甘呑苦吐 irresolute

甘 (sweet) 呑 (swallow) 苦 (bitter) 吐 (spit out)

You do whatever pleases you at the time, swallowing when it's sweet, spitting it out when it's bitter.

One of the most admirable qualities we might possess is self-control. When you have a goal, there are times when you should do something you don't feel like doing, and shouldn't do something you feel like doing. Not as easy as pie?

食品商店 grocery store

 
食品 (grocery) 商店 (store) 
食 (food) 品 (item) 商 (trade) 店 (store)

by Sharon Hahn Darlin 


North Korea is undoubtedly an intriguing place. Well, I don't expect to see North Korea anytime soon, but nearby regions, such as China's Yanbian, are equally intriguing, with cultural clues to North Korea, quite possibly.

One fine day. One happy little cloud. One outrageously vivid and colorful sign. The same photographer took this picture as well. Either he went around specifically looking for girls wearing food on their person, or Yanbian has plenty of advertising signs with girl + food combo. The girl on this sign is actually hugging fruit, whereas the other girl has meat-and-poultry-attracting magnetic powers.

燕 (swallow, the bird) 燕 (swallow) 食品 (grocery) 商店 (store)
연연 ("Yon Yon") 식품 (grocery) 상점 (store)

“One swallow does not make a spring, nor does one fine day” - Aristotle

Two swallows here. This appears to be one extraordinarily fine day. Spring can't be too far away. Here's to flocks of swallows, many fine days, and girls with magnetic powers.

photo by 심학철

招牌 signboard

 


招 (beckon) 牌 (placard)

by Sharon Hahn Darlin

This photo caught my eye while I was searching for Chinese signboards. A scene so saturated with interesting cultural cues, I still can't stop staring at it.  

The strange allure of this small dilapidated structure captured in a sun-filled setting... Corrugated metal sheets, wood, glass, cement, plastic, bricks. Mostly broken, torn, patched. Is this someone's shack? A restaurant? A lovely Korean girl in hanbok (turns out she is a well-known South Korean actress, but a long way away from here in Yanbian) beckons (?) you from a large colorful signboard. She seems to be carrying... or rather, cuts of meat and poultry seem to be stuck to her bosom. The sign reads "Master Liu's Deli" in Chinese ("刘师傅熟食店") and "Master Liu's Inn" in -North- Korean (류사부숙식점). Yes, deli, meaning it's an establishment serving cooked meals. Oh really. 숙식점 in Korean is ambiguous, but can suggest room and board. Oh REALLY. Hmm. Okay. So... which is it anyway? Telephone - TELEPHONE!- (电话) 13944331422, Yanbian, China (near Vladivostok and North Korean border.) Shall we call to find out? 

刘 (Liu) 师傅 (master) 熟食店 (deli) 류 (Liu) 사부 (master) 숙식점 (熟食店/宿食店, deli/inn)
 
p.s. Do I see 麻 (hemp) written on the window with an unintentional check mark? Fascinating indeed.

photo by 심학철

改过自新 a new beginning

改 (change) 过 (over) 自 (self) 新 (new)


The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.” -- Abraham Lincoln

A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. -- Lao Tzu

To infinity and beyond. - Buzz Lightyear

photo: Cross Country Kitties

哀而不傷 sad but not distressing

哀 (sad) 而 (yet) 不 (not) 傷 (wound)

(哀而不伤 simplified)

Sad. Not crying yet. I guess I'm tough.

森羅萬象 the Universe in its vast variety

NASA photos from the repaired Hubble Space Telescope released today, 09/09/09

森 (forest) 羅 (net) 萬 (10,000) 象 (form)

This is a Buddhist term. On this page from the Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist terms: with Sanskrit and English Equivalents and a Sanskrit-Pali Index by William Edward Soothill & Lewis Hodous, 森羅萬象 is defined as "the myriad forms dense and close, i.e. the universe." 森羅萬象卽法身, "the universe in its vast variety is the Dharma-kaya, or Buddha-body; in the esoteric school it is the Vairocana-body."

卽 (i.e.) 法 (Dharma) 身 (body)

紅爐點雪 snow flakes into a burning furnace

紅 (red) 爐 (furnace) 點 (dot) 雪 (snow)

This is a touching image. Little flakes of snow flying into a blazing furnace. Little melting snow droplets are no matches for the fire. They immediately sizzle into steam and evaporate.

I don't know how to interpret this idiom composed of such vivid characters. Who is the main character, the coal or the snow? Is the snow naïve or willful? Water doesn't actually mix with fire. Perhaps it's a story about transcendence. Perhaps it's a story about a blessing in disguise.

苦盡甘來 after suffering comes sweet reward

苦 (bitter) 盡(dissipate) 甘 (sweet) 來 (come)

Often, things seem hopeless, and human endurance approaches a personal limit. You'll be all right, this saying reassures you. After the requisite suffering, there's bound to be something sweet waiting for you.

If it doesn't happen... well, who says you have to be happy all the time?

空無所有 utterly destitute

空 (empty) 無 (nothing) 所 (place) 有 (exist)
Simplified, 空无所有

所有 possess

Sometimes, in the game of life, you are left without two sticks to rub together. It may not be a bad thing if it's temporary, if you can afford to wait cheerfully. It can most certainly be liberating.

What does it mean to "possess" anyway?
Have (有) a place (所)?

A brush can only be a proper brush when it's placed in the hands of a skilled calligrapher. A blade owned by a good swordsman, an axe by an experienced lumberjack, a Stradivarius by a true artist. Yes, they can own it.

Possession is also an abstract idea, like numbers written on a check. A check is a corporeal object, yet when a contract is not kept, something (有) simply turns into nothing (無). Even if you "own" billions, if you have no true power to move people, you are merely a fund manager slavishly working to guard all that wealth. Until you do not feel the need to tie down something you feel entitled to, it will remain wishful thinking, not true possession.

Then again, it is certainly possible to be on top of the world, feel as if you own it, even as you appear utterly destitute. Funny how that works.

武陵桃源 Never Never Land of Peaches

武 (force) 陵 (knoll) 桃 (peach) 源 (source) Utopia

Being entertained by fantasy girls is a grand Eastern tradition. People have sought out this form of Utopia in the form of 요정 or 芸者屋 where peachy girls cater to your every whim, while you sponge up several bottles of aqua vitae. These establishments have generally been hidden from public scrutiny, multiplying the intrigue. Now a swing toward an eye-catching trend makes this mysterious world a hair more visible: Emphasis on big hair. BIG HAIR. Will we see more creative twists on this traditional pastime?

photos Old Photos of Japan, Marvelous Entertainment Inc.,Vogue Korea, 신윤복, blog.livedoor.jp