You've gotta see this!

Straying away from the Chinese proverbs today, I just had to post a link to this very cool mechanical automaton made in China in the 1920s. It has been mislabeled "clockwork" but I don't see any clock associated with it. The piece includes a Chinese magician performing the famous disappearing lady act. Sure, it's easy to figure out how it's done, but the piece is absolutely delightful. It is up for auction, certainly for more than I could ever afford, although I would love to have it. I have no affiliation with the auctioneers and get nothing from posting the link. I just thought that anyone interested in this blog would like to see it. It's been posted on youtube -- I'm not sure for how long, but it is very cool.

I tried to embed the video, but couldn't. So here's the link:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wFI1PNsV5mY

Flow

Happiness and sorrow flow along the same river.

Within

No road to happiness or sorrow --
find them in yourself.

Support

The peony is beautiful

yet it is supported by a stalk.

Persistence

Three feet

of ice --

not frozen

in one day.

Happiness

To be happy for an hour

-- roast a pig.
To be happy for a year

-- take a wife.
To be happy for a lifetime

- plant a garden.

Ripe

When the melon ripens,

it will fall of itself.

Hunting

When the mantis hunts the locust he forgets the shrike* that's hunting him.

*predatory bird

Photo from Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/gogap/422230335/

Darkness

If in the dark he kneels to pray,
he really prays.

Learning

Learning is weightless treasure you always carry easily.

photo:trekearth.com

More than one tree

More than one tree

gave wood

to build this temple.

Memory

The best memory . . .
not so firm as faded ink.

Singing Bird

If I keep a green bough in my heart,

the singing bird will come.