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发表于 2011-1-11 14:45:34
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本帖最后由 abyssthinice 于 2011-1-11 14:46 编辑
VOX POPULI: Listen to the cacophony of life surrounding us
2011/01/11
"Music beats paintings" is a quote attributed to Kenichi Nakamura (1895-1967), a prominent painter in the Showa Era (1926-1989).
Ariyoshi Okumura, who mentioned this quote in a round-table discussion that ran in "Hozue," a literary magazine put out by the business community, says what Nakamura meant was that while music can move many people to tears, one rarely hears about a painting having such a profoundly emotional effect on people.
Yet even the most soothing music can be annoying when it spills out of someone's earphones in tuneless cacophony while we're on a train.
The only sure and quick escape from this torture is to plug one's own ears. Like a nation that arms itself with nuclear weapons, this brings only temporary peace of mind.
But as with the nuclear arms race, which faces an increasing risk of accidental explosion, the sense of peace one feels is fragile at best.
The Koe (Voice) letters section of the Osaka edition of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun recently printed this from an 18-year-old female student: "Let's remove our earphones and listen to the variety of noise.
"From time to time when we go into town, let's make a conscious effort to listen to people talking and the birds chirping. We'll learn things we never knew before," the teenager wrote.
While music can do more than relax the listener, its healing power is not omnipotent. For instance, when one is feeling miserable, music cannot eliminate the cause of one's misery. In fact, trying to drown misery in music is counterproductive, like using perfume to mask a foul odor. Re-exposure to the unpleasant noises only makes us feel worse.
"Mimi o Tsujite" (Through the ear) is the title of a forceful poem by Takayuki Kiyooka (1922-2006). "When you are down and out/ Don't listen to music," it goes.
Then what is one supposed to do? Here's the poet's answer: "Go to a place where there is nothing more than the air, water and pebbles/ And quietly eat the silence!/ You will hear an echo from afar/ Of words that will keep you going."
A clue for redemption will present itself to people who won't run away from their defeat and hurt. Living in a world that constantly frays our nerves, "blessed silence" is perhaps the best medicine. It certainly can't annoy anyone.
Off to the riverbank, anyone, to "eat the silence"?
--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 10 |
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