The Classic

The Classic is a Korean movie originally released in 2003.

The film tells the parallel love stories of a mother and daughter. The story of the mother is told partially in flashbacks.

The movie starts in the present day. The daughter, Ji-Hae (Son Ye Jin), is cleaning up around her house when she comes across a box full of old letters that detail the story of her mother, Joo-Hee (also played by Son Ye Jin), in a dramatic tour de force. Periodically in the movie, Ji-Hae reads one of those letters, which starts a flashback scene in which the story of the mother is told. These flashbacks are intertwined with Ji-Hae's own story, in which she falls for a fellow student involved in the school theater.

The movie details both relationships. The mother, Joo-Hee, visits the countryside as a student one summer and meets Joon-Ha (Jo Seung Woo). Together they explore the countryside, playing near a river which they both will always remember as their special place. When a storm starts, and they take shelter together under a tree, but not before Joo-Hee twists her ankle and is rendered helpless. Joon-Ha takes her on his back and they run home, only to be confronted by her parents. Before they separate, Joo-Hee gives him a necklace, which he keeps close as a precious reminder of their time together. Unfortunately, as Joon-Ha finds out, a third party prevents any deepening of their relationship. Joo-Hee has been engaged to marry Tae-Soo, Joon-Ha's friend, through her parents. But Tae-Soo, a noble friend, finds out about Joo-Hee and Joon-Ha's attraction and helps the two communicate secretly by using his own name in place of Joon-Ha's in their letters. When Tae-Soo's father finds this out, however, he beats Tae-Soo. Tae-Soo tries unsuccessfully to commit suicide so that his two friends can be together.

Meanwhile, in the present, Ji-Hae falls for her friend's love interest, but he seems not to notice. Then, in a sweet scene, they take shelter from the rain together under the same tree. He uses his coat to cover both of them and escorts her to where she needs to go. The moment was magical, but she feels his help was only due to his generous nature and not from any feelings for her on his part.

Back in the past, Joon-Ha is guilt-ridden over his friend's attempted suicide and Joo-Hee's own guilt. Determined to prevent any more hurt to her, Joon-Ha joins the army and goes to Vietnam. There he loses his eyesight while saving a fellow soldier. When he returns to Korea, he meets with Joo-Hee, trying to hide his blindness, and convinces her he has married in hopes she will move on with her life. Though heart broken that their relationship cannot continue, she does move on and eventually marries Tae-Soo, Joon-Ha's kind friend. After they have been married for several years and have a young daughter, Ji-Hae, Joo-Hee is approached by friends of Joon-Ha, who relate Joon-Ha's last wish: that his ashes be scattered by Joo-Hee in the river, now reservoir, where they first met. She then finds out that Joon-Ha only got married after she had and had a son her daughter's age. The heart-break is too much; she cries.

In the present, Ji-Hae's own story unfolds. Her love interest reveals his true feelings for Ji-Hae, feelings that mirror her own. It is also revealed that their taking shelter together during the storm was no accident; he purposely left his umbrella behind so that he could join her under the tree. Then, when Ji-Hae pensively reveals her mother's story to him, tears stream down his face. He wordlessly lifts a necklace from around his neck and places it around hers. It is the necklace that Ji-Hae's mother, Joo-Hee, had given to Joon-Ha when they met. The circle is completed; Joo-Hee's daughter and Joon-Ha's son have fallen in love.

New language for divided Cameroon

New language for divided Cameroon

By Francis Ngwa Niba BBC News, Douala

Teachers in Cameroon are concerned that the new language frananglais - a mixture of French, English and Creole - is affecting the way students speak and write the country's two official languages.

Many young Cameroonians are speaking frananglais

With more than 250 indigenous languages and both French and English as official languages, choosing the right vocabulary to convey a message can be tricky.

In the face of this huge variety, youths across the country are bending linguistic rules, the main objective being to communicate easily with each other.

"Frananglais is cool," says Aboti Mariette, a 16-year-old student at the Lycee Technique in Douala.

"How do you expect my English-speaking friends to understand my message if I don't use frananglais? They will not comprend tout ce que je dis (understand everything I say)," she says smiling.

Bad influence

From nursery to primary and secondary schools, frananglais is fast becoming the lingua franca over Creole (pidgin English) which until recently was the best-known and widely used language across the country.

"Je veux go" is a mix of English and French and means simply "I want to go" or "I am leaving."

TEST YOUR FRANANGLAISE Tu as go au school - Did you go to school? Tu a sleep hier? - Did you sleep well last night? Tout le monde hate me, wey I no know - Everybody hates me, I don't know why Je veux go - I want to go Il est come - He has come Tu play le damba tous les jours? - Do you play football every day?

"Tu as sleep hier?" means "Did you sleep well last night?", while "Tout le monde hate me, wey I no know" is "Everybody hates me, I don't know why."

This is the type of language commonly used by 10-year-old pupils of the Ladybird Nursery and Primary school in Douala.

They say they feel comfortable speaking this language but obviously this is not the same view held by the school authorities.

Fang Hyronius Forghema, head teacher of the school described frananglais as "corrupt" and a bad influence on spoken and written English and French.

The 500-pupil school now has French- and English-speaking days where all pupils must speak only one of the two official languages - there is no frananglais day.

Pupils who break this linguistic rules are punished severely, but that has not stopped the usage of frananglais on school premises.

Music

Opinion is sharply divided on the origins of frananglais.

Francoise Endwin, head of the French department of the Linguistic Centre in Douala says it developed because French and English have a lot of similarities, despite their different syntax.

To cut corners, schoolchildren just mix both, the end result being that they understand each other, he says.

But Mr Forghema contends that French-speaking parents "developed the jargon we now call frananglais" when they realised late in life that their children would benefit if they could speak it.

A lot of musicians now also use frananglais in their music.

One of the earliest musicians to do this was the famous Lapiro de Mbanga, but dozens of other artists have now joined the bandwagon and sing in a language that most people will understand.

That now happens to be frananglais.

The most popular of these musicians now is known as Koppo and his best-known frananglais song is titled Si Tu Vois Ma Go (If You See Me Go).

A mother of three I met buying the album in Douala told me: "I love Koppo's music very much - he sings in a language everyone can relate to."

Jacques Towe, head of the English department of the Linguistic Centre in Douala, says: "Only time will tell what will happen to frananglais. It might develop into a new type of language" that might help bring national unity in a country divided along strong linguistic lines.

As far as I am concerned, "je ne suis pas sure about this" (I am not sure about this).

To be recognised as a language on its own, frananglais will have to be codified.

Some university post graduate students have carried out research on frananglais but they all agree only on one point - if it helps communications, it's good for the country.

Vous reading this toujours? (Are you still reading this?)

You might be hooked already.

Brain scan 'can read your mind'

Brain scan 'can read your mind'

The researchers used scans of the brain to predict decisions

Brain scans have been developed which it is claimed can predict what a person is about to do.

German, British and Japanese scientists were able to "read minds" using sophisticated functional magnetic imaging (fMRI) and computer programs.

Current Biology reported people were asked to think about adding or subtracting - scientists were able to read intentions in 70% of cases.

A UK expert advised caution, but said such technologies would develop.

We shouldn't go overboard about the power of these technologies at the moment Professor Colin Blakemore, Medical Research Council

Such techniques could be used to help people who are paralysed - there are already some steps being taken towards helping people using computer-assisted prosthetic devices linked to computers.

But this research might also allow abstract thoughts and intentions to be read.

It may even be possible to carry out instructions such as "send email" simply by thinking them - with a scanner picking up the wish and translating it in a way that the computer can act on.

'Spatial pattern'

The researchers, led by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, in Leipzig, asked people to hold their mathematical decision in their minds until they were shown two numbers on a computer screen.

The fMRI scans monitored brain activity for the few seconds they were thinking about their sum, and it was on this information that the scientists made their predictions.

The researchers used a method called "multivariate pattern recognition".

A computer is programmed to recognise characteristic activation patterns in the brain that typically occur in association with specific thoughts.

Once this computer has been "trained" it can be used to predict the decisions of subjects solely from their brain activity alone.

Dr John-Dylan Haynes, who led the research, said: "It has been previously assumed that freely selected plans might be stored in the middle regions of the prefrontal cortex, whereas plans following external instructions could be stored on the surface of the brain.

"We were able to confirm this theory in our experiments."

He added: "The experiments show that intentions are not encoded in single neurons but in a whole spatial pattern of brain activity."

It appears regions towards the front of the brain store the intention until it is executed, whereas regions further back take over when subjects become active and start doing the calculation.

Professor Colin Blakemore, director of the Medical Research Council, said: "We shouldn't go overboard about the power of these technologies at the moment.

"But what you can be absolutely sure of is that these will continue to roll out and we will have more and more ability to probe people's intentions, minds, background thoughts, hopes and emotions."

He added: "Some of that is extremely desirable, because it will help with diagnosis, education and so on, but we need to be thinking the ethical issues through.

"It adds a whole new gloss to personal medical data and how it can be used."

杂感两则 鲁迅与世界文学

Pub Date: 01/01/2007   Pub: ZB              Page: 3
Headline: 杂感两则 鲁迅与世界文学
By: 李欧梵（美籍华人教授、作家）
Page Heading: 早报现在名采
Picture Caption:
『乔伊思（右图）的以故乡为题材的短篇小说集《都柏林人》出版于
1914年，《尤利西斯》出版于1922年，正与鲁迅的《呐喊》出版日期
相差不多。』
『卡夫卡写《变形记》时还不到30岁，早已把回忆「变形」为梦魇，
连故事的主人翁也成了一条虫。』
陈瑞献作品《鲁迅像》
  

　　①
　　他们忘却了纪念，纪念也忘却了他们！
　　鲁迅如是说，说得一点也不错。
　　2006年是鲁迅逝世70周年纪念，我们几乎忘却了纪念，纪念——
特别在香港——也忘却了我们。不错，座谈会和学术会议照开，但真
正纪念鲁迅的意义又何在？据闻在中国大陆，年轻一代的学生已经不
看鲁迅了，或者早已看厌了，而“张爱玲热”却方兴未艾，当然也情
有可原。在张爱玲的热潮中纪念鲁迅又有何意义？

鲁迅今后应该属于
每一个热爱文学的人

　　早在10多年前（1991），在日本召开的一次纪念鲁迅诞生110周
年的学术会议上，我公开说：鲁迅今后应该属于世界每一个热爱文学
——特别是现代文学——的人，而不应再有所谓“鲁迅专家”，连“
鲁学”也早该解散了。我个人也从来不承认自己是“鲁迅专家”，现
在当然更要身体力行，把鲁迅放在更个人也更广泛的意义范畴中去思
考：他的作品在廿世纪世界文学的领域中有何意义？（我从来不谈“
地位”，因为那又是“排行榜”式的课题。）
　　于是我突然想到：鲁迅几乎是和两位欧洲现代文学的主将——乔
伊思（James Joyce, 1882-1941）和卡夫卡（1883-1924）同年，当
然应该是同辈。乔伊思的以故乡为题材的短篇小说集《都柏林人》（
Dubliners）出版于1914年，《尤利西斯》（Ulysses）出版于1922年
，正与鲁迅的《呐喊》出版日期相差不多；而卡夫卡的《变形记》（
The Metamorphosis）写于1912年，出版于1915年；他的第一本小说
集《乡村医生》——也就是半个多世纪后台湾的《现代文学》第一期
“卡夫卡”专号中欧阳子翻译的那一篇小说——出版于1916年，恰是
中国五四运动“文学革命”的前夕。而在1917年卡夫卡又写了一篇怪
小说，名叫《中国的长城》，可惜《新青年》诸君没有看到，而懂德
文也关心东欧文学的鲁迅，似乎也没有接触到卡夫卡，更遑论乔伊思
。

鲁迅当年的孤独感

　　正因为没有“影响的焦虑”，才可以有比较的空间。至少这三位
作家，都受到不同形态的“现代性”（modernity）的“压迫”，每
人反应的方式也不同，但至少有一样相通之处：他们当时都很寂寞，
而且都自觉是孤独的，当然将“孤独感”表现出来的文学形式大不相
同。
　　鲁迅当年的孤独感，早在《呐喊自序》——这篇早已读烂的名文
——的第一段就说得很清楚，现在不妨再抄一次，提醒部分尚未读过
的读者：
　　我在年轻时候也曾经做过许多梦，后来大半忘却了，但自己也并
不以为可惜。所谓回忆者，虽说可以使人欢欣，也不免使人寂寞，使
精神的丝缕还牵着已逝的寂寞的时光，又有什么意味呢，而我偏苦于
不能全忘却，这不能全忘的一部分，到现在便成了《呐喊》的来由。
　　为什么在那个新思潮澎湃、摇旗呐喊的时代要开宗明义地讲寂寞
和回忆？一般“鲁学”家又要大谈什么“革命退潮”了，其实我认为
回忆和忘却是现代文学共通的主题。《都柏林人》何尝不是一种回忆
故乡童年的作品？它所承袭的是另一部个人回忆的大幅巨著——《追
忆似水年华》，为什么普鲁斯特在家道小康之时写出那么长的回忆小
说？而中国唯一的一部巨幅回忆小说，却是18世纪的《红楼梦》？剩
下值得追忆的只有鲁迅的那几篇小说了。

“偏苦于不能全忘却”的回忆

　　“回忆”之与“现代性”挂上钩，正因为是“现代性”时间观念
的转变，有了“现今”的迫切感，才会回忆过去。“这种回忆”是一
种时间的吊诡或悖论，我在张爱玲的部分作品中也体会得到。但当年
的“五四”新文人，除了少数（如郁达夫）之外，哪有时间回忆？似
乎（甚至鲁迅自己也觉得）回忆过去是上了年纪以后的事。然而乔伊
思在30岁时就开始回忆了，比鲁迅还早，而卡夫卡写《变形记》时还
不到30岁，早已把回忆“变形”为梦魇，连故事的主人翁也成了一条
虫，他童年时父亲的印象仿佛更深沉了。鲁迅写《狂人日记》时是37
岁，写《呐喊自序》时41岁，自觉已是中年人，不可能写出像乔伊思
另一部自传体小说——《一个年轻艺术家的画像》（1916年出版）。
然而最吊诡的是：在那个“少年中国”的时代，也只有像鲁迅这样“
未老先衰”的中年人才想到回忆、才感到寂寞，才由此开创出一系列
以回忆为主题的小说来，也以此回应“现代性”。刚才引用的这段自
白中最可琢磨的一句就是：“使精神的丝缕还牵着已逝的寂寞的时光
”——精神的丝缕是什么？灵魂的“断片”？它又如何“牵”着时光
？而“时光”又如何变得“寂寞”起来？
　　这其实是一种散文诗式的句子，涵有意象和哲理，更把“时光”
变成文字，因为也只有文字才可以把寂寞的时光牵着走。然而这个时
光是“已逝”的——既然已逝，如何“牵”法？这又成了文学形式和
敘事方式，我不禁想到班雅明（Walter Benjamin）所说的“不自愿
的回忆”（involuntary memory）来，它不是个人有意识“记得”的
回忆，而更像梦魇一样，让“回忆者”愈陷愈深；就鲁迅而言，愈深
也愈痛苦。但他又“偏苦于不能全忘却”，这个“忘却”当然和回忆
有关，“不能全忘却”正是“不自愿的回忆”的一种表现。无独有偶
，班雅明在1930年代也写过好几篇回忆的散文，后来集成一本小书，
名叫《一个柏林的童年》（A Berlin Childhood）。
　　也许我故意咬文嚼字。但为什么这么多“鲁学”家在纪念鲁迅的
时候却忘却了他的回忆？难道“纪念”就是为了忘却？鲁迅纪念刘和
珍，是出自“苦于不能全忘却”的心情，但是现在我们纪念鲁迅，除
了重弹老调——譬如说他的思想如何深刻，如何无情剖析中国人性—
—之外，是否真的用这种方法就把他忘了？！如果确系如此，还不如
不纪念，或让纪念忘却我们算了，因为这种纪念法，可能会令鲁迅在
天之灵更感到孤独。

　　②
　　鲁迅一生的作品中，有一半以上是翻译外国的作品，然而这反而
是多年来“鲁学”的盲点。原因之一当然是他“硬译”的文字问题，
但我想也和后代人的“世界观”有关系：我们反而没有像鲁迅那一代
人一样关心世界，拼命译介外国文学。当世界在“现代性”推动之下
，逐渐走向“全球化”的时候，中国人反而更闭关自守，或自鸣得意
，甚至“天朝”或“中心”的心态依然猖狂，民族主义令得集体浮躁
，全民失忆，当然也不像鲁迅一样那么关心外国文学了。

或许他的魂灵早已在天堂
与卡夫卡、乔伊思相遇

　　鲁迅关心的不只是俄国和东欧“被压迫民族”的文学，他也熟悉
波特莱尔和阿波里纳尔（G. Apolliaire）；他虽推崇高尔基，但更
想译介果戈里（N. Gogol）；他不只研究写实的版画，也喜欢毕卡索
和毕亚滋莱；不但译了普列汉诺夫，也引用过（或经由厨川白村的著
作）佛洛依德。我不敢说他走偏了路——“事后诸葛亮”，谁也说不
准——但我确信他花了不少功夫在扩展他的思想和艺术领域。我们知
道他读过杜斯妥也夫斯基，如果他接触到卡夫卡的小说，说不定也会
喜欢的，至少卡夫卡的寓言式短篇和鲁迅的随感录及《野草》有几分
相似之处。我认为这两位作家的心灵是相通的，因为两人境遇相似：
都想以文字来建立自己的园地，也把难于忘却的回忆中的千丝万缕的
意象断片以文字牵引了出来，只不过两人牵得都不够，就英年早逝了
。
　　“鲁迅与世界文学”是一个大题目，我选择这个题目来作文章（
或者将来会写一本小书），并非妄自尊大，而是觉得这是纪念他唯一
可做的事。也许，他的魂灵在天堂早已和卡夫卡和乔伊思相遇，在酒
楼上共饮一杯啤酒或黄酒，鲁迅在日本学来德文，至少也可以和卡夫
卡的布拉格德文交流吧。至于乔伊思，如果没人听懂他说的爱尔兰腔
的英文，他还可以找他的同胞叶慈（W.B. Yeats），当然还有在瑞士
苏黎世碰过头的列宁，甚至还可以介绍他和鲁迅相识。但最好把史大
林摈斥在天堂之外，因为萧斯塔科维契（D. Shostakovich，今年是
他的百年诞辰）早已受够了。
　　如果鲁迅不死于1936年，他的境遇是否又会和老萧相似？那当然
另当别论，但似乎还没有人想过。

5 stella lights

シリウス
作詞 Susumu Kawaguchi/Emi Inaba
作曲 Susumu Kawaguchi
歌手 John-Hoon

君を抱き絞める力が強いのは
言葉で伝えきれない僕なりの愛
今すぐ言えないけれど
この溢れだす想い届けるからね

人波すり抜けて歩くとき
君とはぐれないように
重ねた指線を固く結ぼう

冷たい冬の風が僕らの
頬を吹き抜け走った
でも握るこの手は 今も温かいまま

見上げた空　シリウスが輝く
そう君とともに星に願おう

それが変わらない愛と思いたいよ
それが終わらない夢だと信じたい
星空輝く下で そっと引き寄せるこの胸に

君を抱き絞める力が強いのは
言葉で伝えきれない僕なりの愛
このまま遠くへ行こう
未来の向う側の”永遠”までも

夜空に光星の数ほど
すれ違う人ばかりで
君とめぐり逢えた

運命大事にしよう
白い吐息 重なるほど近く
そう もっとそばに感じたいから

それが変わらない愛と思いたいよ
それが終わらない夢だと信じたい
星空輝く下で そっと引き寄せるこの胸に

君を抱き絞める力が強いのは
言葉で伝えいきれない僕なりの愛
今すぐ言えないけれど
この溢れだす想い届けるからね

澄んだ真冬の空に流れ星が肖えたく
軌跡描くその瞬間 二人愛を誓おう

それが変わらない愛と思いたいよ
それが終わらない夢だと信じたい
星空輝く下で そっと引き寄せるこの胸に

君を抱き絞める力が強いのは
言葉で伝えきれない僕なりの愛
このまま遠くへ行こう
未来の向う側の”永遠”までも

Sirius

The reason why I hug you so tight is that
My love I can’t express enough in words.
I can’t say it now…
but these overwhelming feelings will reach you anyway..

When we walk through, avoiding the waves of people,
So you don’t stray away from me,
Let’s hold these entwined fingers tight
The cold winter breeze runs across our cheeks,
blowing them cold… but our hands,
clasped gather even now are still warm

In the sky we looked up at, Sirius glitters,
Yeah, Lets make a wish to the stars

I wanna think it’s unchanging love
I wanna believe it’s a neverending dream
Under the sea of stars, pulling my heart softly closer

The reason why I hug you so tight is that
My love, I can’t express enough in words
Let’s keep going into the distance
Until the eternity on the other side of the future beyond

The number of people just passing by
Almost like the stars filling the night sky
Let’s treasure this fate,
which led me to meet you.

The white sighs, so close they overlap,
yeah… I wanna feel you next to me more

I wanna think it’s unchanging love
I wanna believe it’s a neverending dream
Under the sea of stars, pulling my heart softly closer

The reason why I hug you so tight is that
My love, I can’t express enough in words
Let’s keep going into the distance
Until the eternity on the other side of the future beyond

In the transparent midwinter sky, the shooting star disappears…
Spinning orbits, that moment, we pledge our love-

I wanna think it’s unchanging love
I wanna believe it’s a neverending dream
Under the sea of stars, pulling my heart softly closer

The reason why I hug you so tight is that
My love, I can’t express enough in words.
Let’s keep going into the distance
Until the eternity on the other side of the future beyond

WINGS OF A DOVE

If I had wings of a dove,
Far, far away
Would I fly and hide away
To be at rest

If I could wing above,
So far on high
And be free to steal away
And be at rest

Dona nobis Domine perpetua in saecula Grant us, Lord, through the
Unending ages
Dona nobis Domine perpetua in saecula pacem Grant us, Lord, peace through the
Unending ages

If I could wing above,
So far on high
And be free to steal away
And be at rest

Dona nobis Domine pacem Lord, grant us peace
Dona nobis Domine pacem Lord, grant us peace
Dona pacem Grant (us) peace

For everything above
Across the sky
Can be free to soar on high,
And be at rest

Dona nobis Domine perpetua in saecula Grant us, Lord, through the
Unending ages
Dona nobis Domine perpetua in saecula pacem Grant us, Lord, peace through the
Unending ages

Exaudi orationem dona Domine Hear our prayer, O Lord, (and) grant
Exaudi orationem dona nobis pacem Hear our prayer and grant us peace

If I could wing above,
So far on high
And be free to steal away
And be at rest

Dona nobis Domine pacem Lord, grant us peace
Dona nobis Domine pacem Lord, grant us peace
Dona pacem Grant (us) peace

If I had wings of a dove,
Far, far away
Would I fly and hide away
To be at rest

Be at rest
Be at rest