"Just because of one tree, you attempt to destroy the whole forest?" said a fellow friend.
I said to myself,
"I will never ever think about destroying the whole forest when I can even spare a twig or a fallen leaf. However, I regard this tree as one which is not of the abundance... but one that is the focal point of all others. One that is unique and stands out from the rest. I'd like to regard it as the lone cypress tree. Now, would anyone cut down this lone cypress tree and claim that it is just like any common tree you see in the woods? Perhaps not..."
The lone cypress tree in California
(Disclaimer: I do not own this image. This image is for reference purposes only.)
When one part with this word, who
knows what will happen?
Can the parted soul listen?
To the living beings question?
That’s probably something beyond our
explanation.
Who goes to Heaven?
A subject conveyed through various
levels of interpretation.
Some say the good deserves its
entrance.
Some say those who believe in a
certain faith deserve its entrance.
What about those who have committed
countless sins?
Will heaven be benevolent?
To allow entrance for sinners to
make their repentance?
I believe repentance should be
settled whilst living on earth.
If it’s only settled after death,
who knows its worth?
Regardless of my faith in the holy
trinity,
I remain within the realms of moral
geography.
I’m glad we shared the same
ideology.
Adhere to the importance of
morality.
Hence I see the chemistry.
Perhaps I’m just thinking
positively.
Having a heart that loves so
tenderly,
Buoyed by kindness in perpetuity.
I can only pray for you to live
blissfully.
I hope you’ll accept my apology.
I hope we will be friends
eventually.
Consensus ad idem: Exchanging
Agnostic Views on 30th March 2014
Dear Jx,
One of my favourite conversations
with you was when we were talking about religion on 30th March 2014.
It’s not because we both are free thinkers. I was glad that we share similar
views on morality, faith and the belief in doing good. Not many people view
things the same way. Some believe that only chosen ones get to go to heaven
which is bound by the faith they choose. At times they believe that such
‘faith’ invalidates the kind-heart. Since young I’ve disagreed on such views.
How can one have faith in God when one does things that God forbids? Faith is
an action and not simply a word. Repentance does not come by just confessing to
God and asking for forgiveness but truly changing. Hence, allowing wrong-doers
possessing questionable faith to go to heaven and denying innocent and good
people from heaven is a teaching that contradicts morality.
Therefore I truly agree with your
statement, “Believe in doing good to ppl.
Whether I am a believer or not doesn't make me less of a good person if I do
good.” I also agree with your agnostic view to believe that there is a
greater being beyond us when bad things happen so one can attribute it to
causes beyond us. When I said that “I believe people who do good deserve to go
to heaven and that if heaven only belongs to a certain cult I rather not be
there”, you said that I’m like the female version of you. I am certainly happy
to hear you say that. It’s good to know when both minds share a consensus ad
idem. It’s hard to converse with someone who thinks otherwise, usually in a
less philosophical sense, subconsciously lacking empathy. It is also hard to
rationalise with people possessing such narrow-minded views.Hence it’s good that we both have an open
mind to the idea of going to heaven. What heaven is like and who should go to
heaven should not be something for us to define. In my opinion, religion should
promote morality and refraining people from wrongdoings. It should not be for
people to form a cult amongst human beings who all bleed red.
From that conversation I was
attracted to you. You have a great mind and it is an attractive quality to me.
From there on, I was looking forward to meeting you in person. We did indeed
carry on this conversation on our first date over dinner. I remembered telling
you that when I was little, a moral education teacher taught me the chapter on
Genesis in the Old Testament of the Holy Bible. God created the earth in three
days. Mankind came a day after animals. I then asked her about dinosaurs and
she told me that they were created by Satan. Didn’t we both laugh at it?
Nevertheless she is a nice lady, which brought me to another point that it is
hard to disagree with nice people.
I wish we could continue such
conversations together. I certainly enjoy talking to you. I admire you for your
intelligence and diligence; both qualities that make you an attractive person.
I see the merits in you and define you on those grounds. I really missed
talking to you. Every now and then I think of our conversations. Who knows what
we’ll talk about next if we’re still in touch? Perhaps something that only
heaven knows?That’s if heaven really
exists in the first place. I’d like to believe that it exists. It exists for the
kind and good-hearted ones. I’d also like to believe that such people do exist.
The Cultural Revolution scene of 潘金蓮之前世今生 , where counter-revolutionaries were condemned and this ancient Chinese erotic literature [金瓶梅], amongst other books were destroyed by the communists.
Jinlian (aka Lotus), played by Joey Wang Tzu Hsien. Jinlian married a wealthy man (who had an uncanny physical resemblance to Wu Dalang) in her "second life" but was still haunted by her disturbing past. 潘金蓮之前世今生(Reincarnation of Golden Lotus) [1989] - My views and commentary on this movie
I watched this movie a few months back. One may think that this is just another banal Hong Kong movie filmed in the 1980s (the "golden" era of HK film industry), with an overrated box office success. However, I think it is quite a creative masterpiece. The storyline of this movie is an imaginative extension of the ancient Chinese novel protagonist, 潘金蓮 / Pan Jin Lian's second life. I think Joey did a good job portraying this infamous and beautiful femme fatale character. She's one of my favourite actresses and I do like her "bad-girl" persona in many films she starred. Perhaps the cinematography could be a lot better. But hey... this was filmed in 1989.
This movie prompted me to do a little amateurish micro research on the character 潘金蓮 ("Jinlian"), an infamous seductress in the erotic/naturalistic Chinese novel, 金瓶梅 ("Jin Ping Mei"), based in the Song Dynasty, written in the Ming Dynasty, by a dubious author known by his pseudonym, Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng (蘭陵笑笑生), "The Scoffing Scholar of Lanling". I did a further micro research and realised that the characters Jinlian, Wu Song, Wu Dalang & Ximen Qing belong to the famous Chinese Literature, 水滸傳 (Shui Hu Zhuan), translated in English as Water Margin. However, Jinlian is minor character in Water Margin. I remembered reading briefly about Wu Song when I was in secondary school. Wu Song was featured in one of the chapters of my Chinese textbook, and the title of it was "Wu Song the Tiger Slayer". Indeed Jin Ping Mei is a spin off from Water Margin. I've never read Water Margin. I have an impression that Water Margin is one of those masculine themes in ancient Chinese Literature, as compared to Red Chamber.
Jin Ping Mei (translated as "Plum in a Golden Vase") on the other hand, is known for its erotic theme, known as a pornographic novel during the Ming Dynasty. I've always thought that people living during the Ming Dynasty are known for being conservative, industrious and scholarly. They've invented canons, constructed the Forbidden City (superseded by the Qing Dynasty), and are well-verse in areas such as geometry and architecture, as prevalent in their symmetrical garments, head-dress and intricate furniture. The earlier publications of Jin Ping Mei were in hand-written calligraphy text. The 1st block-print book publication of Jin Ping Mei was only released in 1610. Alright, I shall begin the summarised synopsis of the movie shortly.
The film 潘金蓮之前世今生 is adapted from a novel written by Lilian Lee 李碧華 (a renown Hong Kong writer). In the beginning of the movie, set in the Song dynasty, the spirit of the deceased Pan Jinlian (played by Joey) was shown in hell, walking on a chain with her bound feet. Jinlian recalled how she had been violated by men during her lifetime and told the creepy old lady in hell that she wanted to take revenge in her next life.
The next scene was shown in Shanghai during the Cultural Revolution.Young Shan Yulian (reincarnation of Pan Jinlian) ("Lotus") was shown dancing ballet with her other school mates to the tune of The Red Detachment Women. During their break time, Lotus was seen untying her ballet shoes and sub-consciously singing an ancient song whilst she reminisce tying her bound feet in silk during her past life. I think the little girl who cameo-ed as Jinlian is really adorable. This nostalgic moment was then interrupted by her schoolmate who haughtily asked her, "What counter-revolutionary song are you singing?" Lotus was then interrupted by a crowd of angry communists shouting, "革命无罪/造反有理!" Lotus ran towards the commotion and she found the book 金瓶梅 being burned on the floor amongst other books and counter-revolutionary objects. A man yelled "I'm not a counter-revolutionary" from the 2nd-storey and landed on the floor where the book was laid with a loud thud. The next scene shows Lotus as an enchanting teenager (played by Joey) who is a lead ballet dancer. Her lecherous head of the dance troupe attempted to rape her in his office and when she resisted him, he accused her of being a counter-revolutionary who tried to seduce him. Lotus was then expelled from the dance troupe and led a proletariat life working in shoe factory. She developed a crush on her co-worker, Wu Long (reincarnation of Wu Song, Jianlian's love interest then). Being attentive to his needs, Lotus bought Long a pair of shoes. She was then accused of stealing the shoes and wasting state's resources for her own interest. Long, being a pretentious, self-righteous coward (polar opposite from the chivalrous Wu Song), handed the shoes to his fellow comrade and claimed that he never accepted the gift and did nothing to stop the unreasonable co-workers from publicly humiliating Lotus and even slapped her to fulfill the co-workers' angst. He did it reluctantly though, to save his ass. Lotus was deeply hurt and felt betrayed. Years later in the 1980s, Lotus was seen selling watermelons in Guangzhou. She met a wealthy, unattractive Hongkonger, Wu Da (played by Eric Tsang), who was mesmerised by her beauty and proposed to marry her. Though Lotus was initially reluctant, she eventually agreed to marry him so that he can take her away from the village resided by uncouth villagers who despised her. Coincidentally, Wu Long their driver, is a relative of Wu Da, whom he calls "Brother". There were occasional sparks entailing guilt between Lotus and Long. Lotus met Simon, a notorious playboy (reincarnation of Ximen Qing), at a disco and began an affair with him since she felt neglected by Long and wasn't attracted to her husband. She continued experiencing strange flashbacks of her past life; some epic scenes include the fireworks and the one where Pan Jinlian & Ximen Qing were flirting on the swing under the grapevine. There is a slight twist in the fate of the characters in both 金瓶梅 and 潘金蓮之前世今生. Contrary to the former, Wu Da did not die in the latter. Overall, the story 潘金蓮之前世今生 ("Reincarnation of Golden Lotus") is engaging. Major themes in this story include: love, lust, deja vu, reincarnation, revenge, grievances, adultery, femme fatale, a beauty's curse, tragic hero and perhaps, an unbroken vicious cycle. Both protagonists, Lotus and Long died in a car crash at the end of the movie. Does this put an end to all past grievances? Is there really such a thing as 前世今生? A pauper become a successful politician or businessman in his next life. A concubine might become a prostitute in her next life. A hero might turn into a coward in his next life. I believe we only live once and can only repay others during our lifetime. Reincarnation may be an imagination for those who believe that they owe too much to others whom they can't afford to repay during their lifetime...
Jin Ping Mei's fireworks scene
Lotus attending her cosmetology class
The scene where Pan Jinlian and Ximen Qing were flirting on a swing under a grapevine.
Lotus's 'Ancient Beauty' photography by Simon in the movie. This reminds me of her character as Xiao Qian in 'A Chinese Ghost Story', starring Leslie Cheung & Joey Wong.
Left: Lotus as a factory worker during the Cultural Revolution era; and Right: Pan Jinlian as the 5th wife of Ximen Qing
The scene in hell where Pan Jinlian vowed to take revenge in her next life.
Joey Wong is such an amazing and talented actress who played the character really well.
I really like Joey's aura of elegance and versatility in acting.
Joey Wong as Pan Jinlian
Check out the first scene of the movie, 潘金蓮之前世今生, ("Reincarnation of Golden Lotus")
My friends and I decided to have dim sum on Sunday, 24 August'14 at Spring Ju Chun Yuan Restaurant 聚春园 , located at Far East Square on Amoy Street (one of Singapore's oldest, historical sites, nestled in the Central Business District area). This is our first visit to the restaurant. My friend read many good reviews about this restaurant and the dim sum lunch buffet priced at $24 per person seems like an attractive deal :)
What intrigued me most was that Ju Chun Yuan is housed in a building of a former school named Chui Eng Free School, established in 1854 (one of the first Chinese free schools to provide free education to the poor). The roof tiles, the old Chinese architecture and its colour palette consisting predominant shades of grey and subtle touches of red and green, makes the place nostalgic and unique. It's two-storey interior is elegant, tranquil and neat with glass windows overlooking Far East Square which might have been a courtyard. A perfect place for a quiet gathering.
We enjoyed an array of dim sum including inter alia, Cantonese siew mai, lotus wrapped rice, har gao, congee, as well as Northern-style guo tie and noodles, accompanied with a pot of pu-er tea (a rather neutral and lighter-in-caffeine Chinese tea) nicely laid on a white cloth on our table. We had osmanthus jelly for dessert after our mains too. We had a good time discussing about the legal system in UK and Singapore. My friend shared his internship experience in a law firm in Shanghai. It's good to catch up with friends returning for a summer vacation from the UK. Though they will face a tough competition after they graduate, since law minister Shanmugam recently mentioned that there are too many law graduates, I'm sure my friends will strive hard to succeed throughout their practice training and bar course.
Perhaps we'll meet up for another round of dim sum at Ju Chun Yuan another time when we're all free :)
The nostalgic entrance of Ju Chun Yuan
Zha jiang mian
Beef tendon noodles
Assorted dim sum, including inter alia, lotus wrapped rice, siew mai, beancurd skin roll, har gao, poached vegetables guo tie & dumplings. Value for money dim sum buffet @ $24 per person.
