空虚却只现出
Whereon the stars in secret influence comment;
那繁星在暗中影响的栓释
When I perceive that men as plants increase,
当我认识道人如草木一样繁衍
Cheered and cheque'd even by the self-same sky,
被同一个苍天鼓励和督查
Vaunt in their youthful sap, at height decrease,
在青春的口水中夸耀，从高处退减
And wear their brave state out of memory;
他们勇茂的状态在回忆中破损
Then the conceit of this inconstant stay
因此这不能永恒停留的自负
Sets you most rich in youth before my sight,
在我眼前使你在青春中极其珍贵
Where wasteful Time debateth with Decay,
在这儿挥霍的时间与腐败论辩
To change your day of youth to sullied night;
将你青春的白昼变成污黑的夜晚
   And all in war with Time for love of you,
   为着你的爱，万物与时间争战
   As he takes from you, I engraft you new.
   当他从你那取走，我就给你嫁枝添新。

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SONNET 112
莎士比亚十四行诗 112

Your love and pity doth th' impression fill
你的爱与怜将您的印象充满
Which vulgar scandal stamp'd upon my brow;
当庸俗的诽谤印记在我眉脊上；
For what care I who calls me well or ill,
我又为何去理睬旁人品论我善恶，
So you o'er-green my bad, my good allow?
因你把我的污迹涂青，德善肯定？
You are my all the world, and I must strive
你是我的一切，为此我总要奋斗
To know my shames and praises from your tongue:
去认识我的卑微和你口中的赞誉
None else to me, nor I to none alive,
我旁若无物，也不去管他人的存在
That my steel'd sense or changes right or wrong.
只凭我钢铁的意志或只为着对错而更改
In so profound abysm I throw all care
在纵深的渊底我抛却所有顾虑
Of others' voices, that my adder's sense
那些旁人的说道，还有我累计的敏感
To critic and to flatterer stopped are.
对于吹毛求疵阿谀奉承者截止。
Mark how with my neglect I do dispense:
记住我怎样籍著我的疏忽来安排：
   You are so strongly in my purpose bred
   你已经牢固的在我意志中诞生
   That all the world besides methinks y' are dead.
   就算这世界除我，都认为你已死去。

the following is a complete list of my favorite 14 Shakespeare Sonnets.

15, 18, 27, 29, 33, 50, 64, 65, 66, 73, 85, 91, 94, 112.