The Passing of the Chief

I was deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Chief Kao Min-zheng, the chief of the Atolan aboriginal community in Dulan, Taitung. He suffered a heart attack while on a performing tour in China.
當我得知台東都蘭部落的頭目郭明正逝世的消息讓我深深的感到難過，當時他在中國的巡迴演出中突遭心臟病發作。

He was only 67 years old... very young for an Amis chief to pass on -- it is the first time a chief has passed away before his five-year term as chief is over.
他當時只有67歲…在逝世的阿美族頭目中算是很年輕的 - - 這是第一個在任職的五年內逝世的頭目。

He became chief shortly after I joined the Amis Atolan tribe, entering my age rank known as "La Zhong Chau". I remember how hard he worked to meet the expectations of the people and of his position as chief, and how seriously he took his position. And while it is a tragedy that he died so far away from home, it is a testament to his commitment that he passed away while on tour, promoting awareness about Atolan culture.
在他擔任頭目之後，我很快的便加入了阿美族都蘭部落，以我的年齡地位被稱為「La Zhong Chau」。我還記得他是以認真工作來達到人民的期望和他自己頭目的位子，並且很認真的看待他的職位。之後悲劇發生，他在離家鄉很遠的地方過世，在巡迴中過世是對他投入人們宣揚提升對都蘭文化的意識抬頭最好的證明。

I pray now for this Chief, his family and friends, and for the Atolan people who must now face the decision of how to appoint new leadership.
我現在為這位頭目祈禱，他的家人和朋友們必須面對該如何決定新頭目來帶領都蘭部落的人民。

I will remember him well, sitting at Dulan Point in his traditional clothing... and that is where I believe his spirit will tether.
我會牢記著他，穿著他的傳統的衣服坐在都蘭山頂…我相信那是緊繫著他靈魂的地方。

Good bye for now, my Chief. You will join a new age rank now, and observe your people from the heavens over Dulan.
暫時離別了我的頭目。你將進入一個新的歲數地位，並在天堂裡俯瞰著你的都蘭人民。

I trust we shall meet again.
我相信我們將會再見。

Most sincerely,
最真摯地

Matthew (MaShow) Lien 馬修連恩

Looking for some peace of mind

Feeling a strong need to get out of this city (Taipei) and listen to the cleansing sounds of nature, I headed out last night, going up Bei-yi Gong Lu (a winding mountain road which links Taipei and Yi-lan).

我強烈覺得我需要離開這個城市（台北），去聆聽大自然純淨的聲音，所以昨晚我出發前往北宜公路(連接台北到宜蘭的山路)。

My original plan was to visit my dear friend A-kiang in Yi-lan, where we were going to record a Bei-guan Opera master for a song I am creating (more on that later).

原本計畫去拜訪我宜蘭的好友阿鏗，並且一起在那裡錄一首我為北管大師創作的歌曲(詳情待續)

But my plans changed as my departure from Taipei was delayed, and because road conditions were pretty bad... it seems the recent "super typhoon" caused sections of the road to collapse into the mountain valley.

後來計畫有所改變,因為從台北出發的時間延誤，加上路況不好…似乎近日強烈颱風的侵襲，造成有些路段都崩塌了。

As I was driving my BMW motorcycle, I finally realized the conditions were too dangerous and decided to cancel the recording, but I did leave myself a bit of time to just sit there in the mountains and look across the dark valley, listening to the river below.

當我騎著我的BMW重型機車時，我才真的發覺路況實在太危險了，於是決定取消錄音行程，但我留了點時間給自己，坐在山中看著漆黑的山谷，聽著谷中潺潺的水流。

Although short, it was a much needed time and gave me a small sense of returning peace for my busy and sometimes-nervous mind.

雖然時間不長，但已足夠讓我繁忙、緊張的頭腦得到寧靜。

Tonight, I am off to an interview for ASUS (I love those guys... and their gear!!!) and then off for a two-day trip to Hsinchu.

今晚我有華碩的採訪(我愛他們…還有他們的設備!!!)結束之後去新竹2日遊。

We'll see how long this peace of mind lasts... but I guess I'll be needing some more natural recharging (and much more deeply) very very soon.

不知道這樣的平靜可以維持多久…但我想我很快就會需要更多大自然的充電。

Opening Entry...

It's 12:40 AM and I should definitely be sleeping... but we are desperately trying to meet a deadline for updating one website (http://www.matthewlien.com/) and creating another (http://www.mashow.com.tw/), and thus I am creating this blog to dovetail with those efforts.

So far so good...

I am quite happy to see all this coming together, as there are many plans and projects in the works which have layers of thought as their foundation... so this shall be the place to air those thoughts. ;)

OK... that's all for now... suffice it to say I'm happy to see this blog created, and in the words of one Governor of California... I'll be back (insert macho Austrian accent here).

Matthew (MaShow)