Dr Norman Bethune (1890 - 1939), or 白求恩 as he was popularly known by the Chinese, a Canadian doctor who saved many lives of soldiers injured during the Sino-Japaneses war. A great Friend of the people of China indeed.
In January 1938 Bethune travelled to Yan'an, a county of Shaanxi province in China. There he joined the Chinese Communists to organise medical services for the region. In China, Dr Bethune performed emergency operations on war casualties and established training for doctors, nurses and orderlies. He was stationed with the Eight Route Army in the midst of the war to operate on injured soldiers. It was reported he cut his finger while operating on a soldier. As a result, he contracted septicaemia (blood poisoning) and died of his wounds on November 12, 1939. It was sad for such a great man to die in the course of saving other people's lives.
Statue of Dr Bethune in Beijing
Dr Bethune 1922
I have in my collection a clay figurine of Dr Bethune, made during the Cultural Revolution Era, probably in the 1960s. I collected this figurine as a way to remember a great man who unselfishly saved so many lives and gave up his own in the course of his calling. There were many souvenirs, figurines, stamps and paintings produced in China over the years to honour this man.
Back to serious business of pot collecting. Below are three Yixing teapots made in the 1970s, could be earlier. The workmanship (you can see every detail of the teapot in the shape of a tree trunk, even the bark is rough) is superb because during that time, there was no urgency to produce teapots rapidly. Do you know why? Put it simply, the workers did not get to share any profits made, everything earned belonged to the state. At that time all the companies in China were owned by the government. Hence, there was no incentive for the average factory workers to mass-produce anything in the factory. I don't think they knew there was such thing called productivity. So the workers took their own sweet time to manufacture things in their own pace. In a way, if you take you time to make things slowly, definitely the quality and workmanship has got to be good. At least this is what I believe. Another thing is that if you always churn out good things, your superior will appreciate you effort and your career will take off, because he realises that there is something special in you (what we call talent). You will be sent for training to upgrade your skills so that you can even perform better. If you are smart and diligent, you will not disappoint your company. You will become better and better. In the long run, the company will reap all the benefits because of your capabilities (in handling businesses). This is how the world operates. This rule seldom changes no matter what you may say.
Teapots of 3 different types of clay
I do have some basis to back up my belief. For instance, if you look at the maker of the above teapots. He may be a very ordinary factory worker (even tough he produced very high quality and good workmanship teapots) during the 70s. Now, if you check the Who's Who in the county of Yixing in Jiangsu Province, you will be surprised to find that this ordinary worker has become a Senior Craftmaster who is currently in-charge of a Yixing factory.
Hard work does matter if one desires to excel in anything one does. Do not look for short-cuts as this is not the way to succeed in life.
Do you know, the national anthem of China, March of the Volunteers, 义勇军进行曲, was jointly composed by Nie Er and Tian Han in 1934. Nie Er was reportedly drowned while swimming in Japan on 17 of July 1935, at the age of twenty-three. The song was featured many times in patriotic films and it was used as the national anthem for the first time in an international conference in February 1949 when China had come under the control of the Chinese Communists.
During the Cultural Revolution, the March of the Volunteers was forbidden to be sung; and it was replaced by "The East is Red" as the unofficial national anthem. The March of the Volunteers began to be played once again from the 20th PRC National Day Parade in 1969 onward. It was restored as the national anthem in 1978. The stamps below show the two songs and Nie Er 聂耳, the musician who composed March of the Volunteers. Below him (on the left) are the lyrics of the song.
It is amazing, China as a great nation can change its national anthem for political reasons. I don't know if any other countries in this world will do that. Please enlighten me. However, during turbulent times, children can betrayed their parents, wives betrayed husbands, and etc.. Such stories are very common during the Cultural Revolution,
Another area in my collection of collectible is sterling silver coins. Although I collected a lot of silver coins of the Straight Settlement Era (those were the time when we are under British Rule), they are all old and a bit worn out through the years of circulation.
If you collect coins, they have to be in their mint condition and uncirculated, preferably come with certificates of authenticity. If you can afford it, gold coins are even better due to the high value of gold as compared to silver. There again, the factors such as scarcity and historical background may affect the value of coins.
I collected Chinese Lunar coins of the 80s right up to early 2000. Each of these coins bear a certificate stating the purity of silver, the year minted and the mintage quantity. Those times, China needed a lot of revenue for nation building so these coins were exported to earn foreign money. The quantity of mintage of these coins is 6800 pieces. Just imagine, if these coins were meant for the locals, 6800 pieces were even not enough to give to the Party Officials, let alone the ordinary folks in China with such a huge population . So, I am quite sure they were meant for the export market. This means that the early lunar coins could be quite rare in terms of the number of pieces minted. Actually I paid 80 to 100 dollars for each coin which weighs 10 oz, quite expensive considering the price of silver at that time. Nowadays, you do not see many shops in Singapore selling those old Chinese Lunar Coins minted in the 80s. The reason: Chinese people have become very affluent indeed, the government also does not need any more foreign funds. In fact, you will hear stories like good old antiques and fine ancient cultural relics have began their journey back to the motherland. They even have a department to look at ways to bring back good old treasures of the past era to the motherland, for instance, through auctions or private acquisitions. They begin to appreciate these fine things in life. One famous TV presenter once commented that that too many of those fine art objects of Chinese origin are on display in museums all over the world (it seems that they don't have their own cultural things to display in their museums and be proud of it). Hence, great effort is channelled to bring back some of the fine arts in private collection and house them in local museums so people can view them at their own comfort, not having to travel abroad to appreciate at their own culture and history.
If you are of my age, I am sure you may know who they are. They are once famous, now they may be the forgotten ones. In this part of the world, I don't think many people will know them. At most somebody might be able to recognise one or two, definitely not all of them. If you need help, ask your seniors (I mean senior in age only), they might be able to help. Nowadays, there is no one talking about them anymore in the press. You may also not find anything written on them in the magazines as well. Anyway, I will show you some pictures and see if you can tell me who they are, then I will tell you who they are.
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Lin Dai (Chinese name: 林黛 , real name (程月如)
A famous actress of Mandarin films produced in H0ng Kong under the brand name of the Shaw Brothers Studio during the 1950s to 1960s. She won the Best Actress awards for four times at the Asia Pacific Film Festivals for her remarkable performance in firms produced those days.
She committed suicide at home in Hong Kong in 1964 using overdose of sleeping pills and inhalation of methane gas, over trivial matter as reported by the press that time. Her death shocked the Chinese community. Her most well-remembered films are The Lotus Lamp and Blue And Black (I and II).
Bruce Lee (Known by fans as: 李小龍
His real name was Lee Jun-fan, born in 1940 in San Francisco and was raised in Kowloon. He returned to the US at the age of 18 and began teaching martial arts and also appeared as a co-star in American TV series. He was talent scouted by a File Director, Lo Wei, who took him back to Hong Kong to act in a series of Kungfu movies that elevated the traditional martial arts films to a new level of popularity and acclaim, sparking a surge of craze in kungfu in the west in the 1970s. He was particularly well known for his type of kungfu, fast kicking with a pair of dancing legs. His famous films included The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, Way of the Dragon, Enter the Dragon and The Game of Death. He died in Kowloon Tong in 1973 at age 32. There was mystery surrounding his death. The largest influence on Lee's kungfu was his study of Wing Chun under the Wing Chun teacher Yip Man in 1954.
Yam Kim Fai: 任劍輝
A famous Cantonese opera actress in China and Hong Kong active in the 50s and 60s. She was most notable for her unique ability to sing in the lower register and her opera voice was indistinguishable from a male one. This allowed her to play either male or female roles, though she usually performed male ones. Yam played the male lead in many Cantonese opera stage productions in Hong Kong, most often opposite Bak Sheut Sin. The two singers reprised many of those roles when the operas were adapted for the screen between 1951 and 1968. She was well remembered for singing together with Bak Sheut Sin at the final scene of Tai Nui Fa, a famous Cantonese drama. In 1989, she died at her home in Hong Kong due to pleural effusion.
Leong Seng Por
A famous Cantonese actor who acted many fatherly roles in hilarious films produced in the 60s and 70s by Shaw Brothers.
This is not about the Monkey King that one reads in the old Chinese novel, Journey to the West, about a Super-natural Monkey (with 72 tricks that can transform himself to anything) who assisted a monk (to fight the demons who wanted to eat the flesh of the monk) who travelled to India to bring home the Buddhist Scriptures. Anyway, that was a just a legend.
This is about the picture (or rather a painting) of a cheeky monkey that appeared on a piece of Chinese stamp ( a very small stamp indeed) during the Monkey Lunar year in 1982 which had a postage value of 8 cents. Why is this piece of stamp so special? Well, a single sheet of 80 such stamps was auctioned in China in 2011 for a whopping one million dollars RMB. Could you imagine, someone can just spend one million on a sheet of stamps instead of buying a house/property like we all do in Singapore. If you own a few sheets of such stamps, you can effectively call yourself a multi-millionaire. Having said that, you might not even have seen such a stamp, not to mention owning it. Anyway, I will show it to you one, but there again, I do not own one sheet of them (that is why I am still not a millionaire). I just have one which is in one full set of 12 animals. If you follow my blog you get to hear and see the unbelievable, from the one who has seen it all.
The Monkey is at the Top Right (Red)
The monkey was painted by a renowned artist, but this is not the reason why it is so valuable. It is so expensive nowadays as I found out later that most of the stamps were damaged (for what reason I really do not Know). The universal rule of supply and demand applies here. I remembered in the 90s when I started collecting Chinese stamps, a single sheet of 80 stamps was selling as high as S$26000, even more expensive that one lot of OCBC or DBS bank shares. Anyway it was beyond me and I could only afford the next in line, the Chicken (which comes after the Monkey). At that time I spent S$168 for one sheet of 80 chickens hoping that the chickens could bring me good fortune. Just like stocks and shares, the chickens did not do as well as the monkeys. Maybe it is not in the same class as the monkey. This could be the reason why chickens appeared on our dinner table, but not the monkeys. The monkeys are definitely smarter and more cunning than the chickens. With all the shortcomings of the chickens, I can still manage to sell off the whole sheet of chickens to an agent from China last year for S$3200. Not bad, isn't it, for an initial investment of 168 dollars. There is hidden intrinsic value in stamps. More of such stories will follow.
A famous presenter in China CCTV programmes (on antiques, what else) once commented that whenever someone mentioned this Monkey in front of him, he will get very upset and bitter. Guess what, he once bought one whole sheet of the monkeys at actual cost (not for investment tough), and used up every single piece of them for posting letters. If he were to keep the stamps until now, he would become a millionaire. This is the reason why he cannot afford to retire early. His colleagues will always try to avoid telling the Monkey Story in front of him or when he is around.
Do you know why the vases and bowls of the Ming and Qing Dynasties of China are highly contested items in auction houses? Firstly, these utensils were made with exceptional workmanship and quality, including the decorations, paintings and glaze on them Secondly, they were made for imperial use (you head will roll to the floor if the emperors found out any flaws in them if you were in charge of this area). Thirdly, they were pieces of history that reminded us of our origin, our culture and the nation under different rulers. For things to command high value, they got to have history behind them, they must be magnificent looking and they also have to be rare. Otherwise, you could have picked up a rock (which is very old) and headed straight to an auction house and expect people to bid for it. It is still possible if you find one that is out of this world, the meteorites from the outer space.
A meteorite from outer space: great value
I have not been to any auction house for my pocket is not that deep. You need to have a strong heart as you can see people shouting 10 millions, 12 millions (it can go on and on) over your favourite item and you know that there is nothing you can do to out bid them. It can be quite frustrating. In this places you almost feel that money has lost its worth. By the way, you can also work as agents bidding on behalf of museums and earn some commissions when you have bought successfully the items the museums want through intense bidding. That require skills and expertise.
I have a couple of bowls of the late Qing Dynasty (not bought in any auction but nowadays late Qing artifacts slowly find their way to major auction houses due to scarcity) which I bought at affordable prices many years ago. Here are some photos to share:
大清同治
大清光緒
大清同治
An auction piece
If you have not been to any auction house like myself, don't worry. I will take you to one so you can feel the atmosphere there. The place is like battle ground with interested parties fighting with each other over the auction pieces they want. The atmosphere can be nail biting and you need to possess exceptional skills and talent, or else you will be beaten flat on the ground. But this time round, do not bring any cash or money with you as I know (just like me) you will not have a chance to bid, even if you do you won't be able to out bid them. Another thing is that we may be refused entry to the auction house as this place is solely for people of a different kind, the super super rich ones. So relax, just click on the video below and imagine yourself inside one of the major auction houses of the world and enjoy the bidding process.
You don't need super telescopes nor a clear night to do star gazing. There are stars in gemstones such as the star sapphires and star rubies. They are not only fantastic but also valuable, not to mention the thrill and satisfaction when you look at them. I have a few star sapphire rings. I will tell you what I do with them. Of course, I wear them. However, it is more than just wearing them on my fingers. Whenever I stop at traffic lights, I will do my star gazing to kill the time while waiting for the light to turn green. It sure makes me happy and contended. You see, as you turn the ring, the star will follow your turning, as the sapphire needs light to produce this effect. If you are in a room where there many spot lights on the ceiling, you will see multiple stars appearing on this stone, the stars move as you move you hand and they all seem to be smiling at you. You may not know how much fun you can derive from this type of star gazing unless you experiece it yourself. The world is definitely wonderful to have such beauties in it. You just need to uncover the stones and it will be a pleasure for ever. Of course you need to own one to enjoy its beauty and also keep you company whenever you are bored (for instance waiting at traffic lights). Take a look at this video below and you will know why.
Isn't star sapphire lovely? Will upload my stars later for sharing.
Do you know which animal has the most expensive and adorable eyes?
If you are a gemologist, you would probably know the answer. It is the Cat's eye. Although many gemstones (like moonstones, quartz..) exhibit the cat's eye effect, only chrysoberyl gemstones that demonstrate this effect are the true cat's eye gemstones and they are called Cymophane. Click on the clip below to find out more about this noble cat's eye.
I have in my possession a chrysobryl cat's eye weighing 18.34 carats. It is oval cabochon in shape and polished. This gem is greenish brown in colour and is from Sri Lanka (as described in the Gem Identification Report). I bought it a few years ago in a jewelry shop in Bukit Timah Shopping Centre in Singapore together with a identity report from the Gemological Laboratory.
Recently my wife passed me a newspaper cutting. An article which read something like this: A bowl bought for 3 US dollars was auctioned for more than 2 million dollars in a major auction house in US. Read for yourself:
A rare find in the US
You may be wondering why somebody somewhere (in this case the US) can be so lucky. Actually, there are many good and valuable things lying around somewhere in this world. You need to have a pair of sharp eyes like the eagles', the eyes that can distinguish good from bad and gem from trash. You also need to possess wide and deep knowledge that set you apart from the ordinary folks.
Well, that bowl is no ordinary bowl. It is a piece of history (about 1000 years old), it is rare and most of all it is beautiful and magnificent. A bowl made during the period of Song Dynasty in very ancient China. It is known as the 'Ding Ware', one of 5 famous kilns from the Song Dynasty. As mentioned in the article, there is one such bowl kept in a British museum. How fortunate for the one who was able to buy an piece of art fit for any museum at a tag sale in the US (probably like the flea market here in Singapore, that's why the cost is only 3 US dollars). Why it ended in a tag sale is anybody's guess. I suppose the previous owner did not know its value (historical or monetary) and got rid of it to clear the garbage in his house. The bowl could have been left behind by his forefathers who could have brought it out of China (who knows by what means) during those turmoil times during the rule of the Qing Dynasty. If I am not wrong there are still a lot of such good treasures outside China, probably in Europe and the US. Don't forget, the foreign soldiers raided the Imperial Palace during those turmoil times and fled with plenty of invaluable treasures. These treasures would than end up everywhere, probably on display in their houses. Morale of the story is: If you don't educate your children regarding these treasures, they will treat them like garbage and eventually squander everything and anything that you have left behind. History will repeat itself. That is sad. There was another story reported in the press that a UK family auctioned a vase for 50 million pounds. The vase had been on display in their living room for many years until someone asked the family to have it evaluated. Eventually they learned that the vase was a very valuable antique so the family had it auctioned off. Could you imagine this windfall.
If you want to know about the famous kilns that produced the magnificent bowls and plates during the Song Dynasty, just click on this video. Let me remind you, every single piece if you find it, will be a treasure as these things are very rare indeed), Some of the Song Artifacts are really elegant and magnificent. I do not even know how to describe their beauty. My apology. The video is in Mandarin.
My trip to the US sometimes in December 2011 brought back a lot of fond memories. My son was working in Texas then. My wife and I visited him and together we set off for a tour that brought us from Texas to New Mexico then Houston where we boarded a plane home on boxing day. Places we visited and activities carried out: the Airforce Museum, George Bush Museum, Metour Crater Museum, Carlsbad Caverns, McDonald Observatory, Monahans Sandhills Park, Big Bend Museum and National Park, the Alamo and Japanese Garden in San Antonio, the 5 Spanish Missions in San Antonio, factory outlets in San Marco, Capitol Building in Austin, NASA, the San Jacinto Monument and the Battleship Texas BB-35 in Houston, also attended a Christmas service at Lakewood Church in Houston, finally did some Christmas shopping before heading home from Houston international airport. One place worth mentioning (although all places we visited are interesting and exciting) or rather the highlight of this tour is the Big Bend National Park. The place is vast and full of nature, I mean not spoilt by human hands (in terms of development and the things you find in cities). If you like nature, this is definitely the place to visit. All you need to do is to hire a car and you are free to go wherever you want, stop at the place you want and stay as long as you want. There is no tour guide to hurry you from place to place.There are a few mountain trails that we really enjoyed hiking. It was so full of fun. You have got to be there to experience it. Do you know, the scenes you see in western cowboy films where the red Indians chasing the cowboys on horses, they were all shot here( where they called it the wild wild west). They sure needed such a vast place for all this chasing and gun-fighting. Somewhere in one of the mountain trail, you are sure to meet up with a singing Mexican (a local icon with a great voice) selling souvenirs there. You will be amazed at his singing ability. He appeared many times on You Tube, looks like he has become a celebrity in his own right.
Another great place in the tour is Carlsbad Caverns, a journey underground, some 1037 feet below the surface. We had to drive through the Chihuahuan Desert of the Guadalupe Mountains, rugged mountains and broad plains with cactus everywhere, before reaching the cavern. We knew as we entered the cavern, we would be away from sunlight and the flowering cactus and headed straight into the underground world of gigantic subterranean chambers, fantastic cave formations, and the extraordinary features. We really had no idea what to expect as we walked, crawled and climbed down into the darkness, the wonders of Carlsbad Caverns. As we explored further into the caverns, we passed many large and famous features, like the Bottomless Pit, Giant Dome, Rock of Ages and Painted Grotto. After lunch, we explored the remaining places like Bat Cave , Devil's Spring, Greenlake Overlook, etc. We needed one full day for the trip and were dear tired by the time we reached home. Quite an experience indeed.
When we were at San Antonio, we visited the Alamo, once served as the home to missionaries and their Indian converts.San Antonio and the Alamo played a critical role in the Texas Revolution. We heard of the story of how the Texans holding the Mexican troop until the last man in their 13 day struggle to defend the Alamo from being capture by the Mexicans. Although they lost their lives, this event finally led to the independence of Texax from the Mexican through the Texan Revolution. Beside the Alamo, we took a boat ride on the waterways or canals in the morning. During evening we went back to the same place to take photos. Since it was December, there was Christmas lighting everywhere along the waterways.
You may say sight seeing is tiring. But this was nothing compared to shopping when we were the factory outlets in San Marcos Premium Outlets. There we went from shops to shops looking for those bargain deals, shops like Levis, Cough, Kate Spade, Gucci, etc. By night fall, we were carrying 3 to 4 bags on each hand. Never mind the price, just buy first as you can always return the goods later if you don't like them, a law in the US to protect the consumers.
NASA the Johnson Space Centre, the San Jacinto Monument and the Battleship Texas were the other interesting places to visit in Houston. Will update later.
Here are some photos and video clips for sharing
If you have been to the border between Yunnan (a province in China) and Burma, you will notice that there exists a gambling of a different kind. There is no casino around but it is well known that huge fortune can be made or lost within seconds. Guess what is this type of gambling? Take a look at this picture and you will soon find out.
What kind of rock is this?
If you think this is just a piece of ordinary rock, you are wrong. Rock doesn't have this kind of colour. Well, this is a piece of raw jade boulderwith most of its skin still attached but the skin is only partially removed at the tip of the stone revealing its jade colour. If you shine torch light around it, you will see more of this green colour all over the stone. It is definitely a green Jadeite, a Chinese lady's best friend.
Well, what has gambling got to do with this stone?
Now, if you visit the Jade market in Yunnan, you will probable see a large crowd of people mingling with the Jade merchants (usually from Burma). Most of them are not interested in the Jade pendants, bangles or whatever Jade articles on display. Or rather some of them set their eyes on the numerous boulders of various sizes on display on the floor. These again are no ordinary boulders although they may look just like the rocks you may find lying in your garden back home. There is no sign to reveal that these boulders are real jade and its quality is also not known to naked eyes (unless you have them cut open in a workshop). The potential clients patiently use torch light to shine on the boulders, trying to uncover the gem (or the lack of it) beneath the skin . Sometimes the merchants may remove a bit of the skin (showing some green colour) on the boulders to entice the clients. He can then jack up the price to maximise his profit. The clients and the merchants will start bargaining to reach a price for these boulders. Mind you, the price can be as high as a few million dollars (actually there is no price limit for such stones, it all depends on size and the amount and depth of the green one can estimate in the stones).
This is exciting and very challenging, definitely not for the faint hearted. For instance, you may pay a very high premium price for a boulder (with a bit of the green revealed at some part of the stone where its skin has been previously removed) knowing that you can make a lot of high quality jade articles from it, and the huge rewards you will then reap from this transaction. After you have the boulder cut open, you can be disappointed to find that only very little of the boulder has good quality jade-like colour, the rest is very ordinary jade of low quality (which does not fetch a high price). In other words, the boulder is rather worthless. Just imagine, your investment (millions of dollars) has just gone down the drain in a couple of minutes (time taken to cut up the boulder). If you have a weak heart, you better stay out of this game.
On the other hand, another client may examine the boulder thoroughly and purchase it after careful examination and consideration (again torch light to reveal whatever green he can find in the stone). When he has the stone cut up in a workshop nearby, he is overwhelm with the magnificent quality of the jade that is revealed before his eyes. Absolutely green jadeite, the entire rock is a perfect piece of jade that can be made into numerous jade artifacts, from bangles to rings and pendants. Overnight, he has made millions from this daring transaction.
That is the reason why this is called gambling of a different kind. You can make or break in life with a simple decision. Some lose a huge fortune while others reap millions, all in a matter of minutes. This is called Jade Boulder Gambling, literary, in the jade market.
Jade Pendants
If you are a beginner and don't have a deep pocket, better stay out of it as the risk is too high. You may end up losing everything, even your own life. Stories of people who lost heavily and committed suicide are not uncommon in this part of the world.
Have you ever seen an ancient court room of old China? If you go to Shansi (山西), there is a county called Pingyao (平遥) where an ancient court room (县衙) is preserved. There is even a live show of the court proceedings for the tourists who visit the Pingyao Court.
I had the opportunity to witness how the Judge (Magistrate) handled a case. The accused was brought in together with the plantiff. The evidence was produced and the Judge was convinced without any doubt that the accused was guilty as judged. He then pronounced judgement to the accused and the case was resolved with loud applause from the crowd.
However, as we all know, history will tell us that in old days the Judge was usually corrupt and the accused was always set free and the plantiff became guilty and punished instead. This is why money can do wonders in those days. There was even a saying that spreaded among the public. The doors of the court room are wide open, if you have the truth/evidence but no money/cash you better don't come in. This shows how corrupt the officials in those days can be. Money speaks louder than words.
县衙大门八字开, 有理无钱莫进来 .
Pingyao Court with sign showing Mirror of Justice Hanging Above. More often than not, there was no justice in the ancient court for the common folks.
Inside the Court Room, you will see the a table and chair for the Judge.
There is a big picture behind that shows a huge sun rising above the sea.
The Judge always used a wooden thing to hit on the bench to threaten the accused or to ask the people to keep quiet. His duty is also to keep the court house in order.
The accused was brought in and knelt
in front of the Judge. The plaintiff also
knelt behind him.
Usually the Judge would have the accused beaten so as to get the truth out of him. In most cases, the accused was beaten repeatedly until he confessed. Of course, if you are rich, you can always get the verdict in your favour. In this case, both the judge and the accused would adjourn to a room behind to reach for an agreement/settlement.
Finally, the Judge was satisfied with this arrangement with the accused and knew what to do with the verdict.
He then read out the verdict, usually ignoring the loud noise of complaint from the innocent party or the public.
The condemned person was then brought back to the prison, awaiting his final punishment.
It is scary, isn't it. If you are poor you will always be judged guilty and punished. That was life then.
Fortunately, this was ancient time in China. In this 21st century, even if you are poor, the State will make sure that you will get a good lawyer to defend you. You need not worry about the fees as the State will take care of that.
I composed a poem while travelling in Shansi, it goes like this:
I like to write poems while travelling in China. When the journey is long, it is a good idea to do some useful thing like reading or writing something to kill time. Here are some poems written during the tour to Wuyishan in Fuzhou and 双乳峰 and 万峰林 inGuizhou.
平日好旅行
福州来散心
武夷山上去
岩茶共品茗
10 Dec 08
双乳峰 is a new tourist spot in Guizhow. From afar, the mountain looks like a female's bosom; hence the name 双乳峰. An interesting place to visit.
双乳峰in Guizhow
游子来到双乳峰
双乳之景可歌颂
怀念母乳哺育恩
感叹母爱情义重
-记双乳峰之游
万峰林 literally means jungle of ten thousand hills. Here you will find many many mountains leading to a village with interesting padi fields and water ways. A nice place to visit.
Mei Lanfang 梅兰芳, the opera singer of China who liveg from 1894 to 1961, was the most famous Peking Opera singer of modern history. In all his stage career, he demonstrated skillful portrayal of female characters with his smooth, poised style known in the circle as the 'Mei School'.
He spreaded the Peking Opera to many foreign countries and participated in cultural exchanges in Japan, the US, Europe and other regions of the world. He often performed to appreciative audience and recieved his techniques won him international acclaim.
I was fortunate enough to have collected this set of stamps depicting the many roles Mei Lanfang played in Peking Opera when I was a school boy at the age of 12 (at a cost of 5 dollars). Although 5 dollars was a small sum nowadays, but during those days it was my lunch and transport money. Luckily I bumped into a relative (my elder sister's father-in-law) who came to my rescue. He sponsored my meal and bus fare home. I was lucky.
When I visited the Mei Lanfang Museum in China a few years ago, I was told that this set of stamps was very valuable. They could not believe it when I told them the price I paid for the stamps. But again that was in 1966, the year England won the World Cup. Who would have known then the stamps would become so rare and costly. Again this must be due to 'suppy and demand', a unchanged rule that stands the test of time.
