The Tao Te Ching is an important piece of Chinese philosophical literature.  It was supposedly written between the 8^th and 3^rd centuries B.C.E. by Lao Tsu, according to the Merriam Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature.  This book contains short poems that present a way of life intended to restore harmony and tranquility to the world.  There have been many interpretations of this ancient work due to its elusiveness and mysterious overtones.  The poems are all centered on following the “Tao” or the “Way.”  The following verse from The Tao Te Ching is entitled “Quiet,” and is followed by my interpretation of the text.

 
Great Perfection seems incomplete,
But does not decay;
Great abundance seems empty,
But does not fail.

Great truth seems contradictory;
Great cleverness seems stupid;
Great eloquence seems awkward.

As spring overcomes the cold,

And autumn overcomes the heat,
So calm and quiet overcome the world.
 

I think the first stanza is referring to the Way because the Way does not decay or fail, although it at times may seem incomplete or empty.  The Way is dependent upon what people put into it.  The second stanza describes three opposites.  Opposites are a vital component of Taoism, as seen in the yin-yang symbol.  This important Chinese symbol describes how opposite forces are interconnected in the natural world.  Cleverness is the opposite of stupidity and eloquence is the opposite of awkwardness.  In reality, the world cannot survive with only one component of the opposite because we must have both to achieve the balance sought by the Way.  For instance, we cannot have light without dark. 

 The first line of the verse reads, “Great perfection seems incomplete, but does not decay.”  Part of striving for perfection is searching for the parts of our lives or our goals that are incomplete.  The Way encourages us to do this, but in a calm and relaxed manner.  The third stanza describes a cycle, and cycles are another important aspect of Taoism.  Spring overcomes the cold of winter, and autumn overcomes the heat of summer.  This is an important cycle in our world that does not vary.  There will always be fall after summer and spring after winter.  This cycle flows like a river from one season directly into the next.  The last sentence, “so calm and quiet overcome the world,” is a significant principle of Taoism.  Going about our lives in a relaxed manner is very important.  The Way encourages us to see the world in this way.  If calm and quiet did not overcome the world, our everyday lives would become chaotic, which goes against Taoist principles.  By following the Way, the world will become more orderly and less chaotic, perhaps how it was at the time The Tao Te Ching was written.

Childhood Hauntings

The Icarus Girl, written by Helen Oyeyemi, is a thrilling read.  Eight-year-old Jessamy Harrison is the daughter of a Nigerian mother and English father.  Jessamy has a hard time making friends at school because she often has screaming fits.  Her mother decides to take the entire family on a trip to Nigeria, where Jess makes a friend, Tilly Tilly.  When the family returns back to England, Tilly Tilly finds herself there as well and soon her visits with Jessamy become more and more disturbing.

An important part of the novel is that Jessamy had a twin sister who died at birth.  Twins are an important part of Nigerian culture and are viewed as practically sacred.  Nigerians believe that twins share a soul and if one twin dies at a young age, the surviving twin will have an imbalanced soul, according to the article entitled “The Birth of Twins” on the Horn Blend website.  In order to fix this imbalance, Nigerians will have a sculpture called an ibeji statue carved to house the spirit of the deceased twin.  I think this is why Jessamy has become such a troublesome child.  The article also stated that in Yoruba culture, twins are thought to have divine powers and the ability to hurt people that upset them.  Although Jessamy does not find out right away about her lost twin, there seems to be a greater force at work within her, which is where Tilly Tilly comes in.

Jessamy finds out through Tilly Tilly that she had a twin sister named Fern.  This startles Jessamy’s mother, as she doesn’t know how Jess could have found out about her twin.  The following quote illustrates Sarah’s (Jessamy’s mother) distress: “Three worlds!  Jess lives in three worlds.  She lives in this world, and she lives in the spirit world, and she lives in the Bush.  She’s abiku, she always would have known!  The spirits tell her things.  Fern tells her things” (Oyeyemi 181).  This leads me to believe that Tilly Tilly is Fern, who may be trying to balance their soul.  I find this to be supported in the following quote: “You have been so empty, Jessy, without your twin; you have had no one to walk your three worlds with you.  I know – I am the same.  I have been just like you for such a long time!  But now I am Fern, I am your sister, and you are my twin…I’ll look after you, Jessy…” (Oyeyemi 176).  Unfortunately this revelation only brings trouble for Jessamy.  If Tilly Tilly is Fern, that would explain why she tries harms the people who hurt Jess, whether it is her teacher or the girls who are mean to her at school, and why she tries to take over Jess throughout the novel.

           

Exploring Japanese Literature

Fumiko Enchi’s Masks is a short, yet very powerful novel.  The main character of focus seems to be Togano Meiko, the mother of twins Akio (deceased) and Harume (mentally challenged since birth).  Akio’s young widow, Yasuko, is paid a lot of attention by Meiko as two potential suitors, Ibuki (married) and Mikame (single), show their affection for her.  Meiko forms an intricate plot of revenge where Harume is impregnated by Ibuki, so that Meiko can have a child with Akio’s blood.  There seems to be a stronger force at work here.

I draw that conclusion because of the last paragraph of the novel: “In that moment the mask dropped from her grasp as if struck down by an invisible hand.  In a trance she reached out and covered the face on the mask with her hand, while her right arm, as if suddenly paralyzed, hung frozen, immobile, in space” (Enchi 141).  The mask referenced here is a No mask given to Meiko by a friend of the family, Toé.  This mask in particular is called Fukai, “my father had his own interpretation…he liked to think of it as a metaphor comparing the heart of an older woman to the depths of a bottomless well – a well so deep that its water would seem totally without color” (Enchi 138).  I compared this “bottomless well” to Meiko’s life as her hunger for revenge sank her further into a well that she could not climb out of even if she had wanted to.  When I think of a well I picture looking into the water, which in turn shows my reflection.  If a well is so deep that the water appears colorless, I wouldn’t be able to see my reflection.  This expresses the sense of hopelessness that I think Meiko feels at the end of the novel because even though she has a child with Akio’s blood, she has lost both of her children which were very important to her.

Toé’s father felt that Meiko would appreciate the sadness in the mask’s look, since she had lost her only child.  This mask seems to have a rather strong effect on Meiko.  The mask calls to mind her grief over the loss of both Akio and Harume and the vengeance she had hidden for so long inside of her.  By the end of the novel, I think Meiko has lost herself in her plot for revenge.  The vengeance has overcome her in entirety, which may be why she drops the mask and tries to cover the face.  I almost feel as if she is ashamed of what she has done and the pain she has caused her family.