Some Thoughts About Ramayana(Group A Assignment).

After I read Ramayana, I have to admit that in this poem which done by the ancient Indians thousands years ago, is fantastically well written, very interesting to read, and when I think about the story and compare it to our modern life, there are some thoughts that popping into my mind.

The first thought I had is about suicide. When Hanuman feels stressed out that he thinks that he cannot complete the mission of finding Sita, Hanuman wants to kill himself for his failure. However, Hanuman subdues that negative thinking with more reasonable responsibilities and a meaningful quote, “the wise ones say that suicide is the root of many evils, and that if one lives one is sure to find what one seeks.”  I was impressed and totally agree with this idea that the Indian people already thought about thousands years ago.  For my perspective, every life (especially for human) has its individual goal for living.  Murder might be the doomful faith for one, but suicide is just unreasonable failure of life. As human beings, we have to think what we do for our life, and we have to be responsible for who we are.  Suicide is a quick escape from the destructive situation, but the consequences follows the suicide would be worse than before because it is a failure for that responsibility.  Moreover, in many other religion also considered suicide is a sinful thing to do, such as in the Divine Law in the Bible of Christian.  Thus, I think that for the minimum and basic goal for living is to keep living or be alive, and even a heroic suicide really cannot be considered as a successful living example.

After life and death, I found another thought about one of the most important and also the greatest emotion of human: love.  The love between Sita and Rama is very touching.  When Rama is trying his best to get his beloved Sita back, Sita shows us an absolute faith to her husband Rama.  There is a funny, but rather more sarcastically quote which says “Every man and woman will cheat on their spouse, it just the matter of how magnificent the attraction is.” This simply means, if the attraction to us is powerful enough, we will cheat on our spouse because we cannot resist the attraction.  However, in Sundara 18-26, after the demon Ravana consistently requesting Sita many seductive attractions to be his wife, and all his other wives will be her servants; reasonable facts that his has unbeatable power in all three world and her husband has no way to find her or save her; also threat her to become his wife within one year or he will eat her for dinner. After all, Sita still hold her purity and faith to her husband, and in the end, Rama successfully saves her and they both live in a happy life.  It is such a happy ending story, but I has changed my mind about man and woman’s faithfulness.  One will cheat on his/her spouse because he/she does not love his/her spouse enough(or maybe it cannot be qualified as love), true love will never turn their back on each other, like Sita and Rama.  No matter how low the chance is, and how hard the situation gets, he never gives up hope for finding Sita.  For Sita, as a powerless normal woman, surrounds and threats by Ravana and those demonesses, she still refused to be Ravana’s wife no matter how good the condition is or how bad her situation and consequence gets(even it risks her life!).  Their faith for each other is creating a strong bond for their love, and it is the true love I considered.  What is love? I think Sita and Rama have taught me a good lesson today.  I will end my post with another quote heard from one of my friend: “if two holds each others’ hands and take a walk for one day, they are impassionate; if two holds each others’ hands and take a walk for a year, they are dating; if two holds each others’ hands and take a walk for ten years, they are relatives; if two holds each others’ hands and take a walk for fifty years, it is called love.

Book I, The Book Of (about) Study.

Analects, another very well-known and influential work existed in the history of China. Compare to the previous reading about the Classic of Poetry’s romance and reflection of the norms of the ancient society, the Analects is intended to teach people the thought of Confucianism, which also educate people the rules or the ideas of how to be wiser, thoughtful, and living in a more meaningful life.   Analects have twenty chapters, and each chapter has its own subtitle; the book I focus on is Book I, the Book of (about) Study. The reason why the English version uses the Roman numerals follow after each book instead of using a proper subtitle is because the Analects’ subtitle was named in a very strange way, which makes the translation version impossible or irrational to follow its naming rule.  So, the Chinese version Analects’ naming rule was that each chapter got its name after the first two or three words of the master Confucius’ lecture within the first section of that chapter.  It is very strange and unique so that is very hard for the translated version to keep up and also make sense.

The Book of Study, which is the Book I, has total of sixteen sections, and there are only two of them has been selected in our text book. The reason why Analects are so important and popular in Chinese society is because it already becomes part of our language.  It seems deservedly so, but the Analects was written in old style of Chinese, and most of the words and characters is very different compare to the modern Chinese that we spoke; in other words, if I meet with Confucius right now, even we both considered to be Chinese and speak Chinese, we still cannot understand each other. We need translation between old Chinese and new Chinese, just like translation needed between Chinese and English.  However, because of the great influences of the Analects, in modern Chinese, we actually are using some original sentences or phrases that come from the Analects directly, and they can be understand and make perfect sense (it is like we use the figure of speech in English).  Therefore, not only for the behavior and thought education, but also for the language, Analects are becoming parts of our modern Chinese.  

In China, we studied the Book of Study from the Analects, and I very much liked the first section, and luckily, it has been selected in our book. In the first section, it seems to have three questions, but it is actually giving us three ideas. The first one is telling that when we studying and learning something, we feel happy because we know better and more than before; however, it is also a great pleasure when we reviewing or practicing what we have learned because that is how we know if the knowledge has or has not became our own stuff. The second one is telling us when we meet a friend comes from far away, it is a great pleasure to do so.  Well, the friend not only means the people we know, but also means that person can be anyone or stranger we do not know, but he must have the same interest, same goal, or similar personality as us, so we can get along nicely and it will eventually becomes a pleasure. And for the third one, Confucius is very likely telling a story about himself. He had travelled many places and tried to teach his ideas, but no one had ever understood him or appreciated his works, they have treated him terribly instead.  However, Confucius did not ever blame them, because a gentleman should not be mad or hate someone who does not understand his idea.

In the section 11, Confucius is telling an idea of being filial piety.  To determine whether a man is or is not a good son, is to initially look at what his perspective in his mind and his goals are when his father is alive, and then after his father passed away, we look at whether he changes or maintains his thoughts and actions in a few years (the “three” in the text is also means “a few” here).  In other words, in Confucius’ perspective, a good son should have his mind settled and act(behave) consistently even after his father is dead because it is a respect of what the father has told the son in his life about what he should think and what he should do.

Here is a picture of Confucius (Kong Zi in Chinese), by the way, Confucius is from the same province in China as me(Shan Don Province).

Hey Girl, Do Not Wait Under The Plum Tree Anymore!

This week we assign to read the ancient Chinese Classic of Poetry, and finally, I find something that I have a bit of knowledge on. The Classic of Poetry is called Shi Jing in Chinese, and it is a collection of ancient poems starting from Zhou Dynasty. When I was in middle school in China, my Chinese class’s curriculum had a few lessons about the poems that are selected from the Classic of Poetry. The poem “Fishhawk” was a very famous one which I have learned in Chinese, however, the poem “Plums Are Falling” is more interesting to me because it describes a girl who lived in a society that so different from our modern world and her thoughts about seeking her love. In ancient time, China was a very closed minded and feudalism country, and it had many weird rules and traditions which respected and agreed by all citizens. In poem “Plums Are Falling,” it demonstrates a problematic tradition about females. Any females in the old time, especially maiden girls, they are living in a very closed and private life in order to protect their purity. Unmarried girls usually stayed in their own living room all day long, and if they had to go out on the street, they could not wear short skirt or short shirts. No matter how hot the weather was, the only body parts that they did not necessarily have to put cover or clothes on were their hands and faces. Girl’s bodies are sickly virgin and strict for people. For some extreme examples, if an unmarried girl accidentally to be seen of the other body parts other than the hands and face or she touched by a man, then she had already lost her virginity, and the best way to deal with this situation for that girl was to marry with that man. Moreover, the closed minded society not only restricted for their appearances, but also for females’ minds. Their mind and heart had to be faithful to the family and especially for her husband if they were married. For the maidens, they had to restrain their heart for love, and control their emotions for wanting fall in love with the man they like; it is simply because most of the time they could not decide which man they are going to marry. Moreover, if it was before marriage, girls could not show any of the emotions which deal with “like”, “love” to any man because those emotions would also considered to be wrong and they had lost their virginity mentally.

In this poem, in the end of spring, there is a maiden girl who looks at the plums falling from the tree. It is a metaphor for showing that the time flies, the best time of the year almost passes by; here also indicates that as a woman, her youth is also passing by quickly. The number uses in the poem are not the actual number, in ancient China, number seven and up usually means a lot of, and number three and less means a bit of; or the number used in the poem means an approximately percentage number. While the number of fruit on the tree becoming less and less, the maiden urging for her love becoming stronger and stronger. In the beginning, she requests that she wants a nice looking one; when there only had thirty percent of the fruits left on the tree, she wants a mature one. Lastly, when she notices that almost all of the fruits have fallen on the ground, she only hopes that she could marry to a man, any man. I think this is kind of sad, she has wasted her time and youth on waiting and hoping her love to come, but she never dares to approach to one. Finally, after she becomes old, like the plum tree without any plums, she is still single and lonely. This poem is very irony to me, the girl had many choices, and the society and the traditional rules prohibited her from pursuing her love. It is a tragic love poem; while it shows the girl’s aspiration for love, it demonstrates the girl’s sorrow for the lost of her youth.

Here is a picture of a chinese girl cosplay the girl in the poem under the plum tree.

River!River!River!(Ancient Egyptain Poem 2nd edition)

        When I hear people mention about ancient Egyptians, the pyramids, mummies, pharaohs, and their hieroglyphic words in the tombs are the primary things that popping into my mind.  However, after I read some of the ancient Egyptian poems, I have a better understanding about the Egyptians’ perspectives towards to their religion, belief, and maybe their romanticism. 

        I like the poem called “Akhenaten’s ‘Hymn to the Sun’” simply because this poem is not only describes how important the sun or sun god to the ancient people, but also mentions about essential factors of the Neil River to them.  While the sun shines its brightness, heat and lively rays upon the land which in order to protect people from cold, darkness, fear, and even death, the Neil River preserves and nourishes people with its streams.  When I read this poem, it recalls my memories about many poems and ancient articles that I have studied in China that are about rivers.  In my opinion, I think that we should have appreciated the rivers more than we did to the sun.  Indeed, without the sun and its light and heat, nothing would appear on earth; however, when the sun did rotate and provide day and night to every place on earth, it was the rivers who nurtured the old civilization to be formed.  In China, there was Yellow River, and we call it our Mother River thousands years long; in mid-east Asia, there was a prosperous and fascinating region known as the Mesopotamia, and it was form by two rivers, Tigris and Euphrates River; in India, the Indus River was their civilization’s seedbed.  Back to thousands years earlier, the river can provide food(fishes), drinking water, agriculture and protection to the ancient people, and they are all the very essence of life, and it was almost impossible to life in the region far from the river.  Well, after all, every region as its own tradition.  Ancient Egyptians thought that it was the sun (sun god) who should take 90% of the credits because they believed that their sun god was the creator of everything.

        When I actually look into this poem, I feel that it was a very outstanding work and I really like it.  The poem “Akhenaten’s ‘Hymn to the Sun’” contains many poetic elements such as metaphor, simile, and symbolism.  Metaphor for example, in the first section of the poem, it describes the sun (they think that actually is the God) rises by using many words such as “majestic,” “awesome,” “bedazzling,” “exalted” and “overlord” to emphasize the overwhelming power the sun(God) has.  Moreover, it also uses simile and symbolism to show people’s fear about the darkness, which after the sun (God) goes away during the night.  For example, in the second section, it describes “darkness like death (use of simile),” and “he who created all things lies low in his tomb” symbolize that without the sunlight, the land is very much like a tomb.  Later in the poem, when it mentions about the flood god Hapy, there is no words to blame Hapy or Akhenaten.  Instead, they think that it is “to preserve and nourish the People.”  I assume they realized that how important the river is to them, or maybe they this it was just their ultimate God’s plan after all.

Gilgamesh(updated and modified)(2)

        The epic tale of Gilgamesh is based on a real person, who was the king of Uruk. After I read the story, I consider that this is a very interesting and allegorical story. Even though the story of Gilgamesh was written thousands years ago, it still can represent many features or characteristics of human beings lived in the modern time; also, the story teaches people meaningful lessons about life.
        In the beginning of the story, Gilgamesh appeared to be the strongest man in the world, and he ended up to be a tyranny: he can take whatever he wants, and pay no attention to the people in his country. This is exactly reflected a negative manner or behavior of human, which is that if someone gains an unbeatable power, it would make (s)he to become very arrogant, self-centered and do thing careless about others. However, later on in the story, Gilgamesh’s behavior and personality had changed. The first change of Gilgamesh was after the exciting battle with Enkidu, who was sent by the Gods, and raised by animals, they became devoted friends. Then, Gilgamesh started to contribute and rule the country with harmony, and he was no longer considered as a tyranny anymore, but more like a hero. Furthermore, after Gilgamesh and Enkidu killed the Humbaba, Gilgamesh has gained more fame, even to the world of gods. Basically Gilgamesh has changed from a powerful tyranny to a very well-known and beloved heroic king. I consider that it is a allegory that not everyone was born perfect, everyone might had some dirty spot in history, however, it is never too late to change, and it is never too late to be good again. 
        After Enkidu was cursed to death, Gilgamesh changed again; he constantly worried about his death and tried hard to become immortal. However, his failure left a meaningful lesson to us: there is nothing will last forever, the only thing that matters is we should enjoy, treasure and appreciate the moment we spend today. This allegorical ending remind me a quote from the movie “Kung Fu Panda”: “yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the ‘present.’”

Something New About Ancient Egyptians

When I hear people mention about ancient Egyptians, the pyramids, mummies, pharaohs, and their hieroglyphic words in the tombs are the primary things that popping into my mind. However, after I read these ancient Egyptian poems, I have a better understanding about the Egyptians’ perspectives towards to their religion, belief, and maybe their romanticism.
The poem “Akhenaten’s ‘Hymn to the Sun’” is a twelve sectional open form poem. This poem contains many poetic elements such as imagery, simile, and symbolism. For example, in the first section of the poem, it describes the sun (they think that actually is the God) rises by using many words such as “majestic,” “awesome,” “bedazzling,” “exalted” and “overlord” to emphasize the overwhelming power the sun(God) has. Moreover, it also uses simile and symbolism to show people’s fear about the darkness, which after the sun (God) goes away during the night. For example, in the second section, it describes “darkness like death (use of simile),” and “he who created all things lies low in his tomb” symbolize that without the sunlight, the land is very much like a tomb. In this poem, I also understand that how respectful and devotional the people to their gods. In section nine and ten, it mentions about the flood god Hapy, but there is no word to blame Hapy or Akhenaten. Instead, they think that it is “to preserve and nourish the People.” I assume they think that it was god’s plan after all.
The poem “Love Songs” is very interesting to me not because it contains much adult information, but I am so amazed that the openness and the romanticism it gets thousands years ago. The imagery uses are very dramatic and effective. For example, “her eyebrows, gleaming darkly, marking eyes which dance and wander,” and “to young breasts firm in the bouncing light which shimmers that blueshadowed sidefall of hair.” When I read these lines, I cannot stop myself to graph her image in my head, it is such an outstanding description of it.

I really like these ancient poems written by the Egyptians, it is very unique and well-written, and most importantly, it give me a better understanding about their beliefs, religion, and their romanticism.

Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh is known as the earliest literature work of human beings which engraved on the stone tablets. This ancient epic poem is not only has very important influence to the people who lived thousands years ago in the Mesopotamia, but also tremendously contributed to modern study of the people’s beliefs and thoughts, and also their societies in the region of the Mesopotamia. The epic tale of Gilgamesh is based on a real person, who was the king of Uruk. After I read the story, I consider that this is a story which very interesting, meaningful and allegorical to me; and within the story, it represents many features of human beings who lived in thousands years ago that has no differ compare to us in the modern day. In the beginning of the story, Gilgamesh appeared to be the strongest man in the world, so he ended up being a tyranny: he can take whatever he wants, and pay no attention to the people in his country. However, after an exciting battle, he met his devoted friend Enkidu who was raised by animals, they started to contribute and rule the country with harmony. In the story, Enkidu used to be wild, but after he went to the city, he became civilized. This is an allegory that shows people live back then believe that civilized has the meaning of living in a big city. After Gilgamesh and Enkidu killed the Humbaba, Gilgamesh has gained even more fame, even to the world of gods. Basically Gilgamesh has changed from a powerful tyranny to a very well-known hero. I consider that it is a allegory that not everyone was born perfect, everyone might had some dirty spot in history, however, it is never too late to change, and it is never too late to be good again. Later on, after Enkidu was cursed to death, Gilgamesh tried hard, but failed to become immortal. This is an allegory that shows people always wanted to live forever, but after all, we have realized that nothing will last forever.