Yangqin (洋琴) - A Chinese Hammered Dulcimer

What is a Yangqin?  Where did it originate from?

Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia (I cut out some redundant words or phrases from the original article for easier reading):

"The trapezoidal yangqin is a Chinese hammered dulcimer, originally from Middle East and Persia (modern day Iran).  It used to be written with the characters  洋琴 , but over time the first character changed to 揚  (also pronounced "yáng"), which means "acclaimed".  It is also spelled yang quin or yang ch'in.  Hammered dulcimers of various types are now very popular not only in China, but also Eastern Europe, the Middle East, India and Pakistan.  The instruments are also sometimes known by the names "santur" and "cymbalom".

The yangqin was traditionally fitted with bronze strings (some older Chinese stringed instruments used silk strings), which gave the instrument a soft timbre.  This form of instrument is still occasionally heard today in the "hudie qin" (蝴蝶琴) played in the traditional silk and bamboo genre from the Shanghai region known as "Jiangnan sizhu" (江南絲竹), as well as in some Cantonese music groups. 

The Thai and Cambodian khim are nearly identical in their construction, having been introduced to those nations by southern Chinese musicians.  Since the 1950s, however, steel alloy strings (in conjunction with copper-wound steel strings for the bass notes) have been used, in order to give the instrument a brighter and louder tone.  The modern yangqin can have as many as five courses of bridges and may be arranged chromatically.  Traditional instruments, with three or more courses of bridges, are also still widely in use.   

The instrument's strings are struck with two lightweight bamboo beaters (also known as hammers) with rubber tips.  A professional musician often carries several sets of beaters, each of which draws a slightly different tone from the instrument, much like the drum sticks of Western percussionists."

我崇拜的一位現代詩人及散文作家 - 易君左

 {我崇拜的一位現代詩人及散文作家 - 易君左 (易家鉞)，和我最喜歡的一篇散文 - 可愛的詩境：}

"多謝西風！
它把後園的桂花一齊吹放了。桐葉的飄零與黃花的憔悴，是詩人的形容詞。這裏只有花的芬芳，水的澄清，天的莊嚴而純潔，以及一切秋蟲的歌唱。 

我曾徘徊池邊。我把秋波當做鏡子，照見了她嫣然一笑的朱顏，比什麼花枝還美麗。那池中的游魚，兩兩三三，交頭接耳的過去了；戲水的白鵝，清影在波中浮耀，紅掌兒翻向青天，年輕的魚兒羞躲了。綠衣仙女似的翠鳥兒，嚶然一聲，彷彿報道晨妝才了；白鷺有時飛到堤邊，靜悄悄的站著，恰似一個披蓑衣的釣叟。 

我曾小立斷橋。天末彩霞，倒影池塘之中，一片紅光似火。我小立橋端，銷磨了幾度黯淡的黃昏，癡等新月的東升，驚醒了棲鴉之夢。垂楊倦了，桂花在隔院送香，黃橙添蓋了顏色，青藤橫橕了纖腰，天上的星兒搖搖欲墜。 

我曾慢步登樓。郭外的山光，郊外的村莊，遍野的牛羊，淺水湖中，尚有殘荷點點：不是殘荷，彷彿是落花片片；莫不是荷花又重開了？哪裏是秋天！樹葉青青，有如春草之爭妍；雁兒陣陣，有如夏雲之飛翔。蒼煙渺渺，和著輕雲裊裊，是誰在那兒噓氣如蘭？望不斷的天邊，也許有蝶兒成雙的飛舞，也許有鶯兒歌唱，燕子裁衣。 

在這些可愛的詩境中，平鋪了一幅絕妙的圖畫。我與她，變成了畫中的詩人，詩中的畫家，變成了燦爛的流霞，變成了團圞的明月，變成了並蒂的山花。" 


                                     *******************************

以下是從網上搜習來的關於易君左生平：

"易君左出身書香世家，一門都是詩人，其中最著名的是他的父親易順鼎，他曾刻有“詩人之子”的印章，足見他對其門楣的看重。半個世紀前，因為一本小書《閒話揚州》，易君左惹下官司，弄得沸沸揚揚。那時候的人要比現在單純得多，擱到現在，這是一個絕好的炒作機會，藉此暴得大名，增加書的銷量，感謝揚州人民還來不及。可這老兄是怎麼應付的呢？在以揚州婦女界為主的聲勢浩大的“究易團”威嚇下，易君左惶惶不可終日。第一次未敢到庭，第二次，終被拎到被告席上。後經調解，除了賠錢外，還在報紙上道歉，一時灰頭土臉，在江蘇成了過街老鼠。

　　也就是這件事，讓我知道了易君左的名字。他成名很早，交遊廣，於詩詞、遊記、傳記、隨筆、劇本、繪畫等無不涉獵，被目為才子詩人，這樣的頭銜在民國，大概只有鬱達夫當得，這樣的人讓人不感興趣都很難。我在香港的舊書店裡，買到了他的不少書，詩詞、遊記、自傳和學術著作都有。台灣有人封他為中國現代遊記寫作第一​​名家，這個高帽子他戴起來大概有點吃力，遊記平平，多為平實的記敘，遠不如鬱達夫的《屐痕處處》和今人黃裳。他在行的還是詩詞，這也是我感興趣的部分。

　　他和郁達夫有很好的友誼，達夫的“傷亂久嫌文字獄，偷安新學武陵漁”，大概是詩讖吧。抗戰爆發後，毀家之前，達夫果然移家到武陵源邊上的漢壽。漢壽是易君左的家鄉，鬱氏移家，也是君左安排的。“朱字勻抄烈女篇”的憤激詩句，就是達夫在《避地漢壽賦寄君左》裡寫給他的。同是才子詩人，感覺易君左是空負才子之名，才情遠比不上鬱達夫，他的詩集中很少有達夫那樣才氣縱橫的名句。他應該是捷才，詩寫得很流暢，取材也廣，大凡江上清風、山間明月，信手拈來都是詩材。他喜歡寫篇幅很長的古風，讀來很讓人頭疼。他晚年說他一生寫詩愛寫斜陽和鴉，我能記得他有限的詩句也正是這些，如“寒鴉數點秋風裡，好趁斜陽看六朝”，“六代豪華鴉背冷，九邊烽火夕陽紅”等。無端地覺得，喜歡寫這兩樣衰颯東西的詩人，人生都難得意。

　　易君左一生寫了幾千首詩，《君左詩選》選了五百多首，前後跨越了二十年。抗戰勝利後，毛澤東的《沁園春·雪》在山城發表，引發兩派文人的筆墨酣戰，國民黨身份的詩人易君左自然不免技癢，但雖有技巧，終不是霸王，詞的意境和氣勢都遠遜毛氏原作。他大概有自知之明，這首詞沒有收集到《君左詩選》中。他在香港還出了一本《中國百美人圖詠》，品位不高，這大概是為稻粱謀寫的遊戲之作。流寓海島，迭經喪亂，去國懷鄉，痛往傷逝，詩應該“老更成”才對，可見到他晚年的許多詩篇，仍然大多是無病呻吟，或口號式的豪語大言：“不信終貧聊自慰，只知漸老奮為歡”，“故鄉夢境昏如霧，志士心情艷似花”。雖然是名詩人之後，但在民國詩人中，確實不能算出眾。以名詩人之子，而未能克紹其裘，這是很遺憾的。

　　易君左是上世紀五十年代南下文人中反共極右文人的代表。作為軍旅文人，他長年在國民黨軍政界從事文化宣傳工作，其立場可想而知。像他這樣在國民黨時代過著優游生活的人，被趕到海角後，大概做夢都希望復闢他們失去的好天堂，對新政權刻骨仇恨是完全可以理解的。那個時期港台反共文人的文章，調子基本上都差不多：被仇恨弄得毫無理性，滿篇的惡毒謾罵，歪曲事實胡說八道。極右派文人的偏激往往能和極左派文人一決雌雄。易君左寫了很多反共文章，內容的顛倒黑白，在極右派反共文人作品中堪稱翹楚。比如他的自傳《烽火夕陽紅》記述淮海戰役，倘不是看到國軍因“戰略需要撤守”，你簡直懷疑不是解放軍而是所謂的國軍贏了這場戰爭。不過，他一些懷人的篇章識見不壞，臨去世前寫的回憶田漢和郭沫若的文章，對兩人的評價就比較客觀和公允，遠比孫陵《浮世小品》那樣胡說八道的東西高明。

　　1949年底去台灣後，易君左一直輾轉港台的學校任教，詩和遊記寫了很多。一代才人，被政治播弄，晚境難堪，心境應該是落幕和悲涼的，看他描寫逃離大陸的一批文人，在港島辛苦輾轉謀生，很能讓人掬一把同情之淚。易君左1972年死於台灣，享年75歲。"

Opera - Richard Wagner

Recently, I've been to see one of Richard Wagner's (1813-83) opera called Die Walkure.  It was quite impressive with its very powerful music all the way through, from beginning to end.  And it's the first time I ever knew about German mythology or Norse mythology; all the names of their gods and goddesses are completely different from the Greek gods/goddesses and the Roman ones.  I always had thought that all European gods and goddesses were very similar, but to my surprise, these German ones were very different.  It seems to me that they even accepted incest, for in this opera, the brother and the sister were allowed to get married and to have children.

Anyway, Die Walkure is only one of the 4 epic operas called The Ring of The Nibelunge written by Wagner.  I didn't see the first one (Die Rheingold), but I'll go to see the 3rd one and the 4th one which will be performed in the next season/next year.

When I have a chance, I really should read about the Norse Saga and German Mythology.

"Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) is a cycle of four epic operas  (1813–83). The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied. The four dramas, which the composer described as a trilogy with a Vorabend ("preliminary evening"), are often referred to as the Ring Cycle, Wagner's Ring, or simply the Ring."

迴文詩

以下是寫在2008年12月18日

"迴文詩是一種按一定法則將字詞排列成文，回環往復都能誦讀的詩。這種詩的形式變化無窮，非常活潑。能上下顛倒讀，能順讀倒讀，能斜讀，能交互讀。只要循著規律讀，都能讀成優美的詩篇。正如清人朱存孝說的：“詩體不一，而迴文優異。” 迴文詩是我國古典詩歌中一種較為獨特的體裁。迴文詩據唐代吳兢《樂府古題要解》的釋義是：“迴文詩，回复讀之，皆歌而成文也。”


這裡摘出一首來: 《迴文旋圖詩》 -

開篷一棹遠溪流，走上煙花踏徑遊。來客仙亭閒伴鶴，泛舟漁浦滿飛鷗。台映碧泉寒井冷，月明孤寺古林幽。回望四山觀落日，偎林傍水綠悠悠。

可倒讀為:

悠悠綠水傍林偎，日落觀山四望回。幽林古寺孤明月，冷井寒泉碧映台。 鷗飛滿浦漁舟泛，鶴伴閒亭仙客來。遊徑踏花煙上走，流溪遠棹一篷開。





後記：寫於2011年七月十七日--
以下是粵曲名譔曲家李竹先生寫 "桃花緣" 一曲時所寫曲中一首迴文詩的過程：
李竹寫於 2010年一月四日(http://cofans.org/forum/viewthread.php?tid=1155&extra=page%3D1)：
" 「岳飛少年遨遊」原稿後，百事無聊，便趁空進修中文。適值在互聯網下載了湯顯祖撰寫的「牡丹亭」，乃著意閱讀「牡丹亭」的戲文。閑習之餘，深感前人筆墨，遠非後學所及。話雖如此，如許的文學卻多有啟發，給予在下撰寫一首詩詞戲曲的想法。

拿定主意後，乃刻意尋找適合的題材。經多番考慮後，終而決定以「崔護求漿」為題材，改名「桃花緣」。又適逢修讀了宋代詩人秦觀寫的一首‘迴文詩’，乃異想天開的開始寫一首‘迴文曲’來融會「桃花緣」裏其他的詩詞。寫‘迴文曲’可要比‘迴文詩’多了一點難度，因為‘迴文曲’首尾兩段都得用同一的‘韻腳’。在花了一段很長的時間後，才寫了兩首‘迴文曲’來讓羅永明師父去選擇那首才適合。

         ｛其一｝

絮飛揚柳綠，樹杏倚門扉，翠竹穿燕鶯，溪清繞東籬。
籬東繞清溪，鶯燕穿竹翠，扉門倚杏樹，綠柳揚飛絮。 

｛其二｝ 

絮飛揚柳綠，樹杏遍門閭，翠竹穿鶯燕，池清臥荷蕖。
蕖荷臥清池，鶯燕穿竹翠，閭門遍杏樹，綠柳揚飛絮。

本人雖然比較喜歡第一首，但羅師父卻應為第二首比較合適。他是音樂人，所以便選用第二首。
「桃花緣」可能是我唯一以詩意為主的歌曲。這或許是筆力有限，寫來很感吃力，所以再也不敢妄圖寫類似的詩曲。"

In defence of 徐志摩

有一天 (是在二零零九年的八月)，特然收到一封電郵批評徐志摩，使我十分氣惱，徐志摩是個浪漫派詩人，在封建的社會下被迫娶一個素未謀面的女子為妻，而他只是拿出他的一份勇氣來反抗這一段沒有愛情的婚姻，為自己爭取自由戀愛而提出離婚！這個來電郵是這樣寫的： [甚麼是天才？甚麼是愛？甚麼是偉大？不懂。從小就對除志摩和他的作品都沒有好感。對除志摩說的所謂風流，天才等等，都是人們的無知和盲從。看過這篇介紹關於徐志摩的第一任妻子，張幼儀傳奇，反而對張幼儀有點敬佩，對徐志摩更鄙視。] 為自由戀愛、為抗拒盲婚而離婚，我不明白為什麼他會受人鄙視呢？

於是我便立刻寫以下的一篇 "In defence of 徐志摩" 作回應 (也是在二零零九年的八月)：

看了 XXX 的電郵，真的忍不住要寫幾行…

徐志摩是我最喜愛的中國文學家兼詩人之一，我認為我們應當把個人的文采與個人的生活方式分開，兩者不可以相提並論。

話得說回頭，首先要說的是：徐志摩是一個徹底的浪漫主義者，他一生都在追求他的理想 ---- 是英文的三個字：愛、自由、美 (beauty, freedom, love)，他跟十八世紀的浪漫派詩人 Lord Byron, Keats, Wordsworth, Shelley, Coleridge 所追隨的理想都是大同小異。徐志摩是為他的理想而毅然放棄一段沒有感情的婚姻、向妻子提出似乎是不近人情的要求 - 離婚！要離婚、當然要找個理由。他要自由、亦把自由還予他的妻子，(至於張幼儀不另嫁他人是她的選擇，徐志摩與她始終保持良好關係，而她為兒子與家庭的付出是值得人敬仰的。)

另一方面，為追求愛與美，徐志摩要找尋他的靈魂伴侶，他是找到了 - 是他在英國求學時遇到的一位人美艷如花的紅顏知己林徽音，只是她卻沒有選擇徐志摩作為終身伴侶，但志摩對她還是念念不忘， (據說他是為了要趕往北平聽林徽音的演講才坐飛機不幸遇難的。)

一段婚姻的離與合，並非外人能說誰是誰非，這始終是他們兩人的事，外人很難作出任何判斷，當然是公說公有理，婆說婆有理，是看你要選擇站在那一方。在這兒，我卻佩服徐志摩的勇氣，在那個年代，他居然敢公開提出離婚，受盡身邊的親朋戚友唾罵，要知到、他跟陸小曼結婚時，更被他的恩師兼證婚人梁任公 (即梁啟超) 說他用情不專、被當眾大罵了一頓！但我還是覺得徐志摩敢作敢為，亦為自己所作的事情肯作承擔，在那民初年代，表面雖然是推翻了封建制度，但是很多人仍舊是三妻四妾，徐志摩大可以把妻兒放在家裡，在外另結新歡，但這樣是違反了他那三個字的理想，他需要的是自由，追求的是真愛與真美，更何況，這妻子是父母給他找來的！

(我在這裡替徐志摩辯護是有我的理由、因我親眼看到一段沒有感情的婚姻害了兩個當事人痛苦終身，這便是我的兄長和嫂子，他們也是民初時代的青年，在舊式社會的盲婚制度下奉父母之命成婚，可是我兄長跟本不喜歡嫂子，於是便把自己長期麻醉在煙酒葯物裡，不願返家，終日在外流連，結果屈屈不得志、把大好前程荒廢，英年早逝，這邊廂我嫂子亦不好過，終日獨守空緯，悶氣難洩，常遷怒於兒女身上，我們幾姊妹看到也愛莫能助，我也曾為兄長想過，為甚麼不反抗這段盲婚呢？ 唉，話說容易，他是生長在那個年代，作為兒子的多是幼承父蔭或承繼祖業，換句話說，是沒有自立能力，那年代的人亦沒有今天年青人所擁有的勇氣為自己的將來而跟父母搞對抗，他唯有忍氣聽從，正如巴金小說 (家、春、秋) 筆下的大少爺一樣懦弱無能，弄成累幾累人！ 眼見兒子前途盡毀，我看到母親很是內疚，終日敲經念佛來懺悔。)

離婚或是拋妻棄子，徐志摩不是第一人，且看看古今幾許著名大文學家與詩人，他們在徐志摩之前已作過同樣事情，也沒有影響他們在文學上的貢獻和地位呢！

中國古代社會可容納三妻四妾，所以沒有甚麼離婚的例子，只有拋妻或不認妻的例子，古代女子更沒有自由可言，只有從一而終，逆來順受。

以下是我們熟識的幾位英國詩人的婚姻及情史，比較起來，徐志摩並不差矣！

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (21 October 1772 – 25 July 1834) - In 1795 he married Sarah Fricker.  He grew to detest his wife, whom he only married because of social constraints. They had 4 children together.  He eventually separated from her.  In 1799, Coleridge went and stayed at Thomas Hutchinson's farm and there he fell in love with with Sara Hutchinson and stayed with her since.

William Wordsworth (7 April 1770 – 23 April 1850) - He fell in love with a French woman, Annette Vallon, who in 1792 gave birth to their child, Caroline.  He could not bring them to England because of the French Revolution.  In 1802, after returning from his trip to France, he married a childhood friend, Mary Hutchinson and they had 5 children together.

George Gordon Byron or Lord Byron (22 January 1788– 19 April 1824) - After his many affairs with Lady Caroline Lamb, Lady Webster and his half sister Augusta, he married Annabella Milbanke in 1815 and they had a daughter.  In 1816, his wife left him in January and he then began an affair with Claire Clairmont and later with Marianna Segati, his landlord's wife.  In 1917, Byron's daughter, Allegra, was born to Claire Clairmont.  Later he had another affair with Margarita Cogni, wife of a Venetian baker.  In 1819, Byron began yet another affair with the married Countess Teresa Guiccioli. 

Percy Bysshe Shelley (4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) - In 1811, the 19-year-old Shelley travelled to Scotland with the 16-year-old schoolgirl Harriet Westbrook to get married. Unhappy in his nearly three-year-old marriage, Shelley often left his wife and child alone as he travelled.  He later met Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, later known as Mary Shelley. On 28 July 1814, Shelley abandoned his pregnant wife and child as he ran away with Mary to Europe.  They married in 1816 after Shelley’s estranged wife Harriet drowned herself.

至於為甚麼在沒有感情下的婚姻，仍育有好幾個兒女呢？關於這個問題、我是答不了，因我不是男兒，大概是男兒本 “色” 吧！

在結束之前，讓我送出我最喜愛的一首徐志摩詩 - "再別康橋" 的末段：

“悄悄的我走了，正如我悄悄的來;
我揮一揮衣袖，不帶走一片雲彩。”

Art - Thomas Kinkade

(The following is being transferred from my old Blog from Oct 30, 2007 - the following excerpt had been taken from search on the internet).


"Thomas Kinkade is America's most collected living artist. Coming from a modest background, Kinkade emphasizes simple pleasures and inspirational messages through his paintings. As a devout Christian, Thomas Kinkade uses his gift as a vehicle to communicate and spread inherent life-affirming values.

It was while growing up in the small town of Placerville, California that these important values were nurtured. It was also during this time that Thom began to explore the world around him. He spent a summer on a sketching tour with a college friend, producing the best-selling instructional book, The Artist's Guide to Sketching.

The success of the book landed the two young artists at Ralph Bakshi Studios to create background art for the animated feature film Fire and Ice. It was also during this time that Kinkade began to explore light and imaginative worlds with abandon. After the film, Thom earned his living as a painter, selling his originals in galleries throughout California. In 1982, he married his childhood sweetheart, Nanette, and two years later they began to publish his art."

For more pictures, check out the following link:http://www.kinkadecentral.com/