Saturday 16 June 2007
Cui Hao
The yellow crane has long since gone away,
All that here remains is yellow crane tower.
The yellow crane once gone does not return,
White clouds drift slowly for a thousand years.
The river is clear in Hanyang by the trees,
And fragrant grass grows thick on parrot isle.
In this dusk, I don't know where my homeland lies,
The river's mist-covered waters bring me sorrow
Lanterns mark the way up Snake Hill to the tower...
...passing by The Deferral Pavilion where the poet Li Bai is said to have had the urge to climb the hill to write but on reading the work of Cui Hao he found there, laid down his brush and said:
"I dare not write anything more facing this beautiful view, for Cui Hao has written the best poem for you."
After that Cui Hao became famous for his poetry and the pavilion was built by his descendants in honour of Li Bai's modesty.
Li Bai's work has been translated and can be found online like this one in two translations.
Moon over Mountain Pass
All the birds have flown up and gone;
A lonely cloud floats leisurely by.
We never tire of looking at each other -
Only the mountain and I.
or
The birds have vanished down the sky.
Now the last cloud drains away.
We sit together, the mountain and me,
until only the mountain remains.
Tr. Sam Hamill
Rose of the Moon Tower
Thursday 14 June 2007
Yellow Crane Tower
Wednesday 13 June 2007
Luo Han Tang
Hall of Arhats.
This is is the building I came to see when I first read up on Wuhan and saw it marked on the map they gave us at the hotel. And I was quite excited to actually be there. It is quite overwhelming to see the arhats behind their glass display cases. Not one of them is the same, they each have their own individual characteristic poses, faces, expressions and appearance. I could have stopped at each one and taken pics but there are 500 and that's just too many, even for me.
Built in 1850, father and son Wang took 9years to make them. They are all about the same height and weigh the exact same (25 kgs).
Some of these photo's are a bit fuzzy due to light reflecting of the gold leaf and glass windows of the displays and my manky photo skills, I hope nobody minds.
This is is the building I came to see when I first read up on Wuhan and saw it marked on the map they gave us at the hotel. And I was quite excited to actually be there. It is quite overwhelming to see the arhats behind their glass display cases. Not one of them is the same, they each have their own individual characteristic poses, faces, expressions and appearance. I could have stopped at each one and taken pics but there are 500 and that's just too many, even for me.
Built in 1850, father and son Wang took 9years to make them. They are all about the same height and weigh the exact same (25 kgs).
Some of these photo's are a bit fuzzy due to light reflecting of the gold leaf and glass windows of the displays and my manky photo skills, I hope nobody minds.
The old and the new
Shuangmian Guanshiyin Pusa
The double-facing Avalokiteśvara stands at nearly 19 meters tall on a 3 meter high foundation facing east and west, symbolic of the sun and moon shining forever and holding a kundika praying for China's development in the 21st century. To me the one of the most revealing moments I had in Wuhan. As a symbol it says all I feel about being in China, this modern China that is facing both east and west, looking back into the past and facing the future.
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