\nI\u2019m so glad you start\u00aded a book club! The Red Mud Read\u00ading Club is built on this very desire: to share the joy of read\u00ading with like-mind\u00aded friends and encour\u00adage each oth\u00ader. As the increas\u00ading\u00adly advanced dig\u00adi\u00adtal world makes face-to-face con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtion increas\u00ading\u00adly rare, these kinds of inter\u00adac\u00adtions become even more valu\u00adable.
\n
\n
\nThe study ses\u00adsions were a real moti\u00adva\u00adtor for both the inspec\u00adtor and me, forc\u00ading us to con\u00adtin\u00adue dili\u00adgent\u00adly study\u00ading. How\u00adev\u00ader, for two months, when we found our\u00adselves fac\u00ading five study ses\u00adsions simul\u00adta\u00adne\u00adous\u00adly (there were also sev\u00ader\u00adal teacher study ses\u00adsions in Hefei), we felt a bit over\u00adwhelmed. For\u00adtu\u00adnate\u00adly, we made it through this year, so we\u2019ll need to re-plan for next year.
\n
\n
\nSpeak\u00ading of recit\u00ading ancient poems, it may be my biggest gain from the study ses\u00adsion this year. In fact, I read books on the rhythm of poet\u00adry a long time ago, and I col\u00adlect\u00aded a lot of them with\u00adout real\u00adiz\u00ading it. How\u00adev\u00ader, I couldn\u2019t under\u00adstand them at all before. Some\u00adtimes I felt that I had a basic under\u00adstand\u00ading of the con\u00adcepts, but after read\u00ading a few poems, I was still com\u00adplete\u00adly con\u00adfused. I only now real\u00adized that most Tang poems are not cor\u00adrect\u00adly read when read direct\u00adly in Man\u00addarin. If you only use some con\u00adcepts to read, you won\u2019t be able to under\u00adstand them at all. Now I look back and see that most of the var\u00adi\u00adous things on the mar\u00adket that teach chil\u00addren to recite and mem\u00ado\u00adrize ancient poems can be clas\u00adsi\u00adfied as harm\u00adful. Even if they are done very seri\u00adous\u00adly and well, they only lead peo\u00adple down a detour that looks very refined but los\u00ades the inner spir\u00adit, and most of them can\u2019t get back on track. Any\u00adway, I almost couldn\u2019t get back on track ^_^
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\n
\nIn the ortho\u00addox aca\u00add\u00ade\u00adm\u00adic world (still dom\u00adi\u00adnat\u00aded by men), Ms. Ye Jiay\u00ading isn\u2019t exact\u00adly a par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly revered fig\u00adure with\u00adin the aca\u00add\u00ade\u00adm\u00adic com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty, but she cer\u00adtain\u00adly has been my great\u00adest inspi\u00adra\u00adtion. Her most spe\u00adcial qual\u00adi\u00adty, I think, is her abil\u00adi\u00adty to nar\u00adrate and recite poet\u00adry with such nat\u00adu\u00adral\u00adness and calm\u00adness that you\u2019re moved just by lis\u00adten\u00ading to her recite. I don\u2019t know why so many schol\u00adars delve deeply into clas\u00adsi\u00adcal poet\u00adry, pro\u00adduc\u00ading works that are incom\u00adpre\u00adhen\u00adsi\u00adble with\u00adout pro\u00adfound schol\u00adar\u00adship, yet can\u2019t recite them so nat\u00adu\u00adral\u00adly that even the aver\u00adage per\u00adson can be moved? After half a life\u00adtime of study\u00ading, I real\u00adize that read\u00ading clas\u00adsi\u00adcal poet\u00adry was essen\u00adtial\u00adly like \u201cwatch\u00ading a silent film.\u201d Look\u00ading back, I real\u00adize I wast\u00aded so many years.
\n
\n
\nI stum\u00adbled upon the audio of \u201cMak\u00ading Friends with Ancient Poet\u00adry\u201d while doing my study ses\u00adsion. I was\u00adn\u2019t impressed at first, and even felt a bit skep\u00adti\u00adcal. But because of my fond\u00adness for Pro\u00adfes\u00adsor Ye, I patient\u00adly lis\u00adtened to it once, twice, and by the third time, I felt a sud\u00adden enlight\u00aden\u00adment. I could\u00adn\u2019t help but recite a few lines before going to bed and upon wak\u00ading. One day, Xiaoy\u00adin\u2019s moth\u00ader said, \u201cWhy do you recite poet\u00adry so much like Ye Jiay\u00ading now?\u201d I just\u2026
\n\u201cOh!\u201d I final\u00adly woke up, and unknow\u00ading\u00adly, I\u2019d entered the \u201cweird\u201d cat\u00ade\u00adgo\u00adry. Then, I went back to read books on meter (main\u00adly those on mod\u00adern poet\u00adry), and I real\u00adized the prin\u00adci\u00adples were actu\u00adal\u00adly quite sim\u00adple, essen\u00adtial\u00adly a sum\u00adma\u00adry of expe\u00adri\u00adence. The rea\u00adson I felt com\u00adplete\u00adly incom\u00adpre\u00adhen\u00adsi\u00adble before was sim\u00adply because I had no expe\u00adri\u00adence!
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\n
\nOf course, if you tru\u00adly want to recite Tang poet\u00adry, \u201cMak\u00ading Friends with Ancient Poet\u00adry\u201d alone is far from enough. But it\u2019s a very good intro\u00adduc\u00adtion, a way to gain direct expe\u00adri\u00adence. Read\u00ading poet\u00adry requires direct expe\u00adri\u00adence; any sec\u00adond\u00adhand expe\u00adri\u00adence is alien\u00adat\u00ading and inef\u00adfi\u00adcient. I lat\u00ader looked for oth\u00ader ancient poet\u00adry recita\u00adtion books on the mar\u00adket, some for adults and some for chil\u00addren. While they\u2019re fine for appre\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtion, they all suf\u00adfer from a seri\u00adous prob\u00adlem of sequence when it comes to learn\u00ading. They\u2019re not as good as Pro\u00adfes\u00adsor Ye Jiay\u00ading\u2019s direct teach\u00ading method.
\n
\n
\nLet me put it blunt\u00adly. For exam\u00adple, if we want to teach chil\u00addren to chant, we first need to teach them to chant in the lan\u00adguage they are most famil\u00adiar with and most pro\u00adfi\u00adcient in. In most cas\u00ades, this should be done in Man\u00addarin, but if a dialect is appro\u00adpri\u00adate, that\u2019s also accept\u00adable. I think the best dialects are prob\u00ada\u00adbly Wu or Can\u00adtonese. The biggest chal\u00adlenge with chant\u00adi\u00adng in Man\u00addarin is with enter\u00ading tone char\u00adac\u00adters. Ms. Ye repeat\u00aded\u00adly men\u00adtioned that she uses a short fourth tone pro\u00adnun\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtion to replace them, such as the \u201cjie\u201d in \u201c\u6bcf\u9022\u4f73\u7bc0\u500d\u601d\u4eb2\u201d (every fes\u00adti\u00adval feels a bit like miss\u00ading some\u00adone) and the \u201ccha\u201d in \u201c\u904d\u63d2\u6731\u7389\u5c11\u4e00\u751f\u201d (every fes\u00adti\u00adval feels a bit like miss\u00ading some\u00adone). While this may sound strange, it\u2019s a nec\u00ades\u00adsary pro\u00adnun\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtion and dif\u00adfi\u00adcult for young chil\u00addren to grasp. The eas\u00adi\u00adest way is to let them learn nat\u00adu\u00adral\u00adly by fol\u00adlow\u00ading along. These pas\u00adsages sound very nat\u00adur\u00adal in an appro\u00adpri\u00adate dialect, so using Wu or Can\u00adtonese as a sup\u00adple\u00adment would be very con\u00adve\u00adnient.
\n
\n
\nOnce one reach\u00ades a cer\u00adtain lev\u00adel of pro\u00adfi\u00adcien\u00adcy in chant\u00adi\u00adng using the above method, one will nat\u00adu\u00adral\u00adly find a tune to hum, and this is chant\u00adi\u00adng. The tune of this chant\u00adi\u00adng is entire\u00adly based on per\u00adson\u00adal con\u00adve\u00adnience and pref\u00ader\u00adence. There is not, and should not be, a fixed tune. More\u00adover, the tune of the same poem can vary great\u00adly depend\u00ading on the per\u00adson\u00ad\u2019s under\u00adstand\u00ading and mood at the time. This is per\u00adhaps some\u00adwhat sim\u00adi\u00adlar to black rap music, sax\u00ado\u00adphone music, and the like, which gen\u00ader\u00adal\u00adly have a main tune, but can vary great\u00adly from per\u00adfor\u00admance to per\u00adfor\u00admance. This is pre\u00adcise\u00adly the most beau\u00adti\u00adful part of chant\u00adi\u00adng. Mr. Ye said: South\u00adern\u00aders can use south\u00adern tunes, north\u00adern\u00aders can use north\u00adern tunes, chil\u00addren can use chil\u00addren\u2019s tunes, and the elder\u00adly can use elder\u00adly tunes\u2026excited and moved, danc\u00ading\u2026
\n
\n
\nI think this is the more nat\u00adur\u00adal order. If the order is reversed, regard\u00adless of the child\u2019s age, where they live, or their spo\u00adken lan\u00adguage habits, they are direct\u00adly forced to chant accord\u00ading to a cer\u00adtain ortho\u00addox tune with\u00adout first teach\u00ading them to chant accord\u00ading to the rules of ping and ze\u2014I think this approach may be well-inten\u00adtioned, but it can also be con\u00adsid\u00adered harm\u00adful.
\n
\n
\nTeach\u00ading chil\u00addren to recite ancient poet\u00adry by fol\u00adlow\u00ading the rules of ping and ze is not dif\u00adfi\u00adcult for young chil\u00addren; two or three-year-olds can eas\u00adi\u00adly learn it, though this depends on whether adults can learn along with them. How\u00adev\u00ader, teach\u00ading old\u00ader ele\u00admen\u00adtary school stu\u00addents is much more chal\u00adleng\u00ading. First\u00adly, they have lim\u00adit\u00aded time, and sec\u00adond\u00adly, there\u2019s a rather stub\u00adborn ped\u00ada\u00adgogy in Chi\u00adnese lan\u00adguage class\u00ades. If chil\u00addren tru\u00adly mem\u00ado\u00adrize ancient poet\u00adry by fol\u00adlow\u00ading the rules of ping and ze, they\u2019ll become role mod\u00adels for mis\u00adtakes in the class\u00adroom. This is like\u00adly unac\u00adcept\u00adable to Chi\u00adnese lan\u00adguage teach\u00aders. For exam\u00adple, in \u201cSpring Night Joy\u00adful Rain,\u201d \u201cThe wild paths and clouds are all black, the riv\u00ader boat is alone sleep\u00ading by fire.\u201d If a child were to pro\u00adnounce \u201cju\u201d (ju), \u201chei\u201d (hei) (hei) (hei) (du \u2026
\nSo the child will like\u00adly resist. Only when a child can clear\u00adly dis\u00adtin\u00adguish between \u201chow to read in class\u201d and \u201chow to read\u201d is it pos\u00adsi\u00adble to teach them. There\u00adfore, before teach\u00ading Xiaoyin, I care\u00adful\u00adly test\u00aded her. Only after I found that she could clear\u00adly dis\u00adtin\u00adguish between them did I dare to teach her. My biggest regret now is that when she was two or three years old, she could eas\u00adi\u00adly mem\u00ado\u00adrize over 200 Tang poems, but I did\u00adn\u2019t know how to teach her to recite them. What a pity!
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\n
\nOnly now do I tru\u00adly under\u00adstand that teach\u00ading chil\u00addren to recite ancient poet\u00adry isn\u2019t about mem\u00ado\u00adriz\u00ading it (in fact, most of them will for\u00adget it com\u00adplete\u00adly), but rather about allow\u00ading them to ful\u00adly expe\u00adri\u00adence the beau\u00adty of lan\u00adguage through this song-like recita\u00adtion, uncon\u00adscious\u00adly and deeply moved. There\u00adfore, it is par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly impor\u00adtant to recite the ancient poet\u00adry as close\u00adly as pos\u00adsi\u00adble to its orig\u00adi\u00adnal rhythm.
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\nI\u2019ve been read\u00ading Du Fu\u2019s poems late\u00adly. Because he was known for his empha\u00adsis on rhythm, most of his poems fall into the stan\u00addard \u201csong\u00adbook\u201d genre. Singing those songs often takes me into a world of ecsta\u00adsy (*^__^*)
\n
\nDecem\u00adber 21, 2010, Bei\u00adjing
\n
\n <\/p>\n
\nAttached is an excerpt from the let\u00adter:
\n
\nI\u2019m main\u00adly talk\u00ading about poet\u00adry recita\u00adtion. After I received the book \u201cMak\u00ading Friends with Clas\u00adsi\u00adcal Poet\u00adry\u201d that you lent me, I did\u00adn\u2019t read it to my chil\u00addren. I first read Teacher Ye\u2019s \u201cWords for Chil\u00addren\u201d at the begin\u00adning. I was thrilled and delight\u00aded. I\u2019ve nev\u00ader seen such pro\u00adfound and acces\u00adsi\u00adble writ\u00ading before. I imag\u00adine that if I were to teach ele\u00admen\u00adtary school stu\u00addents just start\u00ading to learn clas\u00adsi\u00adcal poet\u00adry in this way, the effect would be tru\u00adly remark\u00adable. Why did\u00adn\u2019t we have such teach\u00adings when we were young? This pref\u00adace is actu\u00adal\u00adly a great les\u00adson for me. The book you lent me was tru\u00adly a les\u00adson for me, and I ben\u00ade\u00adfit\u00aded great\u00adly from it. Lat\u00ader, I also lis\u00adtened care\u00adful\u00adly to the recita\u00adtions you shared with Teacher Ye, but it was a pity that I did\u00adn\u2019t hear your recita\u00adtion for every\u00adone last time. I\u2019m real\u00adly curi\u00adous about what it would have been like!
\n
\nI real\u00adize it\u2019s Christ\u00admas again, and a year has already passed since last year\u2019s New Year\u2019s theme. How quick\u00adly it went by! I\u2019ve gained so much from my time at Red Mud. The top\u00adics we\u2019ve dis\u00adcussed haven\u2019t just taught me about chil\u00addren\u2019s lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture, but also explored reflec\u00adtions on life and the world. Just as you said at the begin\u00adning, \u201cRead the great book of the world, and the book of your\u00adself, which you can nev\u00ader ful\u00adly fath\u00adom.\u201d This learn\u00ading has giv\u00aden me pause for thought and empow\u00adered me. That inner strength is tru\u00adly mag\u00adi\u00adcal. I\u2019m also tru\u00adly grate\u00adful that you, despite your busy sched\u00adule, have insist\u00aded on accom\u00adpa\u00adny\u00ading me through my stud\u00adies. Just before writ\u00ading this let\u00adter, I real\u00adized that Red Mud has a tru\u00adly diverse selec\u00adtion of book clubs planned for next year! I\u2019ll have to care\u00adful\u00adly choose which ones to choose, haha.
\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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