china's crossroad

China’s Crossroad

- A Chinese American’s Journal to Home, May 2012

Mei Selvage

Mei Selvage

1. Modern China - Seeking identities from Mao to Starbucks…

His home is receding farther away from him, and byways and crossways are ever confused. Desire for gain and fear of loss burn like fire; ideas of right and wrong shoot up like a phalanx.

寻牛

家山漸遠岐路俄差得失熾然是非鋒起

Mei Selvage

2. Everyday China - When life takes its own pace…

Riding on the animal, he leisurely wends his way home: Enveloped in the evening mist, how tunefully the flute vanishes away! Singing a ditty, beating time, his heart is filled with a joy indescribable! That he is now one of those who know, need it be told?

骑牛归家

騎牛迤邐欲還家 羗笛聲聲送晚霞 一拍一歌無限意 知音何必鼓唇牙

Mei Selvage

3. Traditional China - Return to the Source…

To return to the Origin, to be back at the Source - already a false step this! Far better it is to stay at home, blind and deaf, and without much ado; Sitting in the hut, he takes no cognisance of things outside, Behold the streams flowing-whither nobody knows; and the flowers vividly red-for whom are they?

返本还源

返本還源已費功 爭如直下若盲聾 庵中不見庵前物 水自茫茫花自紅

Mei Selvage

Credit for title pages

十牛圖 The Ten Ox-herding Pictures Verse by 廓庵師遠 Kuoan Shiyuan , 12th century

Translated by D. T. Suzuki (1870-1966)

English text: http://terebess.hu/english/oxherd.html Chinese text: http://terebess.hu/english/oxherd12.html

Mei Selvage