#week 103

[mewpet]

Obligatory winter piece ^w^

They have no Christmas, but during the darkest days of winter they keep lights in coloured glass with the belief it will help protect them from harm~

[roguecanoe]

Week 103 Smoke and Soul

[jhutchmyanchor]

Week 103

Banner was made by the talented @everlarkingjoshifer

Here is week 103, folks. As always, thank you to these amazing authors who provide me with endless amounts of entertainment. You are all amazingly talented!

Readers-please make sure you show these authors some love!If you’d like to check out my previous posts, follow #rachel’s fanfic lists or search the tag on my blog. Happy reading!

Forever My Always - everlarklover1960

The Christmas You Never Knew You Always Wanted - @mtk4fun

Telling Old Hunger Games Tales - @katnissdoesnotfollowback

Not Real - xerxia aka @xerxia31

Taking the Plunge - merciki aka @thegirlfromoverthepond

Twisted - @chele20035

Outside Expectations - @katnissdoesnotfollowback

In Time - @gabzep

The Dark Arrow - alliswell aka @alliswell21

Christmas Spirit - @historywriter2007

Hurry Down the Chimney Tonight - mrsbonniemellark aka @safeinpeetasarms

When You Kiss Me - @chele20035

More Than Meets the Eye - xeverlark4lifex

[sinetheta]

望水试登山 山高湖又阔 相思无晓夕 相望经年月 郁郁山木荣 绵绵野花发 别后无限情 相逢一时说 I gaze down at the lake as I try to climb this mountain And the mountain seems as high as the lake is wide. I miss you in a night that never ends. I think of you through every day I live. So fragrant these blossoms on the mountain trees And the fields of wildflowers go on and on. After we parted, I was overwhelmed. So now I persuade myself that soon we'll meet again.

Sending Red Blossoms ( 寄朱放) by Li Ye ( 李冶). Tang Dynasty.

Li Ye, courtesy name, Li Jilan (李季蘭), was a Tang dynasty poet, courtesan, entertainer and Taoist nun. She was known for her poetic talent as well as her beauty and grace. She was born in Wuxing (Huzhou), Zhejiang Province. She enjoyed writing poetry as a child and her father described her as “exceptionally clever.” Talented in poetry, music and calligraphy, she was well known in literary circles and was associated with famous poets. Much to her father’s predictions, she had a reputation for being an “unchaste” woman. In late-Tang, rebel leader Zhu Ci forced Li to write anti-Tang poetry. She was then condemned to death by Emperor Dezong in 784 after being accused of treason. She is one of the few Tang dynasty female poets whose poetry survived. The Complete Collection of Tang Dynasty Poetry from the Qing Dynasty preserves 18 of her poems.

Sending Red Blossoms was written in the dawn, describing her lonely climb up the mountain. Through fragrant wildflowers and blossoming trees, she bitterly waits for her lover. While the meaning of the poem is ambiguous, some suspect that it may be about yearning for her late husband.

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[hbreathepoetry]

Straddled in Chains

Soaked in Acid weakens my spine

Nauseating parasites withers my soul

A soft whisper of a kiss beneath my jaw line

Hunger is just another fear I need to control

Mindless days sinning in stormy pleasure

A detailed case of melancholy and pessimistic views

Alluring but still I yield to fancy with this treasure

Disgusted with my desires I pan to defuse

Shocked but still not able to choose’

What  heals me, also rots me from within

I need faith, not another bruise

A ludicrous hour to use discipline

Cynical nights with only punishment is secretly a win 

By jesshazel

[sinetheta]

Selected works from Sous Bois series by Wang Yuhsuan (王妤璇). 

Wang Yuhsuan is a Taiwanese illustrator and graphic designer. Currently working in Shanghai, Wang has a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design from Chung Yuan University in Taiwan, as well as a Master’s Degree in Graphic Design and Art Direction from ESAG Penninghen in Paris.

Sous Bois, a French term that refers to a forest floor or undergrowth note, depicts a collection of imaginary forest inhabitants - fantastical, amalgamated creatures with floral and faunal aspects. The illustrations, which are done in pencil, showcase Wang’s distinctive and meticulous sense of style, which can be perceived as a type of softened, or illustrative graphic. Wang’s first personal exhibition in Taiwan (叢生個展) shares a name with the Sous Bois series.

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[sinetheta]

Protruding Patterns by Lin Tianmiao (林天苗). 2017. Installation view at Galerie Lelong & Co., New York. 

Lin Tian Miao (林天苗) is one of the first Chinese contemporary artists who rose to international prominence in the late 20th century.  Although her practice frequently foregrounds female experience and identity, Lin eschews the label of “feminist artist”, as she believes the concept of feminism implies a Western context, which she does not fully associate herself with.

Over the past six years, Lin has collected around 2,000 words and expressions about women in various languages. Pulling from popular novels, newspapers, the internet, and colloquial dialogues, she has gathered phrases such as “divinité,” “Mori girl,” and “leftover women.” Some are predictably derogatory to women, demonstrating the continued ubiquity of sexist attitudes reinforced by language, while others are directly recovered from obsolescence, representing the nuanced mix of confusion, humor, self-deprecation, and empowerment that accompanies the shifting consciousness of women. This lexicon is woven into thickly raised wool forms so that viewers can feel the visceral and literal protruding patterns while touching and walking on the carpets.

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[sinetheta]

Shanghai Nights (夜上海) by Zhou Xuan ( 周璇 ). 1949.

Zhou Xuan (1918-1957), born Su Pu (蘇璞), was a Chinese film and music icon. She became one of China’s Seven Great Singing Stars ( 七大歌星 ) by the 1940s. Nicknamed “Golden Voice,” she was the best known out of the seven. She recorded more than 200 songs and acted in over 40 films in her career. At the age of 13, Zhou took her stage name, Xuan, meaning “beautiful jade” in Chinese. Shanghai Nights is a shidaiqu and the title track of a film with the same name.

Zhou’s career began when she acted for Li Jinhui’s Bright Moon Song and Dance Troupe in 1932. She placed second in a Shanghai singing contest and was nicknamed “Golden Voice” (金嗓子) for her elegant high-pitched technique. In 1935, Zhou made her big screen debut in director Yuan Muzhi’s Street Angel (馬路天使). She also recorded its two theme songs, Four Seasons (四季歌 ) and The Wandering Songstress (天涯歌女 ), which remain widely popular today along with her other famous tunes. She quickly rose to fame and became the most popular singer in the gramophone era until her death, acting and singing the themes to her own movies.

Zhou led a complicated and unhappy life due to her illegitimate children, failed marriages and suicide attempts. She often spent her days in mental institutions due to her frequent mental breakdowns. She passed away at the age of 39 in a mental asylum in Shanghai during the Anti-Rightist Movement. It was concluded that she suffered from cerebritis. Encephalitis after a nervous breakdown may have been the cause of her death.

Follow sinθ magazine for more daily posts about Sino arts and culture.