Thoughts on Li Ch’ing-Chao’s poetry: 1. In “Free-Spirited Fisherman,” the speaker mentions where the high god lives. That confused me a little because I thought I remembered the Chinese worshipping many different gods, so I looked it up. I found out that there are many gods worshipped in China, but there is one that is referred to as the “most high.” That cleared that up. 2. I know from a jewelry line that I like (random place to gain knowledge, I know) that lotus flowers can symbolize spiritual development and peace. I found the mention of them in “Like a Dream” interesting. The poem is all about unrest, but in the middle of it is a symbol of peace. I think the author may have been trying to remind readers that in the middle of confusion, they can always find some peace. 3. Last thought on these poems: I got a feeling of desperation from most of his work. I feel like he was just looking for an escape, for a way to get to heaven, but he couldn’t find it. I think alcohol was the closest he could come to escaping the pain of his life.
The Thousand and One Knights I noticed in the sections that I read of this piece that the men were all presented as innocent, honest victims, while the women were the cheaters or deceivers. It was pretty different from the fairy-tale version of this story I heard when I was growing up in which Shahrazad is the hero and the king is the bad guy, not the poor deceived guy.
Thoughts on the Koran: This was a really interesting read. First I thought, “and people find things in the Bible are hard to believe?” This book has a baby who talks just after being born. That’s pretty far-fetched. And from what I’ve learned, most religions have aspects that are hard to believe in; that’s where faith comes in. It’s kind of the point. Something that I found disturbing about the Koran as I read was the attitude that it presents toward unbelievers. It basically says that unbelievers are sent devils to tempt them so that they’ll sin and die. Unbelievers are presented as things to get rid of rather than as people who can be witnessed to and saved. That was pretty radical. The books also skipped over so many prominent people who are featured in the Bible, just giving them a sentence or two to say, “Yea, these people existed, and moving on….” It was just odd to me.
Thoughts on Li Ch’ing-Chao’s poetry:
ReplyDelete1. In “Free-Spirited Fisherman,” the speaker mentions where the high god lives. That confused me a little because I thought I remembered the Chinese worshipping many different gods, so I looked it up. I found out that there are many gods worshipped in China, but there is one that is referred to as the “most high.” That cleared that up.
2. I know from a jewelry line that I like (random place to gain knowledge, I know) that lotus flowers can symbolize spiritual development and peace. I found the mention of them in “Like a Dream” interesting. The poem is all about unrest, but in the middle of it is a symbol of peace. I think the author may have been trying to remind readers that in the middle of confusion, they can always find some peace.
3. Last thought on these poems: I got a feeling of desperation from most of his work. I feel like he was just looking for an escape, for a way to get to heaven, but he couldn’t find it. I think alcohol was the closest he could come to escaping the pain of his life.
The Thousand and One Knights
I noticed in the sections that I read of this piece that the men were all presented as innocent, honest victims, while the women were the cheaters or deceivers. It was pretty different from the fairy-tale version of this story I heard when I was growing up in which Shahrazad is the hero and the king is the bad guy, not the poor deceived guy.
Thoughts on the Koran:
This was a really interesting read. First I thought, “and people find things in the Bible are hard to believe?” This book has a baby who talks just after being born. That’s pretty far-fetched. And from what I’ve learned, most religions have aspects that are hard to believe in; that’s where faith comes in. It’s kind of the point. Something that I found disturbing about the Koran as I read was the attitude that it presents toward unbelievers. It basically says that unbelievers are sent devils to tempt them so that they’ll sin and die. Unbelievers are presented as things to get rid of rather than as people who can be witnessed to and saved. That was pretty radical. The books also skipped over so many prominent people who are featured in the Bible, just giving them a sentence or two to say, “Yea, these people existed, and moving on….” It was just odd to me.