HUIWEN: The Chinese Palindrome

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(No Transcript)
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An Anonymous Huiwen ?? Incised on an Ink-stone
of Qing Times

• Calligraphy by
• FENG ZIKAI ??? (1898-1975)

3
Centre Inscription

• ??????
• ??????
• ?????
• Starting from any character
• proceeding to the left or to the right,
• one always gets a five-character quatrain.
• ??????
• Incised on an ink-stone by an anonymous person of
  Qing dynasty (1644-1912).

4

• HUIWEN 1 FALLING FLOWERS
• ?????puwN
• FALL FLOWER SEXY DANCE WIND
• Falling flowers perform an enticing dance in the
  wind,
• ?????Nuat
• FLOAT FOG AROMA LOSE-WAY MOON
• The floating mist, perfumed, loses itself into
  the moon.
• ?????VwN
• THIN CLOUD PALE RAIN PINK
• The flimsy rosy clouds turn pale, the rain turns
  pink,
• ?????swiat
• DARK TREE FRAGRANCE FLY SNOW
• The fragrance from the shadowy tree wafts over
  the snow.

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• HUIWEN 2 THE SEDUCTIVENESS OF FLOWERS
• ?????luw
• FLOWER SEXY DANCE WIND FLOAT
• The flowers are attractive, the dancing wind
  floating along
• ?????bak
• FOG AROMA LOSE-WAY MOON THIN
• The misty aroma enchants one, as the moon is a
  slim presence.
• ??????jiw
• CLOUD PALE RAIN PINK DARK
• The clouds are pale, the rain a reddish dark,
• ?????lak
• TREE FRAGRANCE FLY SNOW FALL
• The trees are fragrant, the fleeting snow falling
  past them.

7

• HUIWEN 3 SEDUCTIVE DANCE
• ?????muõ
• SEXY DANCE WIND FLOAT FOG
• In its seductive dance the wind floats through
  the mist,
• ?????VaI/VE
• AROMA LOSE-WAY MOON THIN CLOUD
• its aroma loses its way in the moon as it moves
  towards the clouds,
• ?????dZuõ
• PALE RAIN PINK DARK TREE
• The colourless rain reddens the shady trees,
• ?????xwaI/xwE
• FRAGRANCE FLY SNOW FALL FLOWER
• With fragrance floating about, snow settling on
  flowers.

8

• HUIWEN 4 DANCING GUSTS
• ?????xIaN
• DANCE WIND FLOAT FOG AROMA
• The dancing gusts and the floating mist, they
  have an aroma of their own,
• ?????damõ
• LOSE-WAY MOON THIN CLOUD PALE
• The enchanting moon and the thin clouds remain
  limpid.
• ?????põuaN
• RAIN PINK DARK TREE FRAGRANCE
• The rain turns reddish, the shadowy trees give
  off their own fragrance,
• ?????jiamõ
• FLY SNOW FALL FLOWER SEXY
• As the fleeting snow descends on flowers these
  acquire their own snowy beauty.

9

• HUIWEN 5 THE WIND FLOATING ALONG
• ?????mEj
• WIND FLOAT FOG AROMA LOSE-WAY
• As the wind floats along, the aroma blown forth
  from the mists has something enchanting,
• ?????wu"
• MOON THIN CLOUD PALE RAIN
• The moon is a slim presence, the clouds are pale,
  it is raining.
• ?????puj
• PINK DARK TREE FRAGRANCE FLY
• From the reddish-shadowy trees, a fragrance
  wafts along,
• ?????mu"
• SNOW FALL FLOWER SEXY DANCE
• As the snow falls on flower, these enter an
  enticing dance.

10

• HUIWEN 6 THE FLOATING MIST
• ?????Nuat
• FLOAT FOG AROMA LOSE-WAY MOON
• The aroma of floating mist enchants the moon.
• ?????VwN
• THIN CLOUD PALE RAIN PINK
• The thin clouds are pale, the rain is reddish.
• ?????swiat
• DARK TREE FRAGRANCE FLY SNOW
• The shadowy trees give fragrance to the fleeting
  snow,
• ?????puwN
• FALL FLOWER SEXY DANCE WIND
• Even as they fall, flowers dance sexily in the
  wind.

11

• HUIWEN 7 THE MISTY AROMA
• ?????bak
• FOG AROMA LOSE-WAY MOON THIN
• A misty aroma enchants the moon, remaining
  slight.
• ??????jiw
• CLOUD PALE RAIN PINK DARK
• The clouds are pale, the rain a reddish dark.
• ?????lak
• TREE FRAGRANCE FLY SNOW FALL
• The trees give off their fragrance, as fleeting
  sleet falls,
• ?????luw
• FLOWER SEXY DANCE WIND FLOAT
• The flowers perform their seductive dance, as
  they float along sensuously like wind.

12

• HUIWEN 8 AROMA ENCHANTING THINGS
• ?????VaI/VE
• AROMA LOSE-WAY MOON THIN CLOUD
• A peculiar aroma enchants both the moon and the
  thin clouds,
• ?????dZuõ
• PALE RAIN PINK DARK TREE
• Colourless rain adds a reddish hue to the shadowy
  trees.
• ?????xwaI/xwE
• FRAGRANCE FLY SNOW FALL FLOWER
• A fragrance wafting all about, snow falls on
  flowers.
• ?????muõ
• SEXY DANCE WIND FLOAT FOG
• Performing a seductive dance, winds blowing the
  mists along their floating way.

13

• HUIWEN 9 THE ENCHANTING MOON
• ?????damõ
• LOSE-WAY MOON THIN CLOUD PALE
• The enchanting moon, as it approaches the clouds,
  pales,
• ?????põuaN
• RAIN PINK DARK TREE FRAGRANCE
• The rain reddens the shadowy trees, spreads its
  rainy fragrance.
• ?????jiamõ
• FLY SNOW FALL FLOWER SEXY
• As the wafting snow descends on the flowers, it
  displays its seductive charms,
• ?????xIaN
• DANCE WIND FLOAT FOG AROMA
• Dancing gusts of wind floating into the mist,
  spread their windy aroma.

14

• HUIWEN 10 THE MOON MOVING CLOSE
• ?????wu"
• MOON THIN CLOUD PALE RAIN
• As the moon approached the clouds, there is pale
  rain,
• ?????puj
• PINK DARK TREE FRAGRANCE FLY
• From the reddish-dark trees a fragrance is
  wafting forth.
• ?????mu"
• SNOW FALL FLOWER SEXY DANCE
• As the snow falls on flowers and performs its
  sexy dance,
• ?????mEj
• WIND FLOAT FOG AROMA LOSE-WAY
• A gust of wind floats into the mist, its windy
  aroma losing itself in the bland mist.

15

• HUIWEN 11 THIN CLOUDS
• ?????VwN
• THIN CLOUD PALE RAIN PINK
• As the thin clouds are pale, the rain looks
  reddish,
• ?????swiat
• DARK TREE FRAGRANCE FLY SNOW
• From the dark trees a fragrance wafts over the
  snow.
• ?????puwN
• FALL FLOWER SEXY DANCE WIND
• The falling flowers are seductive as they dance
  in the wind,
• ?????Nuat
• FLOAT FOG AROMA LOSE-WAY MOON
• An aroma from the wafting mist seems to enchant
  the moon.

16

• HUIWEN 12 CLOUDS PALING
• ??????jiw
• CLOUD PALE RAIN PINK DARK
• The clouds so pale, the rain seemed reddish-dark,
• ?????lak
• TREE FRAGRANCE FLY SNOW FALL
• Enveloped in the fragrance from the tree snow,
  erstwhile fleeting, descended.
• ?????luw
• FLOWER SEXY DANCE WIND FLOAT
• Flowers were performing a beguiling dance,
  floating like the wayward wind,
• ?????bak
• FOG AROMA LOSE-WAY MOON THIN
• A misty aroma, enchanting the moon, presses close.

17

• HUIWEN 13 THE LIMPID RAIN
• ?????dZuõ
• PALE RAIN PINK DARK TREE
• Limpid rain makes the shadowy trees appear
  reddish,
• ?????xwaI/xwE
• FRAGRANCE FLY SNOW FALL FLOWER
• Their fragrance wafting along, snow descends on
  the flowers.
• ?????muõ
• SEXY DANCE WIND FLOAT FOG
• Gusty winds, performing their seductive dance,
  wafted into the mist,
• ?????VaI/VE
• AROMA LOSE-WAY MOON THIN CLOUD
• Their aroma enchants the moon, as it approaches
  the clouds.

18

• HUIWEN 14 RAIN TURNING PINK
• ?????põuaN
• RAIN PINK DARK TREE FRAGRANCE
• The rain turns reddish, as the shadowy tree
  spreads its fragrance,
• ?????jiamõ
• FLY SNOW FALL FLOWER SEXY
• The fleeting snow descends, so the flowers turn
  seductive.
• ?????xIaN
• DANCE WIND FLOAT FOG AROMA
• They dance in the wind floating into the misty
  perfume,
• ?????damõ
• LOSE-WAY MOON THIN CLOUD PALE
• The enchanting moon, approaching the clouds,
  turns colourless.

19

• HUIWEN 15 THE PINKISH-DARK TREE
• ?????puj
• PINK DARK TREE FRAGRANCE FLY
• The fragrance from the pinkish-dark tree is
  spreading,
• ?????mu"
• SNOW FALL FLOWER SEXY DANCE
• Snow was falling on the flowers, performing its
  seductive dance.
• ?????mEj
• WIND FLOAT FOG AROMA LOSE-WAY
• The wind waywardly wafting along, its misty aroma
  enchanting,
• ?????wu"
• MOON THIN CLOUD PALE RAIN
• As the moon approached the clouds, there was
  colourless rain.

20

• HUIWEN 16 THE DARK TREE
• ?????swiat
• DARK TREE FRAGRANCE FLY SNOW
• The shadowy trees spread their fragrance over the
  fleeting snow,
• ?????puwN
• FALL FLOWER SEXY DANCE WIND
• Falling flowers performed a seductive dance in
  the wind.
• ?????Nuat
• FLOAT FOG AROMA LOSE-WAY MOON
• An aroma from the floating mist enchanted the
  moon,
• ?????VwN
• THIN CLOUD PALE RAIN PINK
• As it approached the clouds the pale rain turned
  red.

21

• HUIWEN 17 ARBOREAL AROMA
• ?????lak
• TREE FRAGRANCE FLY SNOW FALL
• The trees were spreading their fragrance, and the
  fleeting snow was descending,
• ?????luw
• FLOWER SEXY DANCE WIND FLOAT
• The flowers performed a seductive dance, the wind
  waywardly floating along.
• ?????bak
• FOG AROMA LOSE-WAY MOON THIN
• The mist's aroma losing itself, the moon grew
  thinner,
• ??????jiw
• CLOUD PALE RAIN PINK DARK
• The clouds being colourless, the rain seemed
  reddish dark.

22

• HUIWEN 18 FRAGRANT WAFTING SNOW
• ?????xwaI/xwE
• FRAGRANCE FLY SNOW FALL FLOWER
• Fragrant, the fleeting snow falls on the flowers,
• ?????muõ
• SEXY DANCE WIND FLOAT FOG
• Performs a seductive dance, the wind floating
  into the mist.
• ?????VaI/VE
• AROMA LOSE-WAY MOON THIN CLOUD
• As its perfume enchanted the moon, moving on to
  the clouds,
• ?????dZuõ
• PALE RAIN PINK DARK TREE
• The pale rain gave a reddish hue to the shadowy
  trees.

23

• HUIWEN 19 FLEETING SNOW
• ?????jiamõ
• FLY SNOW FALL FLOWER SEXY
• The fleeting snow and the falling flowers
  seductive as they are,
• ?????xIaN
• DANCE WIND FLOAT FOG AROMA
• The dancing wind and the floating mist carries a
  perfume with it.
• ?????damõ
• LOSE-WAY MOON THIN CLOUD PALE
• As the enchanting moon approaches the clouds it
  turns colourless,
• ?????põuaN
• RAIN PINK DARK TREE FRAGRANCE
• And the rain reddens the shadowy trees, spreads
  its fragrance.

24

• HUIWEN 20 SNOW FALLING ON FLOWERS
• ?????mu"
• SNOW FALL FLOWER SEXY DANCE
• As the snow was falling on the flowers it
  performed its seductive dance,
• ?????mEj
• WIND FLOAT FOG AROMA LOSE-WAY
• The wind wafting along, its perfume was
  enchanting.
• ?????wu"
• MOON THIN CLOUD PALE RAIN
• As the moon approached the clouds, there was
  colourless rain,
• ?????puj
• PINK DARK TREE FRAGRANCE FLY
• The fragrance of the reddish-dark trees was
  wafting all about.

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• HUIWEN 22 SNOW WAFTING INTO FRAGRANT TREES
• ??????jiw
• SNOW FLY FRAGRANCE TREE DARK
• As the snow wafted into the fragrant trees, it
  acquired a dark quality,
• ?????bak
• PINK RAIN PALE CLOUD THIN
• The red rain turned colourless, the clouds turned
  thin.
• ?????luw
• MOON LOSE-WAY AROMA FOG FLOAT
• The moon was lost its way, as the perfumed mist
  was floating along,
• ?????lak
• WIND DANCE SEXY FLOWER FALL
• As the gusty winds perform their dance, the
  seductive flowers drop their petals.

27

• HUIWEN 23 FLEETING FRAGRANCE
• ?????VwN
• FLY FRAGRANCE TREE DARK PINK
• In the fleeting fragrance the tree turns a
  shadowy red,
• ?????Nuat
• RAIN PALE CLOUD THIN MOON
• The rain is colourless as the clouds approach the
  moon.
• ?????puwN
• LOSE-WAY AROMA FOG FLOAT WIND
• The mist with its enchanting aroma floats with
  the wind,
• ?????swiat
• DANCE SEXY FLOWER FALL SNOW
• The flowers, in their dancing beauty dropped into
  the snow.

28

• HUIWEN 24 THE FRAGRANT TREE
• ?????wu"
• FRAGRANCE TREE DARK PINK RAIN
• The fragrant tree is all dark, makes the rain
  appear reddish,
• ?????mEj
• PALE CLOUD THIN MOON LOSE-WAY
• Colourless clouds approach the moon, losing their
  way.
• ?????mu"
• AROMA FOG FLOAT WIND DANCE
• The perfumed mist and the floating gusts of wind
  perform dance,
• ?????puj
• SEXY FLOWER FALL SNOW FLY
• Enticing flowers drop their petals, as the snow
  fleets past.

29

• HUIWEN 25 DARK TREE - PINKISH RAIN
• ?????damõ
• TREE DARK PINK RAIN PALE
• In the tree it is all dark, and the pinkish rain
  turns limpid,
• ?????xIaN
• CLOUD THIN MOON LOSE-WAY AROMA
• Clouds approach the moon and loose themselves in
  fragrance.
• ?????jiamõ
• FOG FLOAT WIND DANCE SEXY
• The mist floating, the wind dancing, the deploy
  their charms,
• ?????põuaN
• FLOWER FALL SNOW FLY FRAGRANCE
• The flowers drop their petals, and the snow
  achieves a fleeting fragrance.

30

• HUIWEN 26 DARKNESS OF A PINKISH SHADE
• ?????VaI/VE
• DARK PINK RAIN PALE CLOUD
• Darkness turns pinkish, as the rain turns the
  clouds colourless,
• ?????muõ
• THIN MOON LOSE-WAY AROMA FOG
• The slim moon loses itself in aromatic mist.
• ?????xwaI/xwE
• FLOAT WIND DANCE SEXY FLOWER
• Flowing along, the wind performs its dance around
  the enticing flowers,
• ?????dZuõ
• FALL SNOW FLY FRAGRANCE TREE
• The descending snow wafts into the fragrant trees.

31

• HUIWEN 27 PINKISH RAIN
• ?????bak
• PINK RAIN PALE CLOUD THIN
• The pinkish rain turns limpid, the clouds grow
  thin,
• ?????luw
• MOON LOSE-WAY AROMA FOG FLOAT
• The moon, losing itself into the fragrant mist
  flows along.
• ?????lak
• WIND DANCE SEXY FLOWER FALL
• The wind dances, the enticing flowers drop their
  petals,
• ??????jiw
• SNOW FLY FRAGRANCE TREE DARK
• The snow wafts into the shadowy dark of the
  fragrant tree.

32

• HUIWEN 28 RAIN AND THE LIMPIDIFICATION OF THINGS
• ?????Nuat
• RAIN PALE CLOUD THIN MOON
• The rain gives a pale appearance to the clouds,
  as they approach the moon,
• ?????puwN
• LOSE-WAY AROMA FOG FLOAT WIND
• Losing its way in the perfumed mist, and wafting
  along with the wind.
• ?????VwN
• DANCE SEXY FLOWER FALL SNOW
• Dancing along the enticing flowers fall into the
  snow,
• ?????VwN
• FLY FRAGRANCE TREE DARK PINK
• wafting into the fragrant tree they turn darkish
  and red.

33

• HUIWEN 29 LIMPID CLOUDS
• ?????mEj
• PALE CLOUD THIN MOON LOSE-WAY
• Limpid clouds, approaching the moon, lose their
  way,
• ?????mu"
• AROMA FOG FLOAT WIND DANCE
• Perfumed mist, drifting with the wind, dances
  along.
• ?????puj
• SEXY FLOWER FALL SNOW FLY
• Enticing flowers, dropping their petals into the
  snow, seem to fly along,
• ?????wu"
• FRAGRANCE TREE DARK PINK RAIN
• The fragrant tree provides shadowy darkness for
  the reddish rain.

34

• HUIWEN 30 CLOUDS APPROACHING THE MOON
• ?????xIaN
• CLOUD THIN MOON LOSE-WAY AROMA
• As the clouds approach the moon they get lost in
  its perfume,
• ?????jiamõ
• FOG FLOAT WIND DANCE SEXY
• The mist drifting along, the wind dancing, both
  enticing.
• ?????põuaN
• FLOWER FALL SNOW FLY FRAGRANCE
• The flowers losing their petals, the snow
  wafting, both fragrant,
• ?????damõ
• TREE DARK PINK RAIN PALE
• In the dark shadow of the tree the red rain turns
  colourless.

35

• HUIWEN 31 THE THIN MOON
• ?????muõ
• THIN MOON LOSE-WAY AROMA FOG
• The slim moon loses itself into the perfumed
  mist,
• ?????xwaI/xwE
• FLOAT WIND DANCE SEXY FLOWER
• Drifting winds dance around the enticing flowers.
• ?????dZuõ
• FALL SNOW FLY FRAGRANCE TREE
• The falling snow wafts into the fragrant trees,
• ?????VaI/VE
• DARK PINK RAIN PALE CLOUD
• Making the red rain appear dark, and decolouring
  the clouds.

36

• HUIWEN 32 THE MOON LOSING ITS WAY
• ?????luw
• MOON LOSE-WAY AROMA FOG FLOAT
• The moon loses itself in the perfumed mists,
  drifts along,
• ?????lak
• WIND DANCE SEXY FLOWER FALL
• As the wind-gusts dance, the enticing flowers
  drop their petals.
• ??????jiw
• SNOW FLY FRAGRANCE TREE DARK
• The snow, as it wafts into the the fragrant tree
  takes on a shadowy quality,
• ?????bak
• PINK RAIN PALE CLOUD THIN
• The red rain turns colourless, as the clouds
  press near.

37

• HUIWEN 33 AROMAS CAUSING ONE TO LOSE ONE'S WAY
• ?????puwN
• LOSE-WAY AROMA FOG FLOAT WIND
• Enchanted by fragrance the mist is a drifting
  wind,
• ?????swiat
• DANCE SEXY FLOWER FALL SNOW
• As it dances along the enticing flowers fall onto
  the snow
• ?????VwN
• FLY FRAGRANCE TREE DARK PINK
• wafting into the fragrant tree the mist turns a
  shadowy red,
• ?????Nuat
• RAIN PALE CLOUD THIN MOON
• The rain turns colourless, the clouds approach
  the moon.

38

• HUIWEN 34 PERFUMED MISTS
• ?????mu"
• AROMA FOG FLOAT WIND DANCE
• The perfumed mist floats along as the wind-gusts
  perform their dance,
• ?????puj
• SEXY FLOWER FALL SNOW FLY
• The enticing flowers, as the fall into the snow,
  waft along.
• ?????wu"
• FRAGRANCE TREE DARK PINK RAIN
• The fragrant tree darkens the red rain,
• ?????mEj
• PALE CLOUD THIN MOON LOSE-WAY
• The colourless clouds press near, and the moon
  gets lost.

39

• HUIWEN 35 MISTS FLOATING ALONG
• ?????jiamõ
• FOG FLOAT WIND DANCE SEXY
• The mist floats along, the dance of the wind is
  enticing,
• ?????põuaN
• FLOWER FALL SNOW FLY FRAGRANCE
• Flowers fall into the snow, a wafting perfume.
• ?????damõ
• TREE DARK PINK RAIN PALE
• The tree is a shadowy red, the rain colourless,
• ?????xIaN
• CLOUD THIN MOON LOSE-WAY AROMA
• As the clouds approach the moon they lose
  themselves in fragrance.

40

• HUIWEN 36 DRIFTING WINDS
• ?????xwaI/xwE
• FLOAT WIND DANCE SEXY FLOWER
• The drifting winds dance around the enticing
  flowers,
• ?????dZuõ
• FALL SNOW FLY FRAGRANCE TREE
• The falling snow wafts into the fragrant tree.
• ?????VaI/VE
• DARK PINK RAIN PALE CLOUD
• They the red rain appear darker, and the clouds
  colourless.
• ?????muõ
• THIN MOON LOSE-WAY AROMA FOG
• and as they approach the moon they are lost in
  the perfumed clouds.

41

• HUIWEN 37 DANCINGS OF THE WIND
• ?????lak
• WIND DANCE SEXY FLOWER FALL
• As the wind dances along the enticing flowers
  drop their petals,
• ??????jiw
• SNOW FLY FRAGRANCE TREE DARK
• The snow wafts into the shadowy darkness of the
  fragrant tree.
• ?????bak
• PINK RAIN PALE CLOUD THIN
• Red rain and colourless clouds, approaching,
• ?????luw
• MOON LOSE-WAY AROMA FOG FLOAT
• The moon loses itself in the perfumed mist,
  foating along.

42

• HUIWEN 38 DANCING ENTICING FLOWERS
• ?????swiat
• DANCE SEXY FLOWER FALL SNOW
• As they dance along in the air the enticing
  flowers fall into the snow,
• ?????VwN
• FLY FRAGRANCE TREE DARK PINK
• In the wafting fragrance the trees turn a shadowy
  red.
• ?????Nuat
• RAIN PALE CLOUD THIN MOON
• In the rain, the colourless clouds approach the
  moon,
• ?????puwN
• LOSE-WAY AROMA FOG FLOAT WIND
• Losing themselves in the fragrant mist they drift
  along with the wind.

43

• HUIWEN 39 SEDUCTIVE FLOWERS
• ?????puj
• SEXY FLOWER FALL SNOW FLY
• Seductive flowers, the falling snow flying along,
• ?????wu"
• FRAGRANCE TREE DARK PINK RAIN
• The fragrant trees are dark against reddish rain.
• ?????mEj
• PALE CLOUD THIN MOON LOSE-WAY
• Colourless clouds press in on the moon, and it
  loses itself,
• ?????mu"
• AROMA FOG FLOAT WIND DANCE
• The balmy mists floats along, gusts of wind
  dancing.

44

• HUIWEN 40 FLOWERS FALLING...
• ?????põuaN
• FLOWER FALL SNOW FLY FRAGRANCE
• Flowers falling on the snow, a fleeting
  fragrance,
• ?????damõ
• TREE DARK PINK RAIN PALE
• The trees dark red, the rain is pale.
• ?????xIaN
• CLOUD THIN MOON LOSE-WAY AROMA
• The clouds thin, the moon exuding an enchanting
  flavour
• ?????jiamõ
• FOG FLOAT WIND DANCE SEXY
• The mist floating, the wind in dancing movement,
  sexily.

45

• Hic mihi -- credo equidem ex hoc quod eramus
  locuti -- fit enim fere ut cogitationes
  semonesque nostri pariant aliquid in somno tale
  quale de Homero scribit Ennius -- de quo
  videlicet saepissime vigilans solebat cogitare et
  loqui -- Africanus se ostendit ea forma quae mihi
  ex imagine eius quam ex ipso erat notior.
• "There appeared to me
• 1and I believe as a result of what we we
  talking about
• 2for it happens naturally that our thoughts
  and words create something like what Ennius
  writes about Homer in our sleep
• 3for about Homer he used to think and speak
  often, while awake3
• 2
• 1
• Africanus in that form in which he was more
  familiar to me from pictures than from his
  personal presence." Cicero, Somnium Scipionis 10
  (De re publica 6.10)

46

• There is nothing more ridiculous than trying to
  be funny about the comical. It would be
  ludicrous deny this.
• Moreover, it would by no means be absurd to
  quibble about the difference between the bizarre
  and the grotesque, or between the ludicrous and
  the preposterous.

47

• Apologetic smiles ???? 6 words/idioms
• Arrogant smiles ???? 5
• Bashful smiles ???? 10
• Bitter smiles ?? 14
• Cold smiles ?? 13
• Collective laughter ??? 12
• Concurring smiles ???? 6
• Dispositions to smile ????? 6
• Disdainful scoffs ???? 14
• Demonstrative laughter ?? 108
• Embarrassed smiles ???? 5
• False smiles ?? 23
• Foolish smiles ?? 9
• Fond smiles ???? 17
• Hidden smiles ?? 25

48

• Indifferent smiles ????? 9
• Indignant smiles ?? 4
• Involuntary smiles ?????? 14
• Joyful laughter ?? 30
• Lovely smiles ???? 9
• Mysterious smiles ???? 2
• Obsequious smiles ?? 13
• Onomatopoeic words for laughter ?? 11
• Restrained smiles ????? 4
• Self-satisfied smiles ???? 8
• Slight smiles ?? 64
• Sneers ?? 32
• Vulgar smiles ?? 2
• Wicked smiles ???? 14
• Miscellaneous smiles ?? 44

49

• Feng Menglong (1574-1646)
• Preface to Xiaofu ?? Store-House of Laughter
• Translated by C. Harbsmeier, University of Oslo
• ???????, From ancient times to the present
  nothing is not mere talk,
• ?????? and mere talk is never anything other
  than a laughing matter.
• ???????? The undifferentiated mass of Yin and
  Yang dividing when the world began,
• ??????? the assorted sages bowing profusely and
  executing each other,
• ?????? who of us was witnessing this?
• ???????? They surely just give us mere talk about
  these things, that is all.
• ???? When future generations tell their mere
  talk about our present
• ??????? that too is just like us telling empty
  tales about the past.

50

• ????? If, when they tell these empty tales, one
  is suspicious about them
• ???? one is laughable.
• ????? If, when they tell these empty tales, one
  believes them
• ????? then one is even more laughable.
• ???? The classics, the documents, the
  philosophers, the histories,
• ???? are just so many weird empty tales,
• ????? and yet people compete to transmit them.
• ???? Lyrics, rhyme prose, and essays
• ???, are just so many insipid empty tales,
• ????? and yet people compete to work at
  these forms.
• ???? Praise and ridicule, promotion and
  dismissal
• ???, are just so many empty tales of an age of
  confusion,
• ?????? and yet people compete in going for
  the one and avoiding the other.

51

• ??? Some laugh at others,
• ????? others are laughed at by others.
• ??? Those who laugh at others,
• ????? are in turn laughed at by still others
• ???? and those who are laughed at by others,
• ????? will in turn laugh at others.
• ???? That people laugh at each other
• ????? when will that ever end?
• ??????? The Store-house of Laughter collects
  jokes that make one laugh.
• ?????????? Thirteen chapters of this must still
  count as a slim volume.
• ????? Some will read this and feel pleased with
  themselves,
• ???? but I must warn them not to be so pleased.
• ????? Others will read this and get angry,
• ???? but I must advise them not to get so angry.

52

• ???????? This world, past and present, is one big
  store-house of laughter
• ???????? And I as well as you, my gentle readers,
  are all inside
• ???? providing for mankind a laughing stock for
  empty tales.
• ?????, Without empty tales one is no man,
• ?????? without laughter, there are no empty
  tales.
• ????????? Without laughter and empty tales, there
  is no world!!
• ????,???,???? Monk Budai (died A.D. 916)! My
  master! My master!

53

• 1. ku1 ? is primarily a public action, while qì ?
  is primarily a private reaction.
• 2. ku1 ? focusses on sound, while qì ? focusses
  on tears.
• 3. ku1 ? is focusses primarily on death and by
  extension on misfortune, while qì ? can express
  a wide range of heightened emotions directly or
  indirectly linked to pain.
• 4. ku1 ? is basically linked to adult ritual and
  limited to persons capable of ritual behaviour,
  while qì ? is common among children.
• 5. ku1 ? is designed to publicly express lasting
  a1i ? and is sometimes associated with be1i ? ,
  while qì ? is a symptom of more short-term and
  less public to4ng ?, sha1ng ?.
• 6. ku1 ? is limited to psychological distress
  while qì ? may be caused by physical pain.
• 7. ku1 ? is not especially associated with men or
  women while qì ? is regarded as effeminate or at
  least especially typical of women.

54

• 8. ku1 ? is primarily used in public ritual or
  semi-ritualised contexts and involves a
  deliberate act, while qì ? always purports to be
  linked to sincere feeling and is an immediate
  emotional reaction.
• 9.qì ? is current as a noun meaning "tears" while
  ku1 ? is very rarely topicalised and only
  occasionally nominalised.
• 10. ku1 ? is frequently associated by parallelism
  with ge1 ?, while qì ? is associated with tì ?
  "tears"
• 11. ku1 ? was cultivated as a ritual art for
  which one could become famous, while qì ? was
  regarded as basically non-deliberate (although
  there are a number of examples with false tears,
  and even one case where a lady is ordered to make
  a request while shedding false tears).
• 12. the ability to appreciate the expressiveness
  of ku1 ? was cultivated as a proper subject for
  higher ritual spirituality, while qì ? was never
  so cultivated.
• 13. ku1 ? expresses a public sentiment or a
  feeling which is presupposed shared by the
  general public. Qi4 ? may express a private
  personal sentiment. One may qì ? in spite of
  oneself.

55

• Hesychius writes on the notion of qavnato"
• o te qeo" kai o pavscomen, tevlo" on tou'
  bivou. oJ cwrismo" th'" yuch'" ajpo tou'
  swvmato" kai oJ swmatoeivdh" qeov".
• DEATH the god and what we suffer as the end of
  life. The separation of the soul from the body,
  and the human-shaped god.

56

• 1. The umarked current first person pronoun most
  current by Warring States times is wu2 ?. This
  word does not normally occur in object position
  and is highly idiomatic in a possessive
  pre-nominal position. Significantly, this
  pronoun can never be used emphatically or
  contrastively. NB The word also serves as
  plural pronoun "we", and as an impersonal pronoun
  meaning "we" in the sense close to "one", German
  man, French on.
• 2. Wo3 ? is contrastive and emphatic by Warring
  States times (in OBI it was not yet in opposition
  to wu2 ? and was the standard unmarked pronoun
  during earlier stages of the language). The
  word freely occurs in subject, mofifying, and
  object position and often has an idiomatic
  meaning like "I for my part" and the formal
  slightly depersonalised "our party". NB The word
  also serves as plural pronoun "we", and as an
  impersonal pronoun meaning "we" in the sense
  close to "one", German man, French on.
• 3. Yu32 ?/? is personal and often
  autobiographical, speaking of the author in the
  past. It it a preferred pronoun used by poets.
• 4. Zhe4n ? is an ordinary southern dialect first
  person pronoun in CC, but by decree the word came
  to be limited to use by the emperor alone after
  the unification of the Chinese Empire in 221 BC.

57

• Omne corpus aut aqua aut aer aut ignis aut terra
  est aut id quod est concretum ex his aut ex
  aliqua parte eorum.
• "Every body is either water, or air, or fire, or
  earth or that which is composed of these, or of
  some portion of these." Cicero, De natura deorum
  3,30, de officiis 1.28.
• eadem est ratio, quae sunt orationis lumina et
  quodammodo insignia cum aut duplicantur
  iteranturque verba aut leviter commutata
  ponuntur, aut ab eodem aut adiunguitur idem
  iteratum aut idem ad extremum refertur, aut cum
  similiter vel cadunt verba vel desinunt, aut cum
  sunt contrariis relata contraria, aut cum
  gradatim sursum versus reditur, aut cum demptis
  coniunctionibus dissolute plura dicuntur, aut cum
  aliquid praetereuntes cur id faciamus extendimus,
  aut cum corrigimus nosmet ipsos quasi
  reprehendentes, aut si est aliqua exlamatio vel
  admirationis vel questionis, aut cum eiusdem
  nominis casus saepius commutantur. Cicero, Orator
  134

58

• EDITOR CHRISTOPH HARBSMEIER UNIVERSITY OF OSLO
• ASSOCIATE EDITOR JIANG SHAOYU PEKING
  UNIVERSITY
• CO-EDITOR SHANG HISTORY DAVID KEIGHTLEY, UNIV
  OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
• CO-EDITOR ORACLE BONE EPIGRAPHY KEN-ICHI
  TAKASHIMA, UBC, VANCOUVER
• CO-EDITOR CHARACTER ANALYSIS FRANÇOISE
  BOTTERO, CNRS, PARIS
• CO-EDITOR MATHEMATICS KARINE CHEMLA, CNRS,
  PARIS
• CO-EDITOR HAN ILLUSTRATIONS MICHAEL NYLAN,
  UNIV OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
• CO-EDITOR YUAN DRAMA STEPHEN WEST, UNIV OF
  CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
• CO-EDITOR MING/QING NOVEL ANDREW PLAKS,
  PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
• CO-EDITOR BUDDHIST COLLOQUIAL CHINESE ZHU
  QINGZHI, PEKING UNIVERSITY
• with ALFREDO CADONNA, CINI FOUNDATION, VENICE,
  and CHRISTOPH ANDERL, UNIV. OF OSLO
• CO-EDITOR MODERN CHINESE LU JIANMING, PEKING
  UNIVERSITY
• with DAVID SEHNAL CHARLES UNIVERSITY, PRAGUE
• CO-EDITOR JESUIT CHINESE/FOREIGN LOANS FEDERICO
  MASINI, LA SAPIENZA UNIVERSITY, ROME
• CO-EDITOR INTELLECTUAL HISTORY MICHAEL PUETT,
  HARVARD UNIVERSITY
• CO-EDITOR PRE-BUDDHIST POETRY MARTIN KERN,
  PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
• CO-EDITOR PRE-BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY CARINE
  DEFOORT, LEUVEN UNIVERSITY
• CO-EDITOR PRE-BUDDHIST LEGAL HISTORY ULRICH LAU,
  HEIDELBERG UNIVERSITY

59
Thesaurus Linguae Sericae Current State

• Historical phonetics Jingdian shiwen 7th cent.,
  Guangyun A.D.1008, reconstruction of Old Chinese
  by Pan Wuyun.
• Graphic etymology notes by Qiu Xigui, Peking
  Univ. on all characters not well explained by B.
  Karlgren
• Lexical analysis ca. 27 000 lexical entries
• Example sentences Over 75 000 examples analysed
• Syntactic analysis Over 600 function classes
  for words
• Synonym groups Over 2200 groups hierarchically
  defined
• Synonym distinctions 1078 groups contrastively
  analysed
• Texts with interlinear translation Over 40
  pre-Buddhist texts.
• Database of translated texts Over 85 000
  paragraphs
• Incorporated dictionaries B. Karlgren, Grammata
  Serica Recensa E.G. Pulleyblank, Pronouncing
  Dictionary of Chinese (1993)