夕陽、黃昏｜sUNSET, dUSK
面對不變現實，
美好確是短暫，既無奈也惋惜。
Facing uNCHANGING rEALITY,
sETTING sUN is indeed sHORT-lIVED, It is both hELPLESS and rEGRETFUL.
李商隱（約八一三年至八五八年，晚唐詩人及官員）－《登樂遊原》：
Li Shangyin*₁ (ca. 813-858, poet and official of the late Tang Dynasty) – “A visit to Leyou Garden”*₂:
囧囧囧
向晚意不適，
驅車登古原。
夕陽無限好，
只是近黃昏。
fEELING not well in the eVENING,
Took a carriage to aNCIENT gARDEN.
Setting sUN is infinitely bEAUTIFUL,
Just it is aLMOST dUSK.
囧囧囧
柔、堅｜dELICATE, sTRONG
平衡，就是若剛能制柔，柔也能克剛。
BALANCE, that is, if the sTRONGNESS can rESTRAIN the sOFTNESS, then the sOFTNESS can also rESTRAIN the sTRONGNESS.
《道德經》—— 第七十六章：
“Tao Te Ching”*₁- Chapter 76 (original written in Classical Chinese):
人之生也[柔弱₁]，其死也[堅強₂]。草木之生也[柔脆₃]，其死也[枯槁₄]。故堅強者死之徒，柔弱者生之徒。是以[兵₅]強則[滅₆]，[木₇]強則[折₈]。強大處[下₉]，柔弱處[上₁₀]。
People are [sOFT and dELICATE₁] when born, and they become [hARD and sTIFF₂] after death. When the plants and trees are alive, they are also [sOFT and fRAGILE₃], once they are dead, they become [wITHERED and dRY₄]. So the hardness and stiffness are on the side of dEATH, while the softness and delicacy are on the side of lIFE. Therefore, the [sOLDIERS₅] will be [aNNIHILATED₆] as they are strong, the [tREES₇] will be [cUT dOWN₈] as they are strong. The sTRONG one will be in the [lOW₉] position, the dELICATE one will be in the [uP₁₀] position.
對、雪｜wATCH, sNOW
到底是人的心融化了雪，還是雪融化了人的心？
Does actually human hEART melt the snow, or does the snow mELT human heart?
子蘭（唐末僧侶及詩人）－《對雪》：
Zilan*₁ (Monk and poet of late Tang Dynasty) – “Watching Snow”:
密密無聲墜碧空，霏霏有韻舞微風。
幽人吟望搜辭處，飄入窗來落硯中。
(sNOW) fall sILENTLY from the blue green sky, twirl and dance rHYTHMICALLY with the breeze.
rECLUSE sighs and looks for a place to hIDE, (but sNOW) dRIFT into the window and fALL onto the ink slab.
孝、欽｜fILIAL , rESPECT
家教，就是家庭中的終身言行身教。
fAMILY eDUCATION is the whole lIFE teaching by pRECEPTS, bEHAVIORS and eXAMPLES in the family.
林逋（九六七年至一零二八年，北宋儒家詩人）－《省心錄》中一話：
Lin Bu (967-1028, Confucian poet of Northern Song Dynasty*₁) – A quote of “Record of self-reflection”:
[孝₁]於親則子孝，
[欽₂]於人則眾欽。
Be [fILIAL₁] to your parents, your children will also be fILIAL to you.
[rESPECT₂] others, others will also rESPECT you.
..,
死、生、養、歡｜dEAD, bORN, dISTRESSED, hAPPY
百年之後，無是無非。
After a hundred years*₁, there’s no yES or nO.
莊子－《莊子》之《外篇》—— 第十一章《至樂》、段六：
Zhuangzi *₂ – “Outer chapters” of “Zhuangzi”, – Paragraph 6 of the Chapter 11 “The Greatest Happiness” (original written in Classical Chinese):
列子行，食于道從，見百歲髑髏，攓蓬而指之曰：
“唯予與汝知而未嘗[死₁]、未嘗[生₂]也。若果[養₃]乎？予果[歡₄]乎？”
Leizi*₃ ate on the roadside upon his journey, there he saw a hundred years old skull, he then plucked the grass surrounding and pointed to the skull, said:
“Only I and you know that you are nOT [dEAD₁], also nEVER [bORN₂]. Are you rEALLY [dISTRESSED₃]? And am I rEALLY [hAPPY₄]?”
實、虛｜fULL, eMPTY
人生百感，尤不為解。
There are hundred feelings of life, especially when man is not understood.
魯迅（一八八一年九月二十五日至一九三六年十月十九日，現代文學中心人物、作家及哲學家）－《野草》之《題辭》，第一句：
Lu Hsun*₁ (25th September, 1881-19th October, 1936; was a leading figure of Chinese modern literature, writer and philosopher.) – the first sentence of “Foreword” of “Wild grass”*₂:
×××
當我沉默著的時候，我覺得充實；我將開口，同時感到空虛。
When I am sILENT, I feel fULL; I oPEN my mouth and feel eMPTY.
×××
冰、釋｜iCE, mELT
違反天理，心只求虛，活在非非。
To violate the laws of nATURE and aspire to things which are uNREAL, that is living in an iLLUSORY world.
王充（二七年至九七年），東漢哲學家－《論衡》－第廿四篇《道虛》之末部：
Wang Chong (27-97), A philosopher of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220)*₁ – The last part of the Chapter 24th – “Daoxu”*₃ of the “Lunheng”*₂:
×××
有[血脈₁]之類，無有不[生₂]，生無不[死₃]。以其生，故知其死也。
天地不生，故不死；[陰₄][陽₅]不生，故不死。死者，[生₆]之效；生者，死之驗也。
夫有始者必有終，有終者必有始。唯無[終₇][始₈]者，乃[長生不死₉]。
人之生，其猶[冰₁₀]也。水凝而為冰，[氣₁₁]積而為人。冰極一冬而釋，人竟百歲而死。人可令不死，冰可令不[釋₁₂]乎？
諸學[仙術₁₃]為不死之方，其必不[成₁₄]，猶[不能₁₅]使冰終不釋也。
Those lives which have [bLOOD relationships₁], none of them were not [bORN₂]. After being born, none of them do not [dIE₃]. From the fact of birth, so humans know about death.
Sky and earth were not born, therefore they do not die; [dARKNESS (yIN)₄] and [bRIGHTNESS (yANG)₅] were not born, therefore they do not die. Death, is a proof of [lIFE₆]; and life, is a proof of death.
There must be a beginning with an ending and an ending with a beginning. Only there’s no [eND₇] and no [sTART₈], then things [last fOREVER₉].
Human’s life is like [iCE₁₀]. Water is solidified into ice, [breaths (cHI)₁₁] are accumulated to be human. Ice will melt after winter, human will die after hundred years. If human can make himself not die, can ice let itself not [mELT₁₂] then?
All who learn the [mAGIC₁₃] power for immortality, they will certainly not [sUCCEED₁₄], just as it is [iMPOSSIBL₁₅] to make ice never melt.
×××
感、雪｜fEEL, sNOW
雪，不只是凍，有時還會又苦又甜。
Snow, is not just cOLD, sometimes also bITTERSWEET.
羅隱（八三三年至九零九或九一零年，唐末詩人及文學家）－《雪》：
Luo Yin (833-909/910, Late Tang Dynasty’s poet and writer) – “Snow”:
×××
盡道豐年瑞，豐年事若何。
長安有貧者，爲瑞不宜多。
People all are talking that the gOOD snow is a good sign of the bumper hARVEST for the next year, sO wHAT?
Chang’an*₁ has pOOR people, the good snow still should not be mORE.
×××
夕、次｜oVERNIGHT, sTAY
在水一方的未眠夜。
sLEEPLESS on the other side of water.
韋應物（七三七年至七九二年，唐代詩人）－《夕次盱眙縣》：
Wei Yingwu (737-792, Tang Dynasty’s poet) – “Overnight stay in Xuyi*”:
×××
落帆逗淮鎮，停舫臨孤驛。
浩浩風起波，冥冥日沉夕。
人歸山郭暗，雁下蘆洲白。
獨夜憶秦關，聽鍾未眠客。
Unloaded the sail and moored to riverside of a town of Huai River,
little boat dOCKED at a lonely posthouse.
Big wind caused the wAVES,
the sun set and the sky turned dIM.
Mountain was dARK and the people went home,
flock of wild geese landed in the reeds in the mOONLIGHT.
Could not help thinking of Chang’an in the lONELY night,
The people, who were sLEEPLESS, could only hear the bells.
×××
水、雲、情｜wATER, cLOUD, fEELING
七七，四十九日後。
*Seven times seven, forty nine days later.
晏幾道（一零三零年至一一零六年[未能證實]，北宋詞人）－
詞題：《離多最是》（詞牌：《少年遊》）：
Yan Jidao (1030-1106 [unconfirmed], Northern Song Dynasty’s lyricist) –
Title of Lyrics:“Leaving is mostly like” (Song: “Journey of the early youth”)：
離多最是，東西流水，終解兩相逢。
淺情終似，行雲無定，猶到夢魂中。
可憐人意，薄於雲水，佳會更難重。
細想從來，斷腸多處，不與今番同。
Leaving is mostly like, wATER flowing to the eAST and the wEST, but still can meet at the end.
Ending of sHALLOW feelings is like, moving cLOUDS without fixed directions, like meeting in the dREAM.
Feeling of hUMAN is unfortunately, tHINNER than the clouds and water, just hARD to come across good party again.
Reflecting on the pAST, although there’s a lot of hEARTBROKEN things happening, this time is not the sAME.