17 Apr 2015
11 Apr 2015
MyCity
Civilizations were usually situated along large river valleys, notably the Indus River in the Indian Subcontinent, the Yellow River in China, and Mesopotamia in the Middle East.
There is a province in China located at the south side of the Yellow River, and got it's name Henan 河南, which literally means "south of the river". The Yellow River is regarded as the Cradle of Chinese civilization, and Henan is the birthplace of Chinese civilization with over 3,000 years of recorded history, because it is located in the center of the Chinese territory, it remained China's cultural, economical, and political center until approximately 1,000 years ago. Emperors chose to build their capitals in Henan, and a large quantity of treasures have been unearthed from here.
I was proudly born and grew up in the capital city of Henan province -- ♥Zhengzhou 鄭州. The only thing annoys me was that when people sit together talking their home towns, I had nothing to brag, I only knew it as a major transportation hub for Central China. There are so many cites in Henan are well-known for their historical culture, on the contrary, Zhengzhou looks pretty young.
Luoyang 洛陽 is south of Zhengzhou. For several centuries, Luoyang was the focal point of China. It went through 13 dynasties and 105 emperors. Kaifeng 開封is east of Zhengzhou. It was once the capital of the Great Song Dynasty, which used to be the richest, most skilled, and most populous country on earth. Emperor Huizong was as an artist more than an emperor, he was a skilled poet, painter, calligrapher, and musician. He sponsored numerous artists at his court, and the catalogue of his imperial painting collection lists over 6,000 known paintings. He created a unique style of calligraphy and porcelain. Ru wares, already fabled for their quality, since their creation they have been considered to be amongst the finest ceramics ever made. The glaze, once described as “the color of the sky after rain", which was demanded by Huizong. Anyang 安陽, is north of Zhengzhou, the last capital of the then-presumed-legendary Shang dynasty, right after Neolithic period. The people of the Shang culture developed a written language, a highly centralized government, and sophisticated bronze and ceramic technologies.
Luoyang has it's splendid stone carve buddha grottoes; the daily life of Kaifeng citizens in Song was recorded in the magnificent Along the River During the Qingming Festival; the earliest Chinese picture-like characters were found on tortoise shells and animal bone, which were unearthed at Anyang. Compared to those cities, what does Zhengzhou has？Finally, I found something about my hometown, I realized it's not a young city at all. At ♥ Zhengzhou, which is believed to have been the second of several Shang capitals, archeologists found the remains of workshops in which ceramic, bone, and bronze objects were produced. Shang potters had discovered that certain materials could be melted at high temperatures to form a glaze and that this glassy coating on the surface of a ceramic ware could be used both for decoration and to seal the clay surface. After all, Anyang is much famous than Zhengzhou, all of the important earthenware from Shang were unearthed at Anyang. The most treasured of Shang ceramics are the rare fine-grained unglazed white wares made from a clay that is closely related to kaolin, the main ingredient of the hard, translucent porcelain wares that would not be perfected until the 7th century. While many shards of white earthenware have been unearthed at Anyang, only a few whole pots of this type have so far been found.
In conclusion, "Cultivation of the moral and spiritual values of the Ancients appears to have most often combined with a curious neglect or indifference (even at times downright iconoclasm) toward the material heritage of the past, the most important and prestigious objects tended to fall prey to looting and burning of the imperial palace accompanying the fall of practically every dynasty." Many precious objects in history were destroyed, fortunately there were some survived. Through the antiques we perceive the aesthetic of our predecessors. Some dynasties were famous for their art achievements, such as Tang and Song; Some area of arts were developed to an outstanding grade due to the support of the emperors, and the art accomplishments of the emperor themselves. Emperor Huizong was an expert in painting and calligraphy; Emperor Yongzheng sent commands to the technicians directly, he even noticed the patterns on his handkerchiefs, and would give detailed instruction. In old times counties like Korea or Japan were influenced by the Chinese culture, as today we follow their popular trends. I don't know since when the Chinese aesthetic has gone, the exquisite art works have gone. Alright, I think I should stop complaining, my room is always messed up, how could I mention something like AESTHETIC.
9 Apr 2015
the Perfect Match
I never watched a single football match and I never payed any interests in football games in my past life, only these days because of Ahn Jung-hwan, I started showing interests on football and foot volleyball, I only wish I could understand a single word of Korean, so that I wouldn't have to wait for extra days for the translation. See, how strong the impact of a country's softpower will be, no wonder he is a national representative, and he was always teased by the other Dads because of his title, "national representative Ahn Jung-hwan! National representative Ahn Jung-hwan!" everyone would clap their hands and nag him, and soon they would get what they want.
Ahn Jung-hwan was the most admired soccer player of his generation, the doyen of soccer play, flashback to 2002, he was the protagonist of Korean soccer filed, the Korean national team was on the highest rank in history. However, I DIDN'T know all of the above. He was only a quiet dad in the show, he looked like a over-weighted clumsy middle aged man. I was disappointed for the 2nd season of Papa! Where are we going？at the beginning. Then suddenly Ahn Jung-hwan was standing on the soccer playground, he was totally another person, he was funny and charming, he talked a lot and joked around. I think started falling for him from that moment. The 2nd season was really tedious, Ahn Jung-hwan was only motive for me to watch it.
Ahn Jung-hwan's paradoxical personality and the tension between him and his son Ri Hwan attracted me. He is always the most quiet one in variety shows, but when he talks, his words are sharp and he makes quips. When people are tickled by his wisecracks and burst out laughing, he has the most calm expression on his face and sits like an outsider; He is prudent, he bows his head and exchange courtesies with the others, when there is a group of people, he always stands at the side↓
However, when he sits on the commentator's seat, he is permissive rather than prescriptive, sometimes his words have to be beeped out. He is a perceptive commentator, when the second he opens his mouth, the rating percentage increases. He is not a carefree person, the TV program record he's first time of airing, when it was cut, he wiped perspiration on his forehead and had a deep breath. On the contrary, when he sit with the other commentators, you could tell the difference, the rest looked well trained and he looked like on a vacation, sit pretty laidback.
However, when he sits on the commentator's seat, he is permissive rather than prescriptive, sometimes his words have to be beeped out. He is a perceptive commentator, when the second he opens his mouth, the rating percentage increases. He is not a carefree person, the TV program record he's first time of airing, when it was cut, he wiped perspiration on his forehead and had a deep breath. On the contrary, when he sit with the other commentators, you could tell the difference, the rest looked well trained and he looked like on a vacation, sit pretty laidback.
Ahn Jung-hwan announced his retirement on 2012, he burst out of tears in the press conference, it was a heart broken scene. However, he intended to erase soccer from his life after retirement, it seems he had enough of it. Gradually he is inflated like a balloon, his handsome face now looks like a full moon. He said that when he was a player he had to diet, now he wants to enjoy life. I don't know if it was his true thought, because he used to be a successful sports man, which mean he has more stamina than other ordinary people, if he is willing to lose wight, he should be able to. But why didn't he? If it is possible, I reckon everyone wants a fit body and healthy look, not mention he was such a handsome man. Ahn Jung-hwan's life is like riding on a roller coaster: he was born without a father, when he was little, his mother was far away from him, when he grows up, she was on a huge debt, his childhood was filled with starving and humiliation. The he opened a door and stepped into a new world, he became a soccer player → he became a handsome soccer player → he became a handsome national hero soccer player! → He won the heart of a Miss Korean! OMG, his life was on the highest peak ever, it was nothing more than a fairy tale. Very soon, the roller roaster went down, he lost his contract and stayed at home for half year, then his age wasn't allow him to run as fast as he used to be, he had to retire. A soccer player like him must have various opportunities, but he said he was on huge pressure, and suffered insomnia, he claimed that he was helping his wife doing their family business, but his wife exposed that he almost became an alcoholic. We didn't know how much profit they made out of their family business, obviously his stomach has been growing.
Ahn Jung-hwan said that he played soccer to avoid suffer starving, then he was selected to a higher rank and gradually he started to make a living out of it, then his goal had changed, he was not only playing to fill his stomach, but also to be wealthy, the he gained fame and admiration, he becomes a national representative. From a outsider's view, his life was everyone envies, you couldn't imagine a better life then his. However, he didn't choose to be a soccer player, he had to play and play hard, because that was the only way to get food, he didn't cherish the memory of soccer playing. It seems to me that a slice of remorse is hidden at the bottom of his heart, what if he was born in a wealthy family or what if he had a loving parents, would he choose to play soccer? Soccer would only be one of his options, he might choose to become a engineer, doctor or scientist......Because he is Ahn Jung-hwan, he wouldn't have a chance to try other fields. Fortunately he has a son, like the other parents he is trying to implant his childhood dream into Ri Hwan's brain, also like the other families, there are conflicts between father and son. Among those kids, Ri Hwan didn't get as much attention as the others, when it came to soccer, his expression changed, that impressed me. He didn't get along with his Dad, but he showed deep reverence to the soccer player Ahn Jung-hwan.
When we test the quality of a rope, we try it's weakest part; when we judge a person's character, we see from his brightest part. When Ri Hwan was scared, Ahn Jung-hwan scolded him; when Ri Hwan said: Appa, I will clean your car; Appa, I will clean the floor, you can have a rest, he forgot to praise him; when Ri Hwan started developing his own interests, craved to be allowed to play soccer, he didn't want to support and encourage him. His relationship with his son is not equal, he should respect Ri Hwan as an adult and build trust between them. Poor Ri Hwan, a smart kid, he even has to play soccer at his dad's back, how much pressure he has to carry.
Okay...In conclusion....life carries on, there is no conclusion.
15 Mar 2015
I just happen to read this from The Japan Times:
This seems a valid insight. Japanese artists who achieve international fame, such as Takashi Murakami and Yoshitomo Nara, tend to be more reticent about their work than successful Chinese artists, such as Ai Weiwei, who frequently communicates with the world through various forms of social media.The executive director of Art Fair Tokyo Misa Shin is disappointed in Japanese politicians, and I have strong resonances with her feelings. She may know that Ai Weiwei is pushed aside by the mainstream of Chinese media, just because he is not tame. It is so brave of him always to keep up and speak out his point of view.
8 Feb 2015
24 Jan 2015
we are the same
There is a TV drama called大地の子, I couldn’t find the romaji of the Japanese title, so I just translated it as Son of the Earth. It was a novel by Toyoko Yamasaki and it was adapted into a TV drama in 1995. This drama is special because it was not a fiction, it was based on Toyoko’s interview of many people’s personal experience. It was a cooperation of both Chinese and Japanese broadcasting companies, and the most of the dialogues are Chinese. You can’t imagine how Takaya Kamikawa managed that, and his Chinese pronunciation was not bad at all.
I can't remember since when the Chinese TV drama is fully filled with happy-go-lucky plots, I was surprised that 20 years ago there was a drama brought some critical thinking. Hegel said history movers upward in a spiral of negations, I suppose the year of 95 was on the upward? At least the authority censorship in 1995 was not tedious. It is true that China and Japan used to have an period of more than unpleasant history, but is it right to broadcast the anti Japanese film for propaganda uses day after day? The Chinese civilians were victims, we suffered extraordinary from the Japanese invasion, but I don’t think those hilarious anti Japanese drama will give any comfort, not even a least of respect.
Son of the Earth critically reviewed the history through a Japanese kid’s eye, includes the colonization of Manchuria and the biggest social-political movement in China--the Cultural Revolution. I have been told of the Japanese invasion since the first day I came to school, in the contrary, there is never a clear explanation about Cultural Revolution, not mention a critical review. It is rather ambiguous. Of course I know the start date, end date and duration, they are written in the history book, but I had no idea how inhumanity it was, and there was no where to know. I remembered a friend of mine in primary school, her grandfather was suffering from mental illness, then I understand he was one of the many who was humiliated during the Cultural Revolution and couldn't overcome the humiliation; my grandparents also experienced the movement but never spoke out a word of it.
In the video clip 'Japanese Kamizake', it shows countless people, civilians and soldiers took their own lives rather than end up in enemy hands, believe in that they would be slaved, raped and killed by the invaders, many chose to take poison or hold a gun against themselves rather than surrender. One soldier wrote in his diary: “I have come at last to the place where I will die, I am pleased to think that I would die calmly in the true samurai style”, shocked the American troops began to realize that the east attitudes toward suicide differently from theirs, they witnessed the unthinkable. There were also scholars and soldiers who died for their city-states, culture and beliefs in ancient China. I somehow in awe of them, and pay my respect. What if an authority plays conspiracies in order to stable their regime, director Junya Sato recalled that when he was at school, they were brainwashed that it was a honour to fight in the war and die for your country, he said he never thought he would live till twenty, he must be died in the war already, until the surrender of Imperial Japanese Army, America educational system was imported, he started to realize the purpose of living.
I remembered the director of the Pianist commented the bad German and the good German. Also, there are bad Chinese and good Chinese; bad Japanese and good Japanese. In episode 4 of Son of the Earth, Takaya Kamikawa talked how a shepherd using a trick to save his life. It reminds me a story I read in Yang Jiang’s writing, it’s about ‘a sheep wears a wolf skin’. it was an interesting writing, you can feel even the political upheaval is terrible, conscience still remains in people’s heart. The shepherd in the labor camp talked to Takaya Kamikawa: I think it’s a shame of not knowing your native language and nationality, I’m a Japan born Chinese, but I’m not stopped speaking Chinese, in order to prevent myself from forgetting my native language, I believe if I keep speaking Chinese, no matter where I am, it can be proved that I’m a Chinese. If you want, I am willing to show you how to speak Japanese, but remember don’t write it down. In case you are caught by the guard, just tell them you are practicing Zhang Xu’s brush writing scripts.
In Yang Jiang’s story, a leader of a battle group gave them a different instruction before they had leave. They used to commit that they were ‘guilty of rejecting to be transformed’. He said: “you all should be honest, is there anyone of you reject transformation? Are reject transformation and not been fully transformed the same?” Yang Jiang was soothed and surprised that he was actually giving a hint to them.
Life is hard,but don’t give up. No matter how bad the situation is, be a good person, and you will meet someone also is good. Life is such a hard journey, how can you survive, where is the hope to push you walking forward? Open your eyes and feels, there will always be some little things warm your heart. That is what I have learned from this drama.
18 Jan 2015
14 Jan 2015
The Makioka Sisters | The Japan Times
The Makioka Sisters | The Japan Times
The Makioka Sisters
BY PATRICK MCCOY
SPECIAL TO THE JAPAN TIMES
Junichiro Tanizaki may be best known for novels featuring protagonists with odd obsessions, but his masterpiece, family epic “The Makioka Sisters,” has been hailed by many as Japan’s greatest modern novel.
The Makioka Sisters, by Junichiro Tanizaki, Translated by Edward G. Seidensticker.
Vintage Books, Fiction.
Vintage Books, Fiction.
It is Tolstoyan in length and scope. It gives an intricate portrait of a family in transition in the years 1936 to 1941; an upper-middle-class family from Osaka coming face to face with the changing world in the years preceding the attack on Pearl Harbor. It is a great character study of four very different sisters and the people in their lives, all the while revealing in great detail the attitudes and mores of Japanese society.
In this sense, it also reads like a Jane Austen novel, with its tale of an arranged marriage intended to restore the family name, no matter the emotional cost for the bride in question.
The story focuses on the family’s attempts to find a husband for Yukiko, the third of four sisters. Yukiko is representative of the past and all the traditions associated with it, while the youngest sister, Taeko, represents the future and the possibilities suggested by modern society. The two siblings are contrasted with one another throughout the novel.
The tone of Tanizaki’s writing is leisurely, meditative and full of elaborate observations about life and society at that time. Overall, there is a feeling of loss; it can be seen as an elegy to the receding aristocratic way of life as it gives way to the modern rendition.
10 Jan 2015
the Makioka Sisters and Me
I happen to watch a Japanese movie, it’s called the Makioka Sisters. It was released in 1983, I was just 1year old back then. Toho commemorates it’s 50th year with a prestigious master piece. The film is directed by Kon Ichikawa based on the serial novel of the same name by Junichiro Tanizaki, the book is translated by Edward G. Seidensticker. It is said that Edward Seidensticker struggled over the title. It is ‘Sasame Yuki’ in Romaji and 細雪 in kanji, It means very light snow, but translations like “Fine Snow” and “Snow Flurries” do not convey the elegance or layers of meaning in the Japanese title, so the English version is called the Makioka Sisters.
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| Sachiko is in blue, Yukiko is in white, Koi-san is in orange, that man is Teinosuke. |
It is a beautifully made movie with flamboyant costumes. I like the slow moving pace, wide angles and a sense of humour. Stunning imagination, vivid realism and sensual anticipation. It expresses the relationship between the sisters through trivialities. I suppose Yukiko is the leading role in the movie, it starts from people around her struggling to find her a husband, and ends with Yukiko’s settle down. However, some scenes are really confused me, they are rather ambiguous: Teinosuke secretly wants to keep Yukiko in his house, is that just a subtle admiration between the brother-in-law and sister-in-law? Teinosuke looks into Itani’s eye and covers his hand over hers, did the director try to show some implications? The story is not happened in 21st century America, it takes place during the late 1930s (Shōwa era), what on earth is happening; especially at the end Teinosuke observes through the window and burst into tears, it begins to snow outside. Why was he weeping? I understand if Sachiko tears, because after her older sister leaves and her younger sisters start their own families, her house will be filled with quietness, to preserve the intimate relationship of them all cannot be easy. But why Teinosuke, a brother-in-law?
If I see it from Teinosuke’s point of view: he takes care of his sister-in-laws and brings them up like a real brother; he accompanies them to cheery blossom sightseeing; he goes to Yukiko’s miai and wipes out Koi-san’s trouble; he has a conversation to Koi-san’s boyfriend and gives his consent, he actually implements the duty as a father. Even he cannot stand Koi-san’s character, he still shows his sympathy to her. Now they are going to get married and leave his protect. Especially for Yukiko, he admires her in every little detail. I wonder if the film is depicted through Teinosuke's eye that his only love, hope and happiness are gone when Yukiko is going to be a wife of a stranger. He sits alone in a lunch bar and drinks sake, hopes he’s rather drinking poison. I have a strange feeling, after two decades, he becomes doctor Asuma in Shiroi Kyoto, his daughter grows up, his wife is gossipy, he becomes a workaholic. Okay, I went to far.
Because of the mysterious of the the plots, I have to clear out my suspicions from the book. It’s surprised me that it’s rather a big book and I have finished it in a week! I have no idea that why I’m so into it, I haven’t been addicted to a book for a long time. The storyline is quite slow and simple, unlike most of the fictions, there are no strong dramatic conflicts, it eschews the melodrama. Definitely it’s not easy to write a novel without a single villain, no wonder it has been called “the greatest cosmopolitan novel since the Meiji Restoration”. I was immersed in the book, perhaps because of the yellowing pages, thick ink print and the smell brought me back to the old days; or perhaps I’m in the situation of Yukiko’s, the troublesome thirty-third; and perhaps I envy the tranquil happiness of the Makioka family. Yukiko is lucky enough to be a member of such a family; or perhaps my suspicions lead me to the end, then I can give a conclusion: ‘a faithful adaptation of Junichiro Tanizaki’s novel’ is totally a lie. I think the movie distorts the motif of the book completely.
People around Yukiko has different comments on her. Her eldest sister shows her ruthless stuggle‘I only hope someone will marry her. It hardly matters who any more. Even if it ends in divorce, I hope someone will marry her.’ Her youngest sister doesn’t hid her despise ‘she is really quite hopeless. No better than a sixteen-year-old’. Except her second-eldest sister Sachiko let her have Etsuko (Sachiko’s daughter) to make her forget the loneliness of the wait. Yukiko has no place to go, and she can have Etsuko to keep her happy, ‘let Yukiko and Koi-san do as they like. No one will complain’ Sachiko states.
Yukiko is special to Teinosuke (Sachiko’s husband) especially: Yukiko was unblemis and had a perfectly clean conscience. Teinosuke gives Yukiko good marks in intelligence, learning, deportment, art ability. And what touched him particularly was that Yukiko was fond of children. His own daughter was actually closer to Yukiko than her own mother. Teinosuke comprehends Yukiko behaviour that ‘a girl too shy to go to the telephone has good points of her own. There are men who would never think of calling her spineless and old fashioned, men who would see something very charming in her shyness, and only a man who sees her good points is qualified to be her husband’. Even Hashidera gives his understanding of Yukiko’s general shyness before men : ‘Yukiko could never really be at home in the modern world. She would therefore always retain something pure and maidenly. What she needed was a husband who would place a proper value on her virtues, someone would see it as his duty to cherish and protect them’.
Yukiko herself is interesting. She is the most Japanese in appearance and dress, on the other hand she is studying French, and she understands western music for better than Japanese. She reads Rebecca in her spare time; she looks as though she might come down with tuberculosis, however, that she is the strongest in the family. Sometimes when influenza goes through the house, she alone escapes; she is unable to open mouth to strangers, when she has to, she explains herself clearly and firmly; the reserved, quiet Yukiko is fond of going out than one will have guessed; in front of Etsuko, her girlish shows out, one day she sees the rabbit with one ear stood up straight but the other is flopped over, she pushes the ear up with her foot, but when she let go, it flopps over again. Yukiko laughs and says, what a funny ear; when Etsuto has diagnosed Scarlet fever, Yukiko does cooking and the serving and the washing herself, and she goes almost without sleep for the week the fever is at its highest.
Everyone in the book has some shortcomings except Teinosuke, he is perfect in my understanding of a good character and a good husband. His two sister-in-laws preferred his house to he main house, they reckon he is ‘so much less frightening than Tatsuo in the main house’. He is a commercial-school graduate, but he has remarkable literary inclinations and he has tried his hand at poetry. When Teinosuke has left for work and Sachiko is cleaning his study, she notices a sheet of paper on the desk, it’s written by her husband, a verse. She writes several lines beside Teinosuke’s verse, and leaves the paper as she had found it. Teinosuke says nothing when he comes back home that evening, and Sachiko herself quite forgets her poem. The next morning as she starts to clean the study, she finds a new verse penned in after hers. Possibly it is a suggested version.
I was filled with Teinosuke’s quiet and deep love for his wife, daughter and sister-in-laws.
When he feels his wife is uncomfortable:
‘wait a minute, what have we here? Come out in the light.
Let me see, let me see.’
Teinosuke pressed his forehead to hers.
When Sachiko suffers miscarriage, Tenosuke sites up all night, he is with Sachiko as the pain receded.
‘you forgive me?’
‘for what?’
‘for being careless.’
‘oh that. No, as a matter of fact this makes me more hopeful.’
‘but it is such a shame.’
‘say no more about it. We’ll have another chance.’
The first thing Tenosuke asks when he gets up is whether the hemorrhages has stopped. Home from work early in the afternoon, he asks again.
When Tenosuke and Sachiko accompanies Yukiko to her miai right after her miscarriage. He is extremely worried his wife.
‘is it all right?’
‘if it is all right with you. But try not to move around quite so much.’
When he sees Sachiko’s face paler than ever, Mrs Jimba calls her again.
‘let me take it. My wife is not feeling at all well, and perhaps you could talk to me instead.’
When Sachiko cannot overcome her sadness of losing her unborn baby.
Teinosuke dozed off to be awakened by his wife’s tears against his face. With the taste of tears in his mouth, he thought how happy Sachiko had seemed when they went to bed.
When Etsuko’s friend leaving to Germany, the two girls spend their last night at Teinosuke’s hourse.
‘how long will this go on?’ Teinosuke pulls the covers over his head as the two girls come storming down the hall.
‘father, what’s ‘ghost’ in German?’
‘tell her the German for ‘ghost’’
‘gespenst.’ Tgeinosuke is surprised that he remembers.
When Teinosuke senses that Kobe sushi was one of the particular pleasures Yukiko came back for, he is always carefully to take her once or twice to the Yohei. He will sit between Sachiko and Yukiko, and make sure that his wife and sister-in-law have sake in their cups.
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| Spirited Away |
Teinosuke acts nothing more than a good husband to his wife and a good brother to his sister-in-laws. I understand the movie's intention of raising audience's curiosity and attendance, 'Ichikawa is too much of a sensualist to let the movie become languid, or stately.' It goes too far from the book, Sachiko acts like a jealous woman, and Teinosuke is cunning, even Yukiko exposes her sophistication. Anyway, if we push the book aside, the movie itself is good.
I can't stop thinking that why it's called Sasame Yuki. Obviously it refers to Yukiko's character--white, pure, soft, quiet, clean..., but there must be something else, then I've found these from wikipedia: ‘Sasameyuki means lightly falling snow and is also used in classical Japanese poetry. The image suggests falling cherry blossoms in early spring—a number of poets confess to confusing falling cherry blossoms with snow. Falling cherry blossoms are a common symbol of impermanence, a prevalent theme of the novel.’ in addition ‘Sachiko is modeled after Tanizaki's third wife, Matsuko, and Sachiko's sisters correspond to Matsuko's. Sachiko’s husband, Teinosuke, does not resemble Tanizaki, however.’ Possibly Teinosuke is a model that Tanizaki set for himself to reach. LOL. I can imagine how interesting this book will be if it is written in Japanese. Once it has been translated into another language, the story will still be there, but the beautiful words will lost their lives. I can tell how dull it will be if I read Dream of the Red Chamber or Romance of Three Kingdoms in English. In China, even nowadays in most of the places if a girl over thirty is still unmarried, there is no way to find a good match and the pressure is unbearable. You can tell it from Fortress Besieged by Qian Zhongshu.
I think I understood why it's called Sasame Yuki. Even life is impermanent, we still have rights to enjoy each triviality in life, this is the motif of the book. Talking about 'a symbol of impermanence', I think it's also the subject of most of the Chinese traditional novels: after a prosperity everything goes to an emptiness. However, the Makioka Sisters is warm and posititive. The tone of Tanizaki’s writing is leisurely and meditative.
I think I understood why it's called Sasame Yuki. Even life is impermanent, we still have rights to enjoy each triviality in life, this is the motif of the book. Talking about 'a symbol of impermanence', I think it's also the subject of most of the Chinese traditional novels: after a prosperity everything goes to an emptiness. However, the Makioka Sisters is warm and posititive. The tone of Tanizaki’s writing is leisurely and meditative.
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki had been to China twice, he mentions Yang-tze, Yellow Rive in the book, and dinning in a Chinese restaurant is always one of the options for the Makioka’s. After Kei-boy is kicked out of the family by his brother, he applies a job in Manchuria, which is located in North of China. In September 1931 Japan invaded Manchuria outright after the Mukden Incident, I know it as the 918 Incident. Japan began to colonize Manchuria. It also mentions the China Incident, I know it as the Lugou Bridge Incident. It happened in 7 July 1937, it’s also called the Incident of July 7. Three days after the Lugou Bridge Incident, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek announced the policy of resistance against Japan. It became an outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, it lasted eight years till the end of the Second World War. When the Makiok’s enjoys cherry blossom in Kyoto; when Sachiko worries Koi-san’s safety in the flood; and when Teinosuke talks to Yukiko’s prospect husband in miai in a Chinese restaurant, in another place many Chinese people are dying under Japanese bombings. Right after was the most brutal Nanking Massacre . In Japanese propaganda, the invasion of China became a "holy war". Teinosuke talks to their Russian friends that he doesn’t know much about politics, he hopes Japan and China can make friends. And I can imagine that after the nuclear bombings, surrender of Japan and the occupation of Japan by the US, how hard their life will be and how much humiliation they will endure. The hateful war.
Like many kids in China, I grew up with Japanese animations, such as Ikkyu-san, Doraemon, Saint Seiya, etc. Not mention Japan made electrial appliance or automobiles. I’m kind of used to it. However, when I think about Japan, every time there will always be one place, only the one place comes in my mind, which is Sendai (仙台), and there was a teacher called 藤野先生(Teng Ye sensei): handlebar mustache, glasses, sometimes forgetting to wear a tie...he was written in a prose by 鲁迅(Lu Xun) (魯迅) and which has been collected in our school textbook. Since the second Sino-Japanese War and China has tradition of producing war movie for propaganda purposes, mostly good-versus-evil dramas drawn from war against Japan. Sometimes when I saw the typecasted characters and stereotyped storyline, and learned the growing tensions between China and Japan, I remembered 藤野先生, and when I re-read it, my eyes were filled with tears. I have been emotional these days, I wonder if it’s a sign of age.
I just happen to watch another Japanese drama called Teacher’s Island (Shima no Sensei), I shared the feeling of Chihiro and Yoshiomi, I shed tears while watching the whole six episodes. I don’t have a loving family like Yukiko’s and I don’t have an island to heal my wound. This is the new year, I hope I can overcome my unhappiness past and start a new journey.
8 Jan 2015
23 Dec 2014
14 Dec 2014
some thoughts
It's all because of Ken Takakura, I have been interested in Japanese Movies. When he passed away, the whole China grieves over his death. I think there is a great possibility that every Chinese knows him, even they had never watched his movies, but they must have heard of his name from somewhere. I only watched Kimi yo Fundo no Kawa o Watare recently, but I'm very familiar with it, because when I was little, my Mom told me every detail in the movie. I suppose back to that time, every girl wanted to marry a guy like him, and every guy wanted to mimic him--expressionless, capable and dedicate.
The movie came into China at a special time, and so it caused a special phenomenon. It was an unexpected surprise for both Chinese audiences and Japanese actors. In 1976, there was another master piece released in Japan, which was the Inugami Family. History cannot be rewritten, I'm wondering if it wasn't Kimi yo Fundo no Kawa o Watare to be the first one imported to China but the Inugami Family, what would have happened? Would everyone fond of this tousled-haired Kindaichi: his worn-out hat and flimsy serge hakama? LOL.
The mask man in the Inugami Family shares some similarity with No Face in Spirited Away.
A good movie must has a good beginning and ending and cinematography. The wide angle and worn out blue colour in the Inugami Family expressed me very much.
Shiroi Kyoto Review
I have been interested in Japanese drama these days. It started from Shiroi Kyoto, I always love medical dramas, I think this is one of the best. It doesn't only concentrate on romantic or love affairs, but also brought up a concern on social problems and humanity.
Overall, Shiroi Kyoto proves there is no bad person, only a bad system. If the system is corrupted, everyone involves lost themselves. Doctor Zaizen suspects if the officials will accept their money, his father-in-law says 'fool, find a way'; Prof Asuma wants to be a good doctor, but VIP patients keep sending him bags of cash, and he has to compromise; the only honorable and upright doctor Satome lives on a humble life, people call him an idealist. Zaizen, Asuma and Satome represent three groups of people, respectively. Zaizen wants power; Asuma cares of losing face; Satome is fearless. If we indicated them in colour, they are black, grey and white.
Zaizen is always under limelight, he is smart, good-looking, competitive and demanding. He forgets his initial thoughts, which was be a good doctor and to save people's life, gradually his heart is occupied with ambition. He is arrogant and ruthless. He manipulates patience's life carelessly, but acts like a flunky in front of professors and VIPs. He put his career on gambling, his life is either win or loose. Some people blamed on his father-in-law, says he just follows the wrong people and it leads him to a wrong direction; I suppose like attracts like, their ambition matches and they two pair up efficiently. However, sometimes success won't bring happiness, he's under big pressure, he smokes a lot, can't sleep at night, and lost the ability of love. Then he is diagnosed with terminal cancer, finally at the bottom of his heart he remembers his initial motivation of becoming a doctor, he donates his body to the hospital on research purpose.
Satome keeps everything he has, and lives peacefully. He doesn't care about common customs, and can resist temptation. Everything he does is morally. Between patients and authority, he always chooses the former. He doesn't mind work overtime and live in a simple department, if it is good for the patients, he will devote his life into it. He's loyal to his work and family, he refuses an offer from Ugai, and he refuses a love confession from a professor's daughter. He enjoys spiritually and lives calmly.
In less masterful hands, I could imagine Shiroi Kyoto ending with a success of great justice: Zaizen died, Ugai would be dismissed, the Satome’s, the Asuma's and the lawyer would sit around a table and celebrate their success. No, the director is smarter than that, at the end, Asuma resigns from his position; Satome still stays in the remote hospital; Ugai still is the head of department, he will continue doing the power playing game for sure; Zaizen dies, but there will be another Zaizan in charge of the Great White Tower. The message it's trying to impart to audience is more meaningful, life is hard and there is no easy solution, but don't give in to despair or sadness, because no matter how bad it gets, it will always eventually get better, the choice is in our own hands.
There were a group of good actors, especially Koji Ishizaka (Asuma). You can tell he had the skills and appearance. I have watched some other drama of his, such as the Inugamis, the Makioka sisters, and the Island teachers, I will try to comment on them later on. Actors are typecasted, I was surprised Toshiaki Karasawa is so funny behind the scene. It's been nearly a decade, it's not out of date, it's still good to watch.
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