in the grove
in the grove
The Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove – celebrated mavericks who escaped the oppressive life of the court for wine, poetry and philosophy amidst the bamboo forest. But who were these sagely iconoclasts? What were their names and why are they worthy? And what about other mysterious lists we read about? The four books? The six schools? The nine tribes? Seven Worthies is dedicated to diving into Chinese history and culture, one list at a time.
worthy
reads
worthy
reads
musings
musings
Is my lovely cup of tea a cup of tea?
Some time ago there was an advert for, I believe, water filtration of one kind or another, in which a woman of unblemished skin and calm disposition brews herself a cup of enticingly translucent tea in a glass cup, using said water. Her equally impeccable husband, looking on jealously at her newly-steeped beverage says admiringly, "That's a lovely cup of tea". To which she archly replies, "Wrong again! It's my lovely cup of tea." (I cannot now remember the male partner's first inaccuracy that made him wrong for the second time - presumably some wrong-headed assumption about water filtration.)
Xi Feng’s Way with Words
Xi Feng, or Phoenix, is among the most compelling characters in the Hong Lou Meng. Whenever she steps into a room she dominates the scene, and even when she absent, her influence is felt throughout the two households. One reason for her dominance in the family hierarchy is her quick wit and golden tongue, which she uses with expert precision: she can tear a strip off an underling, negotiate her way to financial advantage, or have a room in stitches. Having not grown up with a classical education, Xi Feng lacks the literary allusions and clever jokes of other young ladies of the household, as Dai Yu snobbily remarks. Yet this does not hold her back in the slightest.
