2014: 甲午年, The Year of Yellow Horse

2014 : 甲午年, The Year of the Yellow Horse.

i guess many of you have celebrated Winter Solstice (冬至) with your family members or loved ones yesterday and enjoyed together some Tangyuan 湯圓, preferably 5 whites and 1 pink in clear sweet ginger soup.

The Horse will take over from the Snake next year.

While strictly the Yellow Horse starts from 立春 (Feb 4), the Yellow Horse forces will start to exert itself 2 weeks earlier on 大寒 (Big Cold on Jan 20, 2014).

Yellow Horse Year is wetter than average year throughout, with H1 warmer and H2 dryer.

So H1 will be more humid than average year. It will become more 悶熱 earlier in Northern Hemisphere. This type of cosmic forces promote lesser elements like H7N9. So build up your body defence and cut down on red meat and raw stuff

Habitual use of ginger in your diet will be beneficial, for digestion and dispelling of lesser elements from your body system in the year of humidity and warmness.

Have a great Yellow Horse Year to all.

Enjoy.

Is Confucius a conservative thinker ?

Many people have criticised Conficius for all sorts of reasons, mostly for creating a conservative society and for his viewwomen aspen

I think perhaps it is best to go right back to the source book, 論語 (The Analects).

You will be surprised how fundamentally liberal Confucius was, for example, below are some of his fundamental attitudes :

“學而時習之 ,不亦說（悅）乎…”
This is the starting line of the Analects.
It says that “practise and revisit regularly what one has learned is an excellent (pleasant) thing…”
ie he encourages us not just learn from books, but to seek actual realisation via practice…

and he taught that :
“… 敏而好學、不恥下問…”
ie that a true learner “… should continue to strive hard to learn new stuff, and not feeling shameful to ask what one does not know.

and he reminded us that :

＂學而不思則罔、思而不學則貽…”

Clearly he was not a supporter of spoon feeding (which many people think traditional Chinese education is) and encouraged self thinking.

He also believed that just plain thinking without further learning will not lead to much result either, ie to produce result one need to “sweat”…consistent with Albert Einstein’s comment wrt the contribution of talent vs sweat.

Also, Conficius’ thought was widely embraced by the time Buddhism was exported to China. If Confucius thought has been conservative, how does one explain it could accomadate foreign new thinking that led to the flourishing of Buddhism in China, which in turn was exported to Korea and Japan?

Do you think Confucius is conservative?
Or is it his later followers?

壬辰年, 2012, The Year of the Dragon

Dear friends,

Time flies and it is another New Year

I wish all of you a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.

We have just celebrated 冬至 (“Dong-zhi”, Winter Solstice) on December 22. With that we are coming out of the deepest of Winter (not necessarily temperature) and the Yang energy is rising towards Spring to create the state of Tai (“泰”, a condition favourable for growth and birth).

In just over 3 weeks’ time, we will be celebrating 春节, “Chun Jie”, Chinese New Year) on Jan 23. How time flies. (Strictly speaking, in the old custom before 1914, 春节 was on 立春, and the first day of 1st month is called “元旦”. After 1914, the ROC government renamed January 1 st as “元旦” and designited 春节 on the first day of 1st month). For the purposes of accurately determining which animal sign one is born, 立春 is the correct benchmark, not current 春节, which is a misnomer.

The Dragon will take over the baton from the White Rabbit for the coming New Year.

For matters relating to the cosmic forces of 壬辰年 (Ren-chen Year), it will start from Jan 21,2012 and ends on around Jan 20, 2013.

壬辰年 (Ren-chen Year), is governed by the main cosmic force of Strong Wind Wood, supplemented by Cold Water (H1) and Damp Earth (H2) as two additional sub-forces.

In general 壬辰 年 is more damp than an average year, though due to Wind factor, this wetness will come with volatility.

*** Wetness, amongst other things, provides a more fertile environment for the appearance of lesser elements such as H5N1 etc, especially in the South China region. This risk is highest in March-May period.***

Given efficient air-travel, any epidemic will soon spread to a much wider region. So take measures to boost your body defence and avoid the crowd whether such lesser elements appear.

The element Strong Wood represents the group which includes Wind, Eastern direction, colour green, growth, mood swing and liver system etc.

Many fengshui people will group 壬 under water and therefore classify 壬辰年 as Water Dragon (or Black Dragon since Water is represented by black colour). I prefer to look at its main characteristic of Strong Wood Wind and group it under Green Dragon.

In human body, Wood corresponds to the Liver Qi (which controls mood swing, blood cycle, eyes, digestion (especially meat),joints and tendons etc). The other two sub-forces affects the Kidney system and the Digestive system respectively.

In general, 壬辰年(Ren-chen Year) will be :

1. Where the weather will be somewhat erractic throughout the year,
2. Colder/wetter in H1 and and Wetter in H2 compared to an average year.

In a Chinese calendar of 60-year cycle (一甲子, “Yi Jiazi”), the 12 animal signs will each appear 5 times, each 12 years apart, each having a different characteristics, pending on its combination with the main cosmic force of that year.

2012 will be Strong Green Dragon. Generally Strong Green Dragon is moody, it does things at its own timing and may cause collateral damages. Given Dragon can live in the sky, land and the sea, and with the temper of Green Dragon, it is likely to be more active therefore causing much splashing all-over the place, creating a wetter environment.

The characteristics of the 5 different Dragons are, generally (they are all of a “Strong” type):

Green Dragon : emotionally/mood swing driven Dragon,

Yellow Dragon : most peaceful of the 5 dragons, manage to control water

Black Dragon : water all over the place throughout the year

Red Dragon : supposed to be an active dragon, though toned down by water element and more matured in its behaviour

White Dragon : this dragon prefers to stay below the ground, so less wet and volatile then most dragons

Which Dragon arw you?

The 4 major directions in the Chinese universe is represented by the following auspicious animals (you can imagine them from the group of stars that appear in the corresponding part of the sky):

East : Green Dragon (青龙), Wood

South : Red Phoenix (朱雀), Fire

West : White Tiger (白虎), Metal

North : Black Turtle (玄武), Water

So this year our “Strong Green” is also in the “Eastern” direction. More specifically, it is skewed more towards South-East, perhaps ESE and these are the regions more exposed in 2012.

Note that the East is also represented by 震卦 (zhen-gua), which amongst other things, including phenomenon of vibration. Fasten your seat-felts !!!

Now, in general “Wood” suppresses “Earth” and “Metal” suppresses “Wood” when they are in equal strength.

In “Strong Wood” case, it overwhelmes the “Earth” and liberates itself from the suppression by “Metal”.

“Wood” in the human body corresponds to the Liver System (which includes the GallBladder, eyes, control of blood, control of emotions etc). Given the Strong Wood overwhelms the Earth (which represents the digestive system and water drainage system) and revenges on the Metal (which represents the Lung system and the expelling system), such functions will be impacted as well, all else being equal.

Therefore in 2012, ALL ELSE BEING EQUAL, given the main cosmic forces is “Strong Wood” supplemented with Cold and Dampness, in health terms, the Liver,Kidney and Digestive systems are more exposed, with Liver system under more pressure throughout the year, the Kidney system in the H1 and Digestive system in the H2 (for those living in Northern Hemisphere). For Liver system, it means emotional swings, increase risk of strokes etc (for those that resonates with the main cosmic force of Green Dragon). For women, blood cycle will be more prone to disturbance (of course it differ from person to person, pending on their resonance with the external environmeny).

Have a Happy and Wonderful , 壬辰年.

Take great care too of the unpredictability and volatility of the Green Dragon.

Remember the most important thing, strengthen your immunity and perhaps practise some Yoga to stay calm the volatile Green Dragon year.

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

Aron Ralston, Genghis Khan and Qin Shihuangdi

Dear Friends,

I guess as usual all are enjoying the Chinese New Year, visiting friends and making New Year resolutions.

As we make our New Year resolutions and/or wanting to know what our children's resolutions are, we like to aim high and look forward to achieve something, something meaningful or larger than ourselves if possible.

Aron Ralston is a die-hard sportsman, an ardent marathon runner and a mountaineer. He is so fit and strong that nothing appears to be impossible. He never need to tell anybody about his next move or whereabout in his pursuit of adrenalin.

Genghis Khan's empire, at it's peak, is bigger than any known to man's history. Nothing appears to stand in his way for more greatness.

Qin Shihuangdi, the first emperor of China and who managed to unify China in terms of language, measurement and "rules of law", his empire looked set to last a million year.

What really went through Aron Ralston's mind when he got trapped for 5 days by a boulder in Robbers Roost in Utah?

What went through Genghis Khan and Qin Shihuangdi's minds when they were struck down by sickness at the peak of their greatness?

What went through their minds at their weakest moment?

So what's currently going through Stanley Ho's mind, now that his four wives (and/or via their children) are fighting for a piece of his wealth, now that he is 90 and getting weaker?

Could happiness well be just a bowl of hot congee ? Just to be home? etc

Just a random thought.

Enjoy everyday of Xin-mao Year.

知己/知音 ：Close/Bosom Friends

Dear Friends,

We talked about Zhu Geliang earlier regarding his wise 86 words to his youngest son while he was at the frontier in his last battle.

Zhu Geliang is always being depicted as the wisest strategist during the war-lord era of the Three Kingdoms.

On the contrary, Cao Cao is always being depicted as a ruthless and cunny strategist (奸雄  vs 英雄, unscrupulous opportunist as opposed to hero), strengthening his position by essentially keeping and controlling the young but powerless Han emperor (獻帝, Xian Di).

In those turbulent times, guess it is the power of one’s army and the guns, not much of righteousness, to which Liu Bei (刘备) is always being associated with as he was a distant relative of the Han royal family and therefore a rightful person in-line to rule the Han land. If you read the story of the Three Kingdoms careful, there is not much difference among the war lords, only the rules of jungle and who out maneuvered who. That’s it.

Apart from Cao Cao and Liu Bei, Sun Quan (孙权) formed the other power center.

Sun Quan’s most famous general was Zhou Yu (周瑜), young and very talented. In the novel by 罗贯中 (Luo Guanzhong, who wrote the Story of the Three Kingdoms. This was of course different from the real history though it described most of the famous events and battles, including the famous Battle at Red Cliff), Zhou Yu was outwitted by Zhu’s near divine wisdom and eventually died after losing his cool three times courtesy of Zhu (孔明三激周瑜).

At Zhou Yu’s funeral,  Zhu Geliang wrote a long obituary, citing his respect for Zhou’s courage, wisdom and a distinguished general. He ended by saying  “从此天下，更无知音！”,meaning ” from now onwards, there will be no one who can understand me better” .

In today’s world, it is very hard to find a friend, let alone an intimate friend who actually understands oneself.

Zhu stands out because of Zhou Yu, or Liu Bei stands out because of Cao Cao, or Guan Yu (关羽)’s loyalty and righteousness versus Lv Bu (吕布)’s yearn for fame and glory ahead of loyalty and righteousness.

So we can say “Zhou Yu therefore Zhu Geliang” or “Cao Cao therefore Liu Bei” etc.

There is a famous saying, “生瑜又生亮”, ie  “whereas the world already has Zhu Geliang, why give rise to a Zhou Yu ?”. Similarly, whereas there is already a Cao Cao, why give rise to a Liu Bei ?

In a short life time, how many people can we find that we can call “bosom friends” who can really understand us yet without any conflict of interest?  May be we can’t even exhaust counting using our fingers in one hand.

Or may be, just as Zhu Geliang put it, it may be the arch rival who can understands oneself best and has utmost mutual respect for each.

Remember Confucius’ saying again ”

知之为知之，不知为不知，是知（智）也。

知 is such a rare thing to grasp or  “understand” (satori, 悟）。

For those who are curious about what Zhu Geliang wrote i remembrance of Zhou Yu, here it goes :

“呜呼公瑾，不幸夭亡！修短故天，人岂不伤？我心实痛，酹酒一觞；君其有灵，享我烝尝！吊君幼学，以交伯符；仗义疏财，让舍以居。吊君弱冠，万里鹏抟；定建霸业，割据江南。吊君壮力，远镇巴丘；景升怀虑，讨逆无忧。吊君丰度，佳配小乔；汉臣之婿，不愧当朝，吊君气概，谏阻纳质；始不垂翅，终能奋翼。吊君鄱阳，蒋干来说；挥洒自如，雅量高志。吊君弘才，文武筹略；火攻破敌，挽强为弱。想君当年，雄姿英发；哭君早逝，俯地流血。忠义之心，英灵之气；命终三纪，名垂百世，哀君情切，愁肠千结；惟我肝胆，悲无断绝。昊天昏暗，三军怆然；主为哀泣；友为泪涟。亮也不才，丐计求谋；助吴拒曹，辅汉安刘；掎角之援，首尾相俦，若存若亡，何虑何忧？呜呼公瑾！生死永别！朴守其贞，冥冥灭灭，魂如有灵，以鉴我心：从此天下，更无知音！呜呼痛哉！伏惟尚飨。”

Xiaoyao2: 2010 in review

Dear friends,

Thank you all for your supports in visiting my blog, without which it wouldn’t be as interesting as it is.
I hope you all enjoy it as well as enjoying the forum and exchanges of ideas and info.

Below pls find stats compiled by word press.com.

Have fun and hope you continue to visit xiaoyao2.

xy2.

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

A helper monkey made this abstract painting, inspired by your stats.

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 6,500 times in 2010. That’s about 16 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 3 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 140 posts. There was 1 picture uploaded, taking a total of 27kb.

The busiest day of the year was February 14th with 112 views. The most popular post that day was 庚寅年 (Geng-yin Year) : 2010, Year of White Tiger.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were sapforums.lv, draugiem.lv, mfadhly.com, facebook.com, and baidu.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for geng yin, zusanli, year of white tiger, geng yin year, and zu san li.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

庚寅年 (Geng-yin Year) : 2010, Year of White Tiger December 2009
123 comments

2

An Acupoint a Day keeps the doctor away : 足三里 (Zu San Li) March 2008
17 comments

3

Zhu Geliang’s Letter to His Son May 2010
84 comments

4

元宵節 (“Yuan Xiao Jie”) : 15th Day of 1st Lunar Month February 2009
23 comments

5

Avatar February 2010
38 comments

辛卯年 (Xin-Mao Year) : 2011, Year of the Rabbit

Dear Friends,

from http://www.hennest.com

It has been a while since I last entered my last posting.

I wish all of you a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.

Again we just celebrated 冬至 (“Dong-zhi”, Winter Solstice) on December 22.  With that we have passed the deepest of Winter (not necessarily temperature) and the Yang energy is brewing up to welcome the coming Spring. Please refer to posting 冬至 (“Dong Zhi”) – Longest Night in Northern Hemisphere for details on 冬至.

Last year I mentioned that for 庚寅年 (Geng-yin Year) : 2010, we will have a rather cold winter compared to average year. I hope we will pass this very cold winter soon.

In another 4.5 weeks’ time, we will be celebrating  春节, “Chun Jie”, Chinese New Year) again, on Feb 3. How time flies.

The Rabbit will take over the seat from the White Tiger  for the coming New Year. (for 2009 and 2010, please read postings  庚寅年 (Geng-yin Year) : 2010, Year of White Tiger, 己丑年 (Ji Chou Year) : 2009, Year of Ox for description of cosmic forces of 2009 and 2010).

For matters relating to the cosmic forces of  辛卯年 (Xin-mao Year), it will start  from Jan 20,2011 and ends on around Jan 20, 2012.

• 辛卯年 (Xin-mao Year) is governed by the main cosmic force of  Lesser Water,  supplemented by Dryness (H1) and Medium Heat (H2) as two additional sub-forces.
• Thus in general 辛卯年 is dryer and warmer than an average year. Guess this will put pressure on agriculture (as well as anything to do with “flow” characteristic, money included I supposed. So maybe Europe/USA will have another liquidity crisis?).

The element Water represents the group which includes Water, Winter Qi, North direction, colour black etc.

However， as it is “Lesser Water” rather than “Strong Water”, it is half way between “Strong Metal” and “Strong Water”.

“Strong Metal” is White while “Strong Water” is Black, so it may be more appropriate to call 辛卯年 a “Grey Rabbit”.

In human body, Water corresponds to the Kidney Qi (which controls fertility, hair, teeth, Bladder, vitality etc).

In general,  辛卯年 (Xin-mao Year) will be :

• rather dry and warmer in H1 and H2 compared to an average year.
  
  

Similar to explanation in 己丑年 (2009, please refer to posting  The 5 Cows in the Years of Ox, me which one ?), we will find 5 different “Rabbits” in a 60-year cycle (一甲子, “Yi Jiazi”), each 12 years apart, each having a different characteristics, pending on its combination with the main cosmic force of that year.

2011  will be  Lesser Black  Rabbit.  Generally Lesser Black Rabbit lacks stamina, gets tired easily, mild temper , though generally prefer outdoor activities than staying at home (but with short time span), shallow sleep (and therefore its red eyes!) and have rather good appetite (in small portion but eats frequently) etc. They are also a bit promiscuous.  They are not all night wild party animal though!

The characteristics of the 5 different Rabbits are, generally (they are all of a “Lesser” type):

• Green Rabbit        : emotionally driven Rabbit
• Yellow Rabbit      : less active with reduced appetite Rabbit
• Black Rabbit         : as described above
• Red Rabbit            : most active Rabbi among the 5 Rabbits
• White Rabbit        : i guess in human terms, most prone to constipation

Where can you find a Lesser Black Rabbit (probably mean Grey Rabbit)? Haven’t seen one myself. The image of a rabbit is typically white to with red eyes to me. Guess instead of trying to find one Black Rabbit, it is probably quicker just to dye one black!

To refresh your memory again, the 4 major directions in the Chinese universe is represented by the following auspicious animals (you can imagine them from the group of stars that appear in the corresponding part of the sky):

1. East        : Green Dragon (青龙), Wood
2. South     : Red Phoenix (朱雀), Fire
3. West       : White Tiger (白虎), Metal
4. North     : Black Turtle (玄武), Water

Given “Lesser Black” is also in the “North” direction, it is also a Turtle. So in fact 2011 is a small Turtle! more generally disguised as a Lesser Black Rabbit!

Now, while “Water” suppresses “Fire” and “Earth” blocks “Water”  when they are in equal strength, in “Lesser Water” case, it is being overwhelmed by “Fire” in reverse (try sprinkling a bit of water on strong fire and see the effect).

“Lesser Water” is also easily blocked by “Earth”, making it even weaker to counteract on “Fire”.

“Water” in the human body corresponds to the Kidney System (which includes the Bladder, the hairs, teeth, bones,  controls the spinal cords, the reproductive systems, urination, brain and intelligence etc).

Therefore in 2011, ALL ELSE BEING EQUAL, given the main cosmic forces is “lesser Water” supplimented with dryness and heat, in health terms, the Kidney, Lung and Heart systems are more exposed, with Kidney systems under more pressure throughout the year, the Lung system in the H1 and Heart system in the H2 (for those living in Northern Hemisphere).

Have a Happy and Wonderful 辛卯年 !

Zhu Geliang’s Letter to His Son

Dear Friends,

image from : http://www.luckup.net/upload/2009-03/090312155356341.gif

Zhu Geliang (诸葛亮, AD 181-234) was one of the greatest military strategists, politicans, inventors as well as educators in China.

He has given his best to rebuild the Han Dynasty, foiling Cao Cao’s ambition in the chaotic Period of The Three Kingdoms in late Han Dynasty. (Though he was not successful in his noble aim eventually).

After the death of Liu Bei (his master who paid him three visits in his humble residence before Zhu Geliang agreed to serve him in rebuilding/defending the Han Dynasty), Zhu Geliang (aka Kong Ming) was tasked by Liu Bei to look after the welfare of State of 蜀汉 and the unfinished job of reuniting the Han Dynasty.

Kong Ming devoted all his energy to the state and rarely has the opportunity to spend time with his children.

In the olden days, fathers used to write education letters (诫子书, “Jie Zi Shu”) to their children, to remind them of the values and objectives in life.

Zhu Geliang’s “诫子书”  to his son 诸葛瞻 (“Zhu Gezhan”, who was then 8 years old) was one of the most famous.

It has only 86 characters and summarises all key advice to his son. Less is More. Zhu Geliang wrote this at the front line in his last battle against the State of Wei.

Here it goes :

        夫君子之行，静以修身，俭以养德。

        非澹泊无以明志，非宁静无以致远。

        夫学须静也，才须学也。

        非学无以广才，非静无以成学。

        慆慢则不能研精，险躁则不能理性。

        年与时驰，志与岁去，遂成枯落，悲叹穷庐，将复何及也。

 I would not try to translate it, it is very concise and in best form possible.

In essence, Zhu advised his son on the importance of :

1. Solitude : ability to bear loneliness, achieving calmness in the mind that’s essential in training one’s character,

2. Frugality : for social responsibilty

3. Setting of Goals in life

4. Study : to equip oneself with knowledge to serve the society

5. Perseverance : working hard to equip oneself with necessary tools to achieve set objectives

6. Efficiency :  laziness is the greatest enemy

7. Mental State : Rational and calmness to lead

8. Time : importance of time management, time and tide wait for no man

9. Social Engagement/Participation : Making meaningful contribution or regreting at the end of the journey.

Teaching, or more exactly education, is the most difficult thing in life, especially in our current information world flushed with indiscriminate information, most of which are rubbish anyway.

Have fun.

Happy Mother’s Day

To All Mothers :

慈母手中線，遊子身上衣；

臨行密密縫 , 意恐遲遲歸。

誰言寸草心，報得三春暉 ?

image from www.intimateweddings.com

Avatar

  

 image from dailymail.co.uk

Dear Friends,

There appears to be much excitement about “avatar” in the previous posting that I decided to write a posting on “Avatar” the movie.

I guess by now some of you or your kids might have been to the cinema a couple of times to enjoy the 3D Avatar. Good graphics and scenery. The main scenery was based on the mountain in Zhangjiajie (张家界) in Hunan Province in China. The officials there have decided to cash in by renaming the world heritage mountain “Avatar Halleluyah Mountain” !

The original name in Chinese is “南天一柱”, which can literally be translated as “the Wonderest Column in The South”.

Some may say that “Avatar” is the reincarnation of “Pocahontas”.

Whichever, this is how I look at “Avatar” :

• Nature is a dedicate thing, touch one thing, all will be affected.

As per earlier posting,  Snowflakes and Prajnaparamita , all things are a lot more closely connected than we thought, in time and space. 

• Now and Here.

As in posting Experiencing “Now and Here”, if we really experience Now and Here, we touch the past and the future. That’s what Jake managed to achieve under the Tree of Souls, he heard the past and probably felt he future as well. Our modern societ is too “noisy”, we can’t tune in well to receive background signals. That’s the logic behind meditation, to fine-tune our “receivers”.

• Spacetime

In posting  Walking with Empress Cixi (象), we are often at the right place but at the wrong time, or vice versa. Whether Avatar or the real body, after all, are just manisfestation of the same thing under different spacetime frame.

In fact often we are “semi Avatar”, we wear different outfits, we play different roles under different circumstances.

The Universe is just like a giant spiderweb without boundaries. Imagine at each knot there is a star, and that each star is each one of us. This giant star-studded spiderweb floats in the Universe, more spectacular than anything we have ever seen.

Imagined this way, we can quite easily see the connectivity among the stars in the giant spiderweb. Even for those stars that are zillion of light-years from our own “star”. What happened to a distant star will definitely has an impact on our own star, just that we don’t feel it immediately if we are “noisy” ourselves. Staying quite, we will better feel the “pulse” far away.

That’s how xiaoyao2 experinced the Avatar. How about you?

Have fun.