If you've found this blog by accident don't forget to view all 4 blogs so you can see the images in sequence.
A Gwailo's View of Han Zi ! A Blog featuring my experiments with Han Zi and digital typographic art and articles on Chinese derived characters. Also some articles on Chinese characters in general and their use of multiple Asian languages.
Tuesday, 31 December 2013
Sarasvati Benten 4
A ukiyo-e surimono depiction of Benten this time riding a dragon an uniquely Japanese idea though they have have gotten the idea from Chinese Esoteric Buddhism or Taoism images of dragon riding deities?
Friday, 27 December 2013
Sarasvati Benten Three
Now for some Chinese / Japanese images.
I couldn't find a good image of Biancaitian as shes known in China so I've tried to pick Japanese images that show a strong Chinese influence.
Frankly I'm not sure if this first image is modern Chinese or Japanese and it does show a slight manga / anime influence but the goddess is depicted as a princess / lady of rank in Chinese costume.
this second image was painted in 18th century Japan but the artist clearly seems to have modelled his work on an older piece perhaps a badly damaged scroll imported centuries earlier from China a painting that had to be replaced? If you're familiar with both Chinese and Japanese painting the Chinese influence is very strong ... very.
I couldn't find a good image of Biancaitian as shes known in China so I've tried to pick Japanese images that show a strong Chinese influence.
Frankly I'm not sure if this first image is modern Chinese or Japanese and it does show a slight manga / anime influence but the goddess is depicted as a princess / lady of rank in Chinese costume.
this second image was painted in 18th century Japan but the artist clearly seems to have modelled his work on an older piece perhaps a badly damaged scroll imported centuries earlier from China a painting that had to be replaced? If you're familiar with both Chinese and Japanese painting the Chinese influence is very strong ... very.
Monday, 23 December 2013
Sarasvati Benten Two
Two More images of Sarasvati
These two images seem to depict the goddess peacock as a cross between a peahen and a gardua bird unless this is a VERY stylized swan or goose or other bird?
Friday, 20 December 2013
From Sarasvati to Benten One
This series of posts will show images of Sarasvati / Benten from across ASIA.
INDIA
INDIA
Sarasvati or Saraswati is also depicted with a tiger or peacock and known as Shar(a)da in Southern India.
The most consistent feature of depictions of this goddess is her stringed musical instrument often described in English as a lute.
Wednesday, 18 December 2013
Rough Love
A little experiment in using filters to suggest ink splashs and stroke on a rough absorbent paper
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| Copyright Julie Vaux 2013 |
Wednesday, 4 December 2013
PARROT
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Copyright Julie Vaux 2013 |
Tuesday, 26 November 2013
Saturday, 23 November 2013
NOVEMBER 24
Whats special about November 24 ?
Its the Catholic feast day for Andrew Dung Lac Vietnamese Catholic Priest and other Vietnamese Catholic martyrs.
Lets also take a moment to consider other martyrs Catholic Protestant or Buddhist or others who in ancient or modern times have been persecuted for their choice of religion or choice to convert to another religion.
Buddhists were once persecuted for practising a "foreign cult".
Take a moment today to consider the plight of minorities and people who have been martyrs for religion or ideology or philosophy or politics of any kind.
Its the Catholic feast day for Andrew Dung Lac Vietnamese Catholic Priest and other Vietnamese Catholic martyrs.
Lets also take a moment to consider other martyrs Catholic Protestant or Buddhist or others who in ancient or modern times have been persecuted for their choice of religion or choice to convert to another religion.
Buddhists were once persecuted for practising a "foreign cult".
Take a moment today to consider the plight of minorities and people who have been martyrs for religion or ideology or philosophy or politics of any kind.
Thursday, 21 November 2013
HA SUMMER
Scholars of language believe the original word for summer in Old Chinese was probably pronounced something like h(i)a ?
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Copyright Julie Vaux 2013 |
Monday, 18 November 2013
CICADA
The Cicadas are starting to sing of summer despite the fires and rain
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Copyright Julie Vaux 2013 |
Friday, 15 November 2013
Tuesday, 12 November 2013
Wildfire
Continuing our FIRE sequence
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Copyright Julie Vaux 2013 |
Something we've had a problem with lately in Sydney
Saturday, 9 November 2013
Wednesday, 6 November 2013
Fire Dots
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| Copyright Julie Vaux 2013 |
Tuesday, 5 November 2013
Friday, 1 November 2013
Fiery Huo
We have recently had severe bushfires in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney so Fire and Heat will be the themes of next month's Technozi.
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| Copyright Julie Vaux 2013 |
Thursday, 31 October 2013
Copper Tong Graphic
A freebie for you I tweaked the nodes on this trying to make it look more raised.
Perhaps someone might like to try adding a wood background?
Monday, 28 October 2013
Copper Tong
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| Copyright Julie Vaux 2013 |
Drat the space between Too and Doo disappeared!
Friday, 25 October 2013
Friday, 18 October 2013
Tuesday, 15 October 2013
Saturday, 12 October 2013
Tuesday, 8 October 2013
Monday, 30 September 2013
Thursday, 26 September 2013
Monday, 23 September 2013
Tun Town
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| Copyright Julie Vaux 2013 |
Thursday, 19 September 2013
Inkblot Cloud
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| Copyright Julie Vaux 2013 I've been playing with the filters again. There's actually 3 combined in this one. I 'm aiming for an effect suggesting someone printed or brushing ink onto a very rough piece of damp unsized paper. |
Tuesday, 10 September 2013
Thursday, 5 September 2013
Thursday, 29 August 2013
Monday, 26 August 2013
BEIJING
BEIJING
The Biography of a City
Jonathan Clements 2008
A good read for some one who's just started looking into Beijing's history.
If you've read other books you'll find some information you've seen before but its a still a good read about one of Asia's greatest cities and its history over the centuries.
The Biography of a City
Jonathan Clements 2008
A good read for some one who's just started looking into Beijing's history.
If you've read other books you'll find some information you've seen before but its a still a good read about one of Asia's greatest cities and its history over the centuries.
Wednesday, 21 August 2013
Monday, 19 August 2013
Thursday, 15 August 2013
Excellent Temple and Wolverine
Zoo Joo Ji Temple in Tokyo features in the latest Wolverine movie along with Hugh Jackman in varying degrees of undress and varying types of action scenes.
Some of you especially if you've been to Tokyo or Sydney may have noticed the blending of Zoojoo Ji with the Chinese Gardens as Hugh fights his way through Yakuza trying to rescue Mariko from her kidnappers.
But what does ZOOjoo actually mean.
Its one of those frightfully archaic SinoJapanese words that don't appear in standard dictionaries online or offline so I hazared a guess which I run past a Japanese Facebook Friend.
My guess was something like advancement since the two kanji in this name separately read as increase and upwards.
Konii suggested excellence or excellent.
Zoojoo Ji is a Pure Land temple by the way NOT ZEN and certainly does not have a Chinese style garden with a zigzag bridge but we did get to see one of its famous Buddha images and an excellent view of the gate.
The bullet train rooftop fight is superbly choreographed too.
and now we have the excellence that is Hugh Jackman!
So go and enjoy the movie !
Some of you especially if you've been to Tokyo or Sydney may have noticed the blending of Zoojoo Ji with the Chinese Gardens as Hugh fights his way through Yakuza trying to rescue Mariko from her kidnappers.
But what does ZOOjoo actually mean.
Its one of those frightfully archaic SinoJapanese words that don't appear in standard dictionaries online or offline so I hazared a guess which I run past a Japanese Facebook Friend.
My guess was something like advancement since the two kanji in this name separately read as increase and upwards.
Konii suggested excellence or excellent.
Zoojoo Ji is a Pure Land temple by the way NOT ZEN and certainly does not have a Chinese style garden with a zigzag bridge but we did get to see one of its famous Buddha images and an excellent view of the gate.
The bullet train rooftop fight is superbly choreographed too.
and now we have the excellence that is Hugh Jackman!
So go and enjoy the movie !
Tuesday, 13 August 2013
Shrine Shi
hello if you've discovered this by accident please visit my othereducational technozi posts and support the blogger.
Saturday, 10 August 2013
Saturday, 27 July 2013
Wednesday, 24 July 2013
TIEN TEMPLE
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Copyright Julie Vaux 2013 |
Just as Houses were sometimes donated to religious orders in Europe or part of them made over into a chapel as early castles were rebuilt into more comfortable mansions and palaces or chateau in Asia parts of palaces or buildings therein within a compound might become shrines or meditation halls or small temples.
Another European parallel might well be the basilica originally a building for holding court sessions which became the model for the first large Christian churches and cathedrals.
Monday, 22 July 2013
Buddhist Temple SHA CHA Hanzi
SHA / cha is a less common term for a Buddhist Temple
Buddhist temples that do not have pagodas or gate towers will probably still have a small stupa or a bell tower / pavilion.
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Copyright Julie Vaux 2013 |
Buddhist temples that do not have pagodas or gate towers will probably still have a small stupa or a bell tower / pavilion.
Thursday, 18 July 2013
MIAO TEMPLE
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| Copyright Julie Vaux 2013 |
As far as I can make out from conflicting definitions in the references I have access to Miao is a word originally used to describe audience halls for officials and royalty and now used for shrines tutelary temples and and Confucian temples. However Confucian "Temples" are usually compounds including study halls and shrines for deified scholars and ancestors of local clans and sometimes shrines for local deities. I suspect it depends given the on and off hostility between some Taoists and Confucianists on how strict an interpretation of Confucianism is followed and taught at the particular shrine.
Possibly the best place to see Confucian shrines is now Taiwan or South Korea?
I've read but not seen of Indonesian and Malaysian Shrines being called LI TANG which means something like Ritual Halls.
Tuesday, 2 July 2013
GAOKAO
Congratulations to the survivors of the Gaokao. NOW consider this Imperial era exams were far longer and open to men only. AUSTRALIAN Hsc exams are spread out over 3 weeks Americans have their Sat Brits A levels If you think 2 days are hell ... For some of us life is one long test !
Friday, 14 June 2013
Basic Japanese
An excellent revised edition of an well known and much used basic text with new vocabulary added to cover internet usage and other changes since the first edition called Essential japanese in 1957.
The only critique I could make of this is that the disc with audio files is MP3 only?
This new edition came out in 2012 so its well and truly been brought up to date.
....now if only I had time to study it properly and memorize the excellent examples discussion and diagrams of japanese verbs!
This new edition came out in 2012 so its well and truly been brought up to date.
....now if only I had time to study it properly and memorize the excellent examples discussion and diagrams of japanese verbs!
Sunday, 9 June 2013
Hintons' Classical Chinese Poetry Anthology
So you want to read some #Classical #Chinese #poetry?
In English? In a recent rranslation?
Try this book by David Hinton!
You will find it both enjoyable and useful with a mixed selection of well known works you may have seen in other anthologies and a few pieces I had not seen in anthologies before now.
Google removed the Amazon link widget so please support this blogger via
PayPal.me/JulieVaux
In English? In a recent rranslation?
Try this book by David Hinton!
You will find it both enjoyable and useful with a mixed selection of well known works you may have seen in other anthologies and a few pieces I had not seen in anthologies before now.
Google removed the Amazon link widget so please support this blogger via
PayPal.me/JulieVaux
Thursday, 6 June 2013
Buckwheat is Qiao
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Copyright Julie Vaux 2013 |
In plain English probably a shelter mountain valley well below the snowline maybe in open woodlands or grasslands below the high meadows and above cloud or rain forest.
Some one took seeds down out of the mountains and the plant spread from South East Asia up to Central Asia and then across Eurasia until it first appeared in Europe in the Balkans about 4000 B.C. It used to be planted to cereal and other crops cos the plant is an excellent nitrogen fixer enriching soils but this practise declined with the introduction of modern fertilisers.
Fortunately human fondness for soba and pancakes and groats and porridge using this grain means you can still buy buckwheat flour at supermarkets ( well happily mine has it) or soba noodles.
Do try making buckwheat pancakes as well as soba noodles at home!
Buckwheat pancakes work well with berries or red bean paste!
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| A Field of Buckwheat Plants |
Friday, 31 May 2013
BEI CUP
Zun may have once meant wine vessel for serving and drinking from but modern Chinese uses bei. See the rest of my notes on zun one.
Monday, 27 May 2013
Radical 12 Ba and variants
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Copyright Julie Vaux 2013 And this is just the typographic font forms ... then there's calligraphy ... |
Friday, 24 May 2013
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
A Paths and node experiment with hanzi
Friday, 17 May 2013
You wine radical 164
While wine and alcohol is usually written
in modern Chinese the original radical did not use water on the side .
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