Sunday, May 20, 2018

The Moon Project

9:14 AM Lee

The moon has been one of the most important elements of inspiration in Chinese poetry. Chinese people, especially the poets worship the moon and have magnified the moon in countless poems. In many of them, the moon is the emotion carrier of the yearnings towards purity and beauty, the longings for family and love. (Chinese-at-ease) 

Here are a couple of moon-themed Chinese poems you should know. Both poems are from Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD), a period which witnessed the flourishing of Chinese poems.

“Quiet Night Thoughts” (静夜思) by poet, Li Bai (李白, 701–762 AD). Li Bai, as Bob mentioned, is one of the most prominent Chinese poets from his own time till present days. His works are full of passion, imagination and also elegance. Even today, his “Quiet Night Thoughts” is one of the must-know and it is often one of the first poems learned by children.

I wake, and moonbeams play around my bed,
Glittering like hoar-frost to my wandering eyes;
Up towards the glorious moon I raised my head,
Then lay me down — and thoughts of home arise.

“Looking At The Moon And Thinking Of One Far Away” (望月怀远) by another Tang poet, Zhang Jiuling (张九龄, 675-740 AD). Apart from being a noted poet, Zhang Jiuling was also a prominent minister and scholar of the Tang Dynasty, serving as chancellor at his time.

The moon, grown full now over the sea,
Brightening the whole of heaven,
Brings to separated hearts
The long thoughtfulness of night….
It is no darker though I blow out my candle.
It is no warmer though I put on my coat.
So I leave my message with the moon
And turn to my bed, hoping for dreams

“Leave my message with the moon.” Such a lovely thought. And artists Olafur Eliasson and Ai Weiwei gave us an opportunity to do just that. Which brings me to the main reason for this post.

The Moon Project - The Mission: Draw on the moon!

Artists Ai Weiwei and Olafur Eliasson's collaborative art project, Moon, creates a shared online canvas, allowing a global audience to leave their individual mark in the form of drawings. 

‘moon’ is a digital canvas, which invites individuals to draw on its surface, whether it be a phrase, a doodle, a thought, a greeting — your mark acting as a catalyst for further communication between you and the rest of the universe, whoever is out there. (Chin)

It is a place where people from anywhere on Earth can connect through drawing. It exists beyond the art world, beyond borders, beyond traditional ideas of authorship and value.

“Turn nothing into something – make a drawing, make a mark. Connect with others through this space of imagination. Look at other people’s drawings and share them with the world. Be part of the growing community to see how creative expression transcends external borders and internal constraints. We are in this world together. Ideas, wind, and air no one can stop. […]mark the passage from nothing to something and from thinking into doing. Leave your fingerprint and see the shared moon grow as others reach out too. Let’s show the world that together our marks matter. Creativity defies boundaries.” – Ai Weiwei and Olafur Eliasson


Ai Weiwei stated: “The moon, like the Internet, in many ways exists beyond the reach and control of the government, and thus provides a perfect metaphor for their experiment in mass mobilization. “It’s the idea that the moon represents something unconscious from society” Eliasson also mentioned that, “The moon is interesting because it’s a not yet habitable space so it’s a fantastic place to put your dreams." … “The moon is really about a feeling we have of space, in that it doesn’t have any boundaries. Doesn’t have any walls. Doesn’t have any religious boundaries, or political boundaries” (vice creators)

“From any point of view, the moon carries our imagination. Any culture, history, or religion can sense that,” says Ai. “But the scientific landing showed it’s just cold rock there, which quickly destroyed all of the beautiful ideas and imagination people had about the moon.”

I’m not sure I agree. The moon still holds plenty of magic and poetic mystery for me. But their Moon project is pretty cool.

Check it out! Moon

More info:
Creators Project

Ai Weiwei: Moon


Ai Weiwei is the most famous Chinese artist living today. He is involved in art, design, sculpture, architecture, curating, photography, writing, film, and social, political, and cultural criticism. His activities are mainly focused on freedom of expression and ways to support human rights and social justice.

Ai Weiwei's father was Ai Qing, one of China's most renowned poets. 1958 he and his family was exiled to farms in northeast China, and then in 1959 transferred to Xinjiang by the Communist authorities. During the period of the Cultural Revolution he was forced to work daily cleaning the communal toilets for his village of about 200 people. This had an effect on Ai.

Be sure to take a look at his extensive body of work.

·      www.aiweiwei.com

·      Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry film on vimeo

·      Ai Weiwei

·      Ai Weiwei on Poetry





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Saturday, May 19, 2018

The Three Perfections: The "Soundless Poem"

5:48 PM Lee

Have you ever wondered why Chinese paintings have writing in them? Did the painter do the writing or was it someone else? And if so, who? What does it say? Did the painter deliberately leave room for it? How did painting, poetry and calligraphy merge into this beautiful art form?

The Three perfections is the gathering of poets, calligraphers, and painters to create an artwork in ancient China. The resulting product would be a painting that would include the work of a calligrapher to write a poem.

Legend holds that the Tang Dynasty poets Du Fu and Li Bai (see Bob’s post below) were the first to introduce the combination of painting and poetry into one artwork. However, according to Pang, painting was not equated with poetry until the eleventh century, in the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127). Scholars who were versed in poetry and calligraphy adopted painting as a vehicle of self-expression. (Pang)

The merging of poetry and painting became so valued that artists at the Northern Song Imperial Painting Academy included the integration of poetry and painting. Painters would be given old poems to paint. For instance, how would you paint:

Treading the flowers returning home,
Horse hooves are fragrant.

This practice of painting old poems as a method of learning this tradition was called painting "poetic ideas," shi’i.

According to Leni Rubinstein, great paintings were not just used to decorate walls and match the couch, they were meant to inspire and cultivate the personalities of the individuals participating. They would be shown at gatherings as a sort of "live painting con­cert," or perhaps hung on a wall for a short while for a special occasion, or sent as a "letter" to a good friend.

A poet would write a poem inspired by a painting, a painter paint a poem-or com­pose a poem, then paint-and maybe put the poem on the painting. In this way, there developed the beautiful and unique idea: "a painting within the poem, a poem within the painting.

As a result, a common expression emerged, the "soundless poem," to describe how one might experience a painting with sound, sight, smell, touch, and emotions. Painting was regarded as ‘silent poetry’, and poetry as ‘painting with sound’. And adding to the interplay between poetry and painting was the was the third perfection, calligraphy.

Here are some symbols seen in Chinese paintings. The development of the Chinese characters for “mountain”  (shan) [top] and “water” (shui) [bottom] is shown from left to right. The concepts of “stillness” and “movement” are conveyed through the forms of the characters themselves. (Calligraphy by Dr. Kenneth Chang) 

In Confucian philosophy, mountains are an image of calm stillness, and water, of movement and change-hence, of the complementary concepts of Being and Becoming. Thus, the skilled artist can use his works to address and portray the trans­formations and subtleties of the universe.
 
This is a rich tradition in Chinese painting and I’ve just scratched the surface here.

Here’s an essay and website if you'd like to read more.

The Great Art of China's 'Soundless Poems'.

Three Perfections: Poetry, Calligraphy and Painting in Chinese Art



Be prepared, Bob and I might just break out the brushes, ink, and paper and have you all create your own soundless poems!

Lee
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Li Bai

2:23 PM Zac
Hi, everyone.

 I mentioned before the poet Li Bai (Li Po, in older spellings), and while I know most of you immediately ran off and looked up both him and his poetry, I thought I'd add a bit.  Li Bai is probably my favorite Chinese poet, certainly favorite in the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

 A quick overview of his life: 
Li Bai was born in 701, the exact location of his birth is unknown but it is believed to be in Central Asia. Some believe he was born in Suiye which is now Kyrgyzstan. There is a story that his mother had a dream of a falling white star and then fell pregnant with him. This gave rise to a myth that he was a fallen immortal who had come to Earth.
When Li Bai was a young child his family was moved to Sichuan in secret by his father. He remained here until his mid-twenties. His memoirs suggest that he was a gifted swordsman and martial artist. He claimed to have killed several men by the time he was twenty.
Upon reaching his mid-twenties he set sail on Yangzi River and began life as a wanderer. He married the grand-daughter of a former ruler of China, gave away much of his wealth and met famous people. He became a celebrity himself and continued to travel. He joined up with a group of other poets who also enjoyed writing about and drinking wine.
Li Bai was considered a genius and became a friend and adviser to the Emperor. When war broke out and the Emperor was removed a power vacuum was created. Li Bai made an attempt to seize power, he was unsuccessful and sentenced to death. A general who Li Bai had befriended and helped many years earlier intervened on his behalf and he was exiled instead. 
He continued his nomadic lifestyle... but traveled much shorter distances. He was to be named the Registrar of the Left Commandant’s office by the new Emperor in 762 but he died before news of this reached him... A romantic story suggests that he died whilst trying to embrace the reflection of the moon in a lake.
Well, that tale of his death opens to looking at one of his very famous poems, "Drinking Alone by Moonlight"
花間一壺酒
獨酌無相親
舉杯邀明月
對影成三人
月既不解飲
影徒隨我身
暫伴月將影
行樂須及春
我歌月徘徊
我舞影零亂
醒時同交歡
醉後各分散
永結無情遊
相期邈雲漢

If that isn't quite as exciting as it should be, here's a page with dozens of translations.  And here's a link to several other of his poems and various translations.   

Try out a bit of this amazing poet!  I plan to be that irritating guy on the bus who keeps asking the hapless guide about such things.  Join in...

 later, bob
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Friday, May 18, 2018

Advice for Those Considering Studying Abroad

2:52 PM Unknown

Advice for Those Considering Studying Abroad

 
Exploring London 

I came home from a semester of studying abroad in England three weeks ago, and I can honestly say the experience changed my life.  Not only did I learn so much and make some amazing memories, but my time abroad challenged, developed, and grew me like no other experience ever has.
 I wish every college student could study abroad and if you have ever thought about it but are still hesitant, this blog post is written for you.  Here are my top three pieces of advice for the perspective study abroad student.

#1: Go for it!
Seriously, I cannot recommend studying abroad enough! I have always loved to travel and usually jump at any opportunity to see more of the world, but strangely, studying abroad had never crossed my mind (or if it did, I never considered it seriously).  The first reason I initially shied away from studying abroad was because it meant traveling alone and living in a foreign place—away from the security of home, family, and friends—for months.  The unknowns (would I get really homesick? What if I wanted to come home after a month but was stuck somewhere I didn’t want to be? Would it be safe?) kept me from pursuing it.  I can happily say that those fears were unfounded and while I did experience some homesickness (which is totally natural and not anything to be afraid of), I truly loved my time in England, felt completely safe and welcome there, and was genuinely sad to leave.

#2: Don’t Let Money Matters Stop You
Another big factor that initially scared me away from studying abroad was finances. Buying across-the-world plane tickets, taking months off my job, increased tuition rates (because I was taking online courses with Columbia prior to studying abroad so the tuition was more), and extra expenses that come with traveling and setting up life in a new country all made it seem daunting and non-attainable.  But thanks to one of my professors at Columbia (who encouraged me to apply for scholarships and not be afraid of student loans since it would be worth every penny—and she was right!) I pushed through these concerns and determined to find ways to make a semester abroad a financial possibility.  
                                                                                  By the River Tiber in Rome

If you would love to study abroad but think it sounds impossible because of finances, I would first encourage you to apply for Columbia’s study abroad scholarship, and also, go online and search for other study abroad scholarships since there are many different organizations and programs that award scholarships to students.  Usually you will need to write an essay to enter as an applicant and often the deadlines are several months before the semester, so start your search early and apply for as many as you can.   I was fortunate to receive a couple of scholarships from Columbia which helped ease the financial load immensely.  Ultimately, if you want to study abroad and are committed to proactively looking for tactics to make it financially feasible, you’ll find a way.  


                                                                                                Outside the Colosseum 

#3:  Think of it as Education on Steroids (in other words, you'll learn a lot!)
As I said at the beginning of the post, I learned so much while studying abroad, the least of this being in a classroom setting.  Although I did learn a lot from the classes I took and had some remarkable professors, the adventure of living abroad (classes aside) enriched me and changed me in ways that I had not expected. Traveling alone (not just in the UK but throughout Europe as well) and adapting to different cultures boosted my overall confidence—I realized that I’m a lot more capable than I usually give myself credit for!  Getting lost in Lisbon on a rainy night, dealing with domineering taxi drivers in Italy that don’t speak English, navigating the crazy-crowded subway system in Rome, staying in hostels in London and Lagos, and making friends with people from all over the world are just a few of the many experiences that challenged and grew me. I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything (even the ones that were stressful and a bit scary at the time!) because they helped me become a more confident, compassionate, and complete person.
     Living in England also helped me settle on what I want to do with my life after graduation.  I knew before studying abroad that I wanted to travel in the future somehow, but this experience fueled my desire to not only see as much of the world as I can, but also find a way to incorporate living abroad into my career.  I have decided now to use my English degree, coupled with a TEFL certificate, to teach English abroad one day in the future.


If you’ve thought about studying abroad in the past or are considering it now for the first time, take my advice and go for it—I promise you won’t regret it!
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Sunday, May 13, 2018

China!

12:06 PM Zac

Greetings everyone!
  


 In just a few weeks, the Columbia College Study Abroad Program will be off to China.  I think there are 14 of us this year, eager to cross the Pacific again, skipping the drama in Hawaii, and the less picturesque Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

  Nope, we'll be headed for Beijing, then Xian, and ending in Shanghai.  Hopefully, we'll find a bit of Chinese food, and get to compare it to the cuisine of the Midwest.  And not a foregone conclusion on who will win.  After all, the fortune cookie was invented in California, likely by Japanese immigrants.

 Meanwhile, although no one is taking my Chinese poetry course (and I'm not sure anyone should be admitted into China without some exposure to the poetry:  "You don't know Li Bai?  Get right back on that plane...No wantons for you!"), I would encourage folks to read a bit about this crucial part of Chinese culture.  

 There are several good anthologies of Chinese poetry, most exploring the several millennia tradition.  Useful, but I'd like to suggest this book, Finding Them Gone:  Visiting China's Poets of the Past  , by Bill Porter/Red Pine.  


He does include (his own) translations of quite a few poems, but rather than the usual disembodied survey, he presents poems as he tours around China, visiting the graves, homes, and monuments of these poets.  Since he's doing this geographically, rather than historically, we don't get the same time line.  We do get a sense of what these poets knew and loved when they were alive, as well as what local people still know about their poets, often after 1000 years...

 And that might help us begin to see a crucial difference in what poetry means, there and here.  Most of us won't know the personal details of the poet who lived down the road from us, even 100 years ago.  Nor have local societies that have tended the grave for centuries, or take care of the 800 year old tree that a poet celebrated. 

Beyond just a great introduction to the poetry, and the culture of Chinese poetry, the book has more than a few insights about negotiating with Chinese taxi drivers, the quality of hotels and highways, and a sense of the landscape.

 Well, try some poetry!

 5 Famous Poems that Every Chinese Kid Knows 

 Chinese Poems 

 Top 10 Most Influential Chinese Poems   

 bob



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Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Oxford, England: July to August

10:51 PM Jessica M







My name is Jessica and for my study abroad program, I spent the summer in Oxford, England, taking classes at Oxford University. I went through the MOSAIC program, so I was given a visa for the summer. I am a senior at Columbia College, studying in the English program for a Bachelor’s degree with a triple minor in History, Women’s Studies, and Sociology. I want to take graduate classes in Library and Information Systems after I graduate, so I felt drawn to the English programs that the Oxford trip offered. In my flat in Oxford, I lived just down the street from the Oxford Press office. I felt closer to a center of publishing and literature than at home in Columbia, Missouri.





My goal for this trip was to spend as little money getting there as possible, so I could put my money into day trips that I would take with other students. I chose to take nontraditional ways of travel to help save money. After a car ride from Columbia to Bloomington, I then took a train to Union Station in Chicago where I took another train to O’Hare International Airport. It may seem like my travel was roundabout, but I did it to save money. I estimated that I would save $600 taking a train instead of a plane from Columbia to Chicago at the beginning of July, a busy time due to the holiday and being peak tourist season for Chicago. It was also cheaper to go from O’Hare International Airport than Lambert International Airport.





I did not fully utilize the benefits of the visa. I was unaware that the visa lasted longer than the time I had for the program. In May, it was usable to cross borders and go on adventures within Europe. If I could go back and do anything over, I would have gone to England sooner rather than later and done some exploring. Utilize every moment of the study abroad experience. I was able to do so many things because of planning ahead and understanding the transportation systems of Europe. More than once, I jumped on a train in downtown Oxford and whipped through England to go to another part. We spent a full day on the Cliffs of Dover.





My favorite parts of the trip were the surprises. In Stratford-Upon-Avon, I made a detour with some friends and we found what is called The Butterfly Palace. It was unexpected, but we definitely took the time to look through it and saw thousands of butterflies. I will try to attach photos if I can. Another time we found ourselves surprised was that the fort in Dover was having a Dunkirk exhibit due to the upcoming movie. We went on guided tours, saw items from the movie, and also got guided mapping on how the war was fought off the coast. It was special because the exhibit isn't permanent, but we got to learn more about wartime during the world wars than what is available in American history courses.





Advice: bring good shoes. I only brought one pair of tennis shoes, but once I went into the ocean at Dover, they were done. I walked nearly six to ten miles a day in them and they were toast. I had to go to a shop in Oxford and get a pair of brand new Nikes, because the shoes had a sizing chart to compare to US sizes. I still have them and they are the best sneakers I’ve ever had.




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