東施效顰 (Dōng Shī xiào pín) – lit. Dong Shi imitates Xi Shi‘s frown It is said that there was a girl named Xi Shi from the State of Yue in the Spring and Autumn Period. She was very beautiful, with each and every move of hers capable of bringing men to their knees. [However,] She…
Month: July 2022
006. The Girl With Three Husbands
006. The Girl With Three Husbands (La Niña De Los Tres Maridos) A father had a very beautiful, but stubborn and determined, daughter. This did not [at all] seem bad to him, but one day three young men showed up, with all being very handsome, and the three of them asked for the hand of…
SUP – 2022/07/23 – Sausalito and Richardson Bay, Sausalito CA
I woke up way early for this paddle, at around 4:30am. There were two reasons for my early start: one, I misplaced my two battens somewhere (inserts for my RED paddle board which “supposedly” make it stiffer by some 40%), and they could be left at Bayfront Park in Mill Valley where I paddled last…
Dé guò qiě guò (得過且過 – 得过且过)
得過且過 (Dé guò qiě guò) (1) satisfied just to get through (idiom); to muddle through(2) without high ambitions, but getting by There was (is?) a bird on Mount Wutai called Hanhao (寒號, lit. Crying In The Cold), which was born with fleshy wings but could not fly. Whenever summers came, the Hanhao bird would be…
005. The Repentant Thieves
005. The Repentant Thieves (Los Ladrones Arrepentidos) A hermit lived in solitude in a hermitage hidden away in the mountain and fed himself with what he could find in the fields; when he did not forage for food, he devoted himself to praying, which took up the majority of his time. He lived in this…
SUP – 2022/07/16 – Bayfront Park and Bothin Marsh, Mill Valley CA
The website for SF Bay Area Water Trails has this to say about this location, situated next to a skating park in Mill Valley: This launch is not usable at most low tides! Paddlers must be aware of tides during launching and when they plan to land to ensure not to get stuck in the…
Dāng wù zhī jí (當務之急 – 当务之急)
當務之急 (Dāng wù zhī jí) (1) a top priority job (2) matter of vital importance [Note to Nguyen and general readers: check 7A.46 on page 136/185 of translation from https://www.ronliskey.com/docs/mengzi.pdf] Story: Once, a student of Mengzi asked what he should know and do first, given the many things he had to know and work on…
004. The Seven White Rabbits
004. The Seven White Rabbits (Los Siete Conejos Blancos) A king had a very beautiful daughter whom he loved with all his heart. His wife, the queen, had brought the princess up with much love and attention, and had taught her to sew and embroider exquisitely, so that the princess greatly enjoyed doing all kinds…
SUP – 2022/07/10 – Oakland Estuary, Jack London Aquatic Center, Oakland CA
A friend of mine and his wife visited me in Berkeley on Saturday, so I had to delay this paddle until the next day. Sunday is usually my sleep-in day, so getting up for this paddle was definitely a Herculean task. I originally wanted to be up by 6:30am and be out of the house…
Dà yì miè qīn (大義滅親 – 大义灭亲)
大義滅親 (Dà yì miè qīn): to place righteousness before family (idiom); ready to punish one’s own family if justice demands it. From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=176 Story: According to “Zuozhuan – Duke Yin’s 4th Year”, Zhou Yu (州吁) was the son of Duke Zhuang (莊公) and his favorite concubine from the State of Wey in the Spring and…