Wednesday, February 15, 2006
YOU PLANT MELON, YOU REAP MELON
"A long time ago, there lived a child called Ling-ling who was a good artist. After her mother's death, her father's favourite concubine began to maltreat her by showing preference towards her own children. Ling-ling had no one to play with and spent her time painting. Her pictures became famous and were sold for many taels of silver. Her stepmother now grew jealous. One night, she crept up to Ling-ling's bed and stuck a dirty nail into the child's hand, spreading faeces on the nail to cause an infection.
" In few days, Ling-ling's hand became red and swollen. though the nail was removed, pus poured from the wound. However, Ling-ling continued to paint."
"Now, strange thing happened. The wound never healed, but Ling-ling's paintings became better and better. The more pus exuded, the greater beauty of her work. In the whole of China, there was nothing like it. The pain in her hand seemed to imbue Ling-ling with an essence of invincibility, enabling her to zhan er bi sheng, dou er bi ke ( prevail in every battle, overcome each diversity)
"The emperor himself heard of Ling-ling's masterpiece. She was summoned to the palace to paint the potrait of the crown prince. They fell in love and married. However, despite the administration of innumerable poultices prescribed by the best doctors in China, Ling-ling's woundwould not heal. She continued to paint superbly until her death at a ripe old age"...
**Quoting from Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah: The true story of Unwanted Chinese Daughter***this is my favourite novel, i'm gripping this book from beginning till the end***
posted by ayu at 2/15/2006, | 
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