il Giardino Romantico

 生活茶 張光文博士著
自古至今，中華文化裡就少不了「茶」。相信身在台灣，對很多人來說「茶」是日常生活中不可缺少的要素。就連天仙熱愛的英國文化也是跟茶少不了關係。但是天仙到底對茶瞭解多少？其實跟大部分的人一樣，我瞭解的並不多。
前一陣子在部落格中看到一則留言。那是一則活動的邀約。邀約者挑了我數年前為「小熊維尼的道」這本書寫的心得文章留言。這個活動是要我讀一本與茶相關的書籍。我思考了很久，猶豫該不該參加。畢竟自己的中文能力有限。畢竟今年讀過得中文書，除了友情捧場的兩本以外就沒了！。但接受邀約一方面也是為了自我挑戰一番。

小熊維尼的道已經讀完好一陣子，卻遲遲未寫出一篇書評的原因其實就是因為我一直在想這篇該用英文寫，還是用中文？
用英文寫的原因，還不就是因為希望保持所有在這裡的評論都以英文書寫的方式呈現。再者，書是讀原文的，當然書評也理所當然應該由英文書寫。
但書中談論到的是中國道家思想。許多書中提到的經典名句就是出自於中文。以中文呈現本書書評或許可以增加自己對道家思想的認知。
因此，最後決定破例以中文來描寫本書書評。
之前介紹過一本也是以小熊維尼為主要角色來介紹不同理論的書[Pooh and the Philosophers]。但小熊維尼的道[The Tao of Pooh]與前者呈現方式全然不同。前者呈現方式主要是介紹如何從小熊維尼系列的書本看到各式西方哲學的運用，後者則是利用小熊維尼淺入介紹道家思想的基本概念。
也因為呈現方式不同，兩者比較起來差異就很大。前者，以不同哲學家分章方式，先簡略描述各哲學的基本觀念，再以舉例方式融入小熊維尼的故事。後者則是直接以小熊維尼當主角，提出各類問題再由作者以第一人稱方式深入解釋。
閱讀過程中，小熊維尼的道顯得比前者更自然也更有趣味性。前者對於哲學描述過多，閱讀過程相較之下就乏味許多。雖然兩本都能使讀者更了解哲學方面的學問，小熊維尼的道可以說是娛樂兼學習的效果更加強烈。
作者Benjamin Hoff對中國文化、道家思想相當有研究。除了小熊維尼的道，還出了一本小豬的德[The Te of Piglet]。整本書就像是在閱讀一本同書似的快樂、輕鬆。但若了解其中的奧妙哲學就會體會出為何小熊維尼是道家思想的代言人。
此書是我第一次接觸道家思想的媒介。很早以前就想多了解，只是不知該如何下手。閱讀中文書籍，懂得有限。很多字連怎麼念都不知道，更別說了解了。讀英文的嘛，我又不是很嚮往閱讀翻譯書籍。但此書滿足了我各方面的慾望：讓可愛的小熊維尼及故事中其他人物帶領我進入道家思想的基本概念。
初步了解道家思想後發現其實與許多浪漫時期詩人所嚮往的生活與理想是一至的。因此加深了我想進一步了解道家思想的慾望。
這本書，除了以可愛、趣味的方式呈現道家思想之外，也可以看到自己遺忘的文化被外人發掘時成為寶物的實際例子。如果多與居住再東方國家的外國人談話，你會發現他們很多都是因為當初被東方文化的奧妙吸引過來。也許他們比我們更深入了解自己的文化。也有可能我們對西方文化的認知會比他們還要更了解。我不認為這是一件可恥之事。The grass is always greener on the other side. 國外的月亮總是比較圓。就像剛開始想再網路上找關於道家思想的中文資訊一樣，處處碰壁。但當我試著用英文找，卻一下子就找到了許多有用的文章及資訊。
在舉個例：瑜珈也是如此。許多世界上最著名的瑜珈老師除了出自於印度，更多是來自於美國及其他西方國家。瑜珈也可以算是被印度遺忘的國寶。這不也是個活生生的例子？
我自己就也是個很好的例子。
就連自己家人也會指責我說我太過洋化。思想、觀念太不傳統。接觸這麼多年的西方教育與文化，有一半以上不是我自願如此。但重要的是，現在我回來了。藉由小熊維尼的道，我回到自己的國度，找到自己的根。從此之後要深入了解、研究也就更輕鬆許多了。
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Barkun, Michael, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America (Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 2003)
Despite being preoccupied with all the assessments that are expected to be handed in this Friday, I simply cannot revert to my accademic work until I point out a couple of points that seems to bother my mind since I had put down the book. 
I was extremely excited to have found the book, thinking that a book which devotes a whole section on David Icke must be worth reading.  I was disappointed and not at the same time.  The truth is, I am unable to find a precise word to describe this book, or rather, how I felt about the book.  Seeing how it is published by a university press, I was well aware, even before I began reading it, that it would be an interesting reading.  If it was capable of infiltrating the core of conspiracy culture, and agree or make sense of any of the extant conspiracy theories, I would be extrememly satisfied by it.  As it turns out, it is merely an analysis of certain esoteric theories that have fortunately been leaked into the mainstream.
The issue that seems to bother me the most, is the fact that the author was well aware of the different type of 'knowledge' in this particular realm, namely forgotten knowledge; superseded knowledge; ignored knowledge; rejected knowledge; and suppressed knowledge, but managed only to analyse knowledge in the last two categories that have become easily accessible to the public reader.  He tries to maintain an objective standing point, neither disagreeing nor agreeing with the conspiracy theorist, but nonetheless subtle attacks and ridicules can be easily detected.
The most dissapointing aspect of the reading was the author's obsession with his analysis of ufology.  The issue here, is that he has not penetrated enough into this topic, for David Icke is hardly the hardcore spokesperson in this realm of conspiracy theory.  It is a pity that throughout the span of nearly two hundred pages of text, there was absolutely no mention of Michael Tsarion.  Surely, he would have been the best candidate for analysis in this particular area of interest. 
Nonetheless, there is ample information on what conspiracy theorists believe the nefarious schemes of certain clandestine superpowers are plotting against the public.  The book would cause an outrage in the conspiratorial realm because of its lack of audacity to choose clear side to support.  At one point, the reader is being lead into believing that the author could probably be a believer, but is merely holding back due to the nautre of the publisher's overtness and academic basis.  However, the author was unable to refrain from using subjective adjectives when it comes to ufology and reptilian theories.
It is, after all, an analysis of conspiracy theories and how they have influenced American culture.  To compound, we must not forget that it was published by a university press with a rather high standard of reputation held by the general public.  No matter how badly the author wishes he could believe, or even just make sense out of any of these theories, he was probably bound by certain limitations.  However, it could also be that the whole book was merely 'condemnation in disguise'.  If the latter is the case, I must admit that I still do not regret having read it.  The reason for that lies in the ancient wisdom of 'knowing thy enemy'.

**Title of the book is underlined because the italics function doesn't seem to work.
December
Jones, Earnest, A Psycho-Analytic Study of Hamet (London, Vienna: Reprinted from Essays in Applied Psycho-Analysis, no.5., 1992)
Thompson, Ann and Neil Taylor, William Shakespeare: Hamlet, 2nd Ed. (Plymouth: Northcote House, 2005)
Partner, Peter, The Murdered Magicians: The Templars and Their Myth (Oxford, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1982)
November
Roberts, Gareth, The Mirror of Alchemy: Alchemical Ideas and Images and Manuscripts and Books, from Antiquity to the Seventeenth Century (Toronto, Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 1994)
October
Waite, Arthur Edward, The Real History of the Rosicrucians (London, 1887)

---

September
The Messianic Legacy - Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, Henry Lincoln
August
*The Hundred-Year Lie: How to Protect Yourself from the Chemicals That Are Destroying Your Health - Randall Fitzgerald
Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift
*Will & Me: How Shakespeare Took Over My Life - Dominic Dromgoole [pending]
June
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexander Dumas
*Will in the World - Stephen Greenblatt [pending]
May
*The Elixir and the Stone - Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh
*The Witch of Portobello - Paulo Coelho
*The Art of Learning: A Journey in the Pursuit of Excellence - Josh Waitzkin
April
牛奶，謊言與內幕 - 蒂埃里．蘇卡 [related article]
March
The Dante Club - Matthew Pearl
In Milton Lumky Territory - Philip K. Dick
*The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
February
Beethoven: The Universal Composer - Edmund Morris
*The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary [UK- The Surgeon of Crowthorne: A Tale of Murder, Madness and the Love of Words] - Simon Winchester
January
*Holy Blood Holy Grail - Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, Henry Lincoln
Lyra's Oxford - Philip Pullman
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight & Pearl & Sir Orfeo - J.R.R. Tolkien
Holes - Louis Sachar
*1984 - George Orwell
The Gunslinger [The Dark Tower I] - Stephen King
A Scanner Darkly - Philip K. Dick
The Rule of Four - Ian Caldwell, Dustin Thomason

Toxicity Questionnaire*
中毒程度測驗*
Tally up the YES's to these questions.
將所有回答Yes的次數記起來。
1. Do you use plastic containers to store food or drinking water?
你有用塑膠容器裝食物或食用水嗎？
Yes/No
2. Do you eat microwaved foods that come packaged with plastic wrap?
你有吃以塑膠容器包裝的微波食品嗎？
Yes/No
3. Do you eat nonorganic cereals, bread, or other grain products?
你有吃非有機的麥片、麵包、或穀類食品嗎？
Yes/No
4. Do you use deodorant, shampoos, and soaps?
你有使用防臭劑、洗髮精、或肥皂嗎？
Yes/No
5. Do you use aftershave, lotions, or perfumes?
你有使用aftershave、乳液、或香水嗎？
Yes/No
6. Do you use cosmetics or hair colorings?
你有使用化妝品或染髮劑嗎？
Yes/No
7. Do you live or work in an area that has synthetic carpeting?
你住的地方或工作的地方有人造合成地毯嗎？
Yes/No
8. Do you drink nonorganic coffee?
你有喝非有機的咖啡嗎？
Yes/No
9. Do you eat foods that contain hydrogenated fats, such as margarine, or do you eat any foods that contain canola oil or cottonseed oil?
你食用含有氫化脂肪的食物：例如麥淇淋，或食用含有菜籽油或棉花子油的食物嗎？
Yes/No
10. Do you breathe polluted air?
你有吸進污染的空氣嗎？
Yes/No
11. Do you eat fish?
你吃魚嗎？
Yes/No
12. Do you wear synthetic clothing or have your clothes dry-cleaned?
你有穿合成布料或將使用乾洗服務嗎？
Yes/No
13. Do you sometimes use bug-killers?
你有時會使用殺蟲劑嗎？
Yes/No
14. Is your menstrual cycle often erratic or interrupted?
你的月經常常不規律嗎？
Yes/No
15. Have you received three or more vaccinations?
你曾打過三種以上不同的預防針嗎？
Yes/No
16. Do you have mood swings?
你常常心情起伏變化很大嗎？
Yes/No
17. Do you have insomnia?
你有失眠症嗎？
Yes/No
18. Do you sometimes eat broiled, fried, or barbecued foods?
你有時會吃烤過、炸過的食物嗎？
Yes/No
19. Do you eat less than three servings of fruits and vegetables daily?
你每日蔬果攝取量少於三份嗎？
Yes/No
20. Do you rarely drink several glasses of pure water daily?
你很少每日至少喝三到四杯白開水嗎？
Yes/No
21. Do you eat white flour foods and drink sodas often?
你吃白麵粉食品或喝碳酸飲料嗎？
Yes/No
22. Do you use home-cleaning products?
你會用家用清潔劑嗎？
Yes/No
23. Do you take synthetic vitamins daily or several times a week?
你一個裡拜會服用幾次維他命嗎？
Yes/No
24. Do you not exercise daily for thirty minutes or more?
你每天運動量不到三十分鐘嗎？
Yes/No
25. Do you travel in heavy commuter traffic daily?
你每日必須在車水馬龍中通勤嗎？
Yes/No
26. Do you eat fast food or frozen food at least twice a week?
你每週至少吃兩次速食或冷凍食品嗎？
Yes/No
27. Do you have metal fillings in your teeth, and have you had a dental surgery?
你牙齒有金屬填補物或有過牙齒手術嗎？
Yes/No
28. Are you under significant daily stress?
你每日壓力都很大嗎？
Yes/No
29. Do you use prescription drugs or illegal nonprescription drugs?
你服用處方用藥或非法非處方用藥嗎？
Yes/No
30. Have you had suicidal thoughts?
你有過想自殺的念頭嗎？
Yes/No

Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln shocked the world by their collaboration of the book Holy Blood, Holy Grail, which inspired Dan Brown’s international bestseller, the Da Vinci Code.  The book, Holy Blood, Holy Grail was extremely carefully researched and well organized.  However, without the rudimentary knowledge on the background of Christianity, the Crusades, and/or the Kights Templar, one may easily find themselves lost in the labyrinth of excess information. 
Two of the collaborators, Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, published another book many years later, which I personally found easier to absorb.   The Elixir and the Stone is a book that captures the true essence of the Renaissance spirit.  It touches upon a whole variety of subjects which means any reader is bound to be able to relate to a few of the subjects mentioned. 
The book links the whole world to, not Jesus Christ, but another significant figure – Faust.  The ‘magician’ that signed a contract with the devil in order to excel beyond his limit for twenty-years, and in exchange, he would give up his soul.  Two significant literary depictions of the Faust story are plays by a Elizabethan English playwright, Christopher Marlowe and by a German Romantic writer, Johann Wolfgan von Goethe.  In Marlowe's version, Faust forfeited his right to repent; and in Goethe's version, eventually Faust's repentance is accepted.
The authors’ approach to this argument, or hypothesis, by first, analyzing the history of magicians.  Then they move on to explaining in detail how Faust is linked to everything.  Once the reader has grasped the idea of the history and the two versions of the Faust story, they go on to explaining how the modern world is linked to Faust, or magic, in a more general term.
While some are briefly mentioned, and others more in detail, you will find in this book how everything is in deed, related to everything else.  From the artistic world of Botticelli, Da Vinc; to the literature of Marlowe, Goethe, and Spencer; also the musical world of Wagner, and even the Rolling Stones; the authors’ determination to link everything together with magic is eminent. 
For someone who has been raised in a world of magic, the idea is anything but elusive.  Why shouldn’t everything be magical?  Taiwan, as observed by a friend of mine, is a place where magic is overtly believed, practiced, and discussed.  Incense burnings, ghost money burning, and ancestral/gods and goddesses worship still remain an important part of the daily lives of people in Taiwan.  Therefore, it was easier for me to understand their reasoning.
Then I soon realized that my job as an English teacher to Taiwan students is as magical as it can get.  How is it that someone who had always been notorious for being a terrible dancer, awful singer, and bearing illegible handwriting can become a teacher of the English language to young children, and remain in the business for more than five years?  A job which requires the teacher to sing and dance and be funny, hardly seems ideal for someone like me.  On top of that, there has also been many complaints from my co-workers concerning my unfriendliness towards them.  However, each and every one of my students and parents have certified to my superior that I am an ‘outgoing, humorous, and friendly’ person.  If there is no magic behind this transformation, then I honestly can’t tell you what it is that causes the dramatic difference. 
I have often felt extremely worn-out before walking into a classroom, but somehow feeling more energy in me than ever as soon as I stepped into one.  Then, right after class, the energy flow once again ceases, and I feel twice as tired as I already did.  Having said enough about myself, I think it is more than evident now, that each and every one of us is a magician.  We are capable of conjuring up magic, be it black magic or white magic. 
The book is informative and extremely satisfying.  Although the language is a little sophisticated, the lucidity of speech keeps the ideas easy to grasp and to follow along.  There are very few books that, by the end of the reading, can make you feel like a more intelligent person.  This one certainly is one of them. 
Further Reading [old reviews]:
Holy Blood, Holy Grail - Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, Henry Lincoln

"I've come to realize that what I am best at is not Tai Chi, and it is not chess.  What I am best at is the art of learning."
This opening is a quote from the author of the book 'The Art of Learning", Josh Waitzkin.  He is an eight-time National Chess Champion in his youth and has now accumulated twenty-one National Championship titles, several World Championship titles in martial arts. 
It may seem easy for someone like Josh to say almost anything he wants.  He was a child chess prodigy, and a Tai Chi World Champion.  With this kind of accomplishment, you could basically write a book about anything, and make big bucks off it.  However, Josh Waitzkin does not over glorify his accomplishments, quite on the contrary, he shares with us the story of his failures in life and how he has used that to accomplish higher goals, greater achievements.
My friend told me about this book a few months ago.  He plays chess and practices Tai Chi himself.  He had been following Josh's career for quite a while, and came across an article in the newspaper one day and learned about his new book.  He went out to several bookstores to search for the book.  After he got hold of a copy, he read it in two sittings.
I saw the book in his bedroom, and remembered the story he related to me earlier.  I opened it and read a few pages out of curiosity.  And I couldn't stop.  Every day, after lunch, I would go to a coffee shop and study for a few hours before I set off for work in the afternoon.  The day after I borrowed the book from my friend, I woke up with a terrible headache.  Not allowing it to hinder my daily routine, I went off to the coffee shop to study like I always did.  The music from the coffee shop, the nearby barber's, and an Indian pastry shop became annoyingly irritating.  I could study no longer.  I put away my books, and started reading The Art of Learning.  I had thirty minutes left till I had to leave.  I put down the book after forty. 
It is extremely inspirational because in his book, Josh Waitzkin portrays himself, not as a hero, but as a normal, ordinary human being.  Learn the process through which he had come to who he is today.  Josh Waitzkin speaks to every reader as though he were right in front of them.  The reader will feel connected and inspired while he relates the story of his life.  Learn from him, how he had learned and mastered the art of chess and the discipline of Tai Chi.  Apply that into your own life. 
The essence of this book is how he uses adversities to his advantage.  While most people groan, mumble and complain about obstacles that come in their way, thwarting them, Josh overcomes his obstacles by using these obstacles as a part of his training to become stronger.  He has learned how to rid distractions by become apart of the distraction, which in turn elevates his level of concentration. 
True.  Not all of us are chess champions.  Most of you who are reading this article from the eastern hemisphere probably don't even know how to play chess. Even if you do, you probably know next to nothing about Tai Chi.  This is not a book on how to become a chess champion.  Neither is this a book on how to train yourself through Tai Chi.  This is a book about learning.  The learning of not a particular art or discipline, but the learning from your environment and how to incorporate everything around you into a lesson for life. 
Adversities and obstacles will no longer badger you.  Because they will be your teachers.  The lesson does not end at page 262.  In fact, it never ends.
Josh Waitzkin talks about The Art of Learning

The way in which I have arrived at the reading of Paulo Coelho's The Witch of Portebello is just as magical and mystical as the essence of the book itself.  It is the perfect book to read following The Elixir and the Stone, a book discussing magic and magi of the world.  Coelho has already been an inspiration through his other works, The Alchemist and The Pilgrim.  This is yet another inspirational work about a mysterious woman who have come to be known as a witch.  Just as things generally are in life, the truth remains unknown and obscure even till the very end.  Only a few, in fact, only one or two people, will come to a clear understanding of the presence of supernatural forces and how they influence the world. 
A reader may find themselves a bit lost during the beginning chapters due to the way the novel is constructed.  The narration is told through the first person, but not in the sense a reader is mostly likely to be acquainted with.  It is rather suitable in the sense that the different narratives, told from the points of view of people who knew, or were acquainted with our protagonist, Athena because it emphasizes her mysteriousness.  Since the narratives were scripts from interviews made after the death of Athena, the different narratives are like pieces of a puzzle, whose wholesome image can only be seen at the very end, when the last piece is fitted unto the puzzle.
Perhaps the plot may seem too surreal, since it deals in large with supernatural intervention, however, if scrutinized below the superficial level, Athena and all the other characters are all what we call characters of the 'every-man' .  Athena epitomizes the ones who have found the means to communicate with the supernatural world.  Not understanding her own destiny and gift, she walks through the first haft of her life with a strong desire to fill up the 'empty space' in her life.  Once the 'empty space' has been filled up, she becomes a psychic, a means through which the supernatural is able to communicate to us, ordinary people. 
The others, some believing in Athena, some in fear, and others in doubt, are still, all typical of who we are.  If we come across something beyond our understanding, what is it that we feel but doubt, fear, yet still believing in it? 
Therefore, through the narratives of these different characters, we are not merely putting pieces of a puzzle together to form a picture of someone else's life, but we are, in fact, fitting pieces of a puzzle that defines who each of us are.  We may attempt to define the different 'miracles' in life as mere luck or coincidence, as some may choose to call it, but the truth is that each and every one of us is capable of performing magic.  Most of the magic that have been conjured up, may only effect the individual, but when one becomes so powerful that their magic affects the lives of others, either in the positive or negative way, they are in danger of being accused of as charlatans, or even heretics.  
The truth is, religion offers sanction for those whose souls are in need of support.  What the majority dismisses as the occult, mysticism, or even witchcraft, is something that is somewhat innate in all of us.  The major religions are not deemed as magical because they are generally accepted by the public.  When one prays, repents, meditates, sings and dances in rituals, or even simply walks into a sacred building, how can one deny the magical power behind the influence that these actions have on them?
Is it not magic when a prayer is answered?  Is it not magic when you pray that a terminally diagnosed patient be miraculously cured, and somehow comes true?  Is is not magic that when you sincerely ask for something, you actually come to obtain it? 
Magic is ubiquitous.  Religion may offer one an explanation for these supernatural happenings, but one cannot deny the existence of magic that continuously influence our daily lives.  Athena looks for salvation through religion, but when they shut the door upon her, she is forced to conjure up the magic herself.  Scriptures and rules were written by people.  People attempting to come up with explanations.  Few of us are able to surpass the level of depending on these explanations and embrace the magic as it is. 
Athena did.  However, her power has become so extreme that there was only one way in which the story could end.  The reason for that, is because people are not quite ready for such an extremity. 
In short, Paulo Coelho has once again found an  interesting way of inspiring his readers through a plot that may seem beyond the understanding of his ordinary readers, but somehow reached into the depth of each of our beliefs, our hearts, and our souls.