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醒世詩xing3 shi4 shi1

Calligraphy by Foo Hong12/25/2000

Poems of Enlightenment

符大 抄煥筆

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When dad first copied these poemshe was 24 in the year 1946, 8 years after fleeing the warring China, only to be tortured by the Japanese invasion

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Yet he persevered during these times,When nothing is for grantededucated himself, raised 6 of us and many others

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He copied them again in 1996

I knew of these poems only after He copied them for the third time in year 2000When he was 78

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While mom, his comrade of these difficult and challenging years, Was withering on bed for yearsUnder the loving care of my beloved siblings

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So why Lo zhuang4 yuan2bothered to write these poems in the year 1530when he suddenly decided to become a monk and deserting the honor of scoring first in the imperial examination and all the impending glory?

醒世詩xing3 shi4 shi1

Poems of Enlightenment

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As rich as Shi2 Chong2 ,He did not enjoy thousand years of wealth

General Han2 Xin4,Despite his ingenious 10 strategiesDid not escape his own miserable fate

Here are some examples of what he wrote:

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Riches and Powers of the mortal Are like dew on the flower

The honors and fames on the paperAre like waves of the sea

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And why the authors of these 2 epic novels wrote the following:

Three Kingdoms: A Historical NovelDream of

the Red Chamber

11http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/chinese/HLM/caohome.html

Though the virtues of the Gods All mankind may fully know, Still the heaping up of riches They reluctantly forego. Daily they lament their failure, With their first and latest breath,

When satiety arrives Then their eyes are closed in death.

etc.

The Dream of the Red Chamber [Hong Lou Meng]

Hao3 liao3 Ge1 好了歌

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/id-92.html

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On and on The Great river RollsRacing eastOf Proud and gallant heroesIts white –tops leave no trace

Romance of the Three Kingdoms 三 演國 義

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_of_the_Three_Kingdoms

江 逝水滾滾長 東 , 浪花淘 英雄。盡是非成 空：青山依 在敗轉頭 舊 ,

度夕 。幾 陽紅

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And if at the endEvery things is emptyWhat then keep them going Persevere, and not sink into depression ?

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Like this little man Rolling rock up the mountainAgain and again

Existentialism: that life is a process

It is the process that counts

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And Life is not half empty but half full

The Contorta inspirationLife is bending whichever way but eventually it will surely go up

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“If you find a reason to be depressedDefinitely you can also find a good reasonto be happy”

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You have to click enter or roll center brown button to advance the next set of slides

chuang1 wai4 you3 feng1 窗 外 有 風，

wo3 jiu4 you3 liao3我 就 有 了

fei1 de5 li3 you2 飛 的 理 由

When there is wind outside the windowI have the reason to fly

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醒世詩xing3 shi4 shi1

Calligraphy by Foo Hong12/25/2000