Before reading William Shakespeare’s “Othello,” I have read his “Hamelt,” which is a tragedy as well. But I do like “Othello” more since its distinctively villainous character, Iago. Even though Iago is totally immoral and amoral, I still like this character because his every word intriguing me.
Due to lacking of conscience, Iago does not feel shame of lying at all. With his prowess of making up lies, Iago manages to trick Othello his wife, Desdemona, having an affair, and also he tricks Roderigo into believing him. Besides, the Character of Iago is not just an evil like other plays, he is the one who enables to fathom somebody’s mind. His words completely influence Othello, and lead to his negative imaginations about the relationship between Desdemona and Cassio. When Roderigo finds out that he has been cheated by Iago, still, Iago tells him some fanciful words. He accepts his word and even obeys his order, to kill Cassio.
In Shakespeare’ words, Iago is a successful villain who has the ability to say something fancifully to let someone believe that everything has been told is true. Through saying the right words to the right person to achieve the plan, Iago has been created by Shakespeare brilliantly.
Monday, May 3, 2010
EXTRA BLOG: T’AO CH’IEN
When T’AO CH’IEN was young, he expected to achieve his dream, being an officer, so he put a lot of effort on studying. However, after working for government, his honest personality was not suitable for being an officer. Therefore, when he turned forty-one, he decided to farm like he mentioned in his “The Return.”
Without worrying about the politics, T’AO CH’IEN satisfied his farming living and very enjoyed the freedom that he had. I think because he knew that the empire and the government are things that he was unable to change, but he could change the way of his own living. He did try. And his ideal life has been written by him in his “The Peach Blossom Spring.”
In “The Peach Blossom Spring,” T’AO CH’IEN describes a hidden world. “Well-built houses were surrounded by rich fields and pretty ponds. Mulberry, bamboo and other trees and plants grew there, and criss-corss paths skirted the fields.” The environment of that little is beautiful and peaceful. Every body lives in that farming community seems so happy without being affected by “the disorders of Ch]in times.” Nevertheless, after the fisherman leaves, no body is able to find that secret place again.
So, that peaceful place can be treated as a ideal place for T’AO CH’IEN. He wished he can do farming work to support his living, he hoped he can have a quiet living without the effect of politics, and he expected he can live in that sort of ideal world.
Without worrying about the politics, T’AO CH’IEN satisfied his farming living and very enjoyed the freedom that he had. I think because he knew that the empire and the government are things that he was unable to change, but he could change the way of his own living. He did try. And his ideal life has been written by him in his “The Peach Blossom Spring.”
In “The Peach Blossom Spring,” T’AO CH’IEN describes a hidden world. “Well-built houses were surrounded by rich fields and pretty ponds. Mulberry, bamboo and other trees and plants grew there, and criss-corss paths skirted the fields.” The environment of that little is beautiful and peaceful. Every body lives in that farming community seems so happy without being affected by “the disorders of Ch]in times.” Nevertheless, after the fisherman leaves, no body is able to find that secret place again.
So, that peaceful place can be treated as a ideal place for T’AO CH’IEN. He wished he can do farming work to support his living, he hoped he can have a quiet living without the effect of politics, and he expected he can live in that sort of ideal world.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale
Reading Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale is entertaining, especially some arguments of marriage and some attitudes of the relationship with the husband from the wife of bath.
At the very beginning, she argues against that “Christ went to a wedding only once.” For the wife of bath, she has married five times, and she does not agree that her life is “a sin and scandal;” otherwise, she enjoys sharing her “experiences” of her five marriages without feeling guilt.
The wife of bath has her own opinions about how the sex can assist her to get what she wants, such as her husbands’ wealth. She says her first three husbands were good because “they were kindly men, and rich, and old.” She uses her ways to let her old husbands feel guilty, like her husband is having an affair or when they got drunk, and she teased them at the night. Then, her old husbands will promise to give her money to satisfy her.
Although she gets wealthy, she does not feel love until she met her fifth husband, Jenkin. She claims that “to him I gave land, titles, the whole slate of goods that had been given me before.” She can give away everything just because she loves him. “I took for live, not money.”
Along with the wife of bath’s marriages’ experience, we sort of can realize that, in order to get the satisfaction, she always pay for it. To be wealthy, she pays her old husbands with her activities of sex and her youth. In order to marry the one that she truly loves, she lies to him about her forth husband’s funeral, and she completely disregards the big age gap. However, after Jenkin keeps reading the book about wicked women, she punches him, and he strikes her head which leads her one ear deaf.
We all know everything has two sides, so whatever we do affects other things, and that’s why life is expensive.
At the very beginning, she argues against that “Christ went to a wedding only once.” For the wife of bath, she has married five times, and she does not agree that her life is “a sin and scandal;” otherwise, she enjoys sharing her “experiences” of her five marriages without feeling guilt.
The wife of bath has her own opinions about how the sex can assist her to get what she wants, such as her husbands’ wealth. She says her first three husbands were good because “they were kindly men, and rich, and old.” She uses her ways to let her old husbands feel guilty, like her husband is having an affair or when they got drunk, and she teased them at the night. Then, her old husbands will promise to give her money to satisfy her.
Although she gets wealthy, she does not feel love until she met her fifth husband, Jenkin. She claims that “to him I gave land, titles, the whole slate of goods that had been given me before.” She can give away everything just because she loves him. “I took for live, not money.”
Along with the wife of bath’s marriages’ experience, we sort of can realize that, in order to get the satisfaction, she always pay for it. To be wealthy, she pays her old husbands with her activities of sex and her youth. In order to marry the one that she truly loves, she lies to him about her forth husband’s funeral, and she completely disregards the big age gap. However, after Jenkin keeps reading the book about wicked women, she punches him, and he strikes her head which leads her one ear deaf.
We all know everything has two sides, so whatever we do affects other things, and that’s why life is expensive.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Man’yoshu
After reading several poems from Man’yoshu, I strongly feel the great influence of Buddihim which is presented in those poems, especially some poems of Yamanoue Okura.
In his poems, he mentioned the emotion of helplessness many times, for instance, “our helplessness in this life,” “I am living in this world and cannot hold time back,” “the cold leaves me helpless,” “is it so helpless and desperate , the way of live in this world?” “…but I cannot fly away-I am not a bird.” Through reading these words, do you feel helpless? Do you have the feeling of helplessness because you have no alternative when you are suffering?
The suffering idea in Okura’s poems comes from the Buddhism view of suffering. The notion of suffering conveys that the birth, the old age, the sickness, the death, the separation, the anger, the covetousness and the pain of human beings are unavoidable. For Buddhists, they believe that suffering is a pragmatic belief which inhibits people’s desire and assists people to receive the real happiness in their life.
People never can be satisfied in their life time. Pursuit of enjoyment is what we can reach if we know how to deny the pursuit of unrealistic.
In his poems, he mentioned the emotion of helplessness many times, for instance, “our helplessness in this life,” “I am living in this world and cannot hold time back,” “the cold leaves me helpless,” “is it so helpless and desperate , the way of live in this world?” “…but I cannot fly away-I am not a bird.” Through reading these words, do you feel helpless? Do you have the feeling of helplessness because you have no alternative when you are suffering?
The suffering idea in Okura’s poems comes from the Buddhism view of suffering. The notion of suffering conveys that the birth, the old age, the sickness, the death, the separation, the anger, the covetousness and the pain of human beings are unavoidable. For Buddhists, they believe that suffering is a pragmatic belief which inhibits people’s desire and assists people to receive the real happiness in their life.
People never can be satisfied in their life time. Pursuit of enjoyment is what we can reach if we know how to deny the pursuit of unrealistic.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Moonlit Night
Moonlit Night
By Tu Fu
The moon tonight in Fu-chou
She watches alone from her chamber,
While faraway I think lovingly on daughters and sons,
Who do not yet know how to remember Chang-an.
In scented fog, her cloudlike hairdo moist,
In its clear beams, her jade-white arms are cold.
When shall we lean in the empty window,
Moonlit together, its light drying traces of tears.
After the rebellion of 755, the capital, Chang-an, was taken by Lushan rebels. As an officer, Tu Fu was trying to serve his country. Unfortunately, on his way to Ling-wu, Tu Fu was trapped by rebels and transferred to Chang-an. Moonlit Night was created by Tu Fu during that time.
Tu Fu started his poem with “the moon tonight in Fu-chou” (where his family lived). Even though he did not use any words like miss my wife, etc., his wife and he was watching the same moon tells readers that he really missed his wife in Chang-an just like how his wife missed him in Fu-chou. Not only missed his wife, Tu Fu missed his children as well. “While faraway I think lovingly on daughters and sons, who do not yet know how to remember Chang-an.” I think what Tu Fu tried to tell was his kids were too young to know why their mom was watching the moon (and missing the husband) in order to express his wife’s loneliness and sadness. Through describing his wife’s body shape under the moon light, he fantasized about that his lovely wife was standing beside him. Although that was just his imagination, he still hoped the day their reunion. “Moonlit together” shows that he expected he could hug his wife and she could nestle against his chest watching the moon as light as tonight’s. So Moonlit Night describes Tu Fu couple missed each other during that chaos time.
In Chinese history, Tu Fu was a really great poet rather than a successful officer. Because of his rough experiences in his life time, most of time, he was not there with his family. Therefore, his poems were mostly based on suffering the emotion of missing the family.
By Tu Fu
The moon tonight in Fu-chou
She watches alone from her chamber,
While faraway I think lovingly on daughters and sons,
Who do not yet know how to remember Chang-an.
In scented fog, her cloudlike hairdo moist,
In its clear beams, her jade-white arms are cold.
When shall we lean in the empty window,
Moonlit together, its light drying traces of tears.
After the rebellion of 755, the capital, Chang-an, was taken by Lushan rebels. As an officer, Tu Fu was trying to serve his country. Unfortunately, on his way to Ling-wu, Tu Fu was trapped by rebels and transferred to Chang-an. Moonlit Night was created by Tu Fu during that time.
Tu Fu started his poem with “the moon tonight in Fu-chou” (where his family lived). Even though he did not use any words like miss my wife, etc., his wife and he was watching the same moon tells readers that he really missed his wife in Chang-an just like how his wife missed him in Fu-chou. Not only missed his wife, Tu Fu missed his children as well. “While faraway I think lovingly on daughters and sons, who do not yet know how to remember Chang-an.” I think what Tu Fu tried to tell was his kids were too young to know why their mom was watching the moon (and missing the husband) in order to express his wife’s loneliness and sadness. Through describing his wife’s body shape under the moon light, he fantasized about that his lovely wife was standing beside him. Although that was just his imagination, he still hoped the day their reunion. “Moonlit together” shows that he expected he could hug his wife and she could nestle against his chest watching the moon as light as tonight’s. So Moonlit Night describes Tu Fu couple missed each other during that chaos time.
In Chinese history, Tu Fu was a really great poet rather than a successful officer. Because of his rough experiences in his life time, most of time, he was not there with his family. Therefore, his poems were mostly based on suffering the emotion of missing the family.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Sakuntala and the Ring of Recollection
I really like this love story. Although, as a love story, the content of it is sort of normal as well as the ending which is ended by a happy reunion of king, Sakutala, and their son, the element of kinship is contained within the whole story, and some parts of that touched me while I was reading Sakuntala and the Ring of Recollection.
Between Kanwa and Sakuntala, we can feel the strong kinship even though kanwa is not Sakuntala’s real father. Kanwa is a very nice sage. He took care of Sakuntala after he found her in the forest, and, in fact, he called Sakuntala daughter. At the day that Sakuntala was going to find her husband, the king, after she found out that she was pregnant, Kanwa walked around and sadly said: “My heart is touched with sadness since Sakuntala must go today, my throat is choked with sobs, my eyes are dulled by worry-if a disciplined ascetic suffers so deeply from love, how do fathers bear the pain of each daughter’s parting?” These heartfelt words coming from a father who really loves his daughter and worries about her future married life.
When the king Dushyanta first saw Bharata without knowing his identity, the subtle feeling between them was made by Kaldasa. When the king saw Bharata was playing with a lion’s mouth, he said “Why is my heart drawn to this child, as if he were my own flesh? I don’t have a son. That is why I feel tender toward him…” If you have kids, then, I believe you will understand. I do not know how to describe it, but I think Kaldasa tried to tell people the kinship ties every family member. So what Dushyanta felt about Bharata at that first time was the special bond between a father and his child.
Between Kanwa and Sakuntala, we can feel the strong kinship even though kanwa is not Sakuntala’s real father. Kanwa is a very nice sage. He took care of Sakuntala after he found her in the forest, and, in fact, he called Sakuntala daughter. At the day that Sakuntala was going to find her husband, the king, after she found out that she was pregnant, Kanwa walked around and sadly said: “My heart is touched with sadness since Sakuntala must go today, my throat is choked with sobs, my eyes are dulled by worry-if a disciplined ascetic suffers so deeply from love, how do fathers bear the pain of each daughter’s parting?” These heartfelt words coming from a father who really loves his daughter and worries about her future married life.
When the king Dushyanta first saw Bharata without knowing his identity, the subtle feeling between them was made by Kaldasa. When the king saw Bharata was playing with a lion’s mouth, he said “Why is my heart drawn to this child, as if he were my own flesh? I don’t have a son. That is why I feel tender toward him…” If you have kids, then, I believe you will understand. I do not know how to describe it, but I think Kaldasa tried to tell people the kinship ties every family member. So what Dushyanta felt about Bharata at that first time was the special bond between a father and his child.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Analects
I still remember that, at the Beijing Olympic opening ceremony, there are 2008 people dressing like the students of Confucius, gathering on the center stage of the Bird’s Nest, and singing “Is it not a joy to have friends come from afar?” to welcome athletes and guests.
Like the theme of the ceremony trying to show the world, Confucius’ Analects displays the soul of Chinese culture which unifies the whole country.
The unit of Analects is not only an ancient literature but also the heritage of ethical and political and philosophy.
Obviously, Confucius advocated using “the rule of virtue” to guide the people.
In his sayings, Confucius kept telling us that virtue is principle for being a good person or even a great leader.
Even though people are not born with moral standards, it is never too late to learn how to embody rituals and behaviors, and that’s why the first book of Analects is about studying.
Generally, Confucius’ sayings of virtue focused on the relationship between people.
“To bring peace to the old, to have trust in my friends, and to cherish the young.” People’s goodness can be presented as the way how they treat others.
“Encourage the people to work hard by setting an example yourself.” To become a successful leader, it is the best way to convince the people to follow.
Confucianism is a guideline for people to think in the right path, to behave morally, to exalt virtue.
Like the theme of the ceremony trying to show the world, Confucius’ Analects displays the soul of Chinese culture which unifies the whole country.
The unit of Analects is not only an ancient literature but also the heritage of ethical and political and philosophy.
Obviously, Confucius advocated using “the rule of virtue” to guide the people.
In his sayings, Confucius kept telling us that virtue is principle for being a good person or even a great leader.
Even though people are not born with moral standards, it is never too late to learn how to embody rituals and behaviors, and that’s why the first book of Analects is about studying.
Generally, Confucius’ sayings of virtue focused on the relationship between people.
“To bring peace to the old, to have trust in my friends, and to cherish the young.” People’s goodness can be presented as the way how they treat others.
“Encourage the people to work hard by setting an example yourself.” To become a successful leader, it is the best way to convince the people to follow.
Confucianism is a guideline for people to think in the right path, to behave morally, to exalt virtue.
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