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Kites harness the force of the wind.
They express our intent,
But they cannot change the wind.
A person with a kite can make it dip, turn, and flutter at will. An expert can even use a fighting kite and engage until one is cut loose. It's fun flying a kite, feeling the gigantic tug on the end of your line. Sometimes the wind is so strong that it will nearly lift you off the ground. When you harness the forces of nature, you harness something quite powerful.
This is an example of the proper utilization of Tao. It is taking advantage of natural forces. It means accepting the way they work, and then finding a way to borrow their power. It does not mean trying to change or circumscribe things. If the wind is not blowing our kite the way we want, we cannot change it. We can only borrow its energy. When initiative and natural forces are combined, there is true harmony.
Utilization
365 Tao
Deng Ming-Dao
Daily Meditations
Title: Sunning Clothes
Artist: Zhang Wanying
Medium: Gouache
Size: 21 x 21 inches
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CHINESE PEASANT ART
About 70% or 800 million of the Chinese population are peasants. Chinese Peasant Painting or Chinese Folk Painting reflects both styles and scenes of the peasants' lives in the vast countryside of China.
Chinese Peasant Painting is both
ancient and young. It is ancient because it originates from the thousand
year traditions of embroidering, batik, paper cutting and wall painting.
It is young because as a genre of painting it has emerged within the last
thirty years with the help of trained artists. Peasant art is totally
free of staleness and has a vigorous artistic impact that is strong, sincere
and bold. Its exaggerated modeling, distortion and surrealistic style
can give a feeling of truthfulness and naivete. The vivid color and
composition are very imaginative and cheerfully decorative. The art
posses the simplicity of people who live away from the complexity of big
city life. Throughout China, there are more than forty so-called
"Painting Villages." These villages specialize in various forms and
styles of folk art.