We know that probably 995 out of 1,000 readers will think that the Tang Dynasty has something to do with a particular breakfast drink that NASA astronauts took with them into outer space. But for purposes of this blog, it refers to the Tang Dynasty of Ancient China (A. D. 618-907), 唐朝; pinyin: Táng Cháo, a period of great prosperity and stability. We have for you today a collection from the land of porcelain, tea and rice (that would be a traditional way of putting the country of China), a collection of cultural treasures which we found during our book-buying excursions.  We cut and pasted the characters below, being only a beginner in Chinese, we do not think all the characters are rendered correctly, because these appear to be the simplified Chinese, which is what they use on the Mainland part of China. In times gone by, courtly gentlemen (and a few ladies), would sit by a table, trusty ink brush in hand, and compose beautiful poems based on the circumstances they found themselves in, especially if they were observations about nature.

It is said that scholars could tell both the mood, character, even the spiritual development of the writer from the brush strokes. While we have nothing more than a mechanical rendering by standardized characters, one could still pour a cup of strong tea from a traditional clay pot, into a handless small china cup, sit back and contemplate the meanings of each of the four lines

胜日寻方泗水滨 (I seek for spring by riverside on a fine day)
无边光景一时新 (O what refreshing sight does the boundless view bring)
等闲识得东风面 (I find the face of east wind in an easy way)
万紫千红总是春 (Myriads of reds and violets only reveal spring)

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