鬼迷心窍 by 李宗盛

鬼迷心窍
作曲：李宗盛 作词：李宗盛

曾经真的以为人生就这样了
平静的心拒绝再有浪潮
斩了千次的情丝却断不了
百转千折它将我围绕
有人问我你究竟是哪里好
这么多年我还忘不了
春风再美也比不上你的笑
没见过你的人不会明了
是鬼迷了心窍也好
是前世的因缘也好
然而这一切已不再重要
如果你能够重回我怀抱
是命运的安排也好
是你存心的捉弄也好
然而这一切已不再重要
我愿意随你到天涯海角

虽然岁月总是匆匆催人老
虽然情爱总是让人烦恼
虽然未来如何不能知道
现在说再见会不会太早

你好坏 by 黄安

你好坏

你是清清白白
样子多么可爱
天真无邪向我走来
我想对你坦白
我是多么的坏
虽然你现在看不出来
曾经用恋爱证明
我不是小孩
还不清是我感情的债
你相信我会改变
是因为你已出现
希望我真是如你所愿
命运安排你向我走来
你表现的是那么可爱
接受你的爱不知该不该
你是不是会说你好坏
我们越来越老
胆子越来越小
我们变得小心而有礼貌
你是不是唯一现在要让你知道
女人呀!女人我如何是好

(Couldn't find any videos on Youtube so I just put the lyrics here.)

难以抗拒你容颜 by 张信哲

难以抗拒你的容颜
歌手：张信哲

你仿佛从没见过我
只是让我梦成空
伤心 不语 退缩
幻想也许是你假装不看我
让我得不到更珍惜所有

我试着对你微微笑
你总视而不见
何必 何必 何必
却又难以抗拒难以放弃
就算你对我说别再烦我

你难以靠近难以不再想念
我难以抗拒你容颜
把心画在写给你的信中
希望偶尔能够见到你微笑的容颜

你难以靠近难以不再想念
我难以抗拒你容颜
把心画在写给你的信中
希望明天能够见到你会心的容颜

故人不曾从心去

故人不曾从心去，
新人在旁忆难忘，
久别一逢恨已晚，
流水何知落花意？

出嫁 by 张清芳 & 优客李林

Yet another of those songs that I used to listen to. The uncertainty of what the future holds as two persons embark on a journey together.



出嫁
作曲：詹兆源
作词：詹兆源
演唱：张清芳 优客李林
编制：周晓敏

红红的烛火在案头
我的心也照得发烫
红红的双喜映眼中
脸上却挂着泪两行
总会有这么一天
天真的一切都得走远
我不之所措
怎能不教我不心慌
昨天的潇洒少年郎
今天要变成大人样
掩不住嘴角的轻笑
全都是期待和幻想
他长得什么模样
她长得什么模样
有没有一卷长发
和一颗温暖
包容的心房
对或错有谁知道
能不能白头到老
有没有和我一样
我用一生一世的心
等待一生一世的情
也许是宿命
也许是注定
我真的希望
能多点好运
我用一生一世的心
换你一生一世的情
牵你的手
嗯…

Calligraphy piece - 芷花，蔚蕊

Drafts of a calligraphy piece for my friend's birthday. The actual finished work has been given away.

芷花色颜白，娇丽妩媚多，
蔚蕊形含蓄，娴静处子心。

The Silk Road travelogue - Conclusion

This completes the route that I took along the Silk Road in 1995. Below are the consolidated links to each stop.

Introduction
Xining 西宁
Lanzhou 兰州
Zhangye 张掖
Jiayuguan 嘉峪关
Jiuquan 酒泉
Dunhuang 敦煌
Hami 哈密
Turpan 吐鲁番
Urumqi 乌鲁木齐
Yining 伊宁
Urumqi 乌鲁木齐 again

And here is Kitaro's Silk Road, used as the theme for NHK's documentary on the Silk Road.

The Silk Road travelogue part 11 - Urumqi 乌鲁木齐

Once again we found ourselves back in Urumqi, the final stop of my Silk Road trip.

We didn't do much after returning to the city. There was a visit to the river, but the main purpose coming back here is to catch our flight back home.

The Silk Road travelogue part 10 - Yining 伊宁

The next stop along the trip is the city of Yining 伊宁, right near the border with Kazakhstan.

To get here, we took a small plane. Propeller driven, in fact. This is the smallest aircraft that I have ever flown on in my life till now.

We didn't do much here, though there was a dance by the locals to welcome us. The main attraction here is the wonderful waters of the Yilu river.

Then it was back again to Urumqi 乌鲁木齐.

The Silk Road travelogue part 9 - Urumqi 乌鲁木齐

The next stop along the trip was Urumqi 乌鲁木齐.

This is the capital of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. So we were off again to visit the Uyghur tribe in their yurts.

There is a Heavenly Lake (known as 天池 Tianchi) here too. And the view is heavenly.

Right in the city is a rock, likely to be the remnants of a meteorite.

Next stop is Yining 伊宁.

The Silk Road travelogue part 8 - Turpan 吐鲁番

The next stop is Turpan 吐鲁番.


It rarely rains in Turpan. We were told it rains about 1 or 2 times a year here. By a stroke of luck, it was raining when we arrived at Turpan.

The dry weather here is great for grapes, and there are grapevines all over the city.

And what do the people do for water? After all, there isn't much rain here, and people need water to survive. Grapes need water to grow too. Well, they have a series of underground wells, a qanat system know as karez in the Uyghur language. It is called 坎儿井 (kan'er jing) in Chinese. You can read more about the Turpan water system at Wikipedia.

Turpan has a large Uyghur (维吾尔族 Weiwu'er in Chinese) population, who are Muslims. So it is no surprise that there are mosques in the city.

The most famous one will probably be the Emin Minaret and Mosque.

Near Turpan, there are many historical sites as well. We visited the site of the Jiaohe ruins, which used to be an important city along the Silk Road.

Another historical site is the ancient city of Gaochang 高昌, an oasis city along the Silk Road near Turpan similarly in ruins now. Some of the buildings are very well preserved, as you can see from the photo below.

We also visited the Flaming Mountains, a place made famous by the Chinese novel "A Journey to the West" aka 《西游记》.

While you won't see the Monkey King here, there is a statue to mark its link to the novel.

And while at the Flaming Mountains, we took the opportunity to visit the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves 柏孜克里千佛洞.

Next stop, Urumqi  乌鲁木齐.

The Silk Road travelogue part 7 - Hami 哈密

The next stop is Hami 哈密, where we visited a minority tribe living in the countryside.

The people here are nomadic, raising sheep and riding on horses. They live in yurts on the countryside, where their herds graze.

Here is a display put up for us. It is a cultural event, where men on horseback compete in snatching a sheep. The meat is then cooked for dinner.

Next stop, Turpan 吐鲁番.

历史考试前夕 by 梁文福

Yet another song that I like, was listening this in the car just now and decided to share it with everyone. It is also a quick short intro to Chinese history.

如果秦始皇烧书都烧完
我不必读到三点半
如果周公真的忙着治天下
何必不断催我入梦乡

三闾大夫不投汨罗江
卖粽子老王生活怎么办
如果楚霸王当年不到乌江
隔壁班刘邦不会这么嚣张

西施不浣纱 昭君不和番
现代的古典美人做何打算
如果刘备哭不出诸葛亮
会不会闹出一阵剧本荒

只看过薛丁山 偏要考安禄山
知道冯宝宝她演过杨玉环
若非十二金牌将岳飞来调返
今天还吃不吃到油条香

我吃过月饼当然知道朱元璋
吃榴梿知道郑和下西洋
胡金铨的戏里听过东西厂
看金庸小说知道袁崇焕

只叹林则徐烧鸦片烧不完
西太后偏偏相信义和团
珍妃不该嫁给那个光绪皇
几千年等到一个孙中山

万里长城长 没有历史长
考试题目比那丝路还弯
五胡乱华乱 我的脑筋更乱
心情比那个八国联军慌

多少年的改变已经很习惯
多少次革命总是革不完
谢天谢地近代史老师讲不完
下一代历史考试不敢想像

Flirting with danger - an article in The Sunday Times

Sumiko Tan wrote an article in The Sunday Times today titled "Flirting with danger". It is about harmless flirting that happens as part of human interaction, as well as how to watch for signs that the harmless flirting may be heading towards dangerous waters.

As I was reading it, I can't help but wonder if the article was written because of something happening in her life recently. After all, her old crush from school days met up with her, and continued to contact her when he returned to England after that. Is this a subtle (albeit public) way of telling him that he needs to watch his limits? Or a way to alert herself to catch hold of herself before she plunges into the deep?

I guess we all have our share of old crushes and exs, it all remains to yourself that when you look back and remember the good old times, you should also ask yourself why things didn't work out. It will probably save you some trouble in finding out again.

Of course, flirting around does add favour to the day, no harm to that ("coffee, tea or me?"). Just don't get carried away.

Mid Autumn Festival

Today is Mid Autumn Festival (中秋节). My alma mater has celebrations each year for this festival, and I am sure this year is no different. However, unlike past years, in which my friends and I would use this opportunity to go back and visit, this year, we made no such arrangements.

Other than that, I don't really celebrate this festival. I did get a box of cakes from a fellow taiji student, though. I guess when the baby grows up, this day will be spent with candles and lanterns. But for now, it is just yet another day, with a bright full moon.