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Comment by 用心涼Coooool on September 5, 2021 at 10:15pm

The Violet and the Bee

Violet was a violet and the sun was warm,

Bee was a bee far away from his swarm,

Flying so slow and so utterly lazy,

Trembling Violet got with joy a bit crazy,

In for a flirt, her color could show it,

Her perfume, the spring air would blow it.

“My dear, my bee, my honey, come near,

I need your sweet kisses, I’m waiting here.”

She said it out loud, it was foolish, however

The bee just flew off, as if an endeavor

She wasn’t worth, and he spoke in the tone

Of a slug in the sand or a snail on a stone:

“I’m here to work, honey, on honey you know,

Tonight two legs full of pollen I owe.”

How chastely Violet smiled, smiled encore,

Her odors invested the air even more.

“I know you young guys, you act the same.

Your heart is dry, and worried your brain,

Cold like crude iron, but the fault is not you.

You need tender warm cuddles, wet ones too.

Come closer, my lovely and lively bee,

Do what you want, but do it to me.

Fly over me, beauty, you don’t want to miss

An occasion to practice on me a deep kiss.”

When thus she spoke, her petals spoke too,

Followed by tears that trickled down, blue.

But Bee was as cold as a bee can be,

Keen, to his queen, on responsibility.

His job was his life, who wants to lose that?

Not for a kiss, not even with Violet.

“Goodbye girl, he said, time is running,

Work waits for me, cut short your cunning.”

Violet heard this and she did her best

To cut short her smile, but not her quest.

More like a prayer sounded her voice

When she offered Bee a last choice.

“Don’t run away, I might have what you need,

Honey for you, slow down! Or rather speed!

Speed up and put your mouth in mine,

Deep in there you will find my wine.”

“Sorry for now Violet! If you don’t mind,

I’m after flowers of another kind,

Old fashioned and useful, not sweet

Like you, but bitter barley and brown buckwheat.”

Such was the humble bee’s mumbling, before

He took off to blue heaven’s shore.

Violet was alone and she calmed down

Bowing her face, not showing her frown,

When she wondered how there could be

A bee unwilling to be with her to bee.

But wondering she smiled and smelt even more,

Telling the world what her beauty was for.

Xu Yunuo, April 5, 1922

Translation by Jan Laurens Siesling, February 6, 2017

Comment by 用心涼Coooool on September 3, 2021 at 5:07pm

徐玉諾的兩首詩 ·關於翻譯的註解

1922年4月5日，徐玉諾寫了兩首春天的詩。幾乎一個世紀以後，在春天，我打算把它們譯成英語。更確切些，我還是用“改寫”， 而不是“翻譯”這個詞吧。當音樂家為了另一種樂器去改寫一首樂曲時，他們用這個詞。我的版本的這兩首徐玉諾的詩不是字面的翻譯；有人可能認為它們不夠字面。但我相信它們是忠實於原作的。雖然犧牲了一些字面的東西，我相信我的改寫能夠保持原詩的精神。我相信一首詩的本質是它的精神。

詩的精神有多少是在純粹的字母和詞語裏？這是所有翻譯面對的問題，一個令譯者頭痛的問題。有人會認為它在詞語裏，就是這樣。我想提議說它是在詞語之間，詩行之間。在中文（到西方語言）的翻譯中，這個問題是刻不容緩的。為什麽呢？翻譯詩歌的真正和最終的理由是傳達詩的詩意質量（或本質）。如果我，一個歐洲人，自詡能夠捕捉到中國詩歌的詩意本質，那麽我是自命不凡。不過我讀詩的目的正是要捕捉詩意的本質; 這也是我翻譯的目的，途中自然經歷更多的障礙。

然而，我對詩意質量的理解是由我本土的語言或者我非常熟悉的語言決定的。我上邊提到的詩意質量和精神可能是親密的表兄弟。我覺得精神居於詞語之間。所以我用代表詩意質量的我自己的語言，去填了外語詩的詞語之間的空隙。我忍不住這麽做，這是我的性格的部分。但我認為只有這種方式，我能夠用新語言（我的語言）服務詩的讀者。如果我做得好，我甚至希望服務那首詩，和用原本的語言讀詩的人。讓我們現在去看看激發了這些想法的那兩首詩的改寫。

徐玉諾是一位20世紀初的革命的作家。作為一個天真的詩人，中國的Douanier Rousseau （愛懇編註：亨利·盧梭（Henri Julien Félix Rousseau），他略去長期以來主導中國詩歌的嚴格的結構規則。他交流著純粹的靈感，以自發的形式表現它，給人留下自由的印象。為了實現這一點，他的作品中引入了一些（浪漫）西方詩學的典型元素。在他們中間有敘述，簡單的每一天的詞匯，音樂性的語言和象征手法。（有趣的是，在同一時期，著名的西方作家們在他們的作品中，也在自由的旗幟下，引入了中國詩意質量的概念，或者他們認為是詩意質量的概念。）

當我發現寫於1922年的這兩首春天的詩，那些元素作為詩的主要特征觸擊到我。為了做到有趣和忠實的改寫我強調了這些特征，並在這裏或那裏發展了它們。我因此選擇了一個英語節奏韻律，不求學術嚴謹地使用他們，卻是連貫地，詩句更像是1922年的英國風格。我想要它是愉快的，不失天真的幽默或者語言的奇異（所以英國的！）。抓住它的坦率的情緒是必須的，還有它潛在的象征。這麽做，有時遺憾我失去了一些中國形式的橢圓特質。但正是在這個代價下，為英語讀者我保存了居於這兩首詩中的喜悅，這喜悅就是詩的靈魂。這個喜悅不僅慶祝春天的到來，還慶祝新詩時代的黎明，之外，一個新社會的黎明。（楊.勞倫斯.西思翎 / 2017年2月6日）

Comment by 用心涼Coooool on September 3, 2021 at 3:56pm

Note on this translation—On April 5th, 1922, Xu Yunuo wrote two poems about spring. Almost one century later, in spring, I propose a translation in English. Should I, instead of translation, more correctly use the word transcription?

Musicians use it when they arrange a piece for a different instrument than it was originally written for. My versions of the two Xu Yunuo poems are not literal translations; some may think they are not sufficiently literal. But I believe they are true to the original. I believe my arrangement was able to maintain the spirit of the poems, while sacrificing to the letter. I believe the essence of a poem is its spirit.

How much of the spirit of a poem is in the mere letters and words? This is a problem with all translations, and a headache for translators. Some would argue it is in the words, period. I would suggest it is between the words, between the lines. In translations from the Chinese (into Western languages) the question is pressing. This is why: The true and ultimate justification for translating poetry is to transmit the poetic quality (or essence) of a poem. I would be pretentious if I, a European, boasted I am able to capture the poetic essence of Chinese poetry. Still the goal of my reading poetry is exactly that. Also, with more obstacles in the way, it is the goal of my translating. My understanding of poetic quality, however, is determined by the language I am born in, or by the ones I am very familiar with. Poetic quality and the spirit, I mentioned above, are probably close cousins. The spirit, I supposed, dwells between the words. And so I fill the space between the words of the foreign language poem with what goes for poetic quality in my own language. I can’t help doing it; it is part of my chemistry. But I think it is only in this way I can serve readers of the poem in its new language (my language). If I do well, I may even hope to do a service to the poem, and to whoever reads it in its original language. Let me move now to the transcription of the two poems that provoked these thoughts.

Xu Yunuo is a revolutionary writer of the early 20th century. Presented as a naive poet, a Douanier Rousseau of China, he ignores the strict rules of structure that had dominated Chinese verse since long. He communicates pure inspiration and delivers it in a spontaneous form, leaving an impression of liberation. To achieve this, he introduced a few typical elements of (Romantic) Western poetics into his writing. Between them are narration, simple and every day vocabulary, melodious language and symbolism. (It is interesting to see that in the same period prominent Western writers introduced Chinese notions of poetic quality, or what they thought it was, in their work, also under the banner of liberation.) Those elements were the principle features that struck me, when I discovered the two spring poems of 1922. To make an interesting and faithful transcription I stressed these features, and developed them here or there. I chose therefore an English rhythm, meter and rhyme, using them without academic rigor, but consistently, as verse would have been in England in 1922. I wanted it to be pleasant, not deprived of naive humor or even linguistic oddities (so English!). To catch its candid mood was a must, as well as its latent symbolism. In so doing I lost some of the elliptical qualities of the Chinese form, sometimes with regret. But it was at that price that I saved for the English reader the joy that inhabits the poems, as their soul. This joy celebrates not only the coming of spring, but the dawn of a new poetic era, and beyond that the dawn of a new society. （JLS，February 6, 2017）

Comment by 用心涼Coooool on June 20, 2021 at 4:34pm

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894)

A Prayer for Travellers

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

The rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Comment by 用心涼Coooool on June 19, 2021 at 3:47pm

Thomas Hardy (1840–1928)

Freedom 

Give me the long, straight road before me, 

A clear, cold day with a nipping air, 

Tall, bare trees to run on beside me, 

A heart that is light and free from care. 

Then let me go! – I care not whither 

My feet may lead, for my spirit shall be 

Free as the brook that flows to the river, 

Free as the river that flows to the sea. 

Comment by 用心涼Coooool on June 13, 2021 at 3:02pm

NINOI KILING·Industry 4.0 vs creative sector: Disruptive or constructive?

A woman makes batik. The creative sector is set to significantly contribute to the national economy.  (Shutterstock / Khairul Effendi)

The term “4.0” has become widely used in the past few years. From government 4.0 to tourism 4.0, this suffix seems to be something that must be attached to every concept and movement to welcome the era of Industry 4.0. But is it used appropriately, or is it actually keeping Indonesia from benefiting even further from unexplored economic potential?

Generally, technology or industry aims to increase productivity and reduce the use of human resources, disrupting previous technology providing business opportunities. Through this process start-ups evolve and create solutions to tackle inefficient business problems.

The creative economy is a reaction to the increasing demands for lifestyle and entertainment products. This demands leads to further demand for content, which in their creation and production are deeply related to creative industry. However, traditional creative industry alone is not enough to face the challenge, one also has to understand how the expertise of the business and the business model can be implemented to create a more valuable and creative product.

In countries such as Japan, Korea and China, the creative economy is the spearhead of their economic growth. The governments have encouraged many strategies and policies to keep their creative industries developed as soft power or cultural diplomacy, and as the creation of new economic power chains.

In 1974 there occurred an event in Indonesia known as Malapetaka Limabelas Januari (January 15 Havoc) or Malari. At the time, then president Soeharto and several ministers were welcoming Japan's then prime minister Tanaka Kakuei. Students held large-scale demonstrations against foreign capital, especially Japanese, and burned Japanese manufactured goods at several points in the capital. They insisted that they did not want Indonesia to be economically colonized again. In an article written by Husain Abdulsalam entitled “Malari 1974: Protes Mahasiswa yang Ditunggangi Para Jenderal” (Malari 1974: Student Protests Ridden by Generals, 2018), the incident is considered to be "the first major protest after the New Order came to power".

Comment by 用心涼Coooool on June 12, 2021 at 10:55am

Twenty-four years later, Indonesia's youth gathered at Jakarta's Blok M Square to celebrate Japanese cultural day echinnisai and many even wore traditional Japanese clothing. Japanese cuisine is now also commonplace in the capital, from the very affordable that can be found in roadside stalls to that sold in upmarket shopping malls. Entertainment content originating from Japan, such as Tamagochi, Pokemon, Doraemon and Sailormoon have their own place in the hearts of the Indonesian public. The boost has occurred not only with culture-based products, but other Japanese mass-produced products. According to data from the Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries (Gaikindo), Japanese cars overwhelmingly dominated the car sales market in Indonesia in 2017.

Japan started and began to intensify its cultural diplomacy strategy after its defeat in the Second World War. The country was aware that it was important to change its image and improve the nation’s branding in more subtle ways. This creative economic strategy introduced Japanese creative products in Indonesia in the early 80s, namely games (Nintendo) and television shows (Oshin). The national strategy called Cool Japan was designed to increase exports of intellectual property (IP) or cultural content based on manga (pictorial stories or comics), anime (animation), drama, movies, novels, games and toys.

The creative economy involves creative processes and creative products that are loaded with cultural values and using them to influence others. The creative economy now involves political and economic values. At this stage, the creative economy focuses on two main things: the creation of soft power, or what is commonly called the power of cultural diplomacy, and the export of creative content or the export of cultural content.

Korea also has its own cultural strategy. In 1994 then president Young-sam Kim gave support and subsidies for local content production. At the time, Hollywood dominated 80 percent of the Korean market, while the local film industry market share dropped to 15.9 percent. Moreover, Kim was also forced to review the total revenue of Hollywood’s film Jurassic Park, which exceeded the revenue of Hyundai automobiles at more than US$1.5 billion. The Korean Ministry of Culture then initiated a cultural industry bureau to manage the cultural sector, which also led and encouraged investors to extend into film and other media.

In the following years, the Korean creative sector showed significant progress. In 1996, Korean mythology-based game Nexus was launched and in 1998 it reached the beta phase in the US. In 1999, Korea's first big-budget film, Shiri, earned $11 million in revenue and surpassed Hollywood's Titanic. In the same year, Korean boy band H.O.T. became the first group to perform abroad in a sold-out concert held in Beijing. This is how the Koreans implemented their cultural strategy, which is also known as Hallyu or the Korean wave.

In the case of Indonesia's Industry 4.0, the use of start-ups and creative economy terminology are commonly misused interchangeably, whereas the two have very distinct natures in terms of basic concepts, business model and even purpose.

Comment by 用心涼Coooool on June 12, 2021 at 10:27am

Industry 4.0, which is reflected in start-ups, intends to solve a problem by creating the solution. The most common questions that start-ups try to answer are what is a problem that it can solve and what kind of solution can a start-up provide? However, the solution offered usually disrupts an inefficient business process and this changes the way businessmen do their business.

Within the creative economy, when an IP creator wants to produce a comic, film, piece of music or game, he or she will not encounter such questions, as the main drive for the industry is not production efficiency but the quality of the content. However, the actual challenge that the creative sector must face is everything related to the balance of trade: how much the creative sector’s exports are worth compared with their imports.

In Indonesia, spinning tops are handmade crafts. They are regarded as traditional toys, selling for no more than Rp 20,000 (less than US$1.50). However, by empowering its creative industry, Japan succeeded in creating comics, animation and toys revolving around spinning tops, so much that they are worth a thousand times more than traditional Indonesian tops.

In 2013, Pokémon’s IP collected revenue from Japan fashion and merchandise of more than $890 million. This IP alone produced more than US$21 billion, making the IP the highest-grossing media franchise. The creative sector’s role in the national economy is considered highly important, since the economic value chain formed by the industry will disrupt but enhance other sectors of the creative economy. This is the power of the creative economy, every sector is able to support and empower each other.

Unfortunately, in Indonesia the ambiguity between Industry 4.0 and the creative economy means the latter is seen and viewed in the same context as Industry 4.0, both by the public and even policymakers. This weakens the creative economy even further and puts it at a disadvantage.

Whereas, if we look to other countries as Japan, Korea and China, where they treat their creative sectors with the right understanding and mindset, Indonesia may, too, be able to make the creative economy a featured national program, creating new economic power that can be beneficial for Indonesia. (dev/wng)

The writer is a game designer in a local game developer located in Jakarta.

（Jakarta/Tue, October 1, 2019/07:29 pm/Source：https://www.thejakartapost.com）

Comment by 用心涼Coooool on May 31, 2021 at 3:23pm

Pioneering Psychologist Jerome Bruner
on How to Master the Art of “Effective Surprise”

 

An act that produces effective surprise [is] the hallmark of the creative enterprise. 

It is essential, here to distinguish between creativity and originality. In a sentiment that brings to mind Twain’s famous assertion that plagiarism is the seed of creative work, Alexander Graham Bell’s conviction that “our most original compositions are composed exclusively of expressions derived from others,” and Henry Miller’s poetic debunking of the originality illusion, Bruner cautions:

 

The road to banality is paved with creative intentions. Surprise is not easily defined. It is the unexpected that strikes one with wonder or astonishment. What is curious about effective surprise is that it need not be rare or infrequent or bizarre and is often none of these things. Effective surprises … seem rather to have the quality of obviousness about them when they occur, producing a shock of recognition following which there is no longer astonishment. 

He goes on to outline three kinds of effectiveness in surprise.

 

Predictive effectiveness is “the kind of surprise that yields high predictive value in its wake” — for instance, as in the most elegant formulae of mathematics and physics, which hold that whenever certain conditions are present, a specific outcome is guaranteed to be produced. (All of these 17 equations that changed the world are excellent examples.) Predictive effectiveness doesn’t always come through surprise — it’s often “the slow accretion of knowledge and urge.” And yet, Bruner argues, “the surprise may only come when we look back and see whence we have come” — the very thing Steve Jobs described in his autobiographical account of his own creative journey, in noting that “you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.” 

Bruner’s second form is formal effectiveness, the kind most frequently encountered in mathematics and logic, and occasionally music. He cites French polymath Henri Poincaré’s famous account of how creativity works, which holds that “sudden illumination” — the mythic Eureka! moment — is the unconscious combinatorial process that reveals “the unsuspected kinship between … facts, long known, but wrongly believed to be strangers to one another.” （see column below）

Comment by 用心涼Coooool on May 30, 2021 at 11:05pm

Pioneering Psychologist Jerome Bruner on Metaphorical Effectiveness

The third, Bruner notes, is the hardest to describe. Metaphorical effectiveness is also manifested by “connecting domains of experience that were before apart,” but what distinguishes it from the formal kind is that the mechanisms of connectedness come for the realm of art rather than science and logic — the kind of connectedness that Carl Jung described as “visionary,” in contrast to the merely psychological.

(Metaphorical thinking, after all, is at the developmental root of human imagination.)

While we are wired to make sense of the world via categorization, “metaphoric combination leaps beyond systematic placement, explores connections that before were unsuspected.”

The unifying mechanism for all three, however, remains what Einstein termed “combinatory play.” Bruner writes:

All of the forms of effective surprise grow out of a combinatorial activity — a placing of things in new perspectives. （Source：https://www.brainpickings.org）

                       Art by Julia Rothman from ‘Overcoming Creative Block.’ Click here for more.

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