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I'm tremendously excited today because I bought myself the Royal Tyler translation of the Tale of Genji yesterday. Conveniently, it's 54 chapters long-- meaning that if I read just one chapter every week, I'll be able to finish it in about a year. This seems to be an excellent goal and structure to me, and so I'm going to start with the first chapter this week. I made the book a nice cover, too, so it won't get damaged. It's a truly lovely (if massive) edition, with excellent footnotes, illustrations, maps, and a list of dramatis personae to start off each chapter.
And being posessed of some time, the next round of China photos! This time from lovely Xi'an. Once I finish of Xi'an, then it's on to Beijing, and then the China photos will be finished!
7月29日06年
New York is cold but I like where I'm living . . .
Jolting back and forth on the train, to which we have devoted our collective dislike. The conductors, all female, are officious (though not entirely unkind), the tracks are rough, and every once and a while we get a particularly strong jolt that sends everyone stumbling.
Bargaining might be a good way to save money, but I don't like it. Bought a mahjong set. I insisted on Chinese-only tiles, and then was not pleased with the quality of the first set they showed me. They offered me a new set, better quality; I wanted a box to put them in. They offered to transfer them from the cloth-covered cardboard case they were in to a black lacquered wooden box. This was acceptable to me; now for the bargaining. The first price I was quoted was 280 yuan, which is just insane. I said 100, the man squawked and said the box alone was worth 50-- he dropped to 160 with a pair of bad dice and English rules. On 150 I paid for the set and left. So I got him down more than half the disgusting original price, but I still feel like I was cheated.
Sitting in the drum tower in Xi'an. The drummers are practicing thunderously for what I think is their 6 PM performance. We'll see in seven minutes. The upstairs of the tower is full of elaborately carved, graceful Qing-era furniture, the downstairs is full of drums. The radius of the largest one outside is almost my full height. Below the tower to the northwest, a series of tiled roofs marks the beginning of the Muslim quarter. The streets leading to the Grand Mosque are narrow and lined with crowded tourist shops where rip-offs are alarmingly prevalent (150 yuan for a cheap compass? Highway robbery! One girl offered me 60; perhaps I'll go back and see if I can get her down further). They sell just about everything, though, so it's worth wandering around.
Photojournalism: Xi'an
I'm going to deviate from the sequence in which I took my pictures in an attempt to give a better feel for the city itself. Xi'an was big and bustling, both historical and modern at the same time. Back when it was the capital of China it was the most populous city of its age, and its massive scale remains. This photo gives an excellent view of one of the ancient (rebuilt) gates of the old city, and the skyscrapers rising around it.
The first thing I visited in Xi'an was the old Drum Tower. It and the Bell Tower rise majestically in the center of the city.
True to its name, the Drum Tower contains a large number of large drums. They were once used for conveying messages; now they're mostly for display, though impressive for all that (and still functional as drums). I don't know what the characters inscribed on the drum heads mean.
These two drums are the largest, the first with a radius about equal to my height.
A view down one of the outlying upper halls of the Drum Tower.
This is the Muslim Quarter, which lay just north of the tower.
On the lower floor of the Drum Tower there's a brief display on all kinds of drums from the length and breadth of China. There's also a small stage, and every hour there are drum performances.
A view of the Bell Tower from the Drum Tower.
Approaching the Bell Tower . . .
The great bell of the Bell Tower. I could easily stand inside it.
Details of some of the ornate decorations.
I really liked the delicate gold tracery, and especially the dragons.
I went to a museum in Xi'an, and was astonished to find out that you were allowed to take pictures. And so I did, of all my favorite pieces.
These two sculptures amused me very much. Very creative grotesques.
A deer made of gold, amazingly delicate.
A seal shaped like a panther and inlaid with gold writing.
A selection of four of the terracotta warriors, chosen to show how each and every statue is different.
Two horse sculptures that impressed me very much.
A gorgeous drinking cup made from horn. The muzzle of the cow is made of gold. It was so perfect, so skillfully and smoothly crafted, it astounded me.
A jar with dragon handles.
A statue of the King of Heaven. I'd sure as heck be respectful to the gods if my deity looked like that, brrr.
Two bronze-backed mirrors, my favorites from a rather extensive gallery devoted to them.
A jade belt that I think would look very good on Emrys. How do you feel about a visit to China, Emrys? You'll love the clothes, I'm sure . . .
Dragon!
An exceptionally beautiful pot.
A view from the roadside bar where we stopped for a drink in the evening.
The walls of Xi'an have been thoroughly restored, and it's possible to ride all the way around the city on them. Even that would take you a good while, though; I chose to walk only a portion of the wall, despite the blazing sun and complete lack of shade.
More gates have become necessary, of course, in order to allow traffic.
Looking up at the wall from outside.
Actually this seemingly-empty park was full of people and life. Homeless men slept in the low groves of trees, and here and there groups gathered to practice singing Chinese opera or play games of mahjong. It was quite lively, which I've realized is standard for China.
On top of the wall, now, approaching the heavily-fortified western gate.
The gatehouse and guard post.
Of course the reason for all this impressive fortification is because Xi'an was the beginning (or the end, depending on how you look at it) of the ancient Silk Road. This sign amused me very much, because it's a sign in China written in Japanese katakana for English words. It reads, "Silk Road start," or rather, "siruku ro-do suta-to."
Decorative detail from the gatehouse.
Finally, I was deeply amused by these mannequins in the window of a high-end department store downtown. Xi'an is, of course, the famous home of the terracotta warriors, who will be showing up in a later post.
And being posessed of some time, the next round of China photos! This time from lovely Xi'an. Once I finish of Xi'an, then it's on to Beijing, and then the China photos will be finished!
7月29日06年
New York is cold but I like where I'm living . . .
Jolting back and forth on the train, to which we have devoted our collective dislike. The conductors, all female, are officious (though not entirely unkind), the tracks are rough, and every once and a while we get a particularly strong jolt that sends everyone stumbling.
Bargaining might be a good way to save money, but I don't like it. Bought a mahjong set. I insisted on Chinese-only tiles, and then was not pleased with the quality of the first set they showed me. They offered me a new set, better quality; I wanted a box to put them in. They offered to transfer them from the cloth-covered cardboard case they were in to a black lacquered wooden box. This was acceptable to me; now for the bargaining. The first price I was quoted was 280 yuan, which is just insane. I said 100, the man squawked and said the box alone was worth 50-- he dropped to 160 with a pair of bad dice and English rules. On 150 I paid for the set and left. So I got him down more than half the disgusting original price, but I still feel like I was cheated.
Sitting in the drum tower in Xi'an. The drummers are practicing thunderously for what I think is their 6 PM performance. We'll see in seven minutes. The upstairs of the tower is full of elaborately carved, graceful Qing-era furniture, the downstairs is full of drums. The radius of the largest one outside is almost my full height. Below the tower to the northwest, a series of tiled roofs marks the beginning of the Muslim quarter. The streets leading to the Grand Mosque are narrow and lined with crowded tourist shops where rip-offs are alarmingly prevalent (150 yuan for a cheap compass? Highway robbery! One girl offered me 60; perhaps I'll go back and see if I can get her down further). They sell just about everything, though, so it's worth wandering around.
Photojournalism: Xi'an
I'm going to deviate from the sequence in which I took my pictures in an attempt to give a better feel for the city itself. Xi'an was big and bustling, both historical and modern at the same time. Back when it was the capital of China it was the most populous city of its age, and its massive scale remains. This photo gives an excellent view of one of the ancient (rebuilt) gates of the old city, and the skyscrapers rising around it.
The first thing I visited in Xi'an was the old Drum Tower. It and the Bell Tower rise majestically in the center of the city.
True to its name, the Drum Tower contains a large number of large drums. They were once used for conveying messages; now they're mostly for display, though impressive for all that (and still functional as drums). I don't know what the characters inscribed on the drum heads mean.
These two drums are the largest, the first with a radius about equal to my height.
A view down one of the outlying upper halls of the Drum Tower.
This is the Muslim Quarter, which lay just north of the tower.
On the lower floor of the Drum Tower there's a brief display on all kinds of drums from the length and breadth of China. There's also a small stage, and every hour there are drum performances.
A view of the Bell Tower from the Drum Tower.
Approaching the Bell Tower . . .
The great bell of the Bell Tower. I could easily stand inside it.
Details of some of the ornate decorations.
I really liked the delicate gold tracery, and especially the dragons.
I went to a museum in Xi'an, and was astonished to find out that you were allowed to take pictures. And so I did, of all my favorite pieces.
These two sculptures amused me very much. Very creative grotesques.
A deer made of gold, amazingly delicate.
A seal shaped like a panther and inlaid with gold writing.
A selection of four of the terracotta warriors, chosen to show how each and every statue is different.
Two horse sculptures that impressed me very much.
A gorgeous drinking cup made from horn. The muzzle of the cow is made of gold. It was so perfect, so skillfully and smoothly crafted, it astounded me.
A jar with dragon handles.
A statue of the King of Heaven. I'd sure as heck be respectful to the gods if my deity looked like that, brrr.
Two bronze-backed mirrors, my favorites from a rather extensive gallery devoted to them.
A jade belt that I think would look very good on Emrys. How do you feel about a visit to China, Emrys? You'll love the clothes, I'm sure . . .
Dragon!
An exceptionally beautiful pot.
A view from the roadside bar where we stopped for a drink in the evening.
The walls of Xi'an have been thoroughly restored, and it's possible to ride all the way around the city on them. Even that would take you a good while, though; I chose to walk only a portion of the wall, despite the blazing sun and complete lack of shade.
More gates have become necessary, of course, in order to allow traffic.
Looking up at the wall from outside.
Actually this seemingly-empty park was full of people and life. Homeless men slept in the low groves of trees, and here and there groups gathered to practice singing Chinese opera or play games of mahjong. It was quite lively, which I've realized is standard for China.
On top of the wall, now, approaching the heavily-fortified western gate.
The gatehouse and guard post.
Of course the reason for all this impressive fortification is because Xi'an was the beginning (or the end, depending on how you look at it) of the ancient Silk Road. This sign amused me very much, because it's a sign in China written in Japanese katakana for English words. It reads, "Silk Road start," or rather, "siruku ro-do suta-to."
Decorative detail from the gatehouse.
Finally, I was deeply amused by these mannequins in the window of a high-end department store downtown. Xi'an is, of course, the famous home of the terracotta warriors, who will be showing up in a later post.
