五胡亂華，故史書字句或特難解。

太元十五年 (390 AD)

吐谷渾連遣使獻見于金城乾歸乾歸拜視連州牧白蘭王

太元十六年 (391 AD)

金城王乾歸擊越質詰歸詰歸降…夏四月燕蘭汗破賀染干於牛都

太元十七年 (392 AD)
休官權千成據顯親自稱秦州牧

我最愛沒有標點的書~~

今晚在國父紀念館參加一個非常奇特的表演。不是公演，觀眾必受邀請才能入場。每一位上臺表演的人都坐警備車來。主辦單位是矯正署，十個月來在臺灣各個監獄舉行才藝比賽，選出最優秀的團體或個人，八個節目上臺。第一個是彰化監獄的鼓舞團，敲大鼓(中國戰鼓)打出各種節奏，有板有眼，有呼有應，氣勢澎湃。他們本來就由優人神鼓訓練，所以也難怪表演水平那麼高。

接下來就明陽中學的街舞；或許我偏心，但我認為當年我們孝三班的不輸他們。第三個表演也是彰化監獄，演奏印尼竹琴。這團很明顯年紀較長，穿著印尼sarong裙、頭戴羽毛，很認真搖出望春風。看這些大哥兒們，有的看起來不好惹，也會想，如果二十年前有人說，「你將來會穿裙子在國父紀念館上臺表演，頭上還插三根長羽毛，頂尖還有小白羽」，不知道他們會怎麼想…可是每一位很用心、很投入音樂。

我們等待的是第四團，因為我輔導三年的同學在裏面。這團是管弦樂，由臺北、臺中、宜縣監獄、明陽中學組團。看到他緊張、嚴肅、認真的樣子，十分高興。

臺中、屏東監獄的小團演變臉、變裝，瞬間變，像魔術一樣。臺南、臺中、屏東監獄的國樂團演兩個曲子。要想，受型人本來不容易合作、不肯服從別人，而現在不只是要練琴、音準、拍子、曲調，還要與其它人配合、看指揮的指示，很不容易，但演的非常好聽。不輸外面的專業團體。

泰源技能所與臺東監獄聯合跳原住民舞蹈，活潑、有力、變化，有聲有色。其它團大概最羨慕這個團，因為只有這團是男女合舞。

最後是臺中、嘉義監獄的合唱團，唱兩首。其中我很喜歡三百六十五里路>>click<<他們唱的感觸特別深。

總而言之，高牆裏很多人才，希望他們能夠好好把他們的才華用在正途，回社會後過平安、幸福的日子。

Tonight we went to an extraordinary concert, not open to the public. The performers all came in locked buses. The show was hosted by the Agency of Corrections. For the last ten months, competitions have been held in prisons all over Taiwan for the best performers, and the winners took the stage last night. The audience was quite a set, too: mostly family members, a lot of wardens, and some, like us, teachers and counselors. I entered the Sun Yat Sen Memorial on the heels of the Vice President, but he got a better seat. The place was packed.

The first act was a drum troupe, performing on Chinese war drums, very powerful, perfectly coordinated, endless variations. They were followed by street dancers, then a group performing on angklung (a bamboo musical instrument) from Indonesia, dressed appropriately. This group was noticeably older. I wondered what would have happened twenty years ago if someone had told one of these guys, “Some day you’ll be on the stage of the SYS Memorial, dressed in a skirt, with feathers in your hair.” Hmmm. But they threw themselves into their music, and performed excellently.

We were there for the fourth act, a wind and brass ensemble, because a student I have counseled for three years performed, and, if you don’t mind my saying so, shined brightly.

The next act was Sichuan face and costume changes, in which characters dressed in Chinese opera clothes change their faces in a flash, and change whole costumes in less than a second. Very impressive.

Then there was Chinese music, Aborigine dancing, and a chorus whose conductor stole the show.

These men have lived hard lives, bending to no-one, questioning all authority. It is hard for anyone to learn how to play an instrument and get the pitch and meter just right, but it is doubly difficult for them to harmonize with others, follow directions, and work for a common goal. They performed superbly. The drums and Chinese music were as good or better than anything you hear from professionals. They have the talent. Now I hope they can put their talent to good work, to build better lives for themselves and their families. 

吃晚餐，很不幸我的座位剛好對準餐廳的電視。雖然不想看，但難免會看到一些。畫面一變，出現了北韓金正恩，我肅然起敬：電視新聞報導了重要事情！

好景不長。北韓新聞報了約莫十五秒之後，就轉成日本女明星穿泳裝在職棒比賽投一球，報了三、四分鐘。

愚民。臺灣電視新聞只有一個詞可以形容：愚民。

今天熱嗎？我們到中正堂華香素食吃午餐，難得一見:沒有人。

 How hot was it today? 

The CKS Memorial, a favorite gathering spot, was deserted.

39.3C, a record high for Taipei. 

A lot of people in Taiwan live in this dream world where all we have to do is shriek Love Taiwan and everything will be peachy. Taiwan will become an independent nation, countries around the world will rush to recognize us and thrust a cornucopia of benefits into our hands, all our problems will be solved. 

Others may not agree. Taiwan, the ROC, has only a handful of allies, countries that formally recognize the government. The bright side is that you can see some really unusual flags downtown when their Leader comes to visit, flags you probably don't see often elsewhere. The other side is that Mainland China is, without much effort, isolating Taiwan even further simply through its might, as these allies seek to ditch Taiwan and ally themselves with the PRC. What can you say? "It doesn't make any sense any more economically speaking to be affiliated with Taiwan," says Margaret Myers, director of the China and Latin America program at the Interamerican Dialogue. It would be nice if some people could wake up and stop dreaming.
link

昨天早上到臺北，下午才有課，所以先到了一家咖啡店，點了咖啡、點心，就把通鑑第八冊拿出來，看看秦王堅死後，姚萇如何做。真是喪心病狂，等一下挖人家的墓，下一步供起來說神助。

我發現我四周的人，嘴巴裏只有一個話題：$。星期六早上，都穿便服，可是都扗講股票、房地產、公司營業額、這個案子可以賺多少錢、怎樣賺更多錢。天啊，沒有一個談親戚、朋友、愛情，沒有一個講理想，沒有一個談思想問題，更沒有人討論文學、繪畫、音樂，只有錢錢錢，真可憐。生活中沒有一個「美」字，要那麼多錢幹嘛？

我也愛錢，多多益善，但錢要為我服務，我不要為錢活。

素食館有這個好處：週遭聽到的話題，往往是討論佛法、面對人生、講比較營養的事。

來山上之前，我扗杭州南路住了十八年，正值「街頭運動」，要上班要過立法院，所以，甚麼示威我都見過。

民進黨早期的示威，分兩種人參加：一部分充滿忿怒、上街找東西破壞；其它都是鄉村運來的阿公阿媽，領了帽子、參加了遊行，就準備領便當坐遊覽車回家。他們上街，我們有時沒辦法上課，因為打鑼敲鼓、吶喊的聲音太大。很多補習班的學生很怕他們，因為暴力氣氛太濃，而且大學生往往強迫中獎，被拖去聽演講。示威過後，滿目瘡痍，到處都是垃圾、油漆。公園路襄陽路口那棟他們最愛，因為牆壁很平滑，所以每次活動就噴標語，第二天要擦掉。

新黨的活動就很不同，參加的人都笑容滿面。當時準留學生清一色支持新黨。黃大洲、趙少康、陳水扁競選臺北市長，有一位年紀稍大的學生投陳水扁，其餘都投趙少康，沒有人理黃大洲。可是很奇怪，新黨曇花一現，一時熾熱，下次看就不見了。

紅螞蟻上街倒扁也很特別。看起來都是上班族多，三、四十歲的最多，攜家帶眷，到了東門就歡呼嘩啦，比較像開party(and not a 政黨)。

今年春天的保衛東岸、悍衛祖靈，看得出來大家疲憊不堪，因為從臺東走路到臺北。但是大家意志堅強，氛圍和善，活動有條不紊。

今天的活動也十分特別。我沒到總統府前，只在外圍，但看到大家心情沉重，不急不燥，也沒看到布條，只看到一個人拿著牌子(上面是英文字，可是看不懂意思)。給我的感覺，好像每一個人為自己死去的某一位親人、為自己死去的某一位朋友、為自己死去的某一位愛人而來哀弔。

最近忙，沒機會用電腦，但我要很謙虛地宣佈，托旮亙樂團的少多宜團長與周家平師兄的福，我已成為第一個吹鼻笛的西洋人。我們的鼻孔套不上去(悲慘的故事扗link<<<)，但經過周師兄不斷努力，終于製造了一組適合洋鼻的鼻笛！鼻笛要塞進鼻子，音色馬馬虎虎，但有聲音！好感動！無盡感恩！I have been too busy to have much time for the computer, but I would like to modestly announce that, with the assistance of Sawtoy of the Kakeng Ensemble and Mr Chou, I have become the first Westerner to play the ngusut tipolo, or aborigine nose flute. Western nostrils just don’t fit (for an account of my struggles, please click here:::), but after months of relentless endeavor, Mr Chou succeeded in creating a ngusut tipolo that I can actually play! I have to cram the tipolo halfway up my ngusut, but I can produce a sound. My endless appreciation and gratitude! 

戰國學術昌盛，百家爭鳴，但書寫多用竹簡，所以書籍少，教學多依口傳背誦。

宋國書呆子，名子鈍，雖誦書幾百卷，但家貧無書。

子鈍捉襟見肘，親戚憐之，贈雄雌雞四對，以營生養家。子鈍見雞歡喜，感謝親人厚意，退而思誦養雞古訓。

親人再來，只見子鈍忙拿針線油布，親人不解亦不敢問。數日後，下雨，小姑過子鈍宅，發現雞均著雨衣，四處覓食，彷若饑困。小姑難忍，問子鈍，「子餵雞何飼？」子鈍居然回，「不餵食，以免其逃逸。」小姑訝異，進問，「何以著雨衣？」子鈍踧爾曰，「嗚呼，姑不學無術！豈未聞古聖賢之言乎？」小姑曰，「謹問其詳。」子鈍正立曰，「雞不可濕，食不再來。」

承認，這篇犯規，因為典故後出，戰國時未聞：舊五代史·晉書·安重榮傳：仰認睿智，深惟匿瑕，其如天道人心，難以違拒，須知機不可失，時不再來。

甘露元年己丑，吳大司馬呂岱卒，年九十六。始岱親近吳郡徐原，慷慨有才志，岱知其可成，賜巾韝，與共言論，後遂薦拔，官至侍御史。原性忠壯，好直言。岱時有得失，原輒諫爭，又公論之。人或以告岱，岱歎曰：「是我所以貴德淵者也！」及原死，岱哭之甚哀，曰：「徐德淵，呂岱之益友，今不幸，岱復於何聞過！」談者美之。       通鑑七十七
In 256 AD, Minister Lu Dai died at the age of 96. He had a close relative, Hsu Yuan, who was talented and determined to make his mark. Dai knew that Yuan was a talent worth advancing, so Dai gave Yuan scarves and archer’s sleeves, had discussions with him, and found an office for him. Yuan eventually rose to a very high rank; he was honest, brave, and never beat around the bush. Dai made a mistake, and Yuan publicly criticized him. Somebody told Dai. Dai said, “This is why I value him so highly.” When Yuan died, Dai cried mournfully, and said, “Yuan is my true friend. Now this misfortune has befallen me, who is going to point out my mistakes from now on?” 

現代家長為了證明自己的能力，犧牲兒女的能力。
Parents nowadays work so hard to prove their ability that they rob their children of the chance to develop their own ability. 

Great opening from a spam letter offering me untold riches:

Hello,

Forgive my indignation if this message comes to you as a surprise and may offend your personality for contacting you without your prior consent and writing through this channel…..  

I am an American Army my name is Captain Michael Brinkley.

I am overwhelmed to get a letter from an American Army, but wonder why the letter was composed on a Chinese language version of Word? Do you think I should be suspicious of the whole matter? 

改編唐朝故事 an old story retold

遙遠山村扗一處斷崖下。崖，像國畫裏的那種，矗立凸天，崴崴峨峨。崖壁上長一種很特殊的靈果，下品為藥，可治百病，上品入貢為皇上專享。

三個外地青年想撿果致富，到山村來。他們第一眼看到崖壁，儍眼，從沒看過那麼高、那麼陡的山。第一個年輕人把裲襠往旁邊丟，抖抖肩、跺跺腳，說，「嘿，這難不倒我也！」二話不說，衝過去撲上巖壁，沒幾下子爬了四個人高。他往下看，跟同鄉青年說，「好啦，你們愣扗那裏沒關係，我先發財哈哈！」再往上爬，十個人高，他停住，說，「咦？再來怎麼爬？」他手往上伸，就一聲

啊

噫

阿

噫

阿

阿

噫

阿

◎

◎

。

。

‧

‧

咚

摔死了。

第二個青年看，坐下開始計畫怎麼爬，天天很認真想，「我看他們村人如何爬，我也研究他們的路線，可是這個山很高，我沒辦法，我很想發財，我再看他們怎麼爬，哇！很難！我辦不到，我不夠好，我再看他們怎麼爬，呀，真難，我沒辦法！我想，應該會有一些果實掉落，我就可以撿起來，對！一定會有果實掉落，我扗這裏等就好了。」古宋人守株待兔，此青年守崖待果，天天扗那裏等，鬢鬚慢慢白了，牙齒一一鬆了，就是不見靈果掉落。臨終時，他嘆一口氣說，「我很可憐，我就是沒有發財命，別人都發財，只有我沒有。我真可憐。」

第三個青年看，走來走去，換角度看斷崖，扗不同時辰觀察，了解巖石的狀況。他也觀察村人如何攀爬，在崖腳練習動作。村民背著滿滿的籃子下來，他幫他們接，很客氣的幫他們把籃子送回家；不久，大家認識這個青年，也說他人不錯。大家熟了，青年請教攀崖的訣竅，村人都侃侃說明，還帶他到崖腳傳授技藝，也教他怎麼選摘靈果。不到兩個月，第三個年輕人有把握，他跟村民一起爬上那個巨高的崖壁，帶了半籃靈果下來。再過一個月，他堆了很多上好的靈果。他分一半給村民，以示謝意。他們選了一簍上上品的靈果饋贈青年。他牽著五頭驢，馱著靈果到京師，將那簍上上靈果送進皇宮貢獻給皇上，名噪一時。很快，他開了一家藥材店，貨真價實，不到二十五歲已成為京師鼎鼎大名的藥劑大師，娶了宰相的女兒，幸福美滿，活到很老才壽終正寢，阿彌陀佛。

Once upon a time, in mountains far, far away, a village sat at the foot of a huge cliff, the kind of cliff you see in Chinese paintings. On the cliff grew a wondrous fruit. The poorest could be used as medicine to treat all ills, and the finest were fit only for the Emperor.

Three young men traveled to the village, hoping to pluck some fruit and win their fortune. When they saw the size of the cliff, they stopped in their tracks. They had never seen a cliff like that before.

The first young man tossed his pack on the ground, shook his shoulders and stamped his feet, saying, “I can handle this!” He threw himself at the cliff, and in moments was up the cliff to a height of four people. He looked down and said, “What are you waiting for? I’m not going to wait for you, I’m going to get rich!” When he was about the height of ten people, they heard him say, “Uh-oh, this is tricky!” He grabbed with his hand, and fell

down

down

down    

splat.

He died.

The second young man studied the cliff very carefully every day. He said, “I’ll watch how the villagers climb, and study their routes. But this cliff is really big, I can’t do it. I want to get rich. I’ll watch how they do it. Wow, that’s difficult! I can’t do it, I’m not good enough. I know! Some of these fruit must fall, so all I have to do is wait here, and some will fall in my lap.” He waited and waited, but unlike Newton, nothing ever fell down to him. His hair grew white, and one by one, his teeth bade him farewell. On his deathbed, he lamented, “Poor me, I’m so unlucky! Everybody but me gets rich, but not me! Poor me!”

The third young man examined the cliff from different angles, watching as the sunlight showed features of the rock. He studied how the villagers climbed, and tried some of their moves at the bottom of the cliff. At the end of the day, when they came down with baskets laden, he was there to take the baskets for them and deliver the baskets to their homes for them. Before long, everybody knew this young man, and had good words to say about him. When they all got to know each other, the young man asked for advice in climbing. The villagers told him all they knew, and even took him to the rock face to show him the techniques and teach him how to pluck the fruit. After two months, the young man was ready to climb, and he followed the villagers up the gigantic cliff. He came down with only half a basket that first day, but when another month had passed, he had amassed a pile of fruit. He gave half to the villagers as thanks. They selected a basket of their very finest fruit in return. The young man left the village leading five donkeys packed to staggering with fruit, and made his way to the capital. He took the select basket to the palace and presented it as a gift to the emperor, which created a sensation. Soon he opened a medicine store. His fruit was high quality and his prices were reasonable. By the time he was 25, he was already an eminent apothecary. He married the Prime Ministers daughter, had a happy life, and lived to a ripe old age, and then he died in his bed. Amitabha. 

三十年前吧，扗書上看到中亞曾強盛一時的一族，叫做

Hephthalites，也叫做 White Huns白匈奴。聽都沒聽過。歷史往往很殘忍：多少努力，多少血汗，輝煌一時，最後從記憶中泯沒，只留下蛛絲馬跡，風再吹，連這也無。

當時很好奇，再找其它資料，知道這族中文叫做嚈噠，後漢書謂滑。妙的是，雖是遊牧民族，卻母系，這很特別。但當時查資料不易，到此為止。

近日讀通鑑，及慕容鮮卑，或以其來自極北故而膚白，時人謂之白虜。白虜，想起白匈奴，大約扗南北朝，而今日時代不同，上網查，很快找到資料。電腦了不起：ㄧㄝ四聲就有嚈字(很後面)，ㄉㄚ二聲噠，太棒！全世界中文電腦，恐怕沒幾個人打過這兩個字。

感謝wikisource提供魏書：

魏書 西域傳

「 嚈噠國，大月氏之種類也，亦曰高車之別種，其原出於塞北。

其俗兄弟共一妻，夫無兄弟者其妻戴一角帽，若有兄弟者依其多少之數，更加角焉。衣服類加以纓絡。頭皆剪髮。其語與蠕蠕、高車及諸胡不同。眾可十萬。無城邑，依隨水草，以氈為屋，夏遷涼土，冬逐暖處。分其諸妻，各在別所，相去或二百、三百里。

其人兇悍，能鬬戰。」

才知，昔聞嚈噠母系，不實。但更美好的是，中國亞馬遜有書>>link<<，去年才出版。已經托北京的好友幫我訂，嘻~~~~

About thirty years ago, I came across a reference to a people I had never heard of, the Hephthalites, who were also called the White Huns. They were a great power in Central Asia around the 5^th century AD, but what?? who had ever heard of them? Time covers the tracks of even the greatest of conquerors. In those days, there was little more I could learn about them.

Recently I have been reading history of around that time. I found that the Murung Hsienbei (Bayan Siber), perhaps because they came from sunless Siberia, were called the White Barbarians for their very light skin.

This brought to mind the Hephthalites, the White Huns. Times have changed, and within minutes searching on the computer, I had a wealth of data. In Chinese they are the Yeda, and from the Book of Wei:

Yeda… come from north of the borders. Their custom is that brothers share a wife. If a husband has no brothers, his wife wears a hat with one corner; otherwise, she has as many corners on her hat as her husband has brothers…. Their language is not the same as other nearby nations. They are nomads, without cities, living in homes of felt, migrating with the seasons… they are fierce warriors.

Not only that, but on Chinese Amazon I was able to find a book about them published only last year. A friend in Beijing is already buying it for me. 

More wonderfully obscure useless knowledge! Hurray! 

「反核」很容易變成「反風」。

「我是人，我反核」這個口號很醜陋：跟我意見不同的人就不是人嗎？說這句等于說，「只有我最清高，如果你不認同我的看法你就是畜生。」但這很容易變成：「我是人，我反風力生電。」

一樣無理。
>>click<<
What could possibly go wrong with wind power?

我為甚麼今天要上班？今天是達彥的豐年紀。

Lokah kwara, hopaq kwalax ru behuy。下雨了，兩三年沒有風大的颱風，幫我們清理了很多樹枝。The Amis/阿美 word for typhoon is faliyos, which means angry winds. The Soulik/蘇力 typhoon brought rain and wind. I’m not sure if these winds were angry or not, but they were frisky, and as we haven’t had a good windy typhoon for a couple years, Soulik brought down a lot of trees, branches, and bamboo, and knocked over whole rows of motorcycles in the city.

This morning we got about 100 mm (=4") of rain between midnight and 7AM. We didn't even make the Top 100 for rainfall. The place in the white spot on this rainfall map got nearly 500 mm (about two feet). Altogether, some places got nearly a meter of rain in about a day and a half. Wet weather. Frisky winds and overloaded clouds.

Then I got to go out and clear fallen branches, AKA feeding the mosquitoes. 
'a micu na'no mʉchʉ ho poepe ta tan'e, at'inghi uk'a cimo kuzo. 安。
But the typhoon is gone now, so Adios, faliyos. 

早上睡醒，眼睛一開，看到老鷹扗窗外盤旋于山雲間。怎麼有這麼美的事！This morning when I woke up, the first thing to meet my eyes was an eagle towering over the mountains and valleys. What a delightful way to start a day!
也是賴床的好理由。and a delightful excuse to linger abed a while longer. 

我入小學在Illinois鄉下，小學畢業于洛杉磯郊區，難免花很多時間扗車上；尤其週末出去玩、暑假旅遊，一上車少則一兩小時，多則幾個星期。只有玩過頭被父母罵，但一定不會無聊。與姊、哥玩、聽父母說故事講笑話、找外州的牌照、唱歌、認鳥、很多事可以做，當然最重要的是看風景；若不看風景，出門幹麼？不用說，那時沒有導航，有時大人要專心找路，小孩靜靜，也是一種參與、貢獻；大一點，幫忙看地圖，怎會無聊？當代沒有汽車音響，而我回想，父母連汽車收音機幾乎沒開過。

巴掌大的臺灣，上車沒幾下就環島了，而一般人只在市區開車，還說怕小孩子無聊所以要裝汽車電視。怎麼搞的？不想跟子女說話嗎？或害怕內扗空涸，沒有話跟小孩說？

I started elementary school in rural Illinois, and ended in suburban LA. Both entailed a lot of time riding in the car (blue 1959 Ford Fairlane). On weekend outings or summer vacations, a trip might last from an hour or so to a couple weeks. We kids may have gotten bawled out from time to time for rowdiness, but we never got bored. My sister and brother and I listened to our parents tell stories and jokes, we looked for out-of-state license plates (in Illinois, cars from California were rarely seen, but everybody believed Californians drove better than ordinary mortals), see what kind of birds there were, sing songs, there was always a lot to do, but most important of all, we took in the scenery. If you're not going to watch the scenery along the way, why bother to travel? Of course there were no GPSs in those days, so sometimes Mom and Dad demanded silence so they could figure out the route. We could help read maps and look for road signs and landmarks. We participated and contributed. There were also no car stereos in those days, and I can't remember my parents turning on the car radio. Nobody ever got bored riding in our car.

Taiwan is bigger than Massachusetts, and a tenth the size of Montana. You can drive all around the whole island in a couple days, but most cars are used for driving around the city. In these circumstances, some parents claim they are afraid their kids will get bored, so they install televisions in their cars. What kind of sick joke is that? If you don't want to talk with your kids, just say so. Or is it because these people are so vapid that they have nothing to say to their children? 

臺灣的新聞會比較真實地報導，較不會渲染、扭曲的，只有當天的日期。新聞自由不等于放手任君亂搞、恣縱。The only part of the news in Taiwan that is credible and not twisted or distorted is the day’s date. Freedom of the press is taken as license for irresponsibility. 

中華路上一小群老人家帶著旗幟唱老調：臺灣獨立。看他們龍鍾老臉，看不出一絲笑容，也看不出一點歡樂，似乎都帶著很重的嗔。

不免想，您老人家憑啥要求臺灣獨立？您帶著旗幟瞪著路人，世界局勢就有義務為您轉變嗎？看不出他們有甚麼遠大的理想，也看不出甚麼細緻深刻的政治理論；是不是您老人家不能適應現代社會，而遷怒政府？

可憐。

到少輔院舉行三天成長營完畢，回家了。收穫豐碩，改天徐徐道來。非常感謝卓老師，也感謝譚熺賢老師講課，還特別謝謝民宿老闆宗聖先生。We have returned from a three day workshop at the Reformatory. Many thanks to Teacher Chuo, who leads our group of valiant volunteers; to Summer Tan of Narconan Taiwan for all his talks and teachings; and a big thanks to Arthur Chang for generously allowing us to stay at his place. 

黑翅細蟴 Conocephalus melas,

a type of katydid.

百二年六月桃園少輔院收容人數：四百九十人。
核准人數：三百八十七人。
超出：一百零三人，等于26.61%。
政府有沒有錢放燄火？當然有。
有沒有錢改善這些少年的生活？當然沒有。

If you want to see examples of how not to write, please go to here:::

Actually, I admire 17).

為女兒訂蛋糕慶祝大學畢業，請師傅給她頭上畫一頂「畢業帽」，沒想到烘焙師聽成畫貓~~this takes the cake! ::click::

過幾分鐘，臉書上會有幾萬張立蛋的照片。
In a few moments, Facebook will be flooded
with photos of standing eggs.
我去裝端午水、吃糉子。
保糉。

前燕將才多，慕容霸十三歲時帥軍擊敵；後改名垂，淝水之戰後興燕。但前燕之敗，其咎多歸慕容評無量無能。評忌慕容垂之才：

通鑑、晉海西公太和四年(西元三六九年)：

十一月，辛亥朔，垂請畋於大陸，因微服出鄴，將趨龍城。至邯鄲，少子麟，素不為垂所愛，逃還告狀，垂左右多亡叛。太傅評白燕主暐，遣西平公強帥精騎追之，及於范陽。世子令斷後，強不敢逼。會日暮，令謂垂曰：「本欲保東都以自全，今事已洩，謀不及設。秦主方招延英傑，不如往歸之。」

垂曰：「今日之計，捨此安之！」乃散騎滅跡，傍南山復還鄴，隱於趙之顯原陵。俄有獵者數百騎四面而來，抗之則不能敵，逃之則無路，不知所為。會獵者鷹皆飛揚，眾騎散去。垂乃殺白馬以祭天。

北方民族習鷹獵，于漢文獻中，此記載似最早。

During the 4th century in northern China, the Mujung (Bayan, Murong) Sibers (Hsienpei, Xianbei) produced an astonishing number of brilliant generals. The greatest was Mujung Pa (Ba), who led troops to victory in battle at the age of 13. He later changed his name to Chui, but his brilliance attracted the envy and spite of the hapless Mujung Ping, a thorough good-for-nothing. In late 369AD, Chui slipped out of the capital to get back to his power base. His departure was discovered and crack cavalry troops were sent in pursuit. Chui scattered his cavalry and hid their tracks, doubling back on his trail. History records that "suddenly they were surrounded by hundreds of mounted hunters. If Chui fought he could not win, if he retreated he had no path. He didn't know what to do. Just then all the hunters' eagles rose into the air, and the hunters galloped off in pursuit of game. Chui sacrificed a white horse to the heavens."

References to hunting with eagles are rare in Chinese literature. This is the earliest record I know of.

周叔治作晉陵太守，周侯、仲智往別。叔治以將別，涕泗不止。仲智恚之曰：「斯人乃婦女，與人別唯啼泣！」便舍去。
世說新語、方正
前廷尉孔坦卒。坦疾篤，庾冰省之，流涕。坦慨然曰：「大丈夫將終，不問以濟國安民之術，乃為兒女子相泣邪！」冰深謝之。

通鑑晉成帝咸康二年

今尚有大丈夫歟？

When my father died, my sister gave me his desk calculator as a keepsake: Texas Instruments, Made in Taiwan. Today it stopped working.
My father died in 1987.

有個定理：燒火時，不管站哪裏、無論坐何處，煙一定吹到眼睛。但有個咒可以念，一念，煙一定轉向。怎麼念呢？這樣：「蚊子很多，還好有煙，不然蚊子都來咬我。」這個咒很靈！功力高的人，只要心想到這個咒，煙就吹到別的方向去。If you burn anything, the smoke blows right into your eyes; this is a rule of nature. However, there is a spell you can intone that will keep the smoke away from you. Would you like to know it? You bet! Okay, here we go, repeat after me: “There are a lot of mosquitoes, good thing there’s all this smoke to keep them away from me.” As soon as you say the magic words, the smoke will change directions and not blow your way. Try it, it works like a charm! or a spell, as the case may be.

今晚看了月亮嗎？嫦娥奔月，應該是看了這種月色，怎樣也不悔偷靈藥。人間可媲美的，只有「求主垂恩」；請聽。The moon tonight is so beautiful that the only way to describe it in human terms is to compare it to the Tallis Scholars singing Miserere. If you haven’t heard this recently, do yourself a favor and listen again now:

下過大雨，
一群人走過森林，
穿過草叢；
猜一個成語。

答案：link

From strange cosmos, on whales:
They are the biggest living creature you'll ever see live.
Okay, I’ll bite. What’s the biggest living creature I’ll ever see dead?

魏晉南北朝亂到極致，進兩年才開始整理出頭緒。以孫秀為例：：(依通鑑)
晉武帝泰始六年(西元二七零年)
吳主從弟前將軍秀為夏口督，吳主惡之，民間皆言秀當見圖。會吳主遣何定將兵五千人獵夏口，秀驚，夜將妻子、親兵數百人奔晉。十二月，拜秀驃騎將軍、開府儀同三司，封會稽公。
按：秀乃吳主權弟匡之孫。
晉武帝泰康元年(西元二八零年)
朝廷聞吳已平，群臣皆賀上壽。…驃騎將軍孫秀不賀，南向流涕曰：「昔討逆弱冠以一校尉創業，今後主舉江南而棄之，宗廟山陵，於此為墟。悠悠蒼天，此何人哉！」
晉惠帝永康元年(西元三零零年)
右軍將軍趙王倫執兵柄，性貪冒，可假以濟事。乃說孫秀曰：「中宮兇妒無道，與賈謐等共誣廢太子。今國無嫡嗣，社稷將危，大臣將起大事，而公名奉事中宮，與賈、郭親善，太子之廢，皆云豫知，一朝事起，禍必相及，何不先謀之乎！」秀許諾，言於倫，倫納焉，遂告通事令史張林及省事張衡等，使為內應。
事將起，孫秀言於倫曰：「太子聰明剛猛，若還東宮，必不受制於人。明公素黨於賈后，道路皆知之，今雖建大功於太子，太子謂公特逼於百姓之望，翻覆以免罪耳，雖含忍宿忿，必不能深德明公，若有瑕釁，猶不免誅。不若遷延緩期，賈后必害太子，然後廢賈后，為太子報仇，豈徒免禍而已，乃更可以得志！」倫然之。
秀因使人行反間，言殿中人欲廢皇后，迎太子。賈后數遣宮婢微服於民間聽察，聞之甚懼。倫、秀因勸謐等早除太子，以絕眾望。
晉惠帝永寧元年(西元三零一年)
春，正月…相國倫與孫秀使牙門趙奉詐傳宣帝神語云：「倫宜早入西宮。」散騎常侍義陽王威，望之孫也，素諂事倫，倫以威兼侍中，使威逼奪帝璽綬，作禪詔，又使尚書令滿奮持節、奉璽綬禪位於倫。左衛將軍王輿、前軍將軍司馬雅等帥甲士入殿，曉諭三部司馬，示以威賞，無敢違者。張林等屯守諸門。乙丑，倫備法駕入宮，即帝位，赦天下，改元建始。帝自華林西門出居金墉城，倫使張衡將兵守之。
丙寅，尊帝為太上皇，改金墉曰永昌宮，廢皇太孫為濮陽王。
癸酉，殺濮陽哀王臧。孫秀專執朝政，倫所出詔令，秀輒改更與奪，自書青紙為詔，或朝行夕改，百官轉易如流。張林素與秀不相能，且怨不得開府，潛與太子荂箋，言：「秀專權不合眾心，而功臣皆小人，撓亂朝廷，可悉誅之。」荂以書白倫，倫以示秀。秀勸倫收林，殺之，夷其三族。秀以齊王冏、成都王穎、河間王顒，各擁強兵，據方面，惡之。乃盡用其親黨為三王參佐，加冏鎮東大將軍，穎征北大將軍，皆開府儀同三司，以寵安之。
自冏等起兵，百官將士皆欲誅倫、秀，秀懼，不敢出中書省；及聞河北軍敗，憂懣不知所為。孫會、許超、士猗等至，與秀謀。或欲收餘卒出戰；或欲焚宮室，誅不附己者，挾倫南就孫旂、孟觀；或欲乘船東走入海，計未決。辛酉，左衛將軍王輿與尚書陵公漼帥營兵七百餘人，自南掖門入宮，三部司馬為應於內，攻孫秀、許超、士猗於中書省，皆斬之，遂殺孫奇、孫弼及前將軍謝惔等，漼，人由之子也。王輿屯雲龍門，召八坐皆入殿中，使倫為詔曰：「吾為孫秀所誤，以怒三王，今已誅秀。其迎太上皇復位，吾歸老於農畝。」傳詔以騶虞幡敕將士解兵。黃門將倫自華林東門出，及太子荂皆還汶陽裡第，遣甲士數千迎帝於金墉城。百姓咸稱萬歲。帝自端門入，升殿，群臣頓首謝罪。詔送倫、荂付金墉城。

當然，事情沒結束，又繼續亂下去，但孫秀就結束了。阿彌陀佛，幸虧我們不是那個時代的人。

I was raised a Lutheran, Missouri Synod. We kept the Sabbath: church in the morning, quiet afternoons at home.
It seems far away, but I was frequently chosen as acolyte. Church included Sunday School and Catechism classes, of course. One Sunday morning when I was in about the fifth grade, our teacher asked us, “What is the Pentecost?”
I immediately replied, “That’s when they found out that a penny costs a cent.” I spent the rest of the morning standing outside the room in the hallway. As luck would have it, my father, an elder in the church, was on hall duty that morning. We had a short discussion, to be continued at home, and I was invited to refrain from dinner that day.

很多朋友跑魚船，幾十年來聽過很多打架的故事，都是為了爭魚場。有時候臺漁打他們，有時候他們打臺漁，輕重都有，不是甚麼稀奇的事。反正，消費者要吃魚，就造成這種事。
這次跟菲律賓鬧這麼大，我總會想，怎麼一回事？我想，有三種可能。一、偶發，如此而已。二、臺灣新聞唯恐天下不亂，故意滋事(這個機會最大)。三、或許我多心，可是會想，如若臺菲僵局，誰得利？誰想要在太平洋擴展勢力、誰有這個能力？近兩三年美國一再強調，太平洋是美國與中共一起發展影響力的地方：如若臺菲僵局，中共站哪一邊？還用問？中國海軍出入巴士海峽，對他們只有好處沒有壞處。

哈哈，我們可是國際名狗！Please note: this fine example of the Taiwan Dog is none other than our one and only Byajing.

Happy Mother’s Day and all that, but isn’t this going a bit far?
Elizabeth Ann Buttle is the mother who holds the record for the longest interval between the birth of two children. She gave birth to Belinda on May 19,1956 and Joseph on November 20, 1997. The babies were born 41 years 185 days apart. The mother was 60 years old when her son Joseph was born.
The highest officially recorded number of children born to one mother is 69, to the first wife of Feodor Vassilyev (1707-1782) of Shuya, Russia. Between 1725 and 1765, in a total of 27 confinements, she gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets, and four sets of quadruplets. 67 of them survived infancy.
His first wife! How many did he have altogether?

「而已」古合為耳，文獻不乏例。
論語‧陽貨：子之武城，聞弦歌之聲。夫子莞爾而笑，曰：「割雞焉用牛刀？」子游對曰：「昔者偃也聞諸夫子曰：『君子學道則愛人，小人學道則易使也。』」子曰：「二三子！偃之言是也。前言戲之耳。」
孟子：梁惠王曰：寡人之於國也，盡心焉耳矣。
禮記‧祭統：上有大澤則惠必及下，顧上先下後耳。
戰國策‧秦策：范睢曰：臣聞始時呂尚之遇文王也，身為漁父而釣於渭陽之濱耳。
云云耳。一般人到了中年，聽覺衰退，這很正常。而過了中年，不需復戒之扗鬥，已知天命，已順矣，故夫子曰，六十而已順。後世傳抄訛誤，變成六十而耳順，不通。清末大師俞樾群經評議已言之極詳，唯淺人不求甚解耳。

蛓，毛蟲也。从虫[才戈]聲。千志切

爾雅•釋蟲：蛁，毛蟲。疏：蛁，一名毛蠹，卽蛓也。今俗呼爲毛蛓，有毒螫人。王逸•九思：蛓緣兮我裳。

亦作蚝。唐韻：七吏切。同蛓。韓愈•城南聯句：㾕肌遭蚝刺。(蛓、蚝同，ㄘ四聲。)

剛搬到烏來，一位太太跟我說，「我不怕蛇，可是我怕毛毛蟲。」心裏暗笑，偌大個好達彥，還怕毛毛蟲！？嘿！

後來知道利害。蛇，對氣非常敏感，你不懷敵意，以平常心相待，蛇很好相處。毛毛蟲體積小，躲扗樹草中，根本看不到。蛇多少有腦筋，毛毛蟲沒有腦筋，太靠近牠，不管三七二十幾，噴！

一般來講，被噴，很癢，過一、兩個小時就會好。十年前吧，有一次夏日烈陽下工作，只穿一條短褲，砍了樹枝，往草叢丟，從左脅擦身而過，才發現樹枝下面幾百隻毛毛蟲。過了幾分鐘，左脅、左手都腫、呼吸困難、心臟亂跳、癢到麻了。趕快去沖冷水澡、拿水晶排氣。過了五、六天，左手指不太好彎。知道利害了！

When I first moved to Wulai, a lady told me, “I’m not afraid of snakes, but I am afraid of caterpillars.” I didn’t say anything, but I privately said pooh-pooh! and thought, ‘Caterpillars!? What kind of Tayal are you?’

I soon learned. Snakes are extremely sensitive, so if you’re not hostile, they’re easy to get along with. Caterpillars are small and blend in with the foliage. Snakes have small brains, but they do have brains, but caterpillars have none. Approach, and they don’t ask any questions, they just spit.

Caterpillar spit itches for a couple hours and you’re okay. But once, about ten years ago, I was working on a hot summer day wearing nothing more than a pair of shorts. I chopped a branch down and threw it into the undergrowth. As I threw, it brushed by my left side, and I saw that the underside was covered with caterpillars. In minutes, my left ribs and arm started swelling, my heart was beating irregularly, and breathing was difficult. My left side itched so bad that it became numb. I took a cold shower and expelled the bad stuff. Five or six days later, I still had trouble making a fist with my left hand. That’s how I learned respect for caterpillars. Not love, but respect.

A little boy got a kiddie rifle for his fifth birthday, a .22. He shot and killed his two year old sister. To some this may be tragic, but to others, it’s money in the bank. Somebody made money selling the rifle, and somebody made money selling the bullet. This is why the US will never have reasonable gun control.

link

There’s nothing wrong with profit in itself, but guns aren’t good for much but shooting things, and when profit outweighs the suffering inflicted, that is not an honorable way to make money.

今早四對蜂鷹在山巒玩，飛呀衝呀，實在好看。Four pairs of honey buzzards were playing in the sky above the mountains this morning, a beautiful sight.

王夫之曰：

君子之過，不害其為君子，

唯異于小人之文過而已。

臺灣有一個不成文規定，即：「公共場所的英文不得寫的像英文。」臺北捷運的英文尚可，但也有很詭異的ABC文(不敢說是英文)。上週我看到捷運幾句很不倫不類的ABC文，好心的我就寫意見表給捷運局，他們回函：「捷運系統內之各項英文標示及廣播皆經過本公司特聘之外文顧問審核通過始得使用。」 好了，我又不是當官的，我輸了，我只能勸大家，要學英文的話，在臺灣公共場所看到的ABC文不看為妙。

I turned on my computer to find out who was responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing. If it were a terrorist group, they would be crowing and calling for more and more publicity, so I suspect it was some nut. Since even the Pakistan Taliban and Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood say they didn’t do it, it looks to me like the work of some vicious monster, maybe a one person job. Yesterday I was moved by stories of heroism and generosity of many who did all they could to help.

This morning, instead of police and FBI hot on the trail, I saw this video. ::link:: Remember the tsunami that devastated Sri Lanka and other dirt poor areas? How much looting was there in the aftermath? None. Americans! What’s wrong??

PS: I understand some of these are already on sale on eBay…

For the past five years, the NRA has been screaming that Obama is going to take away everybody’s guns, and surprise, surprise, for the past years, gun profits have soared. So what if people get killed? Money in the bank is what counts.
The spirit of the NRA, that profit is more important than human lives, the Huffington Post does not want you to read that school shooters are also video game addicts. Read on ::link::

卑南木雕大師高獻廷介紹一首很棒的歌，是排灣族的。
當女孩要嫁離開部落的時候，部落家族的老人會跟著迎親隊伍後，唱著她從小到大的故事。我想，女孩一定哭。The Puyuma master carver Kuciling introduced a song from the neighboring Paiwan tribe. When a young lady left her tribal village to get married, all the old people in the tribe would follow and sing the song of her growing up. I bet everybody cried.

Sj Jj說，「為什麼猩巴克的店員講話結尾都要加凹～、喔～、呦～、嗷～、悠～、澳~.......,

我們不是小朋友...」

南部怎樣我不知，但臺北這個問題已成為瘟疫喔凹矣艾歐！！

話又說回來，不完全是他們把我們當小朋友，而是他們把自己當小朋友。臺北常看到一些根本看不出是男是女的人，打扮細緻、可愛到不行。感覺上現在很多人不願長大，永遠陪伴著Hello Kitty、永遠可愛、永遠是小朋友，所以永遠不必負起大人的責任、永遠不必面對世界。但也永遠進不了大人的世界。

Those of you who thought we were living in the 21st century will be astounded to know that deep in Georgia, the one in the United States, not the one in the Caucuses, proms are still segregated (do you remember that wretched word?) and the kids still have to work to have an integrated prom. I’m flabbergasted.
link
Good for the promoters, and wish them every success.

果然！吳家狗成了國際名狗！不信的話，自己用google街景看烏來橋頭就知道。Wu the Gong-Maker's dog has gone big time. It's on google street view, lying in its usual position at the head of the Wulai bridge.

Talk about your April Fool's jokes! The first post on this blog dates back ten years ago today, although I actually started it a couple months later and posted back. Ten years later, I have reached 2,400 posts and have maybe two readers? I don't know if the joke is on me or on you.

This afternoon we went to see Café Müller and the Rites of Spring\春之季 by Pina Bausch {click}. Café Müller was powerful; Rites was overpowering. Interesting: Café Müller is set in over-civilized, over-urbanized Europe, among chairs which lift people away from the floor. Rites is performed in a primitive setting on a stage covered with peat.

平常比較不看雲二，但春鬥2013的舞，第一段由黃翌編、第二段是鄭宗龍、第三段是布拉瑞揚的作品，搞定了，一定要看。
中場的驚喜：遇到Jerry Chen說卑南巨星Sangpuy也來看，當然去打招呼，慫恿他上臺唱一首，他謙虛，不肯。哈！下半場，Bulareyaung拿著麥克風請Sangpuy上臺唱一首。他拉開嗓子唱了一段Pai’lai’law(專輯第四首)，我與撒毖在觀眾席和音~~和音歌詞我們都能背：哇~~~~烏~~~~哇。唱完Bulareyaung還要他跳一段現代舞，雖然覺得應該跳卑南舞比較適合，但Sangpuy表現很棒。喜~~！

我不喜歡手上戴錶，所以我買了一只電子掛錶。用了十年左右。那天想測洗澡水的水溫，反正錶有溫度計又防水，于是乎….我忘了錶防水但不防熱水，電子掛錶掛了。

今年癸巳蛇年，蛇有個特性，會蛻：會脫皮。所以蛇年最適合除舊佈新。

從浴缸撈起我那只可憐的錶，我想，舊的不去，新的不來。可是我也想，應該趁這個蛇年好好脫皮一番。

爬山─尤其攀巖─上去慢，下來也慢，最怕下來太快。人生也是這樣：突然的變化，通常不是好事。要把身體練好，要加以時日、持之以恆、日久見工夫。但過馬路不睜眼睛，兩秒把人撞毀了，可能要好幾年才能恢復原狀。所以人不要求一下子大好：中樂透是傻瓜的夢。要大好，必須看準目標，健步向前，一步一腳印。

慢慢來。

後門邊放兩桶水，進門前可以洗腳，也給小口狗喝。昨天晚上發現鄰居來玩~~I keep a couple buckets full of water by the back door so I can wash my feet before I come in. The dogs drink out of them, too. We had a little visitor.

吃食物，不要吃食品。自己常開火、少吃買來的食品就延年益壽。In a nutshell: the less processed the food you eat, the healthier you will be.
click

I don't know who made this photo and caption,

but it just cracks me up every time I look at it.

每年這個時候特別想念雅婭醒焵。二十幾年前，她種的柚子樹，到此時開花，芬芳香馥，很感謝她。About twenty five years ago, Abus and Sinkang’s mother planted some pomelo trees around here. Every year about this time the flowers blossom, and the scent is delectable. Many thanks to her!
(a pomelo is a citrus fruit like a grapefruit.)

A group of grumpy old Taiwan Independence right-wingers have set up a tent on a busy corner across the street from Taipei train station to Save Bian. Bian, ex-president 陳水扁 Chen Shui Bian, serving time for numerous counts of corruption while he was president; the courts haven't gone back to his corruption while he was Taipei Mayor, or his fake assassination. Thousands of people pass the tent every day: pass, just keep going, don't pay them any attention. The Save Bian group is there mostly, I imagine, for the irritation value, trying to get under people's skin, but people just ignore them. It's no use trying to discuss anything with them. Their minds are closed, they are simply venting spleen, so let them get it out of their system. Ignore them. Sometimes there will be hundreds of people waiting in front of an empty stage right next to the tent, with everybody studiously ignoring the grumpy old men. The attitude reminds me of the old English proverb, "If you wrestle with a turd, win or lose, you're still covered with turd."

But! Today there were people standing around the tent! There were passersby talking at the tent!!

We should leave this major victory for the Bian forces without further comment.

Actually, what happened was that the grumpy old men were gone for the day. The tent was empty, and a farmer was selling strawberries there, so people stopped to buy some.

A person has to face himself, every aspect, good and bad. What happens when a whole country lives in denial?
This is disturbing: click::
When I came to Taiwan, in the early 1970s, I was appalled to find that every time it came up in conversation, every single person from the mainland I talked with had a personal memory of a Japanese atrocity in World War II. Some large, some small, but everybody had seen Japanese soldiers bayoneting neighbors, burying people alive, or shooting unarmed citizens.
(Taiwan was imperial Japan's pleasure garden, so there were not so many atrocities, but I also heard horror stories about the Japanese in Taiwan.)
for further reading: click::

At last, the TRUTH about life in the United States, courtesy of the government of North Korea. Don't try to deny it just if you live in the United States! You are being tricked! CLICK HERE! RIGHT NOW!! NO EXCUSES!
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go rustle up some snow for coffee. It's Wednesday, so I won't have a chance at any yummy birds until next Tuesday. Plus I'm a su vegetarian. Nuts.

古人的智慧很深。今天農曆二月初一，早上就有今年第一隻蟬開始起腔。

The year's first cicada started warming up this morning.

桓溫是誰，記得嗎？

桓溫出于譙國桓氏望族，是東晉將領、權臣，官做到大司馬，差點篡位自立為天子。名噪一時，呼風喚雨，到頭來，黃土一杯。

這位大官死時，有個六歲的孩子，家族沒落，父早逝，家境貧寒；後來孩子長大了，被安排去做官，小小的官吏，做了不到幾個月就決定歸去來兮，不為五斗米折腰：他是誰？

我跟人說我姓陶淵明的「陶」，馬上就知道是哪一個「陶」。你下次跟人說桓溫的「桓」，看誰知道是哪一個字。

論語為政：或謂孔子曰：「子奚不為政？」子曰：「書云：『孝乎惟孝、友于兄弟。』施於有政，是亦為政，奚其為為政？」

搞政治的那些人的把戲，不必放扗心上。且記三國演義開卷一詞：

滾滾長江東逝水，浪花淘盡英雄。

是非成敗轉頭空，青山依舊在，幾度夕陽紅。

白髮漁樵江渚上，慣看秋月春風。

一壺濁酒喜相逢，古今多少事，都付笑談中。

If you can tell me who sat on the Dutch throne when Van Gogh was painting, or who held the reins of power in Tsarist Russia when Pushkin was writing, I might agree that politicians are more influential than artists.

按：詞名「江西月」，明、楊慎著。