Shan Gao, Shui Chang, Chinese Calligraphy

This calligraphy painting is an unsigned gift to me painted by a friend and teacher when I visited Taiwan circa 1977.  I was fortunate to briefly study this art of calligraphy mostly using heavy dark ink and golden brushes to practice dots and lines across newsprint laid out on large tables.  My love for this calligraphy stems from the ability of a few words to capture the glory of nature "the mountain is high, the river (water) is long...."  The poem is in some way a tribute not just to the grace of the Chinese language but to this island place once called Formosa or beautiful island in Portuguese. I was fortunate to travel with groups of students from the Chinese Culture College climbing across the highest mountain tops, crossing  jewel like green gorges on swing bridges built by the Japanese during the Second World War and even visiting a single redwood tree hidden in the forests like an old giant. We went so far as to travel to remote areas occupied by the indigenous people of Taiwan who then were called simply the Shan Di Ren or mountain people. All of these memories flood back just by the simple reading of this calligraphic script which in black and white captures the spirit of a wondrous landscape moving from bright daylight to evening. There may be many amazing artifacts of this Chinese art of calligraphy but this one is my own personal memento.

Confucius (Kong zi) Postage Stamp Taiwan

Confucius Postage Stamp from Taiwan

This set of cancelled stamps was among a folder of stamped envelopes that I saved after my year living in Taiwan.  Some were from letters sent to me while abroad.  Others like this one were recovered from friends and family who had saved letters that I mailed during my time in Asia.  This particular envelope and stamp shows through the postmark my mountain location at that time in the green landscape of Yang Ming Shan.  It also reminds me of the respect for ancestors associated with the philosopher Confucius.  The cultural symbolism of a respect for elders is comforting to me as I have now matured enough to see the importance of that value.  At times an artifact serves as a tribute to enduring values that cross national and cultural lines.  Such reassuring concepts are sustaining in this modern world.

Mei Hua (plum flower) song and painting

Mei Hua (Plum Blossom)

The photo shows a painting of a plum blossom that was gifted to me during my visit to Taiwan. This plum blossom as painted was meant to resemble me.  The symbolism of this flower is very important in China.  There is a famous song called the Mei Hua Song.  I provide a link to a video featuring the song for a better understanding of its meaning http://en.gloria.tv/?media=101271.  The song is in Chinese in the video but the photos and sets demonstrate the meaning and beauty of the flower. When I was in Taiwan circa 1977 I became friendly with a young African American who had become famous at the time by singing this song on Taiwanese television.  I was pleased as well to receive this gift of my image in the form of the plum flower made so beautiful in this work of art - a wonderful memento of the Chinese spirit as encountered in my travels.

African Mask (Mende ideals of feminine beauty)

African Mask (Mende ideals of feminine beauty)

I was privileged in my early academic career to learn about African ideals of feminine beauty from the late Sylvia Boone a skilled researcher and historian who taught for many years at Yale University.  I learned from her the meaning of yengele that youthful essence that was like the fresh dew drops of the morning on bright green foliage. I understood the delicate and beautiful weaving of hair braids into complex structures and the fact that women in Africa always took care to maintain their hair and smooth skin.  I learned of the thick neck rings symbolizing the power of an individual female and her spirit. Only one year after this academic education in beauty I was fortunate to travel to Africa and to see the beauty of Africa and its people. I also somehow came across a salesmen of African masks which appeared to be of the type actually used in true ceremonies.  I quickly spotted my "Mende" lady a treasure which seemed to have  many of the qualities of beauty that I had learned about from Professor Boone. Here is a link at Yale Press to her book Radiance From the Waters copyright 1990 that describes her studies and teachings http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=9780300048612.

The photo of my African mask speaks for herself - she is both an iconic symbol of a special culture and a memento of my travels circa 1980 on the African continent.

Chinese antique copper handwarmer

Below is a memento from a trip to China circa 1979. It is a small  handwarmer that might have been filled with coal for warmth. While an artifact of Chinese culture it is very much a memento to me.  I was in China and saw coal barges on the rivers and visited some homes that were heated by coal.  It was November. The hand warmer was bought by me from a government store. It celebrated the warmth of the hospitality provided to my travel group by our tour guides as the seasons turned cold in the northern cities.  I imagined the tiny bit of warmth from the hand warmer combined with a warm coat of cotton covered in silk keeping the original owner warm.  It was mailed to me suffering a bit of damage but I still treasure the memory of its purchase.

Collections of the over-fifty crowd. Dinosaur Bones.

Mementos are defined by me as an object to help remember - a souvenir - a memory of a person, a place or thing. We collect mementos as physical symbols sometimes as gifts from friends or family. This blog will be partly about the things we collect as tangible tokens of love, life and living.

Artifacts are defined as objects of culture. What are your symbols of culture - your social existence, your personal artifacts.  I will share a few of my symbols and hope that sometimes you will share as well as we link topics of  culture with artifacts - personal, national and global.