東 (east) 問 (ask) 西 (west) 答 (answer)
or 問東答西, 問 (ask) 東 (east) 答 (answer) 西 (west)
"...that after eight weeks of induction into the elements of Political Economy, she had only yesterday been set right by a prattler three feet high, for returning to the question, ‘What is the first principle of this science?’ the absurd answer, ‘To do unto others as I would that they should do unto me.’" -from Hard Times by Charles Dickens
***"If the shareholders of The New York Times ever wonder why the paper's ad revenue is plummeting and its share price tanking, they need look no further than the hysterical reaction of the paper's editors to any slight, real or imagined, against their preferred candidate." -John McCain's spokesperson
***
What did the dead man walking tell himself?Go west, young man.
Now, it wasn't a 東問西答, was it.
韜 (sheath) 光 (light) 養 (nurture) 晦 (dark)
This is a concept prized in the East. Sometimes you wonder if the West, especially America, has ever heard of it. "Hiding your light under a bushel" merely suggests timidity.
Often, it doesn't hurt to appear dim in order to get to where you want. Deng Xiaoping knew how to dim his lights. It was his foreign policy mantra, something along the line of "hide your full capacity, bide your time..." It worked, don't you think?
***
I detect an unlikely parallel between this pioneering Chinese market socialist and Barack Obama. Coming from opposite directions, from entirely different circumstances, yet heading to a similiar goal.
背 (back) 水 (water) 之 ('s) 陣 (troop formation)
Where are the Russian-Georgian battlefronts? Two prominent natural features catch one's eye. The Greater Caucasus mountain range and the Black Sea. (The Lesser Caucasus is less conspicuous.)
Georgia-Russia Conflict Moves to the Black Sea
"Russia also sent naval vessels to patrol off Georgia's Black Sea coast, but denied today that the move was aimed at establishing a blockade." August 10, 2008
Russia cuts sea links with Georgia
"Sea links between Georgia's Black Sea port of Batumi and Russia's Sochi port have been cut, the deputy head of the Russian Black Sea port said on Monday." August 11, 2008
Georgians are fighting for their lives. Is it a desperate, determined, dead-end 背水之陣 situation?
*In honor of the Beijing Olympics, I am including a single simplified character, 转, although I am a traditionalist (when it comes to characters). Simplified characters are generally ugly. Sigh. This particular one looks sort of cool, the slant reminding you of that new modern CCTV building (China Central Television, by Rem Koolhaas).
What, the building looks more like 八? Well, that, too. An elegant classic, this traditional character never needed to be tinkered with.
七 (seven) *转 (turn) 八 (eight) 起 (rise)
(轉, as in 天旋地轉, is the traditional version of *转.)
So you spin out seven times. Big deal.
Just do it well the eighth time, you hear, athletes?
Alternate versions:
七転八起 (Japanese) with 転 (same as 轉)
七顚八起 (Korean) with 顚 (fall)
Chinese preference for number 8 is legendary.
二零零八年八月八日八点八分 (2008. 08.08. 08:08)
Octabulous.
誇 (boast) 大 (big) 妄 (senseless) 想 (thought)
In Anthrax Scientist’s E-Mail, Hints of Delusions
New York Times, August 6, 2008
"These e-mail messages and dozens of others are a central element in the case the Federal Bureau of Investigation laid out on Wednesday against the man they say is responsible for the anthrax attacks that killed five people and panicked the country. They provide glimpses into the personality of a man obsessed with a sorority that he first encountered while an undergraduate, asserting in an e-mail message that the women’s group was waging a “fatwah” against him."
"Dr. Ivins composed poems — scripted to the nursery rhymes “Hickory Dickory Dock” and “I’m a Little Teapot” — about having two personalities. And he went on what he called “mindless drives” to mail gifts and letters anonymously, the document said, and then “set back the odometer in his car” to fool his wife."
***
Character 妄 has misogynistic roots.
It depicts a woman crouching, destroyed and lost, off the right path.
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妄想 delusions
被毒妄想 delusions of being poisoned
被害妄想 delusions of being victimized
錦 (silk) 上 (atop) 添 (add) 花 (flower)
Definition of perfection never seems perfect.
"one that possesses that of which, by its nature, it is capable." - Thomas Aquinas
"that which lacks nothing and to which nothing can be added." - Daniele Barbaro
This is a big topic. Are we talking aesthetics, for instance? You shouldn't mess with your absolutely exquisite perfection, but if something you have the good fortune to appreciate appears to get even better with the addition of an accessory, more power to you.
***
Character 花 (flower)
has the grass top 艹 (=艸)
化 indicates the sound, which is hua or ka in many Asian languages.
亢 (lofty) 龍 (dragon) 有 (have) 悔 (regret)
What's next once you become an emperor?
An emperor is symbolized by a dragon. You know, the creature with a tiger's head, a serpent's body, an eagle's talons, and a stag's antlers.
潛龍 the submerged pond dragon waits for its chance as it accumulates wisdom
飛龍 the flying dragon proceeds to come, see and conquer
亢龍 the dragon at the zenith
Once the summit is conquered, it is possible for the dragon to regret climbing to such a lofty height in the first place. But naturally it will not wish to descend back to the ground, so staying up with continued fulfillment, with no regrets, becomes the real challenge.
無 (nil) 限 (limit) 追 (chase) 求 (seek)
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