Radical 05-1月yuè, the moon

Radical 05-1 月yuè, the moon

“This evening thee will be a crescent moon, just a few more days and there will be a full moon!“

Since ancient times the Chinese have had a strong relationship with the moon. The regular cycles have always been used as the basis for a calendar. The Chinese use the lunar calendar, called 陰曆Yīnlì that is based on the moon’s movement around the Earth. Each cycle takes about 29~30 days, so 12 months of the lunar calendar are 354 days of the year. The word for moon is月亮Yuèliàng, a lunar cycle is 一個月 Yī gè yuè “monthly.” In every-day language, many words are made up with the character月yuè:

• 月 票 Yuèpiào monthly bus or train ticket...

• 月 薪 Yuèxīn monthly wage

• 月 曆Yuèlì the calendar

The moon is the first celestial body we encounter after leaving the Earth. It is the closest to us but it is still “alien”. The light of the moon is inspiration to poets, 千江有水千江月 Qiānjiāng yǒu shuǐ qiānjiāng yuè "The water of a thousand rivers reflect just as thousand moons ". This is a proverb, which refers to the fact that a clear mind can be as brilliant as the light of the moon.

The mind can be misled. It can become blind and deaf if it does not see or hear through the heart. Only the heart is capable of loving and protecting. The mind can make us suffer without us realising if it is not connected to the heart. If it is in a state of unconsciousness, the mind can “lie” to us. If however the mind is clear, we are able to see past our misconceptions and prejudices, or even past our limits.

This leads to a deep understanding of ourselves and a deeper “consciousness” and we perceive the beautiful moon in our hearts, that each of us, in our own small, can reflect just as thousand moons on the waters.

©兒童手搏文創Kids Shou Bo
Arte Cultura & Saggezza Cinese
Elaborated by M°Dante Basili /M°Stefano Danesi  Translated by Neil Berry

Pictographic style seals in bronze: beautiful and achingly ancient! From the top and from right to left we see: top right 千 Thousand, below this 江 River, at the bottom 有to Have; top centre, larger than the others to stress the nature and the importance 水 Water, centre, once again 千 Thousand and below once again 江 River; the whole left side is taken up with 月, a beautiful moon. — Minhua Lin

Radical 14-1未 Wèi, not yet

Radical 14-1 未 Wèi, not yet

"Each year the leaves and buds grow on branches that stretch out over the earth while the trunk grows ever higher!!! “  

In this pictogram, the character未 Wèi indicates a twisting tree whose branches grow vigorously upwards while the roots grow deep into the ground. All this represents a mature tree, which has almost reached an age where it will start to flower.

This character represents the idea that “the right time is not yet here”. It is used to mean “not yet”, 未曾 not yet done, 未知 uncertain, 未定 not yet confirmed, 未完 not yet finished,未來 in the future.

未濟Wèijì “before it happened”,thelast hexagram of the I King (Book of change), indicates a period of great effort or concentration as if made when one is about to complete something.

In the hexagram the unbroken lines (一yang) are in soft positions while the broken lines (-- yin) are in strong positions.

Li, fire or sun ☲（離 lí ）is above water ☵（坎 kǎn）, the idea it communicates is of the sun rising over the sea at dawn. This hexagram also gives the idea of an unfinished project, which has to be carefully completed. Even when the rebirth cycle is still to be initiated, we have to be ready. Even if we still cannot see the end to certain projects they still give us hope for the future.

©兒童手搏文創Kids Shou Bo Arte Cultura & Saggezza Cinese

Elaborated by M°Dante Basili /M°Stefano Danesi  Translated by Neil Berry

Radical 27-1 川Chuān,great river

Radical 27-1 川Chuān,great river

 “The water flows day and night, it bathes everything on earth with its great energy ! ”

This pictogram of the character 川chuān gives the idea of the flow of a great river河川héchuān. We see three equal parallel currents of water. This is a representation of the characteristics of a great river, 川流不息chuānliúbùxī the impressive and perpetual flow of the great river. This can also refer to a crowd of people or to road traffic, or to the continuous flow of commercial activities.

從善如流 cóng shàn rú liú  "One should naturally follow good advice, just like the river follows its course”. This is an idiomatic expression in Chinese, which advises us to accept good advice without hesitation or resistance, just like water that follows its course.

Water reaches every part of the earth as it flows downward along tortuous paths, but always calmly and with determination, like a wise people who have serene and happy lives. Even if they fall, they remain calm and manage life’s highs and lows with tranquillity.

©兒童手搏文創Kids Shou Bo Arte Cultura & Saggezza Cinese

Elaborated by M°Dante Basili /M°Stefano Danesi  Translated by Neil Berry

Radical 17-1 谷Gǔ, valley

Radical 17-1 谷Gǔ, valley

“Slow down, walking in this valley and getting back in touch with yourself…is the best way to feel good !!! ”  

“A path that winds its way through mountain peaks.” In the lower part of the character, we see a kind of opening which leads us onto the plain: that is the how the character 谷Gǔ, valley was depicted originally, often putting it together with the character山shān mountain we get山谷Shāngǔ or with the a flowing river or stream we get 河谷Hégǔ.

Chinese culture is one of the oldest in the world, the ancient Chinese saw the links between man and nature and this concept is often expressed in the Chinese language. 虛懷若谷 Xūhuái ruògǔ this is a saying which indicates a humble person who, however has a mind as open as a valley, 樹大成蔭鳥來宿，虛懷若谷人來聚。Shùdà chéngyīn niǎo láisù, Xūhuái ruògǔ rén láijù.“Big trees allow birds to rest and be safe, people who have minds as open as valleys naturally attract other people.”

Real authority is not created by power or force, but rather from the ability to listen and understand. Real friendship is colour blind. People who have a heart as big as a valley become a refuge for other people.

©兒童手搏文創Kids Shou Bo Arte Cultura & Saggezza Cinese
Elaborated by M°Dante Basili /M°Stefano Danesi  Translated by Neil Berry

 

Radical 16-1山Shān, mountain

Radical 16-1 山Shān, mountain

“ What a view ! Look at the peaks! Only after climbing up a high mountain, can one find that there are more higher mountains !"  

Have you ever climbed a mountain, admired the view from the top, and realised how small you are, and how fascinating and magnificent the landscape is?

The mountains are exceptional places for, as the natural environment is concerned, they are the concentration of the wildest possible variety of all natural phenomena and forms. They are somehow a concentration of the truth of nature or even I'd say its essence.

“A mountain with a central peak rising above two smaller ones of equal height “. That is the image described by the pictogram of the character山Shān, mountain. The verb to go up a mountain is: 登山dēngshān or 爬山Páshān.

If we put together the character for mountain and the character for water we make the word: 山水Shānshuǐ sweeping view, or landscape. 山水畫 Shānshuǐhuà, a classic subject of Chinese painting showing an abundance of mountains, rivers and villages.Classical Chinese painting is the traditional art form carried out in China for more than a thousand years. That is really something to think about! It has its roots in an antique but original way of thinking which underlines the way humankind are one with the cosmos.

山高月小,水落石出Shāngāo yuèxiǎo  shuǐluò shíchū  This was written by the by the great poet Su Shi ( 蘇軾Sūshì 1037-1011 ) during the Song dynasty: seen from below, the mountain is immense while the moon shines small and lonely in the sky. Only when the water flows away are stones visible.

In modern language 水落石出 shuǐluò-shíchū. Only when the water flows away are the stones visible. This is a chengyu, a very common proverb which means, “doubts fade away once we are in possession of the facts”.

©兒童手搏文創Kids Shou Bo Arte Cultura & Saggezza Cinese Elaborated by M°Dante Basili /M°Stefano Danesi  Translated by Neil Berry

 

Radical 02-1旦 dàn "dawn"

Radical 02-1旦  dàn "dawn"
“The darkest moment of the day is always just before dawn. When we see dawn’s first light we know a new day is beginning.”

The sun has just risen above the horizon, a new day is dawning. Have you ever noticed the black spot that appears under the sun at dawn? What can it possibly mean?

 The earth spins on its axis and the world is split into zones where it is either day or night. There is a distinct border between light and shade. The darkest moment of the day is always just before dawn. The new day is born as soon as we see the first light of dawn.”

The first of January in the Gregorian calendar is called 元旦 yuándàn, which indicates the rising sun, coming up over the horizon on the first new day of the year. It is a time for throwing away the old and welcoming in the new.

The Chinese proverb人有旦夕禍福 dàn xī huò fú “ good or bad luck“ means that luck is fickle and men are never ready for unexpected changes of fortune. However, bad luck is also consistent; it varies continually with the spinning of the Earth. Light and shade chase each other and sometimes overlap, creating dawn and dusk.

At any one time on the Earth, someone is experiencing a dawn and someone a dusk. At any one time on the Earth, someone is watching the sun come up. Dawn and dusk are strong symbols of birth and death, of the corridors between different worlds.

©兒童手搏文創Kids Shou Bo Arte Cultura & Saggezza Cinese
Elaborated by M°Dante Basili /M°Stefano Danesi  Translated by Neil Berry

 

Radical 08-1雨Yǔ, rain

Radical 08-1 雨Yǔ, rain

“Raindrops fall from the sky ! The shining of water drops help us to relax !!! "

How many times have you watched the rain fall. More often than you can remember! But how often have you stopped to carefully observe those tiny drops of water, or follow the paths they take on a window: a moment of meditation, of silence, and of enchantment.

The ancient form of the character雨Yǔ
carved onto tortoise shells or ox bones甲骨文 Jiǎgǔwén is made up of a horizontal line which represents the sky and of six vertical lines which symbolise the drops of rain. To give the idea of the verb to rain the ideogram Xia, underneath, objects underneath:  下雨Xià yǔ to rain (rainfall)

下雨天Xià yǔtiān  rainy

滴水Dī shuǐ are known in Chinese architecture as the "Pearls Hanging", the particular roof tiles located in the edges of the roof. On rainy days the raindrops are restored in these structures and then fall down by forming long rows of pearls, creating an imaginary picture !

©兒童手搏文創Kids Shou Bo Arte Cultura & Saggezza Cinese
Elaborated by M°Dante Basili /M°Stefano Danesi  Translated by Neil Berry