大音無聲 大象無影 Be loud without making a sound, Be large without a shadow!

Lately, with everything that is happening here, I have been asking myself all sorts of questions, trying to make sense of it all ... but this question keeps floating to the top ...

"why do we become okay with things we won't okay with before?

Whilst trying to wrap my head around this, something popped into my head, I must have been 7 yrs old. We were on a family trip in Guangzhou.

One afternoon during our trip, we ran into a stereotypical Confucius looking old man with a long white beard, wearing those kung fu looking outfits. He had a little hut on the side of the road, selling his calligraphy.

You would provide your name, and the Master would write you a pair of Chinese proverbs, with meanings derive from your name and the feelings he got of you over a cup of tea. My aunt got a couple scrolls written for her and for her company, my mother got one with her maiden name and our family name.

Just before leaving, he pulled me over and started talking to me, I was too young to understand what he was saying, but he went on to write me these 2 phrases ... 大音無聲 大象無影 ... be loud without making a sound, be as large as an elephant without casting any shadow! (rough literal translation)

As I got older, I learnt that it has been adapted to Cantonese. The original proverb was 大音希声，大象无形. This was proposed by an ancient Chinese, Laozi. It was an aesthetic concept in literary theory intended to promote natural & none artificial beauty.

Based on the thoughts of Laozi's book, it can be seen the entire philosophical ideology is to admire nature and to go with it's flow, and the mutual transformation of the two sides of the contradiction.

My mother had hung this in my room for as long as I could remember, and for the longest time, I had no idea what it really meant. But unknowingly, these 2 phrases have affected many of my decisions in life, in my photography and have been the back bones to how friends were, and are still made along the way.

Whilst the meaning I took from these proverbs might be different to how it was intended. My understanding was much simpler, replace your words with your actions, it speaks much louder than words. Do not do for recognition, but do work that's worthy of it. These actions will make a much bigger impact to the once who are trying to listen.

One day, in Shanghai, I noticed this guy at the park ... writing calligraphy on the ground with water, he was writing in many different ancient Chinese scripts ... it was oddly satisfying to watch, the stillness within him and the quiet contentment he embodied was instantly contagious.

I watched him for over 2 hours. He would write and write in one script style, some passages spending the width of 5 meters. By the time he finished, the start of his stories were already disappearing.

He would take a rest, sat and watched, as the water disappeared off his canvas, his words slowly evaporated into thin air. When the canvas became blank again, he would get up and write again, every time in a different script!

I just couldn't resist anymore, and needed to speak with him, I wanted to find out what he was thinking. After taking some shots, I finally spoke with him ... I wanted to know why he did what he does ...

and he said ...

"What is more beautiful than being able to write freely without a care, share his mind to a moment in time ... with the people in that same moment ... all without having to speak a word. It doesn't matter if they agreed or not, my words will disappear and no one else will know what I have written".

His words are certainly ringing very loud in my head these days ...

I am just glad, I got to run into these two men, at two very different stages in my life. They taught me the same stories, but in their own very different ways. And they have both affected me in ways they will never ever know.

looking back, both these men came into my life at the exact moments that mattered most, they both left an imprint much louder than any words could have ever made.

... thank you!!!

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