EAWLC Lecture on Tibetan Culture and Life

Lecturer: Mr. Chime Chen, Chinese name Changming, pen name Gutu

Simultaneous English Interpreter: Mr. Yan Dai, pen name Shadow Snake

Time: Thursday May 9, 2019  6:00-8:30 P.M. The first half hour is meal and social time; lecture begins at 6:30 P.M.

Venue: Iroquois Junior Public School, 265 Chartland Blvd., Scarborough (near Finch & Brimley; free parking lot at the west side of the school building).

Cost: Free, including simple meals

Language: Mandarin with simultaneous English interpretation

Please RSVP by Wednesday May 8th at: ericliujt@gmail.com.  Thanks!

Looking forward to seeing you there!

 

Chime is a poet, a journalist, and a comparative religion scholar.  He was born in Ledu, Qinghai, a Tibetan area in China in 1962 to a Han/Tibetan family.  “Home home on the range” not only is lyrics to him, but carries memories of everyday life in his early years.  It means mom’s beautiful songs and fascinating stories.  It means watching dad trying all means to save a lamb when the mother goat refused to feed her baby.  It probably also prompted the birth of a poet since when grazing cattle or goats in pastures, you could get so idle you’d be better off to write poems.  He has won many awards in Chinese poetry festivals and competitions across China, Canada and the US.  At the end of this announcement, thanks to the authors’ authorization, we quoted a couple of poems in both Chinese and English for our readers to appreciate.

Before Chime moved to Canada, he was a senior journalist at Xinhua News Agency, known for his series reports of Tibetan antelopes in the Hoh Xil region to advocate for the protection of the endangered species.  Chime is now the editor of a Buddhist magazine in Toronto.  He also presides the Lakefront Academy, inviting scholars, intellectuals and the public to explore extensive topics in literature, philosophy, history and other cultural aspects with free thoughts and independent human spirits.

At the lecture, Chime will introduce the three major origins of Tibetan culture, the four most important relationships in the history of Tibet which explains its status today, and some of its unique traditions and customs.  He will also talk about his personal experience growing up in the Tibetan area.  Audience are welcome to ask questions of their interest.

Yan will provide simultaneous English interpretation for the audience.  He himself is a poet, with the pen name Shadow Snake.   He immigrated to Canada with parents at a very young age, and graduated from university with a double major in Fine Arts and Computer Science.  Yan works as a Senior Data Analyst for a major Communications Company in Toronto, and devotes much of his after-work time to his love for arts and literature.  He is dedicated to Charity work as well, serving on different charity executive boards for over ten years.  Currently he is the Vice President of Chinese Canadian Heart and Brain Association.  In the field of arts, Yan served as Director of Stage Design for the events of “Original Poetry Recital”, and “Chinese New Year Poetry Performance”.  His poems have been published in many well-known poetry encyclopedia and magazines in China.  He published 3 poetry books, including the latest collection If Only Love.

 

Finally, here are the poems by Chime (Gutu) and Yan (Shadow Snake).  Hope you like them!

Lake Qinghai

Poem by GuTu

Translated by Shadow Snake

A crystal clear teardrop

If hurled bya slingshot

Between the Sun, the Moon and the mountains

What’s been crushed

Would be the old walls of the city

And the hearts of thousands of men within

If evaporated

What remains solely

Would be ninety-five percent suffering

Of war, persecution, death and parting

And five percent sweetness

Of love, pastoral songs

And oath

So

For now

Let it jump and bounce

Like a child

On the net of rivers

Peach Blossom

Poem by Shadow Snake

Each poem is an island,

It is a garden built piece by piece by a poet.

Many years ago,

You dazzled me with a beautiful pink,

To embellish my poetry almost fallen over the brink.

A season together with you,

is like walking through a forest full of wonder,

Like a red dress fluttering, what a poetic encounter.

Each flower is a season of spring,

It’s like a burning flame with a thousand bling.

Once upon a time, I tried to walk into you,

by following your intoxicating cheers.

Only to run into an unexpected thunderstorm,

killing the moonlight with crying tears.

forgetting ourselves in our own beholder,

with a dying grief, you walked on by, brushing against my shoulder.

Why is it, that memory,

Still lingering in the flower pistil from the start

Flowing like water,

Time repeatedly betrayed the secret hidden deep in your heart.

In the past life, were you passionate

from the time beyond the season?

so in this life, with a tempting aroma,

You are still blooming in my poem, with every good reason.

For accessible technology users: Announcement in English ends here.  Below is the Chinese version.

五月是加拿大的亚洲传统月。学东西俱乐部特邀古土与戴岩两位诗人来做客，和我们一起欣赏璀璨的亚洲文化传统。古土先生将讲述自己在藏区成长的生活点滴，介绍藏族文化和传统习俗。戴岩先生将提供即时英文翻译。免费公益活动，欢迎朋友们前来一聚！时间地点请见本文开头。

讲座嘉宾简介：

古土，原名陈畅鸣。詩人，資深媒體人，比較宗教學研究者。青海乐都人。1962年生于一个汉藏结合的家庭。一直在报社、杂志社、出版社、通讯社等部门供职多年，原为新华社主任记者，新闻多次获奖，较有名的有关于可可西里藏羚羊保护的系列稿件，在全国有较大影响。他从高中时代开始写诗，作品迄今多次在中国、加拿大和美国的诗歌节或中文诗歌竞赛中获奖，包括首届首都大学生艺术节创作奖、首届全国新诗大奖赛优秀奖、加拿大「大雅风」国际文学奖诗歌提名奖、美国纽约法拉盛诗歌节二等奖等。现居加拿大多伦多，任佛教杂志编辑，并主持以「独立之精神，自由之思想」為宗旨的湖畔书院，聚邀学者、专家及公众探讨文史哲等文化命题，求索人文新知与真理。

詩人戴岩，笔名蛇影。自幼随父母移民加拿大，是一个学美术，爱文字，却每天和数据打交道的资深数据分析师。2018华人原创诗歌朗诵演唱会舞台总监。长期热心公益，现任加拿大心知脑明基金会副会长。《诗情太平洋》总社长，《彧蛇诗歌情》主编。善写诗歌和抒情散文。作品被收录《中国当代千人诗歌》，《关雎爱情诗》，《当代诗典》等多种著名文学刊物。编辑和出版国内首部接龙诗集《留住春天》，出版个人诗集《如果思念》。

最后，感谢两位诗人的授权，我们有幸摘录两首诗作如下，与大家共赏（英文版的请见上面英文通告最后部分）:

青海湖

作者/古土

一颗晶莹的泪珠

将它用弹弓

从日月之山间

弹射出去

击碎的

将是那座古老的城墙

和城里千万男人的心

蒸发干涸后

它只是百分之九十五的苦难

关于战争、迫害和生离死别

和百分之五的甜蜜

有关爱情、牧歌

和誓言

所以

现在

就让它像个孩童般

蹦跳吧

在河网之上

桃花

作者/蛇影

一首诗，就是一座孤岛

是诗人一字一句垒砌的桃园

多年以前

你曾以璀璨夺目的粉红

点缀我忧郁的诗行

有你的季节

就有满树令人遐思的斑斓

宛若，邂逅了

一个诗意般，裙袂飘飘的红颜

一朵花，就是一季春天

是一束燃烧千姿百媚的火焰

曾经几度

我试图走进你

追随着你醉人的魂魄

可是，一场不期而遇的骤雨

扼杀了枝头流泪的月色

相忘于江湖

你以遍地忧伤的凋零，与我擦肩

为什么，记忆

仍旧在你的花蕊中流连忘返

如水的时光

一再背叛了藏匿于心中的千年

是否，前世的你

逐流自季节之外的多情年华

今生，以诱人的芳香

依然盛开在我，踏满歌声的诗篇