Language & Culture

中國的同音字很多,加上四聲,尤其二和三聲有時很難辨別,更且兩個三聲字連在一起,變成二三聲發音. 語言已經夠複雜了,加上這些起伏音,中國人能互相交通,誠屬文明奇蹟之一. 試想你去參加音樂會時,有多少曲子你能聽清楚歌詞? 可是中國人跌跌撞撞幾千年居然無恙,也創造文明. 外國人講中文,不管說得多好,最明顯的腔調就是四声不準,五音不全. 到底歌唱家在人類還是少數.

同音字多,導至同音多義,才有一些習俗如'年年有魚','福倒了',新年吃'髮菜' 等等. 人生困苦,謀生不易,發財更難,在無助的情况下,多数小民要請老天爺幫忙. 有宗教信仰的人可以祁禱,拜佛,没信教的人就用同音字避邪,其相反的一面就是趋吉,於是魚和髮菜通通(統統)出籠,逢人便道恭喜發財. 由這種同音字發展到'避凶趋吉'的習慣.  大家不努力尋找正當的方法解决間題,祗想趨吉避凶, go lucky, 從而養成僥倖和賭博的性向. 君不見新年時,家家户户,男女老少,賢愚聰笨,四角方城,通宵夜戰,打麻將去. 麻將最顯著的特點,'萬'和'發',而且用鮮艶的紅色,大家一窩蜂想發財. 做生意太難,还要 team work,也不是三天五日就見成效. 麻將養成中國人短路發財,單打獨鬥,殘害同胞的壞習慣. 這种同音字風俗,慢慢的影響人們的思考方式,演變成一種迷信. 如'四'和'死'音近,'八'和'發'音通,人們養成另一種習慣,就是避四趨八(避凶趨吉),沒有四樓,搬到八樓. 時日一久,成了迷信,這是拜語言之賜. 有一次外國同事間我,為什麼中國雇員選公司的礼物從不選 clock. 他們壓根兒也不會想到'鐘'和'終'是同音,所以'送鐘'如同'送終',沒人敢碰. 這雖是忌諱 (taboo),但時日一久,等同迷信. 像這些例子,大都和同音字有関,所以中國人之迷信可說一大部分是語言造成的. 另有一種是'名不正,言不順',純是忌諱而不是迷信,像台灣沒有八路公車,因為'八路軍'讓國民黨心有餘悸. 這有點像'義勇軍進行曲'一樣,不是不好聽,而是先被共產党用為國歌也. '濟南'屬同類例子,'名不正,言不順',故發音 '己男'而不是'妓男'. 忌諱和迷信有時混在一起很難辨別. 比如說你雖然不迷信,但如果你的車牌是4444号,你也許不信邪,但你的岳母說不定不敢坐你的車子,所以三思而後行,你还是去申請一個新号碼. Is this superstition?   No, this is unintended consequence.  But the end result seems like superstition anyway. 這就是所謂'人在江湖,身不由己' as you are part of the economic system. 你在有選擇的情况下,會買十三号(洋人的邪)的房子嗎? 不是你信邪,而是怕將來賣不出去. The Interest (or personal welfare) does matter.

另類混淆也是語言造成,如'酒'這個字,被譯成 'wine'. 但西方的酒可是分門別類,複雜得很,wine 祗是葡萄酒. 所以有威士忌酒,但沒有 whiskey wine 這种說法,因為 whiskey is liquor, not wine at all. 酒應該是 Alcoholic beverage. 另一例子也是翻譯出了岔子. Elvis Presley 乃貓王也,大名鼎鼎,可誰知道他為何叫貓王? 幾十年前在大學裏,大家同樂,一大群外國學生一起玩 Pictionary, 這是猜字遊戲,兩人一組,一個看到答案,但不能说,祇能畫圖给另外一人看,另外一人就看圖猜字. 這個例子答案是 Elvis Presley, 精彩的是一位中國女生畫了一隻猫,頭上帶了皇冠. 麻煩出在她的玩伴 (partner) 是美國人. 這位美國女生压根兒也不會想到貓王會是 Elvis. Elvis is king but King of the Cat? No clue, definitely no clue.

類似混淆也出現在數字上,中國人採四進位而世界採用三進位,於是麻煩一大堆. 可是很奇怪,中國人卻堅守著這堡壘不放. 比如以前中國人口四萬萬七千萬,没有幾個人能在十秒內翻成英文.很佩服那些即席翻譯員,能夠腦筋不轉三下也能報出英文數字來. 其实他們也常常有錯,我常替他們捏一把冷汗. 四萬萬七千萬乃 470 million. 現在 lotto 常是天文数字 如805 million, 八萬萬(億)五百萬也. 來外國久了,慢慢的你開始用英文想,於是什麼萬萬,百萬,全不管了,反正405 million 就是405 蜜(米), 713 billion 就是 713 筆(比).  久而久之, I know exactly what the amount is.  Why bother to do the translation? 你房子值 789 thousand, 就是789 千,而沒必要去說78萬九千.  所以幾年前我就 建議 創造兩個新字: #米和#比, equivalent to Million and Billion. 祇要你对這三個字 '千, #米和#比' 有個数目上的概念,就會省事很多. 有時候我不太了解中國人,他們花那麽多時問和精力,去简化文字,把'後'字去掉,卻連創造兩個新字的智慧都没有. 試想這兩個新字能省大家多少心力和腦力. 剩下的時間,散步,打網球去多好. 與上面兩個新字有関的是化學元素週期表,君不見 Titanium (鈦), Uranium (鈾), Neon (氖) etc etc etc. 創造字容易得很,如果不造這些字,化學可沒有中文版了. 它省了我們多少事呢. 需要為發明之母,化學元素名乃一例子. 我不了解為什麼中國人(尤其是留學或飽學人士)在日常生活上沒有需要 #米和#比這兩個字? 

同音字不但導向迷信,而且創造一些笑話,像 CC 的'蘋果和屁股',乃四州廣東笑話,雖不同音,但在某些小民嘴裏,硬是同音(close enough)也,無可奈何,笑話連連. 还有蕭老師,在台灣常是被取笑的對象,因蕭乃'瘋'也 in 台語. 大陸簡化簫成'肖',於是蕭老師硬是被貶成肖小之輩,'音雖正,看不順',实在大倒姓蕭人士之味口. 上次 AJ 提到'芭樂票'也是近似同音字(佛祖票)造成的. 芭樂何辜,硬被頂'跳票'之災. 另外一個有趣例子,在 1970年代,有一家油公司叫 Enco. 在德州和很多地方很風行. 後來他們發現在日本總是吃不開,百思不得其解. 找來一位日本小姐,一問才豁然開解. 原來 Enco 在日語與 'Break Down' 同音. 以前在台灣大家都知道 Enco 是'死翹翹'的意思,大概也是從日語衍變而來.

说到都市街名,也有些類似忌諱的例子,又是同音字作祟. 最常見的街名乃中正路和中山路. 君可見其街分段(断)乎? 凡是這両條路,絕不能分段. 罗期福路或麥克阿瑟街,皆可分段(断),中山北路也可分成三段,但中山路,中正路絕不能一刀両断(段). 這有點像清朝時,那位考官出了作文題目, '維民所止'. 這又是語言惹的禍,象形文字,全憑想像,如果歪腦子一大堆,準闖出大禍來. '維民所止',明明是雍正掉了腦袋,而且掉了兩次. 雍正大怒,是可忍,孰不可忍? 於是清朝文字獄傾巢而出,為禍大矣,又是文字闖的禍.

另類混淆雖與同音無関,但與中文語言結構有関,如無標點,隨便你解釋. 下面這個例子: "今年好霉氣全無財帛進門". 把它掛在門樑上,一定有些不同的反應. 正像看某一幅畫,有時看到妙龄女郎,有時看到老太婆. 中文語法,名詞動詞不分,又無 Tense,有時左右不分,很難搞清楚一個句的結尾在那兒.如無標點,那就全憑想像了.

為什麼中國人都在學英文? 有需要也,不然怎麼寫文章到电腦裏? What is pinyin input? 現在全球人就是不想學英文,至少要學英文字母 (alphabet),這是符号,和阿拉伯數字一樣重要. Why? It is used in Internet address.  Otherwise, you become homeless, 無家可歸,流浪漢也.  

聽到一則故事:  

"楊元慶, Lenovo's boss, hardly spoke a word of English until he was about 40.  However, lately he was in Brazil, for a board meeting and an earnings call: he conducted all his business in English except for a briefing for the Chinese press".  

In order to do the international business, you have to conduct meeting in English.  In order to do the Internet commerce across the countries, you have to do it in English.  When two companies merge (one from German, one from France), they use English in meeting.  Language is a powerful tool that changes how the world operates.  God spread people around the earth by making them speaking different languages (Tower of Babel), but Internet and commerce bring them together by speaking one language.  Is the world a village?  Is the earth a uniworld?

Li Na

Li Na (李娜) just made another history in clinching the trophy of Australian Tennis Open at Melbourne.  She did a convincing win by a strong baseline drives, both forehand & backhand.  she also hit the ball deep and near the base line with precision placement.   The opponent in the final match, Dominika Cibulkova playing like Li Na also looked impressive.  Ultimately the consistency of Li Na's baseline two-handed backhand drives determined the outcome.  The score is 7-5 and 6-0.  In the 2nd set, Cibulkova should have changed tactics or pace when she was trailing in two breaks.  Perhaps she didn't equip with second gear or ability to raise one notch higher in her play.  This is the first Chinese woman has ever achieved the feat of two grand slams since the tennis open era.  Kim Clijsters had the same playing style and dominated the tennis world in the early 2000's.  Li Na's killer weapon is this two-handed backhand.  He uses it to hit the ball in pace from high to low with wide angle that pulls the ball out of her opponent.  It is very hard if not impossible for a one-handed backhand to achieve.  The two-handed backhand can also drive the ball from low to high to clear the net easily with top spin.  Li Na very seldom uses the under spin even when she is in defensive situation.  One other thing is unique.  Li Na doesn't grunt or make any noise while she strikes the ball.  This is rare for women tennis players these days.  The notorious noise makers these days are Maria Sharapova & Victoria Azarenka.  When they play in a tennis court, you feel as if you are in a zoo watching two birds in a shouting match.  This makes Li Na the more outstanding and unique player.

As I mentioned in my last essay (June 6, 2011) of the blog, one area Li Na should improve is the serving speed. She seems making very little improvement on this.  Her first serve in has been low in percentage.  If she can serve like Serena Williams, she will be a formidable opponent to reckon with.  Since she was 29 when she made it in Roland Garros, some people kind of think she may be a one-hit wonder.  However, it only takes her two and half year to clinch another grand slam at age of 31.  This is impressive as two major trophies are generally enough for enshrinement in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. One other interesting data, the last 30-something to win the Australian Open women's title was Margaret Court in 1973.  Li Na is making some history here.  

Li Na didn't have to face a player ranked in the Top 20 en route to the final, opening with wins over the two youngest players in the tournament, then saving a match point in her third-round win over Lucie Safarova, who was a fraction away from causing a major upset.  Let's not forget the two inches by which Lucie Safarova's forehand on match point missed the line in the third round. Two inches closer, and Safarova would have knocked Li Na out of the tournament. Since that scare, Li played at a level that ranged from exceptional to passable, winning nine straight sets, and claiming her second Grand Slam.  Is it lucky for Li Na?  Yes and no depend on how you look at it.  It is lucky to avoid top ranking players in the first few rounds, but to save a match point from an opponent needs nerve and gut.  This may indicate that Li Na's has gained mental toughness in her play.

Li Na's speech is kind of interesting, funny but odd.  First she thanked her agent for making her rich, then her coach Carlos Rodriguez and then her husband, 姜山, her former coach and constant traveling companion.  "Thanks for him give up everything just traveling with me to be my hitting partner, fix the drinks, fix the racket — so thanks a lot, you are a nice guy," she told 姜山 in a rare public compliment, pausing for the laughter. "Also you are so lucky (to) find me."  Wow, she was so blunt & cocky.  When you are winning, perhaps you can say anything and get away with it. She mentioned nothing about China & her fans there although more than 10 million Chinese watched the final match on TV.  It is said Li Na returned China with low key emotion as she seemed showing little response to her fan's enthusiasm & welcome.  It is interesting to know that her name represents the first two elements in the first column of chemical periodic table, alkali metals.  They are highly reactive metals.  Li Na seems to fit in this family nicely, caustic & reactive.

Li Na's T shirt feature  '心敢比天高',  “Dare to aim higher than the sky.”  '心敢比天高' doesn't sound like a good Chinese idiom.  It will be nice to find a single Chinese character to convey the meaning.  Li Na's success in France and Australia definitely will have positive effect and influence on tennis sport in China. 

東西方之理學

朱熹

Voltaire

程朱理學是宋明理學的一支流，簡稱為理學，以別於陸九淵和王陽明的心學. 但心學雖也屬於宋明理學的一支,其實受程朱理學的影響很大。宋明理學在中華文化是一個很重要的啟蒙運動. 它擺脫了唐代以來 '疏不破注' 的教條，慢慢培養了對經書懷疑的態度，從疑經走上了改經的道路. 幾位大師如陸九淵,朱熹,程顥,和程頤皆對人性, 理性,悟性和真善美做過很詳實的研究和思考. 宋代的理學到明代發陽光大,有王陽明 (1472－1529) 和 黃宗羲（1610年－1695年）最為有名. 這兩位大儒皆是餘姚人,看來浙江紹興府是人傑地靈的好地方. 其中著作以黃宗羲的 '明夷待訪錄' 最為燦爛和具有恒久的價值. 他提出 '天子之所是未必是,天子之所非未必非', '有治法而後有治人'. 這與西方的 Montesquieu 的'法意'真是異曲同工, 卻早孟氏約七十年. 黄先生實在是'中國近代思想啟蒙之父'. 可是理學在清初以後走入空谈，嚴重脱离实际，變成以學術為工具博取政治利益的手段. 顾炎武說：'古之所谓理学，经学也；今之所谓理学，禅学也'. 這是顧先生對清代理學失望的態度. 

中華理學乃中華文明燦爛的瑰寶, 綜觀世界厂史,我們亦可找到西方文明的類似啟蒙運動. 因為厂史書的翻譯,對理學和理性沒有解釋清楚,使很多人無法理解其中脈絡,融會貫通. 其實中華文化的理學和西方的理性時代,遙遙相對,互相輝映,相得益彰. 玆舉兩個例子: Age of Reason (理性時代, 1600-1790) 和 Age of Enlightenment (啟蒙時代,1720-1790). 從年代觀之,啟蒙時代乃理性時代的後一部分,可說是理性時代發揚光大的年代. 理性時代的前期類似宋朝的理學,而後期的啟蒙運動可與明朝的心學相比美. What is the Reason (理性)? Reason is the absence of intolerance, bigotry or prejudice in one's thinking. The Age of Enlightenment was a time for thinking about the welfare of society, the freedom of the individual and the happiness of humanity. 要詳述這兩個年代,不是這個 blog 可以勝任. 玆舉這兩個厂史時代,其中大師及其著作供大家參考. 

Age of Reason (1600-1790) 

Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626), 新工具,論文集

Galileo (1564 – 1642), On Motion (1590)

Thomas Hobbes (1588 – 1679), Elements of Law, Law , Natural and Politic (1650), Leviathan (1651)

Descartes, (1596 – 1650), Discourse on the Method, Meditations Principles of Philosophy

Braise Pascal (1623 – 1662), 思想錄(1658)

Baruch Spinoza (1632 – 1677), Ethics (倫理學)

John Locke (1632 – 1704), Concerning Human Understanding (人類悟性論)

Isaac Newton (1642 – 1727), Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy

Gottfried Leibniz (1646 – 1716) Discourse of Metaphysics, Calculus

Berkeley (1685 – 1753, A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710)

Age of Enlightenment (1720-1790) 

Montesquieu (1689-1755), The Spirit of the Laws (法意), (1748)

Voltaire (1694 – 1778), Freedom of Religion, Expression, Separation of Church and State

Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790), Electricity, Meteorology, Oceanography

David Hume (1711 – 1776, A Treatise of Human Nature (1739) 

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 – 1778), Social Contract (民約論)

Denis Diderot (1713 – 1784), Encyclopedia (百科全書)

Adam Smith (1723 - 1790), An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (國富論)

Thomas Malthus (1766 -1834), An Essay on the Principle of Population (人口論) (1798)

David Ricardo (1772 – 1823), The principles of Political Economy and Taxation

Age of Reason (理性時代) 影響深遠,直接間接促成美州和法國大革命,並對世界的政治和經濟体系做了天翻地覆的改變和影響. 中華理學不幸的在清朝遭到扼殺和摧殘,尤以康熙和雍正的文字獄以及後來發展出來的八股文化為甚. 這是很可惜的事.

Luciano Pavarotti and Christmas Music

Luciano Pavarotti passed away in 2007. He is considered one of the most prominent tenor in the second half of the 20th century. His distinct brassy voice used to lighten the music world especially during the Christmas holiday season. One of his most famous Christmas concert was performed in 1978 at Montreal Notre-Dame Basilica. I watched it at that time and recorded it in a VHS tape for my personal collection. Every once in a while during Christmas time, I'd play it through my stereo system with good bass & shared it with my family. It sounds grand & moving every time we listen to it. In this performance, I particularly like to point out three songs which are truly classic and transcend religious mood and setting. It reaches our heart with pure ethereal notes, melodies and Pavarotti's voice. You can view this performance at the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnoIZ_RzV9M

6:20-9:00, O Holy Night (Cantique de Noel), composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847. The lyrics reflects on the birth of Jesus and of humanity's redemption. At the end of the carol, Pavarotti delivered the feeling with such a powerful voice that moved every soul in the cathedral. 

Peuple à genoux, attends ta délivrance.

Noël, Noël, voici le Rédempteur,

Noël, Noël, voici le Rédempteur !

Translation:

People kneel down, wait for your deliverance.

Christmas, Christmas, here is the Redeemer,

Christmas, Christmas, here is the Redeemer!

20:50-25:27, Ave Maria, composed by Franz Schubert in 1825

The piece was composed as a setting of a song from Walter Scott's popular epic poem, 'The Lady of the Lake'. The opening words and refrain of the song, namely "Ave Maria" (Latin for "Hail Mary"), may have led to the idea of adapting Schubert's melody as a setting for the full text of the traditional Roman Catholic prayer Ave Maria. Regardless of the origin, it has become one of Schubert's most popular works recorded by a wide variety and large number of singers, under the title of Ave Maria in arrangements with various lyrics which commonly differ from the original context of the poem. The song sounds like a hymn, so holy, somber and humble. It is best to feel the music in a grand cathedral like Montreal Notre-Dame. 

25:30-28:40, Mille Cherubini in Coro, adapted and arrangement for voice and orchestra by Alois Melichar. Composed by Franz Schubert originally. 

The adapted song consists of two tunes, one from Schubert's Rosamunde Incidental Music and one from Wiegenlied (Lullaby). Mille Cherubini in Coro is 'A Chorus of a Thousand Cherubs' in English. It is perhaps not the intention of Schubert. However, it doesn't matter as this song becomes a Christmas classic since 1935 and transcends the popularity of the original lullaby. The lullaby itself is brilliant and often mentioned with the lullaby of Brahms and Mozart. Here I attach an Excel file which lists the original lyrics of Schubert and the adapted song by Melichar. There are three stanzas in the original work by Schubert. Here I only list the first and the last stanza as Pavarotti sang only the two stanzas in 'Mille Cherubini in Coro'.

25:30-25:50 The tune from Wiegenlied

25:53:26:57 The tune from Rosamunde

26:58-28:40 The first and third stanza of Wiegenlied

Luciano sang the last 4 lines of the stanza 3. The first 4 lines were played by the orchestra only. 

I created an Excel file which lists the lyrics of 'Mille Cherubini in Coro' in Italian and Wiegenlied in German. I also include the English translation of both lyrics for reference. You can find it in the link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Kwp81ksqfMRm1XcTRRdWl0YkE/edit?usp=sharing

麻將與人生

河北麻將街

麻將在中國是老少咸宜,非常受歡迎的牌戲. 可說除了吃以外,沒有比麻將更 風行. 除了小小孩子以外,幾乎每個階層的人,都有大部分人對此好之不疲. 更有甚者,挑燈夜戰,不分晝夜. 還有病人昏倒,孕婦臨產在即,皆下不了桌,誠屬天下奇觀,嘆為觀止. 世上僅有一事可與此相媲美的是'賭博'. 賭雖比不上麻將規摸龐大,但卻是世界性的活動. 君不見 Las Vegas 的賭博人士,呼之即來,揮之不去. 舍南舍北皆牌局,但見賭棍日日來,永遠有數不完的好賭之士,在 slot machine 前,揮汗如雨,大幹一場. 但並不是每個人都有閒情逸緻去 Las Vegas 或 澳門,加上很多地方不准設賭場,於是 樂透 (Lotto) 滿天飛,滿足了大部分人的好賭天性. 三字經忘了'人之初,性好賭' 這一句,誠屬遺憾.

現在分析為什麼麻將和賭博會這麼普遍? 這是入門門檻極低. 不管博士或目不識丁之人皆能玩之且有可能贏的机會. 其他 games 如圍棋,象棋和西洋棋,高下立見,低手極少有可能勝的机會. 又如橋牌,雖有點像麻將,但是有兩個一組,是 team work, not everybody for himself. 難度相當高,低手勝的机會很少. 很少聽說有拉角子机器選手有八段高手,主要是因為幾乎不靠什麼技巧,全憑或然率也 ie randomness. 麻將雖然門檻比 slot machine or 21 點 高些,但其差距固不大矣. 加上自摸,全靠老天爺 (randomness),所以能夠吸引老少賢愚,仁人下士,趨之若騖. 君若問既然好賭乃人類天性,為什麼麻將獨風行中國而不在外國? 原因有不少,其中之一乃是好賭亦有程度之分. 中國人明顯好賭,喜好佔便宜,投机取巧,迷信好運比別的民族強烈. 搓麻將到某種程度,就像抽鴉片一樣, get hooked and addicted. 常聽說有人在颱風地震天災時,麻將照打不誤,挑燈不行,有電筒,蠟燭代之. 廢寢忘食,置生死於度外,莫此為甚.

清末民初中國有三害:鴉片,八股,小腳. 胡適認為應該是四害,加麻將也. 其他三害似已剷除,可是麻將儼然取代鴉片. 仔細想想,麻將和鴉片有些類似,它讓人處於閉室,坐臥終日,耽於一種不事生產且不健康的活動. 胡適對麻將有研究和考証. 他認為麻將是從明代一種叫馬吊的紙牌演變而來. 當時士大夫們整日整夜地打馬吊,把正事都荒廢了. 据史載明末崇禎皇帝在亡國前夕,開御前會議,居然找不到大臣,原來國難當前,這些國家重臣,皆下不了馬吊桌也. 馬吊牌乃麻將牌前身. 胡適是考証專家. He dug in and proposed '麻將亡國論',諄諄告誡國人,打衛生麻將可也,萬萬不可耽於賭博式麻將,誤已誤民誤國,罪莫大焉. 胡適痛心問道:'我們走遍世界,可曾看到那一個長進的民族,文明的國家肯這樣荒時廢業的? 麻將祗是愛閒愛蕩,不珍惜光陰的愚昧民族的專利品'.

胡先生也許言重了些,像打衛生麻將,處理得當,可能是讓麻將脫胎換骨的絕佳机會. 什麼是衛生麻將? 最好先定義,以免誤解和誤用. 衛生麻將必須至少具備下面幾個條件或限制:

1. 打麻將不超過一小時.

2. 不用錢做輸贏的標準,徹底和賭博分家.

3. 麻將牌子應該用好的軟質材料,搓起來絕不發出噪音,扰人安眠.

4. 說'碰'的聲音不得超過 65 db.

5. 對出牌慢的人不能抱怨, 更不得惡言相向.

6. 不能把輸贏看得太厲害,這是 randomness 相當高的 game.

7. 不能像大拜拜一樣,一下子開十桌,大打麻將,搓聲震天,此風不可長.

Item 3 是魯迅先生反對麻將的最大原因,他一生不得安睡,全是鄰居搓麻將噪音所害,故對之深惡痛絕. 我碰到很多打麻將朋友,他/她們一聽到我打麻將不算錢時,馬上興趣全失,奪門而出. 賭博心態,昭然若揭. 最近聽說有人提出 '申請麻將為世界文明稀有遺產'. 這些人必須記住麻將還不會絕種,有這種遺產想法,實在不合邏輯. 最後有一個問題,值得我們深思. 如上所述,麻將門檻不高,故吸引中下層人士. 又因其 Randomness 成分很高,故 IQ 極低人士亦有贏的机會. 如是一般,老少咸宜,皆大歡喜. 但玄的是為什麼高 IQ 智識份子也樂此不彼,耽於此低挑戰性的遊戲 (low challenging game)?

Life, Random Event?

We sometime hear people say with strong will and perseverance, they achieve great feat and success. Yet there are a lot of events people just can't control and very often they don't expect or see they are coming. There are so many uncertainties in our life that make us wonder whether we can direct or control our life. The very first thing our existence in this world is a miracle and we just don't know how we hit it. It is a probability of 1 out of 100 million (sperms) that you got conceived by that particular sperm which represents you. In fact, we exist because we hit the jackpot. Ironically, after you hit this one, you probably will not hit another jackpot from lotto in your entire life. Think harder, the human activities depend on the environment and human interactions and these in turn depend on some historical event as all events may affect each particular event directly or indirectly. For instance, if 淝水之戰 didn't happen or the outcome was different, we might not exist at all as we might have another set of ancestors and you no longer are you, you might be someone else.

Since we hit the jackpot and exist, how about our spouse? Are we sure he/she is the one we destine to have? For many of us, if we didn't attend the particular university, we certainly would have married someone else. Human encounters are very random, 近水樓台先得月, 一見鍾情. If you never get the chance to see the person, it is highly possible you will never marry the person. Also you can't control which university you will get the admission. Trace a little bit further, you couldn't control which school/department to get in when you took 聯考. Does this mean that your career is also a result of some random event? If we carry this logic link by link, we reach the conclusion that our life is just a chain of random events. Of course we can control something minor such as whether to eat steak or fish for lunch. But something so major like our existence, our marriage, our career, depend on something so random. Aren't we surprised and feel scared? No wonder people pray when they don't know what to do or when they are out of control.

I remember an English lesson we learned in the first year of our high school. The story goes like this. A boy took a trip to nearby city on one hot summer day. While he reached midway and had to transfer to another bus, he found he got 1 hour time to kill. As the day was hot, he walked to a shady place, cool and nice square with a spring fountain and trees. He fell asleep. Meanwhile, something happened around him and random things cooked up. An old couple passed by thinking about inheriting him, a nice young women walked near him and adored him, a pair of bad guys tried to rob him but got scared by a mad dog nearby, etc, etc, etc. One hour almost passed and the boy waked up and hopped up the bus to continue the journey. But he has no idea what happened around him in that one hour, let alone to guess what would have happened if he waked up at the right time. In other words, his life may be a complete different one depending on when he wake up. The interesting thing is that he just has no idea what happen around him during that fateful one hour. Is Life really a chain of random events?

Poem, Music & Language

On Wings of Song

When in the course of our education, we were profoundly influenced by some books or music which etched and imprinted in our mind. They become part of us as we grow up. It is easy to communicate among people about a book and its influence. But it is harder to do the same for music. Language is a basic skill in education and our society. Music is not as it is not a prerequisite to enter a college. Yet music is so popular in our society, be it classical or non-classical music. Everybody sings and everybody listens to music. But if we want to dig in a little bit more, we usually encounter some difficulty. We used to have music books which can't sing for us and so it is hard to convey or describe the meaning or feeling of the music. When time goes by and technology advances, we gradually made some improvement in discussing music among people. First, movie and TV gives us a tool that combines music (audio) with video. If the lyrics is shown with the video while music is playing, people can follow the music easily. However, in most cases the lyrics is not provided on the video, people tend to get lost while music is in progress. With the advent of Internet, it ushers in a new breed of tools and some website like YouTube which behaves like a public library of music with video time line. Although this is some kind of evolution of the technology, it exerts a great influence to the way we listen to music and the way we appreciate music. Here is a good example that I'd like put it in practice. In the blog "Palo Alto Rock" (July, 2013), I provided the links of the music and its lyrics (German, English, Mandarin). If we open two windows on the laptop computer, one is the music on YouTube and the other is the Excel file of the lyrics with time line data. Now we can listen to the music in sync with the lyrics even without the lyrics shown on the video. It is a living music book, a big improvement over the good old silent music book.

Music: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc4QC35LfhU

Lyrics with time line data

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3Kwp81ksqfMaVBJbXVFQXo3dFk/edit?usp=sharing

In this example, the music is 'Auf Flügeln des Gesanges' ('On Wings of Song') by Mendelssohn. The lyrics is German accompanied with translation in English and Mandarin. In Excel the lyrics is listed in three columns with the text of lyrics in one-to-one correspondence. The original music was composed in German (Heine's poem). We can see the text is arranged in pair with rhyme just like traditional Chinese poem. For instance, Gesanges/Ganges, fort/Ort, Garten/erwarten, Oondenschein/Schwesterlein, kosen/Rosen, empor/Ohr, lauschen/rauschen/, Gazelin/Well'n, niedersinken/trinken, Palmenbaum/Traum are all paired in rhyme. It is the same for the text of English translation. Here we can see the similarity between German and English. As to the Mandarin translation, it is not in rhyme. Instead it is a direct translation of meaning of the poem with lucid and fluent Mandarin style without taking in consideration of rhyme. It is just as romantic, artistic and beautiful as the German and English poem. Here we can appreciate the nuance and shade of different language in conveying the same message. 

In Excel file, the C column is the music time line. The repeated German text is shown with * and listed in the Time Line as such. In the last line of the text, 'Und traumen seligen Traum' is repeated once and 'seligen Traum' is repeated one more time to end the song. 

PS: It is easier to access the blog twice with a browser (Google Chrome or AOL browser). With two windows on the screen (by click & drag the window tab outside of the browser), you can access the music (YouTube) in one window and then access the lyrics in other window. You can then arrange two windows in the screen to fit your taste and convenience. While you play the music, you can cross reference the lyric time line with the time line of the video. This is easy to do for most laptop computer. It may not be feasible for mobile device such as iPhone or iTouch.