Joyful Brush – traditional style Chinese painting

FengHuang, 凤凰古城, HuNan province, central China. 'Fenghuang', Chinese for 'Phoenix', the mythical bird of good omen and longevity that is consumed by fire only to rise again from the flames, is named after a legend that two of these fabulous birds flew over and found the town so beautiful that they hovered there, reluctant to leave. Step back in time, over a thousand years ...

Plus, BeiJing ... And more ...

Season's Greetings to all our visitors, from BeijingBuzzz, 2020 / 2021 :) A fantastic flash mob surprises and catches the hearts of all in a BeiJing mall (China World Mall). Love music? Don't miss this great film (turn up the volume; high quality audio) ... 一群喜好音樂的志願者在北京國貿的美食街快閃表演了美麗動人的歌曲，包括 "月亮代表我的心", "彎彎的月亮", "甜蜜蜜", "讓我們蕩起雙槳", "茉莉花", "站在高崗上" 以及 "高山青"。我們帶給了現場群眾意外的驚喜，也希望可以跟全世界的朋友分享這份喜悅。 A heart-warming surprise performance of popular traditional Chinese songs at the food court of the China World Trade Center, GuoMao, central-east Beijing. By artists from Taiwan and the China World Trade Center Chorus, plus many passers by. The 7 songs : "The Moon Represents My Heart" (Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xin), "The Crescent Moon" (Wan Wan De Yue Liang), "Oh, How Sweet" (Tian Mi Mi), "Let's Row the Paddles" (Rang Wo Men Dang Qi Shuang Jiang), "Jasmine Flower" (Mo Li Hua), "Standing on the Hilltop" (Zhan Zai Gao Gang Shang), "The Mountain is Green" (Gao Shan Qing). This follows a similar event at Taipei 101 in Taiwan, back in the summer. Bravo to everyone involved ! "Strangers become friends" - we need more of this ... Peace ... Love ... See you all in 2021 .....

When a mind is like a mirror, it sees everything, and holds onto nothing. Chuang-Tzu : '... mind as a mirror; it grasps nothing; it refuses nothing; it receives, but does not keep.' The wisdom of the eloquent Alan Watts (1915 - 1973) - the insights behind both Taoism and Buddhism ...

In SiChuan province

Home to the Buddhist Dai ethnic group, BanNa is close to the border with Myanmar, with an almost tropical climate.

Near LuoYang, provincial capital of HeNan, central China. There is a LaoZi Cultural Park near the foot of the mountain and a cable car is available to reach the top. The ancient sage LaoZi (in modern PinYin though one will still also see Lao-Tse or Lao-Tzu) who started Daoism (Taoism) and authored the Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching), is said to have gained inspiration here around 550 BC. The Dao (道) which roughly translates as 'the way', in the sense of how things are, is a concept that existed in Chinese thought many centuries before LaoZi, but it was LaoZi who developed the concept considerably. Wu Wei (無爲), literally "non-action" or "not acting", is a central concept of the DaoDeJing. The concept of wu wei is multi-faceted, and reflected in the words' multiple meanings, even in English translation; it can mean "not doing anything", "not forcing", "not acting" in the theatrical sense, "creating nothingness", "acting spontaneously", and "flowing with the moment / 'here and now'". It is a concept used to explain ZiRan (自然), or harmony with the Dao. LaoZi used the term broadly with simplicity and humility as key virtues, often in contrast to selfish action. On a political level, it means avoiding such circumstances as war, harsh laws and heavy taxes. The 'ruler' can also refer to the 'self'. There is an overlap here with the Buddha's teachings that suffering stems from attachments and desires, ultimately to the notion of a separate self. In Chinese philosophy, Yin and Yang (陰陽 YīnYáng, "dark—light") describes how opposite or contrary forces are actually complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. While duality is found in many belief systems, Yin and Yang are parts of a Oneness that is also equated with the Dao. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary (rather than opposing) forces that interact to form a dynamic system in which the whole is greater than the assembled parts; it is a holistic view. Everything has both yin and yang aspects, though either of the two major aspects may manifest more strongly in a particular object, depending on the criterion of the observation. Yin and Yang is a balance between two seeming opposites with a portion of the opposite element in each. Some of LaoZi's famous sayings include: "When goodness is lost, it is replaced by morality." "Without Darkness, there can be no Light." "The usefulness of a pot comes from its emptiness." "The best people are like water, which benefits all things and does not compete with them. It stays in lowly places that others reject. This is why it is so similar to the Way." "When people see some things as beautiful, other things become ugly. When people see some things as good, other things become bad." "Try to change it and you will ruin it. Try to hold it and you will lose it." "Those who know do not say. Those who say do not know." "When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you." "Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished." "A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." "Music in the soul can be heard by the universe." "A journey of a thousand miles starts under one's feet." "The more that laws and regulations are given prominence, the more thieves there will be." Alan Watts - 'The Daoist Way' ...

Rough-cut version - a polished version will appear here some day ... Bonus films - 'One day in BeiJing', 'a 17 hours cycle ride around DongCheng, central BeiJing' and BeiJing's unicycle acrobatic stars on French TV; wow - awesome ... Love - is the only way ...

云南丽江 | 拉市海 With Walk EastWalk East ...