夜月星河 英雄影 飄泊幾多秋 The swordsman’s shadow passes by

113. 2.《憶江南‧劍客》 夜月星河

                 英雄影
                 飄泊幾多秋
                 滴盡江湖兒女淚
                 功成身隱踏歸舟
                 劍客已無求。


TUNE: Yì Jiāngnán "Remembering Jiangnan"
TITILE: Jiàn Kè "The Scholar-Swordsman"
-- by 夜月星河  'Night Moon Starry River'
-- Translated by Frank C Yue

The swordsman’s shadow passes by,
For many an Autumn drifting from 
                                       place from to place;
Lawless but righteous, the ladies have 
                                      shed their tears dry.

All his missions done,
The Swordsman boards a returning 
                                  boat and hides his face,
For his desire he has none.

民猶水也 載舟覆舟 虎將何方 你是金剛! The People like vast waters

民猶水也，載舟覆舟；虎將何方? 你是金剛 !

謹以此詩悼念
保釣烈士 陳毓祥
(1950年10月14日-1996年9月26日) 

This poem, now in Chinese and English, is respectfully Dedicated to the Memory of

Mr. David CHAN Yuk-Cheung from Hong Kong, the Diaoyu Tai Martyr

who drowned in the frontier-island waters on September 26, 1996.

   民猶水也，
   載舟覆舟；
   防患未燃，
   順應自然。

The People -- like vast waters that flow --

May sink the boat or keep it afloat.

Beware! Great fires a spark may just start!

Follow the Natural Way from the heart.

   天地行健，
   自強不息；
   恆練有方，
   終極金剛。

Heaven and Earth in constant motion –

Men on the go like ‘waves-in-ocean’.

Always train one’s body able,

One can become ‘invincible’!

   神州信健，
   共同拓建；
   中華兒女，
   誰個言累？

The Motherland is faithful and strong;

Building it everyone keeps on.

Sons and Daughters of our Motherland,

Who could say he’s too tired to guard stand?

   無恥倭寇，
  「購島」陰謀；
   奸計擄掠，
   邊娃受虐。

The shameless Japs without honour

“Just bought” the isles from the sham “owner”!

By cunning and forcible plundering –

Shame and pain the isles are suffering!

   哀哉中華，
   無意護花？
   保嶼無益？
   釣島變色 !

Y-ay! Defend our territory!

“What? And how? Are you talking to me?

What good is it for me after all?

She’s already in the other’s claws.”

   鬼子掠土，
   豈可無睹？
   不聞不問，
   熱血沸騰 !

Why are you weeping, My Mother dear?

O! The People’s eyes are crystal clear,

They see the non-actions far and near.

But, mind you, blood may boil in a sneer.

   奪我山河，
   民嘆奈何 !
   祖國蒙羞，
   何能安悠？

Blatant pillage in broad day-light!

The People can do nothing but sigh

While Hurt and Dishonour parade by!

Can one truly sleep soundly at night?

   民無寸鐵，
   奮起保釣；
   諸般阻攔，
   仰天長嘆 !

The People are totally unarmed;

Yet, some sail forth in the way of Harm!

With numerous obstructions

They are near desperation.

   無懼義士，
   終破羅網；
   宣權登釣，
   彰我權耀 !

O The handful of dauntless ones!

Through many a snare they do run.

The sacred Diaoyu Tai they then reach,

And swim ashore onto the beach!

   暮靄蒼茫，
   秀麗山江；
   日新又新，
   為國强身 !

The fuzzy evening fog arising,

Our beautiful land so enchanting!

For each day, day in and day out,

I train m’body for m’country stout!

   疆嶼月寒，
   烈士淚乾 !
   昔日繼光，
   今時無方 !

Cold Moon over the islets frontier,

For the lone Martyr dry are all tears.

O! Our anti-Japs Generals of old,

Where are your great war-plans untold? 

   神州兒女，
   羞愧言累；
   風雨通舟，
   敵愾同仇 !

Daughters and Sons of our Motherland,

Ne’er say die! On guard for her we stand!

Come the fierce storm: We’re in the same boat,

Working together we’ll be afloat!

                                        
   築基親歷，
   養氣蓄力；
   齊齊習演，
   壯志雲天 !

Train hard and long in the martial arts

To nurture qi and power – a good start.

Train, train, practise each and every day –

With Great Resolve, Success comes your way!

   人人驃勇，
   將士精忠；
   捨生取義，
   誓雪前恥 !

When every soldier’s fierce and brave –

Loyalty, held by each one the same –

The troops shall make the ultimate

Sacrifice to wipe clean the past Shame!

   剛柔並濟，
   堅忍救世；
   熟練圓方，
   頓悟金剛 !

Of Hard and Soft Forces one knows more,

One would be patient, immovable –

Practise Circular and Linear Force,

You might be the ‘Guardians Invincible’!

   釣島悲憂，
   巡防不休；
   凌波金戈，
   速驅狡倭 !

Diaoyu Islands under a Dark Cloud –

Hear! Hear! Hear our angry shouts!

Our boats and ships shall protect you,

Expel th’Japs, it’s historical truth!

   

   崇德尚武，
   丹心梅花；
   佑我中華，
   悍衛東沙 !

Though peaceful by nature, we must be

Defending our Land and keep it free!

With a crimson heart, O Plum Flower,

Bless our dear Motherland at this hour!

   邊嶼披愁，
   敵愾同仇；
   勤研博鬭，
   不達不休 !

The frontier isles shrouded in sorrow --

One heart, one mind: We face th’enemy.

The Way of the Swordsman we follow:

Train, train and fight till our Land is free!

   民猶水也，
   載舟覆舟；
   虎將何方?
   你是金剛 !

The People -- like vast waters that flow --

May sink the boat or keep it afloat.

Now! Where do the Tiger Generals ‘hide’?

The Grand Guardians are You and I!

Following copied from Wikipedia:

Location of Senkaku (Diaoyu Tai) Islands.
Blue : Uotsuri-shima (魚釣島) / Diaoyu Dao (釣魚島)
Yellow : Kuba-shima (久場島) / Huangwei Yu (黃尾嶼)
Red : Taishō-tō (大正島) / Chiwei Yu (赤尾嶼)

...

The Senkaku Islands are located in the East China Sea between Japan, the People's Republic of China, and the Republic of China. The archipelago contains five uninhabited islands and three barren rocks, ranging in size from 800 m² to 4.32 km². ...
...

The Senkaku Islands dispute concerns a territorial dispute over a group of uninhabited islands known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan, the Diaoyu in China, and Tiaoyutai Islands in Taiwan. Aside from a 1945 to 1972 period of administration by the United States, the archipelago has been controlled by Japan since 1895. The People's Republic of China (PRC) disputed the proposed US handover of authority to Japan in 1971 and has asserted its claims to the islands since that time. Taiwan (Republic of China) also claims the islands. The territory is close to key shipping lanes and rich fishing grounds, and there may be oil reserves in the area.
Japan argues that it surveyed the islands in the late 19th century and found them to be Terra nullius (Latin: land belonging to no one); subsequently, China acquiesced to Japanese sovereignty until the 1970s. The PRC and the ROC argue that documentary evidence prior to the First Sino-Japanese War indicates Chinese possession and that the territory is accordingly a Japanese seizure that should be returned as the rest of Imperial Japan's conquests were returned in 1945.
Although the United States does not have an official position on the merits of the competing sovereignty claims, the islands are included within the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan, meaning that a defense of the islands by Japan would require the United States to come to Japan's aid. In September 2012, the Japanese government purchased three of the disputed islands from their "private owner', prompting large-scale protests in China. As of early February 2013, the situation has been regarded as "the most serious for Sino-Japanese relations in the post-war period in terms of the risk of militarised conflict."

Incidents at or near the islands

China Marine Surveillance vessel Haijian 66 and Japan Coast Guard Hida-class patrol vessel PL53 "Kiso" (きそ) engaging with each other.

ROC Coast Guard vessel and Japan Coast Guard vessel.

... In 1996 the Hong Kong based activist David Chan Yuk-cheung drowned while attempting to swim to one of the islands. Since 2006, vessels from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong have entered waters that Japan claims as part of its exclusive economic zone connected with the islands on a number of occasions. In some cases, the incursions have been carried out by Chinese and Taiwanese protesters, such as in 2006 when a group of activists from the Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands approached the islands; the group was stopped by the Japanese Coast Guard prior to landing. In June 2008 activists from Taiwan, accompanied by Chinese Coast Guard vessels, approached within 0.4 nautical miles (740 m) of the main island, from which position they circumnavigated the island in an assertion of sovereignty of the islands. In 2011, a fishing boat carrying some activists navigated to within 23 nautical miles of the islands. Japan sent coast guard vessels to block the ship and a helicopter to monitor its actions, subsequent to which the Coast Guard Agency Keelung office of Taiwan sent five patrol vessels. ...

The creative First Draft of Everything

THE CREATIVE FIRST DRAFT OF EVERYTHING
-- by Frank C Yue

The creative First Draft of Everything
Is truly such a wondrous thing.
It is so joyful,
So very hopeful,
Like the first night,
Somewhat frightful but full of delight!

Out of the mystery and grey confusion
You want clarity, precision and fusion.
Though rather apprehensive
You want to be expressive.
Some time you may get it wrong,
But you come back anew and strong.

With all the research and groundwork you've done,
You should know how your battle will be won.
You forge ahead fearlessly,
Looking for internal consistency,
Walking with Muse who leads the way --
Through sweat, tears and laughter, she'll make your day.

Listen, and this hear,
All those who have ear--
Lao Zi, the old sage,
So wittily say,
"The journey of a thousand mile
Starts with your first step all the while." **

** 「千里之行，始於足下。」 老子 《道德經》

"The Journey of a thousand mile
Starts with your first step all the while."  -- Lao Zi: "Tao De Jing".

"The 2 Bluebirds": Poem-making by 2 Elementary Pupils

The Two Bluebirds

-- A Poem Made Jointly 

   by a 3rd Grader & a 6th Grader

Two bluebirds build a safe nest

For to comfortably rest.

They work in day and in night,

To reach a certain high height.

So high in the tree out of predators’ reach,

They build it beneath a large green leaf

Out of hawk and eagle eye,

And other creatures in the sky.

Tired, they rest after good day’s work;

The nest is safe, out of reach 
  
                          of where dangers lurk.

The nest is safe!

the following information and pictures are copied from 'Wikipedia':

< The bluebirds are a group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the genus Sialia of the thrush family (Turdidae). ... They have blue, or blue and rose beige, plumage. ...

Songwriters have adopted the bluebird as a symbol of happiness and cheer. Examples are Jan Peerce's signature song, "Bluebird of Happiness", "Over the Rainbow" ("Somewhere over the Rainbow/Bluebirds fly"), ...  >  

   Eastern Bluebird

    Mountain Bluebird 

******  *****

The above poem, totally untouched, was written jointly by two elementary school pupils during one March break afternoon in their make-belief "submarine" (a long dining table).

The conning tower of the sub was made of colourful covers of large plastic storage  boxes and the Captain just commandeered my CEO’s hand-held mirror for use as the ‘periscope/telescope’ and the First-Officer-cum-Sonar-Operator, my ‘Bose’ over-the-ear headphone! I quickly negotiated for its return by loaning them my much cheaper and older headphone of the 'Discman' era. (Shh...! I am not at liberty to disclose the naval officers’ identities, the sub's location, nor their secret mission. But a little Bluebird twittered in my ear that his Creators were training intensively under an U.N.C.L.E. (United Nations Children's League Extraordinaire?) urgent project to help in a covert operation as a single cell out of a vast multinational task force. 

Now, it is extremely difficult to persuade any kid to write a short English poem, though in fact he or she is quite capable of doing so when 'pushed' ever so gently.

This time, however, there were strong motivators at work:

1.    After a visit to the local library and a happy meal, in a good mood they asked for more time later to watch cartoons on TV and their own DVD’s.

2.    They were also seeking donations to help a certain poor rural community in Africa. (This is a good deed indeed and opportunity beckons!)

So, the following conditions were set: Yes, extra-generous on-screen time and a small cash prize of CAD 5 (that must be donated to a charitable cause) would be given IF…

1.    They would write a short rhymed poem of not less than 4 lines.

2.    They could choose their own subject matter and perfect rhymes are optional. (Slant rhymes are perfect for this purpose.)

3.    (After the youngest one protested that a poem can be unrhymed too…) Yes, they could use the on-line Rhyming Dictionary as an aid.

4.    The poem that tells of an interesting story should be done within 30 minutes…

Otherwise, the amount of prize money (intended for donation) would be reduced pro rata.  

In the end, the kids did it!

(-- With the services of a volunteer on-shore poet-consultant who asked a couple of leading questions when they seemed to be stuck temporarily somewhere. But they still had to use their own words and find the rhymes.) Their poem was touched up slightly -- e.g. `other creatures in the sky` now reads `other raptors` -- and broken down into two stanzas with a much stronger ending added, not shown here, before the final product was presented to their delighted parents.

Then, I told them there could be Parts 2 and 3 to their Bluebirds Poem. Without prompting, the younger one said Part 2 would be “The Bluebirds’ Family” and the kids started debating on whether there should be 3 or 4 eggs. The older one asked what colour are the bluebirds’ eggs. A birdwatcher, I said those for robins (they are in the thrush family) are green with black spots, the mourning doves’ are white. And the little girl continued that Part 3 should be about “The Bluebirds’ Migration” to the south before severe winter again sets in. Bravo!  

But I think they may not be writing the sequels any time soon…

The aims of the above 'childish' posting are 3-fold:

1. To show that any child's full potential and self-expressions may be developed and realized IF...

2. His/Her imaginations, playful expressions and aspirations are given free rein under supervision, employing the complementary forces of Yin and Yang, or the Push (in this case: directions, some helpful assistance, rewards, bonuses...) and Pull (personal interests, enhanced self-esteem, confidence...) Factors.

3. This may be a timely reminder that in this fast-paced, highly-polluted modern-society city life, we are all under stress in varying degrees, and constantly overwhelmed and distracted by e-messages or the never-ending video games.  We need regular time-outs to;
  --  re-connect with our inner selves, to ponder and meditate, to relax, to exercise                               and express ourselves emotionally (through singing, poetry writing perhaps);
  --  to re-connect, to listen, to pay more attention to, and groom intimacy with, family                           and loved ones;
  --  to re-connect with Mother Nature, to protect our environment, our own one-and-only livable 
      planet!   

Ciao!