From: timink
Date: Sun Aug 12, 2001 4:08 am
Subject: Zheng Banqiao's saying 難得糊涂
Dear Ming & Friends
Can you help me with
the full translation of a wise saying titled 難得糊涂
Nan de hu tu? This saying, written in funny slanting
calligraphics by the Zheng Banqiao (Zheng Xie) 鄭 板 橋 ( 鄭 燮)AD
1693-1765, the famous bamboo painter, calligraphist and
scholar, is found hanging in many Chinese homes and has a
paradoxical meaning.
I am not sure if the title is
appropriately translated as "The difficulty of being
muddle-headed". The saying starts with 聰 明 ,糊涂 Cong ming
nan, hu tu nan (It is difficult to be intelligent, it
is difficult to be muddle-headed).
Tin-Kay
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From: timink
Date: Sun Aug 12, 2001 4:11 am
Subject: Re: Zheng Banqiao's saying 難得糊涂
Dear Ming & Friends
Can you help me with
the full translation of a wise saying titled 得糊涂
Nan de hu tu? This saying, written in funny slanting
calligraphics by the Zheng Banqiao (Zheng Xie) 板 ( 燮) AD
1693-1765, the famous bamboo painter, calligraphist and
scholar, is found hanging in many Chinese homes and has a
paradoxical meaning.
I am not sure if the title is
appropriately translated as "The difficulty of being
muddle-headed". The saying starts with 明 ,糊涂 Cong ming
nan, hu tu nan (It is difficult to be intelligent, it
is difficult to be muddle-headed).
Tin-Kay
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From: sllee19
Date: Sun Aug 12, 2001 6:30 am
Subject: Re: Zheng Banqiao's saying 難得糊涂
Dear Tin-Kay,
Hu-tu is not "stupid" as
contrast to "intelligent". Hu-tu in Zheng Ban-qiao's mind
is tolerance of incompetence of the less
intelligent, and focus on relevance rather than being a
perfecionist on all trivials.
Sometimes "hu-tu" is
intentional. To be intentionally hu-tu and not to be noticed
for a wise person is more difficult to show off his
intelligence.
SL
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From: sllee19
Date: Sun Aug 12, 2001 6:28 am
Subject: Re: Zheng Banqiao's saying 難得糊涂
Dear Tin-Kay,
(correction)
Hu-tu is
not "stupid" as contrast to "intelligent". Hu-tu in
Zheng Ban-qiao's mind is tolerance of incompetence of
the less intelligent, and focus on relevance rather
than being a perfectionist on all
trivials.
Sometimes "hu-tu" is intentional. For a wise person, to be
intentionally hu-tu and not to be noticed is more difficult
than to show off his intelligence.
SL
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From: ChinaBeautiful
Date: Sun Aug 12, 2001 3:56 pm
Subject: Re: Zheng Banqiao's saying 難得糊涂
Dear Tin-kay and SL:
I think the meaning may
be better conveyed as
"smart" and
"dumb".
He was not talking about whether a person
is
really smart or dumb, but the proper behavior
of a
person socially.
Even if you are smart, don't
show off in the
public and act with a bit of
humbleness.
In his view, humbleness is not dumb.
--------------------------------------------
From: sllee19
Date: Tue Aug 14, 2001 8:03 am
Subject: Re: Zheng Banqiao 難得糊涂 - his persona
Dear Ming,
I think hu-tu is better
translated as fuzzy-minded, negligent, confused,
absent-minded, ignorant of trivials. Tin-Kay's "muddled mind" is
a good expression. Someone like Edison can be hu-tu
in boiling his watch rather than the egg, but he is
far from being dumb.
A hu-tu person is hu-tu
because his mind is focused on something else. Zheng
Ban-Qiao's hu-tu is really to disguise his
wisdom.
Zheng Ban-Qiao was a little judge at Wei-Fang,
Shandong, now the world's capital of kites. He often has to
judge on some ridiculous cases, and was subject to
bribery, threats. However, he was not moved at all in
carrying out justice. While remembered as a painter and
poet, few remember him as a person of ethics. I have a
copy of his hand-written judegement case documents. I
bought it to see his calligraphy. But I am amazed how it
reflects his personality - humorous, unbiased, selfless.
It would be a good textbook for law students and
judges (hope Alfred is reading this:)).
I highly
recommend reading his biography. The judgement document
published in 1987 is probably out of print now. I am lucky
to have a copy.
SL Lee
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From: aolung
Date: Tue Aug 14, 2001 1:41 pm
Subject: Re: Zheng Banqiao 難得糊涂 - his persona
Dear Siu-Leung,
> I think hu-tu is
better translated as fuzzy-minded, negligent,
confused, absent-minded, ignorant of trivials. Tin-Kay's
"muddled
mind" is a good expression. <<
I
share your opinion: 額 "muddled, stupidly, foolishly"
I'd add: "absent-minded, distracted - zerstreut,
geistesabwesend. (Also found: 柑額 )
> A hu-tu person
is hu-tu because his mind is focused on
something
else. <<
That's what my wife is
calling me :(
> Someone like Edison can be
hu-tu in boiling his watch rather than the egg
... or famous microbiologist Prof. Louis Pasteur
telling his students during one of his lectures about the
dangers of microbes and demonstrating how to wash grapes
in a bowl with water before eating the fruits - and
after a while gotten thirsty *hu-tu* drinking from the
bowl...
< But I am amazed how it reflects his personality -
humorous, unbiased, selfless. It would be a good textbook
for law students and judges (hope Alfred is reading
this:)) <<
Yes! I always have been trying to
follow these maximes - maybe two more which are "love
and curiosity".
A.W. Tueting -
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From: ChinaBeautiful
Date: Wed Aug 15, 2001 10:41 am
Subject: Re: Zheng Banqiao 得糊涂 - his persona
The stories about Edison and Pasteur both
illustrate episodes that are aptly described by the Chinese
saying:
"smart all his life but momentarily dumb
(hu-tu)"
The temporary lapses may be harmless and amusing, but
can at times be more costly.
Again, what Su
Shih described (and recommended) was for you "not to
show how
smart you are in public" but to "play
dumb" and be conserative in one's dealings
with
other person. This is not the same as
carelessness
or absent-mindedness. He
wants you to
consciencely not to show
off to every one.
"You
know you are smarter than others. But do you have
behave that way in front of
everyone?"
"If you
cannot suffer the fools, be silent
and leave the
room."
"Yes you are smart. But play DUMB!"
This last
approach was adopted by, for example, Monk Hanshan and
Shide, who
hid in their mountain retreat, and
laugh
at the world between themselves.
This
calligraphy is displayed on the wall
of my favorite local
restaurant, which I go
for good food and inspiration as
well.
Ming
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