Piqture-PerFect

YouthQuake - Is there space for a Youth Parliament in Singapore?

2011-11-22T05:33:00.000-08:00

Deepavali 2011

2011-11-19T05:57:00.000-08:00

Singapore, Punggol Promenade

2011-11-19T05:11:00.000-08:00

Singapore, Punggol Point

2011-11-14T10:44:00.000-08:00

Singapore, National Day Parade NDP 2011

2011-08-10T09:29:00.000-07:00

KTM, Singapore (Tanjong Pagar and Bukit Timah) part 2

2011-07-25T09:17:00.000-07:00

KTM, Singapore (Tanjong Pagar and Bukit Timah)

2011-07-25T09:09:00.000-07:00

Singapore, Bukit Brown Cemetery (Notable Figures)

2011-06-28T10:02:00.000-07:00

Ang Seah Im

Lee Choo Neo - Aunt of Lee Kuan Yew, First female doctor in Singapore

Mother of Lee Choo Neo - Grand Aunt of Lee Kuan Yew

Lee Hoon Leong - Grand Father of Lee Kuan Yew

72nd Generation of Confucius Family

Lim Chong Pang - Son of Pineapple King, Lim Nee Soon

Wee Peck Hay - Wife of Pineapple King, Lim Nee Soon

Singapore, Bukit Brown Cemetery (Notable Figures: Ong Sam Leong)

2011-06-28T09:23:00.000-07:00

The twenty-four paragons of Filial Piety [二十四孝]

Number Fourteen

Wrestling With A Tiger To Save His Father: Yang Xiang

In the time of the Jin Dynasty, a boy of fourteen years, named Yang Xiang used to follow his father to work in the fields each day. One morning as they climbed down to the paddies to harvest rice, from out of nowhere a large, striped tiger appeared before them. The tiger scooped up Yang Xiang's father in its mouth and headed back to the forest. "Save me! Save me!" cried the boy's father. Hearing his pathetic wails, Yang Xiang anxiously looked for his Father. He saw the big cat carrying the old man away. With no thought but to rescue his father from mortal danger, and completely forgetting about his own safety, the boy ran headlong after the tiger. He leapt up on the tiger' s back and using every ounce of strength, he choked the animal tightly by the throat.. Throttled in a death-grip by Yang Xiang, the tiger fought for its breath. He had to drop the man he carried in his fangs. Frightened by the ferocity of the young boy's attack, the tiger put its tail between its legs and ran for its life.

Saved from death's door, Yang Xiang's father was in shock, but otherwise unhurt. Yang Xiang watched the tiger disappear into the forest, and then carried his father back home to recover. When news of the incident reached the neighbors, they heaped praise on the boy, calling him a heroic, filial child.

A verse in his praise says,

In the wilds they met the fierce white jaws.

Yang Xiang punched hard, and choked the smelly beast.

Delivered to safety were father and devoted son:

Snatched back alive from the tiger's mouth.

The twenty-four paragons of Filial Piety [二十四孝]

Number Ten

Never Tiring of Feeding Her Mother-in-law Milk: Lady Tang

In the Tang Dynasty, an official named Cui Nanshan, had in his family the Grand Dame Zhang Sun, Mr. Cui's great-grandmother. She was quite elderly, and had lost all her teeth, thus she could not chew even soft rice. Eating was a big problem. Mr. Tswei's grandmother, the Lady Tang, realized the difficulty her mother-in law had in chewing food, and thus hit upon a solution to keep the Grand Dame alive and in good health. The Lady Tang would wake up each morning, perform her daily toilet of washing her face and combing her hair, then she would enter her mother-in-law's chambers and proceed to feed her breast-milk from her own body. The elderly matron had no trouble digesting this nutriment, and thus thanks to her daughter-in-law, even though she could not eat normal food, her body stayed strong and healthy.

One day she fell ill, and knowing that her life was about to reach its natural end, she summoned all her generations of descendants into her room and told them, "All these years I have been looked after by my daughter-in-law. She has treated me most kindly, and I am deeply grateful to her. I only hope that the wives of all my children and grandchildren will be as considerate and proper in their filial devotion as she has been towards me."

When the family heard her final words, they were deeply impressed, and ever after, used the Grand Dame Jang Sun's advice as the motto of the household. The teaching was passed down and cherished through the many generations of the Tswei family.

A verse in her honor says,

Out of deep respect for the Tswei Family's matron,
After morning toilet she would feed the Grand Dame milk.
Kindness such as this is difficult to repay;
May every generation of descendants be so kind!

The twenty-four paragons of Filial Piety [二十四孝]

Number Sixteen

With Deep Concern, Tasting His Father's Stool: Yu Qianlou [NB: In some versions of the Ershisi xiao Yu is credited with cutting flesh from his own body to give to his father as a kind of filial medicine.]

Qianlou lived during the Period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, in the state of Qi. He rose to office and served as the governor of Jianling for only ten days, when for no apparent reason, as he worked in the capital, he broke out in a cold sweat, and his heart palpitated, and would not stop.

"Do you suppose there is a problem at home?" he wondered. Being devoted son, the duties at home always sat foremost on his mind. Immediately he resigned his office and hurried home. After arriving he discovered that as he had feared, his father had suddenly been stricken with a strange illness that the doctors could not diagnose. "If you want to know your father's prognosis and chances of recovering, you must test his stool. If it is sweet-tasting, then the malady is serious, and chronic. If it tastes bitter, then the problem is acute, and short-term," said the doctor. Lacking any sophisticated testing procedure, the physician advised Yu Qianlou that he would have to taste the old man's excrement to determine whether he could quickly recover from the disease. Qianlou promptly sampled the stool and to his dismay, found it sweet-tasting.

That night, in desperation, he lit a stick of incense and knelt before the family alter, and prayed to Polaris, the Pole Star. "If my father an recover his health, I will offer up my life in exchange for his. Take me and let him live," he vowed. After news of Yu Qianlou's courageous oath got around, the family and neighbors all praised him as a truly extraordinary, filial child.

A verse in his honor says:

He served in office but a few brief days,
When father caught a strange and awful disease.
Qianlou looked North, and bowed to star Polaris,
"Take me instead!," he vowed from bended knees.

The twenty-four paragons of Filial Piety [二十四孝]

Number Nineteen

He Fanned the Pillows and Warmed the Sheets: Huang Xiang

During the Han Dynasty, a nine-year-old boy named Huang Xiang became famous as a model of filial service to his father. His mother had just died, and the young boy noticed that his father was wasting away with grief and loneliness. He resolved to make it his business to cheer up his father. After making that decision, there was no job in the house too troublesome for him, and he performed his chores with vigorous, positive energy. His only concern was to spare his father worry and anxiety. While the elder Hwang read by the light of a candle, Huang Xiang, in the sticky heat of the summer's evening would fan the pillows, so that they would be cool when his father went to sleep.

In wintertime, when the freezing winds and drifting snow turned the world to ice, the little boy would first hop into his father's bed to warm up the blankets. Then he would call his father in to come sleep in the cozy nest he had made. Mr. Huang was deeply touched by his son's considerate treatment, and his mind was greatly calmed. To have such a rare person as his son, who spared no details in serving as a dutiful child, was certainly a blessing. The story of Huang Xiang's behavior spread far and wide. Eventually his reputation as an exemplary filial son reached everyone in the land. "There's no one to compare with Huang Xiang anywhere", was a verse that could be heard throughout China.

The magistrate of Jiangxia, named Liu Hu, heard of a nine-year-old filial child in his district who understood the principles of filial respect, and made a special petition to the Imperial Court for recognition of Huang Xiang. How glorious and noteworthy was Huang Xiang's filial regard!

A verse in his honor says,

In winter months he warmed the sheets just right;
And fanned the pillows on hot summer nights.
In knowing how to be a filial son,
In all these years, Huang Xiang's still number one.

The Eight Immortals

Singapore, Bukit Brown Cemetery (Animals)

2011-06-28T08:10:00.000-07:00

Singapore, Bukit Brown Cemetery (Graves/Tombs)

2011-06-27T21:02:00.000-07:00

Singapore, Bukit Brown Cemetery (Misc)

2011-06-27T10:50:00.000-07:00

The Gate

The Photographer

Vietnam, Halong Bay (Landscape)

2011-05-17T06:13:00.000-07:00

Japan, Tokyo (Kabuzika Theatre)

2011-05-17T05:32:00.000-07:00

Japan, Tokyo (Akihabara)

2011-05-17T05:30:00.000-07:00

Japan, Tokyo (Asakusa) Day

2011-05-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

Japan, Tokyo (Asakusa) Night

2011-05-16T21:03:00.000-07:00

Japan, Tokyo (Koishikawa Korakuen Garden)

2011-05-15T06:12:00.000-07:00

Japan, Tokyo (Odaiba-Bay of Tokyo)

2011-05-15T05:38:00.000-07:00

Japan, Tokyo (Ginza)

2011-05-15T05:01:00.000-07:00

Japan, Tokyo (Shibuya)

2011-05-15T03:51:00.000-07:00

Japan, Tokyo (Meiji Shrine)

2011-05-15T00:34:00.000-07:00

Japan, Tokyo (Yoyogi Park) Animals

2011-01-10T02:38:00.000-08:00

Japan, Tokyo (Yoyogi Park) People

2011-01-10T02:34:00.000-08:00

Japan, Tokyo (Yoyogi Park) Landscape

2011-01-10T02:29:00.000-08:00

Japan, Tokyo (Yoyogi Park) Graffiti

2011-01-10T02:18:00.000-08:00

Thailand, Songkhla (Sleeping Buddha)

2011-01-10T01:14:00.000-08:00

Thailand, Songkhla (Tang Kuan Hill)

2011-01-10T01:00:00.000-08:00

Thailand, Songkhla (Samila Beach)

2011-01-10T00:33:00.000-08:00

Thailand, Hatyai (观音菩萨), fire crackers!

2011-01-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

Thailand, Hatyai (观音菩萨)

2011-01-07T06:35:00.000-08:00

Thailand, Hatyai (四面佛)

2011-01-07T00:49:00.000-08:00

Thailand, Hatyai (大佛) Exterior

2011-01-06T21:07:00.000-08:00

Thailand, Hatyai (大佛) Interior

2011-01-06T20:53:00.000-08:00

Japan, Tokyo (Ameyayokocho)

2010-11-17T06:33:00.000-08:00

Japan, Tokyo (Ameyayokocho) Night view

2010-11-17T04:24:00.000-08:00

Japan, Tokyo (Ueno Park)

2010-11-17T03:36:00.000-08:00

Japan, Tokyo (Disney Land) Night view

2010-11-16T09:38:00.000-08:00

Japan, Tokyo (Disney Land)

2010-11-16T09:10:00.000-08:00

Japan, Tokyo (Disney Sea)

2010-11-07T07:20:00.000-08:00

Japan, Tokyo (Disney Sea) Night View

2010-11-07T06:47:00.000-08:00

Japan, Tokyo (Yushukan Museum)

2010-09-15T06:15:00.000-07:00

Japan, Tokyo (Yasukuni Shrine)

2010-09-12T05:27:00.000-07:00

Japan, Tokyo (Imperial Garden)

2010-09-12T04:44:00.000-07:00

Japan, Tokyo (Sengakuji Shrine)

2010-09-12T04:12:00.000-07:00

Japan, Tokyo (Tokyo Dome) Night View

2010-09-10T09:48:00.000-07:00

Japan,Tokyo (Zojoji Shrine/ Tokyo Tower) Night view (New Year's Eve)

2010-09-10T06:21:00.000-07:00

Japan, Tokyo (Zojoji Shrine)

2010-09-09T23:34:00.000-07:00

Japan, Tokyo (Harajuku)

2010-09-09T08:42:00.000-07:00

Japan, Tokyo (Tsukiji Fish Market)

2010-09-09T06:32:00.000-07:00