Guggenheim Museum (NY): the spiritual in the spiral

"here is the ideal i propose for the architecture of the machine age, for how an ideal american architecture should develop in the image of trees...it was to make the building and the painting an uninterrupted, beautiful symphony such as never existed in the World of Art before."
Frank Lloyd Wright



It is not just a building. It is an ideal. I have heard of this Wright's masterpiece for more than five years since I saw GM's photo album in his grand eastern america solo trek. He shot the high ceiling like an white eye in the center of blue, and I was quite amazed at that moment. This building is a dreamwork, and an icon of modern architecture. Although philadelphia is so close, it was surprising I took more than four years to get here. In this weekend, after I finished the work submitted to ISBI, I decided i shouldn't miss the chance to see the "Russia" exhibition in this right place.




Quite different than his famous "falling water" house and other house designs which embrace the nature learned from the east Asia art, Wright used combination of various simple geometry to create the effect of monumental symbolization, which doesn't exsit in the original nature, but can be only created by human intelligence. This echoes more one famous idea proposed by Louis Kahn, another great architect in last century, that architecture should be distinguished from the nature. Ovals, arcs, spirals,triangles, and squares are harmonized into a single symphony and echo one another. They are simple but contain immeasurable energy. It reminds me Kandinsky's abstract composition using geometry, but appears to be more unified. The upward spiral gallery is smooth, uninterrupted, and extendible. How much it is like a stepladder upward. Its destination shall be limitlessness.

Ruisdael: Observer of the Nature

"Jacob van Ruisdael is often regarded as the single most important landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age in the seventeenth century, the place and moment where landscape painting first came into its own".

This is a note of a special exhibition of Ruisdael in the art museum.




I am possessed by the immense skies in Ruisdael's paintings. Neitherland is a flat country, so that it is easy to see the sky everywhere. The sky often occupies two thirds of space in his frames. He observes attentively the change of the light, the color, and the moving of the clouds in the sky. It is tremendously inspiring and imaginative.


The tensions between fiction and truth, life and death are essential elements in his paintings, creating a kind of landscape rich in accurate observation and symbolism. This Jewish Cemetery, the most monumental of his imaginary scenes, transformed a humble graveyard into a symbol of the transience of life. Ruisdael might have some a prior perception of death. As an interesting detail, he carved his name on a tombstone in the left corner. In his many other works, dead trees and harvested crops are often aligned with alive comparatives.



Ruisdael has a favor of mechanics. Windmills and watermills frequently appear in his paintings.



Choppy Ocean. Diagonal is Ruisdael's favorite compostion to create some interesting perspective.



Details are important in Ruisdael's painting. He is adept to use red touch to lead the viewer's eyes. In his early works, there are often unnoticeable small touches of a rested traveler, an animal, or a distant windmill.

Atget: Art of Photograph

It is debatable how photograph, initially as a mere recording technique, can be a kind of art. Here Eugene Atget gives us some insight. Different than Ansel Adams's interest in moutains and the wild life, Atget's theme is city scenery and french civilization.




Early morning is a perfect time for photograph. It is when Atget works regularly. He loves Paris. You can easily feel that through his eyes to the rooms, the artifacts, and the streets. Out in the street, the air is always still and quiet. Only light is changing, and playing with shadows. He enjoys the reflection on the surface. In his composition, diagonal is prominent to create a sense of depth in space.







There are very few people and activities in his early works. The interpreter in the exhibition told me Atget was more interested to shoot the back of the people, without seeing their faces. He did some portraits later. He also paid attention to some people living in lower classes.

Bill Evans: playing against the time

This is a beautiful CD. Evans is more than a legend in Jazz music. He presents the wonderful landsacpe of Jazz before me. In his music, I come into the spirit of freedom and wonderful imagination. It is subtle and romantic.

In this NPR program, Marian McPartland, a long term friend and an admirer of Evans, had very interesting conversation after each piece of music played by Evans and Marian herself.

Marian wrote at the end: The show was coming to a close, and I know both of us were sorry the afternoon had to end. We decided to play "I love you", and Bill again led the way, and I followed. There is a closeness and intimacy that develops when playing two pianos, as each one listens to the other and tries to match the mood, stay on top of the time, keep the whole thing flowing. With me it was intimacy born of my total admiration and respect for him."

It is about love in his music, like soft snow melting into the earth in the spring.

==================
Waltz For Debby
All Of You
In Your Own Sweet Way
The Touch Of Your Lips
Reflections In D
The Days Of Wine And Roses
This Is All I Ask
While We're Young
I Love You

韵目代日

缘起：昔闻汪兆铭之艳电，不知从何而来。今方知其发电之日29日的韵目代日为“艳”。


韵目代日表

1日 东 先 董 送 屋
2日 冬 萧 肿 宋 沃
3日 江 肴 讲 绛 觉
4日 支 豪 纸 寘 质
5日 微 歌 尾 未 物

6日 鱼 麻 语 御 月
7日 虞 阳 麌 （读“雨”） 遇 曷
8日 齐 庚 荠 霁 黠
9日 佳 青 蟹 泰 屑
10日灰 蒸 贿 卦 药

11日 真 尤 轸 队 陌
12日 文 侵 吻 震 锡
13日 元 覃 阮 问 职
14日 寒 盐 旱 愿 缉
15日 删 咸 潸 翰 合

16日 铣 谏 叶
17日 篠 霰 洽
18日 巧 啸
19日 皓 效
20日 哿 号

21日 马 箇
22日 养 祃
23日 梗 漾
24日 迥 敬
25日 有 径

26日 寝 宥
27日 感 沁
28日 俭 勘
29日 豏 （同“馅”） 艳
30日 陷

31日 世 引

此表引自《中华民国实录》

五经博士: 经学的确立和发展

［笔记］
儒家经典一般是指儒学十三经，亦即周易、尚書、诗经、周禮、儀禮、禮記、春秋左传、春秋公羊传、春秋谷梁传、论语、孝经、尔雅、孟子。但早期的儒家经典并不是这十三经。 春秋末年孔子编《书》，删《诗》，订《礼》《乐》，作《易》（一部分），并根据鲁国的史料创作了《春秋》。

经学产生于西汉。由于秦始皇的焚书坑儒，以致大量先秦典籍丢失，六经除了《易经》以外也未能幸免于难（《乐经》完全散佚）。汉武帝即位后，为了适应大一统的政治局面和加强中央集权统治，实行了罢黜百家、独尊儒术，设五经博士。从此儒学独尊，《诗》、《书》、《礼》、《易》、《春秋》五经超出了一般典籍的地位，成为神圣的法定经典，也成为广大读书人必读的经典。五经博士中每一经都置若干博士，博士下又有弟子。博士与弟子传习经书，分成若干“师说”，也就是若干流派。

今文经学的特点是通过训诂章句为手段，阐发说明孔子的思想，继承和发扬儒家学说。今文经学以《春秋》为孔子为万世立法的“元经”，其主流就是“春秋公羊学”。公羊学即为《春秋公羊传》里所阐发的微言大义，主要包括大一统、大居正、大复仇、通三统、统三世、更化改制、兴礼诛贼等。汉武帝时期出现了为大一统政治提供了完整的理论体系的公羊学大师董仲舒和善于把公羊学理论运用于现实政治中的政治家公孙弘，经过一代代今文经学学者的推阐与实践，以公羊学为代表的今文经学深受汉朝皇帝的重视，始终在汉朝政治中处于主导地位。 今文经学发展到西汉后期，出现了两种趋势：一方面由于董仲舒对于公羊学中灾异、符瑞、天人感应的阐发，今文经学由此逻辑发展的后果即是谶纬泛滥，再加之统治者的迷信与提倡，经学逐渐神學化；另一方面由于今文经学继承了较多的原初儒学的色彩，其理论内在地包含着对现实的批判，从而越来越不能为逐渐加强的君主专制所容忍。在这种情况下，自西汉中期开始就已经在民间传授的古文经学兴起。

古文经学所依据的经书一般都是西汉中期以后在民间发现的古书，因其是用战国及以前的古文字所书写，故称之为古文经。古文经学与今文经学并不仅仅是文字篇章的差异，主要在于它们对经书的解释与治学方法的不同。今文经学认为孔子是“为汉制法”的“素王”，而古文经学认为孔子只是古典文献的整理保存者，是一位“述而不作、信而好古”的先师；今文经学认为六经都是孔子所作，是孔子政治思想所托，其中有许多微言大义，而古文经学则认为六经是上古文化典章制度与圣君贤相政治格言的记录；今文经学注重微言大义，古文经学注重对经文本义的理解和典章制度的阐明。如果说今文经学关注的重心在于政治哲学与历史哲学的话，那么自西汉后期开始与之针锋相对的古文经学所关注的重心就是历史史料学与语言学。 古文经学的兴起最早起自《春秋谷梁传》，西汉后期曾被立为博士。在王莽当政时期，刘歆极力鼓吹古文经学，并使之立为新朝的博士。东汉时期，古文经学虽然一直没有被立为博士，属于民间学说，但是其影响力越来越大，逐步超出并压倒了今文经学。由于今文经学发展后期日趋繁琐，例如“曰若稽古”四个字可以解释十万字，又有所谓“师法”“家法”的束缚，再加之其与谶纬纠缠过深，使得人们逐渐遗弃了今文经学。而古文经学一来较少受“师法”“家法”的制约，较为自由也较为简明；二来与谶纬瓜葛较少，较为理性；三来其放弃了今文经学的批判性，对君主专制的维护更有优势，所以在今古文经学的长期斗争中，古文经学取得了最后的胜利。东汉的古文经学大师有贾逵、许慎、马融、服虔、卢植等，弟子众多，影响很大。

汉朝是经学最为昌盛的时代，朝野内外诵读经书蔚然成风。汉朝的“以经义决狱”是汉朝经学与王朝政治相结合的一大特色，也是汉朝经学繁盛的一大标志。儒生通过司法实践并官学私学教育，移风易俗，把经学思想深深的植入了普通民众之中。魏晋南北朝时期是经学由衰落走向分离的时期。在曹魏时期，出现了王学与郑学之争。王学和郑学之间的纷争，并不是纯粹的学术争论，而带有强烈的政治斗争的意味。这场纷争同时也标志着两汉经学的衰落。这一时期经学的特点是经学逐渐玄学化。 南北朝时期经学也随着政治上的南北对立而分立为南学和北学。“南人简约，得其精华；北学深芜，穷其枝叶。”从学术风格上讲，南学受玄学和佛学影响比较大，能博取众家之长，又喜标新立异，反映了其哲学思辨能力的提高，而北学受北方游牧民族质朴风尚的影响，保持了汉朝经学以章句训诂为宗的特点。

唐代則以國家的力量來推行經學，孔颖达的五經正義是這時代的代表著作。宋代理學興起，理學家們以重新詮釋古代經典的方式，以闡發他們的主張。清代經學特別發達，尤其重視以大量的古代典藉以及文字学、聲韻學、訓詁學等方式來研究經書，甚至進一步考證某些經書的真偽。到民國時代以後，由於古代經書的權威性下降，經學也就逐漸示微。

[source: Wikipedia]