A Voice Crying out in the Wilderness

There's this article in Economist.It raises very interesting issues.

http://www.economist.com/world/international/displayStory.cfm?story_id=15108690&source=hptextfeature

 

Probably because America is such a young country people look up to the ancient East,like India or China,for wisdom.Certainly wisdom is never in full supply and being in an ancient country is no guarantee either.At least I myself never cease seekin...

I've Changed

By Vera Vance

I have no desire
to re-create the past
I’d rather brush it aside.

I’ve added to it
and invite you
to its alterations.

There’s no car.
I’ve been made halfblind
and lost
weight close
to extinction, but this
stead bids welcome.

GOD JUL OCH GOTT NYTT ÅR
2009 - 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4&feature=fvst

不知道在中国可否打开上面的链接。Hope so....

[圣诞的祝福]
   风儿吹暖基达幔帐， 凤仙花轻拂没药乳香。捧把沙仑的玫瑰，沐浴耶鲁撒冷青青岁月之圣光，一袭素装，我又欢快奔跑在甜美沉醉的牧场。
   葡萄园的醇酒是圣父的血酿，橄榄青灯照耀着灵性的故乡。长河古都沉淀着闪米特的睿智，旧约新约张开我天使的翅膀。
   看泱泱天路，东方和西方，炎黄，约瑟，路德，易卜拉欣，上苍造就了神的儿女，无尚荣光。
   阿波罗的华彩播撒着先知的福音，神舟6的旋律承载着华夏千古梦想。小雅歌欢快缠绵的情歌在晚祷的钟声中浑响。。。圣爱无悔，你是我的情人！
   哦！摩西雅各，重新带领人们衣锦还乡吧！珍藏起三千年西雅的风雨沧桑，把希伯来的圣书仰望。
   那是被钉死在十字架上的真理---宇宙生命永恒的阳光！
   让我们在宁静中祈祷：世界人类心灵的平和！让这世界充满阳光！让今夜璀璨星光一起拥抱吉祥！

I just came back from Linda's X'mas party in Vermont.Deedee gave me the rides.It was through the same reflection group that I got to know both,a group where 5 of us gathered for a half-hour chat talking about what had happened in lives and what that me...

http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=15108593

以上链接是Economist最近发文---一文道破了“天机”，其深度令人称赞，角度新颖，表述到位，十分引人深思。至少本人看完此文后对历史，社会，人性，世事，和个人生活等有了全新的认识。字里行间是妙语连珠。下文摘其几处：

In the future a scientific Utop...

"You need to connect with people!"Vera的语气总是很平缓。上次去纽约办签证，她和我说的这句话。在纽约，她把她丈夫的学生引荐我认识。在MOMA就是和这个英语系的退休教授一起畅谈世界和艺术。

这个学期上了宗教课程，常常和VERA讨论宗教。她想到了她朋友FRED，退休的DARTMOUTH教授，宗教系的。年事已高，90岁了。今天中午见到了FRED和他妻子，还有他们的另外一个朋友RAL，犹太人，从德国移民过来的，也是80多的人了---因为他说他19...

Chapter 4: Activities and Yu

The purpose of ren sheng is "sheng"(In Chinese the word for life is ren sheng; ren means person while sheng means to live.) and what constitutes sheng is its activities. Where there are activities there is life; once one ceases to perform activities life is gone. Yet, here it's in the widest sense possible that I refer to the word activity; no matter the physical activities such as clothing and walking or the mental activities like thinking and imagination......

我正在着手翻译冯友兰的散文集《一种人生观》。打算先粗枝大叶地翻译，最后再修正，润色。翻完一部分就往这里贴，大家可以提出批评，帮忙校正。声明：未经允许，不得转贴！版权所有。法律至上！呵呵

                        &n...

Chapter 2: Truth of Life

What is the truth of life? I was asked by many the same question. To this seemingly big question, I doubt its validity. If, whenever we encounter something, we ask the truth question, it means nothing but that we are an outsider ignorant of its insides. It is certain that the journalists or the public make inquiries about the truth of a government, simply because they are not the authorities. Yet it's a different story with an actual president or a prime minister---the truth, to them, means the measures and actions they take; always well-informed about it, they don't need to ask; or whom can they ask? It's an extremely obvious analogy. The truth of life is no exception. In life, the authorities are ourselves. Life equals our initiatives. To eat is life; to raise a child is life; to host the visiting friends is life. An artist's "hobby of befriending with refreshing breeze and the clear moon" is life; An inventor's "creation of Godly craft and ghostly ax" is life; A theologian's "universal love of twisting sky and turning earth" is life(these phrases are originally from Mr. Wu Zhihui's "A New Faith on Cosmic View and World View".) To ask about life is life; to talk about life is life; thus is the truth of life. Other than that, there is no need to seek the truth of life; nor is it possible. If you are stubborn to find a truth beyond a detailed life, then it's what the Confucianists at the Song Dynasty would call "looking for the donkey while riding it." I therefore say, "the truth of life is its details and facts."

我正在着手翻译冯友兰的散文集《一种人生观》。打算先粗枝大叶地翻译，最后再修正，润色。翻完一部分就往这里贴，大家可以提出批评，帮忙校正。声明：未经允许，不得转贴！版权所有。法律至上！呵呵

                                      One Outlook on Life, by Feng Youlan

                                                 Chapter 1: Preface

In the year twelve of the Republic of China, few things were more significant to the Chinese intellectual than the national debate on life philosophy----which included "the thorny questions raised by Mr. Ding Zaijun and the responses from people like Mr. Tang Huang, lasted for six months and produced a grand article of 250,000 words." (Hu Shi, 16) This debate was unprecedented, for, according to a survey by Mr. Tang, it covered over thirteen issues. (Tang, 4-6) The wide range of its topics made the debate all the more heated; but it also left "the readers feeling as if lost in thick fog " and wondering what on earth was the center of this debate.(Tang, 6) Mr. Hu Shi stated, "throughout this debate, all those fighting for the spirit of science made a common mistake (except Mr. Wu Zhihui)---that is, nobody managed to specifically address the question of what defines a scientific life philosophy, but instead everyone was approaching the issue in a fuzzy manner, obsessed with how science could help deal with the life questions. "(Hu, 10) In addition, no concrete answer was made to what makes an unscientific life philosophy, but merely an effort to make an abstract point that science is unable to tackle the life issues. Mr. Zhang Junli pointed out, "seen from differing perspectives, life means a different thing to living individuals."(Zhang, 1) He continued to make the case by listing twenty-four different views; but he failed to clearly explain his so-called intuitive life philosophy that "is driven by one's conscience." As a consequence, the whole debate did not penetrate to the core of the issues, despite its broad scope. My essays, therefore, are meant to be an attempt to concretely propose one outlook on life. As for this world view as well as the methods to handle the life issues, it's open to my readers' criticism.

I had the last class for this term.I am officially done.The three weeks before my Iceland trip all belong to myself.I can indulge myself in reading,sleeping,and eating.It couldn't feel better.

And my classmates were so nice.One guy bought ...

感恩节过后就是圣诞节。在这一个月内，西方人有点蜡烛的传统，他们叫Advent。每周一支蜡烛，一共点四支。

再说火鸡，其味道和普通的鸡差不多，就是巨大无比，还是没有咱们的土鸡家乡鸡来得入味爽口。

再说Kathryan，我的这位同学已是我妈妈的年龄了，即将退休，哥伦比亚大学博士毕业，但是现在还来DARTMOUTH上上课。这是为什么呢？

 

美国人真是和小孩子一样充满了天真与理想---同学告诉我，...

Bill,Kathryan's partner, came pick me up and it took us 1.5 hour to drive to Northampton,M.A.It is a lovely town,bigger than Hanover and much more happening.It is home to Smith College---one of the best women's schools in the States.Kathryan went to Sm...

宗教课的论文是最大的挑战，本周6就得完成的任务；思前顾后，屡屡流产；无奈之下搁置笔杆，转而潜心攻读书本；啃了几本书之后，思想自然而成，生气活泼；一鼓作气，连夜完成论文Will mankind surmount religion?(To bridge misunderstanding between Jung and Freud on their ideas of religion)

终于，可以喘口气了，可以放下身心，好好享受holiday了！明天就是Thanks-givin...

The Road Not Taken 
  
by Robert Frost 

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,


And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

刚收到学校的一份邮件，觉得奇怪：

One of China's most beloved pop-singers, American-born Christine Fan (Fan Weiqi), meets
live for music and Q & A with the Dartmouth community in Dartmouth Hall 105 on Monday at
8 PM via webcam from her home in Taiwan.

She is a Chinese mix of Sarah McLachlan and Sheryl Crow with music that "mends shattered
hearts". This is her first-ever webcam "visit" with a US university.  Youtube: Fan Weiqi

大家可以去看看。不过，我们这里的周一晚上8点是中国周二的早上9点！我大学时候很喜欢的一首歌曲是范玮琪翻唱的《那些花儿》。每每听这个歌，都是浮现好多记忆！

OBAMA的演讲十分有条理，十分谦虚，和温和。典型的OBAMA风格。他强调了中美的合作历史，中美合作的紧迫感，对中美未来的憧憬，以及UNIVERSUAL VALUES的重要性。很吸引我的一点是，他的TONE非常地谦虚，他所代表的美国形象是modest,self-reflective,understanding的。这点真的是太重要的。我真欣慰OBAMA意识并落实了这点。这对美国形象的改善是至关重要的。OBAM的演讲风格有美国人放松自如，也有东方人的和善温和！我深信美国的国际政策和形象将大改变，hopefully!

不过上海高校学生提问的思想，内容，深度，高度，语言和仪态真的是不敢恭维！中国的高等教育路漫漫其修远矣！

这个学期马上要结束了，还有3周时间。现在正在准备期末论文。得大量阅读，急中生智了。大家多保重！

这是文学创作课的最后一篇文章，写关于写作和上这个课的感想！

刚从纽约回来，去办赴冰岛的签证。计划圣诞和新年在雷克雅维客度过，有个冰岛朋友热情邀请。

纽约总是那么兴奋，大街小巷都有十分亢奋的面色表情。发达的商业，全世界的品牌云集，唯独没有中国的品牌。不过有挺多的中式餐厅，很多是广东人或者上海人开的。纽约的街头已经开始有圣诞的气息了，闪亮的霓虹，高耸的圣诞树，欢快的圣歌。。。鼓动行人掏腰包购买。我呢没有买任何东西，只买了一个LAB的男士LOTION.

住在一个朋友家，所以不需要支付昂贵的住宿费，吃也是朋友做的。唯一一次中午吃的是一个街头的小卖，米饭，洋葱和牛肉，味道还算不错，5.9美元。小贩主基本都是LATONO或者ASIAN。生意都挺不错的，原因相比是价格超便宜，味道比什么汉堡好多了。

去参观了MOMO博物馆，朋友借我了个会员卡。和一个ENGLISH PROFESSOR一起去的，VERA把她丈夫的学生介绍我认识。这个教授已经退休了，是纽约城市大学的退休员工。和他一边聊天，一边看画，不错。

每个城市都是差不多的，商业化，拥挤。但是可能细节不太一样吧。纽约的建筑真的是现代化的缩影。

在纽约的朋友是个虔诚的基督徒，圣经随身携带的。我跟着他一起去他组织的POWER PROGRAM，对象是社区的黑人孩子。这是帮没有纪律的孩子，永远都静不下来，朋友给他们上圣经课，没有人是认真听的.在美国，孩子的教育也是一个很大的问题，特别是贫穷家庭的孩子。他们的道德教育颇具争论。他们的父母很多离异，很多家长不负责任，自己贩毒，乱性。这些孩子想要SURVIVE AND THRIVE真的是相当不容易。

另外一个小组朋友带我去的，是一帮和我同龄的年轻人。他们畅谈GOD在他们生活中的角色，如何处理DISAPPOINTMENT AND DISCOURAGEMENT。这帮年轻人都有各自的问题，但是他们这样的在GOD名义下聚集探讨的形式是一个CIVIL SOCIETY很好的社会组织形式。

                                                   
                                                  Raking


It's a sunny Sunday afternoon, and the sunlight has been flooding all over my bedroom, uninvited. I am reading by the windows that overlook the backyard, with Lying Awake in my hands. As the room is immediately lit up and warmed up, I begin to feel a bit uncomfortable in my thick sweater. Putting away the book, I stretch my arms to ease the stiffness of my system and revolve my head tenderly around the neck trying to put together the two conflicting neighbours back again. I habitually insert the bookmark into page 65 which ends with "we free ourselves from God. Here, we are liberated from the tyranny of the self". I am grappling with the idea of the Holy and tend to think that my eyes deserve a break from the printed reality. I look out of the windows---and see a bleak world, under the glorious sun and the crystal blue sky.

                                                  "Temple Bliss"

He was born to a farmer's couple. He was addicted to crying, as was told by his mom,his voice piercing and stretching miles away. Too busy with their farm work, his parents left the new-born son alone in a bamboo basket, in their mud house---the pigpen, bedroom and kitchen all in one single room. He could cry as much as he wanted without anyone offering him any attention or comfort. A lot of alone time. And later his visiting aunt was shocked when it was found the baby had a tumor on the hip full of extravasated blood. His parents were forced to stop their work, borrowed money from relatives, and sent their sick baby to the children's hospital.

我也不知道自己扮得是啥---唐装马甲，阿拉法特式的头巾，西藏买的红色链子,外加副墨镜。

反正怎么好玩就这么扮，PARTY上真的是五花八门啊！美国人真会疯。我也好久没有这么爽快地跳舞了！

同学们课堂上和PARTY上真是判若两人啊！和同学去THRIFT STORE想买些PARTY用的衣物，但是觉得不怎么值得。于是就买了3件日常穿的衣服：衬衫2.5美元，毛衣马甲3美元，T-SHIRT2.5美元。虽然是旧货，但是都是很新的。非常值！THRIFT STORE生意也很红火，估计美国的老百姓现在手头也是很紧啊！

                                    Mandala: Psyche of the Self

Based upon the analysis of his patients' dreams and the association with religious dogmas, Jung's Psychology and Religion is a collection of his hypothesis. Hypothesis and the ultimate reality can be worlds apart. The way I read the book: Jung speaks of psychic forces at work in man (the libido) , the possibilities of structuration in which these forces manifest themselves (the archetypes), and the psychic totality that embraces these structures (the self). Jung repeatedly states that his views should be seen as a psychotherapist's rather than a spiritual director's. His honesty and awareness of his limitations should be appreciated. His book concerns the psychotherapeutic attitude trying to put religion and psychotherapy together. Jung, as a psychotherapist, shapes his understanding of religion as a result of a methodological attitude, not an ontological position. In a word, he deals with the psyche of the self, through the lens of religion.

                                 Cheers, To Our Beans

"My daughter took it this summer. I thought you'd like to see it."

She handed me a photocopied picture, a picture of herself and her beans, after she saw the pictures of my cross-continental beans. It's a A4 paper, and the beans take up half of the space. She is sitting by the table piled with the summer harvest, fresh and green. Her lean body is in flowery red suspenders, with its collar bones speaking out aloud; her blond curly hair is pleasantly chaotic and a bit wet, under which reside her bottomlessly deep eyes. She is smiling. It is a smile of both sophistication and innocence. She knows how to carry herself and she takes good care of herself.

                                     Dear May

She made me who I am today and her name is May. When she was young she changed her Chinese name into Qu Mei, literally meaning "kicking off flamboyance". May is in her fifties, and all her lifetime she has been a student and a teacher and, above all, a free spirit. She teaches English at the university I attended in China and offers courses like Experiencing Literature, Advanced English, Current World Issues, and Journalism Writing. I was never an official student in her classroom, but in real life she's been my coach and I am her willing student.

More pictures,check them out..............

                                                             Fu
    It is a tranquil hut; it's not for living, but for waiting; it's windowless and doorless, but has three walls. It is not the little house where those hermits, like Frost or Thoreau, retreat from the despair of the worldly lives. It serves as a bus stop for Dartmouth Coach, in New London, a small town half an hour's drive away from the Dartmouth campus.

                                                  ...