DEAR GEK1036,
Re: Written Reflections
On the topic of written discourse, I have 3 points:
1) There must be some truth in all styles of writing (from English linearity--> Oriental Cicularity--> Arabian parallelism). If these styles have been shown to vary consistently across time and space, then they surely serve a purpose in its local literary context
2) Who knew "gentlemanly lotus" and "hermit Chrysanthemum" referred to groups of people not flowers? Unless you know some background to Chinese history or lived in the time of Tao Yuan-ming. What a revelation.
(And there I was thinking "lotus" , "chrysenthemum" and "peony" were women).
In reading any narrative, CONTEXT is important in considering the INTENTION of the piece.
Now that's something to consider the next time you read a Chinese poem from the Qing dynasty or a narrative from the Hindu Mahabhrata. Or listen to the Prime Minister's National Day Speech.
3) With regards rule-governed writing, here's my take on it:
In conclusion, I enjoy your classes and am looking foward to the next one. In addition, I hope to obtain an A grade and a calender. And for this, I thank you in advance.
Regards,
Ryna
Soldering Cleaning Sponge
2 years ago
haha you naughty girl haha :) you forgot to start off the request by introducing yourself.. haha :) nice post, and yea, the passage written by chinese people is funny :) a lot like a scriptures which have deeper meaning than what it seems, when i read it i thought the person was a gardener haha :)
ReplyDeleteHi Ryna! Haha I love your conclusion! It made me literally lol. About what you said about lotus, peony and chrysanthemum symbolising women..I thought that way too when I read the poem haha.. but I was just thinking that Oriental writings often have a circular style, and an implicit conclusion or point, just like how the poem in class actually had a deeper level of meaning as a critique on society. Since the responsibility is on the reader to comprehend the writer's actual meaning and intention.. what happens if they read the writing differently, just like how we interpreted the lotus poem differently? Is there a wrong or right way of interpreting such writings? Hmm =/ Food for thought.
ReplyDeleteI like your letter, especially the way you hide your request (wish) at the end. You've learned the style well.
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