Month: December 2014

“Clearing Rain” – Poetry I Love

“Autumn in the Big City” by Spirosart

“Clearing Rain” by Du Fu (758)

The sky’s water has fallen, and autumn clouds are thin,
The western wind has blown ten thousand li.
This morning’s scene is good and fine,
Long rain has not harmed the land.
The row of willows begins to show green,
The pear tree on the hill has little red flowers.
A hujia pipe begins to play upstairs,
One goose flies high into the sky.

雨晴（一作秋霁）

天水秋云薄
从西万里风
今朝好晴景
久雨不妨农
塞柳行疏翠
山梨结小红
胡笳楼上发
一雁入高空

yǔ qíng（yī zuò qiū jì）
tiān shuǐ qiū yún báo
cóng xī wàn lǐ fēng
jīn zhāo hǎo qíng jǐng
jiǔ yǔ bù fáng nóng
sāi liǔ háng shū cuì
shān lí jiē xiǎo hóng
hú jiā lóu shàng fā
yī yàn rù gāo kōng

Italian art collector loses 13th century artwork worth one MILLION euros on Paris-Geneva train

“Italian art collector loses 13th century artwork worth one MILLION euros on Paris-Geneva train”

by Mark Duell via “Daily Mail Online“

Losing a treasured item can leave you feeling sick, so spare a thought for Francesco Plateroti.

The art collector from Italy left a 13th century piece by Chinese painter Wang Zhenpeng called The Banquet of Immortals on the Terrace of Jade on a high speed TGV train from Paris to Geneva.

Mr Plateroti got off the train in Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, a French town close to the Swiss border, before realising the artwork – worth €1million (£800,000) – was still in his briefcase in the carriage.

Train: An art collector left a 13th century piece on a high speed TGV service (file photo) from Paris to Geneva

He alerted staff who searched the train upon its arrival at the next stop of Geneva last month, but nothing was found, and Mr Plateroti is now offering a reward for the safe return of the painting.

He said that despite the painting’s high value it was unsaleable without the cultural certificate of authenticity he still had in his possession. He had been showing the work at an exhibition in Paris.

Mr Plateroti told The Local journalist Simone Flückiger: ‘I was crushed when I realised I didn’t have it with me. It was a massive shock. People take advantage of my misfortune.

‘They are calling me to say they have the painting and that they will send it once I put the reward money in their bank accounts. This all makes having lost the painting a lot worse.’

Station: Mr Plateroti got off the train in Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, a French town close to the Swiss border

But he said: ‘You have to be optimistic. After all, a positive attitude can overcome many obstacles.’

I was crushed when I realised I didn’t have it with me. It was a massive shock

Francesco Plateroti

All lost property items on the TGV are sent to a central office in Berne, Swizerland. But there has been no sign yet of the painting, which dates from the Yuan dynasty of 1280 to 1329.

Mr Plateroti added: ‘Anyone who finds and returns this will be well compensated. I am hopeful that I will have it back soon.’

The collector had been travelling on the 9789 TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) train from Paris to Geneva on November 21, which left the French capital at 8.11pm local time (7.11pm GMT).

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Paul Revere’s Time Capsule

“Samuel Adams and Paul Revere time capsule unearthed in Boston”

by Douglas Ernst via “Washington Times”

Samuel Adams and Paul Revere buried a time capsule in 1795. A Boston crew at the Massachusetts State House is now digging it up.

Repair work on a water leak of the State House prompted a crew to remove the cornerstone of the building, which encases the capsule. The Museum of Fine Arts will present the artifacts when the artifact is opened.

“As soon as the box is freed from the stone, we will show the box, then send it to the MFA, they will X-ray it over the weekend and open it sometime there next week,” Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin said Thursday, CNN reported.

The capsule, which was dug up during repairs in 1855, is said to house rare coins and papers dating back to the 1600s.

“There were some coins that were tossed in the 1855 ceremony in the mix of the mortar. They are in good condition so we are optimistic that the box itself has withstood the test of time and that it will therefore be holding the contents securely,” Mr. Galvin said, CNN reported.

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Yours, Mine, and Ours: The Elgin Marbles and the Power of One Word

Deceptively Blonde

Parthenon

The Parthenon

The artistry is exquisite; the detailing impressive. Built from 447 B.C. to 432 B.C. when such a building was truly a monument to the creativity and abilities of the Greeks, the Parthenon’s beauty has survived generations and centuries to remind the world of the power of human ingenuity. Carefully built upon a solid foundation of limestone and painstakingly elaborated with carvings of Pentelic Marble, the Parthenon has 46 separate columns surrounding the building. Above those columns, dozens of detailed marble plaques were embedded in the roof (1). It is these plaques that have been the center of so much debate in recent years (1). You can actually still see in the photo below the places where these embedded marbles used to be.

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Artist takes Hit Show Dynamic Yunnan to the Capital Stage

“Artist takes Hit Show Dynamic Yunnan to the Capital Stage”

via “Xinhuanet“

BEIJING, Nov. 18 (Xinhuanet) — The well-loved dance musical, “Dynamic Yunnan” is returning to the Chinese stage on its 10th anniversary. Directed by one of China’s most celebrated dancers, Yang Liping, the show recreates the indigenous musical culture of Yunnan’s diverse minority groups that is slowly effaced by modern life.

Yang has been called the ‘Peacock Princess.’ A title that is far from an exaggeration. Born in China’s Yunnan province, Ms. Yang has created numerous dances inspired by both the rich natural life and ethnic diversity of the region. Yet, no matter what she dances, she’s always strong and poised, much like the spirit of the Peacock.

A peacock dancing to the full moon, one of the enduring images of “Dynamic Yunnan”.

Of course, the dancer isn’t Yang Liping, but one of her successors; Yang Wu. But Yang Wu is ethereal in her portrayal of a young Yang Liping, of many full moons ago.

At the age of 11, she was the youngest of eight dancers selected by Xishuangbanna Prefecture Song and Dance Troupe from her village, to tour the region with the troupe. This tour through the local minority groups, laid the foundation of her aesthetics and became the inspiration for many of her works later in life.

“The Spirit of the Peacock,” choreographed and performed by Yang Liping, is one of them. This dance brought the girl from a Yunnan village to prominence and remains one of the most memorable dances of the last century.