Starting a pinned master thread to track how I am progressing with translating《西湖梦寻》to Hungarian. 1. The Large Buddha Head《大佛头》where we learn that opportunists were always despised and rightfully so.

Thank you for all the warm replies! Many of you are asking will there be recordings. Eventually yes, but not of the first course. I will use that to streamline the later iterations. Will record the 2nd or 3rd iteration if it makes it that far, planned as a semestrial course.

Lmao, despite the date, yeah, this is a serious thing. Not a joke.

It is on.

Been in the mood for caoshu. This is from Analects 9.7: 吾不试，故艺。"Having been not employed into office, I had to be versatile in the arts". Translation by Xu Yuanchong 许渊冲 (1921-2021). No seal, because I still haven't been able to carve a 幽菴 I am satisfied with.

So, with 18 essays of the 72 so far translated to Hungarian, I am putting the《西湖梦寻》translation project on a very short hiatus. I have one month to make all the materials for the course I mentioned earlier, because it starts in May. That's ppt, visual and everything else.

People who translate, how do you go about it? Do you 1.) first translate the text and add the footnotes after the fact or 2.) do you add the footnotes as you translate one by one?

People who translate, how do you go about it? Do you 1.) first translate the text and add the footnotes after the fact or 2.) do you add the footnotes as you translate one by one?

I think sometime in the future I'll inscribe an inkstone with Confucius' quip from Analects 9.7 relayed by a man named Lao 牢: "吾不试，故艺。" "Having been not employed by anyone, I had to rely on the arts". (Trans. by Xu Yuanchong, modified) Brother, I know the struggle.

Opening my Analects (bilingual edition, tr. by 许渊冲) for the first time in a few years and in 9.18: "I have never seen a man, said the Master, who loves his duty more than beauty". Seeing how I annotated it back in the day: "Then you never met a legalist, fam" cracked me up. 😂

It's irritating because this new update filled the whole thing up with useless paywalled AI bullshit. "Streamline your article with AI". Sorry, man, no. I am not useless. But something actually useful? Nah, that gets removed to make room for the brain-rotting AI idiocy.

In a new update WPS Writer seems to have removed the one button switcher between simplified and traditional Chinese. Haven't been able to find it ever since the most recent update. It is developed by a Chinese company, wtf?! It's literally the most useful tool for people like me.

Combining calligraphy and ink rubbing is something I want to explore in the future. Looks really good, almost sacrificial or ritualistic.

Had numerous sketches for it.

I finally inscribed my first inkstone, did a rubbing too. Used the line 此心安處是吾鄉 from Su Dongpo's poem《定风波·南海归赠王定国侍人寓娘》: "Where this heart of mine finds solace, there shall I make my home". As a first in both arts, I think this is pretty decent.

Source:

You know that story about Stalin sending grain to India during the famine and when one of his officials complains about the missing paperwork, Stalin shuts him down saying "paperwork can wait, famine cannot". Turns out emperor Renzong of the Ming did something similar.

Reading Hucker's magnificent book a few notes on the leadership of Zhang Juzheng 张居正. This is what legalism does and that is where abolishing it leads. He aimed to "enrich the country and strengthen the army" through legalistic methods rather than Confucian principles. 善！

Might have landed a dream job. The gallery where I had my exhibition last year wants me to deliver a course of multiple lectures on various aspects of Chinese philosophy, history, aesthetics, art etc. Since they are an accredited gallery, they can pay me contractually. Pumped.

Nature is healing. It literally will because of this.

Went and helped one of my best friends mount his painting exhibition at the same gallery I had my seal carving workshop and exhibition last year. My seals are still on display. After that we went to the only real Chinese place in town and had some 黑菌蘑菇汤.