Difficulties Old Age (1 results)

A poster with the image of an old man (Lao Lai Zi) outlined with white characters on a black background, text in simplified Chinese characters, 77 x 52.5cm, small 1cm closed tear right edge and lower left corner repaired. In good condition with clear and well defined characters, making the text easy to read. Lao Lai Zi, a symbol of aging and filial piety, is here represented in what appears to be a white line drawing on a black background. On closer inspection however, the lines are made up of poignant and occasionally amusing rhyming verses listing the indignities of old age, imploring the young not to look down on the elderly. The original stele carved with a similar image titled ?Lao Lai Nan? (Growing Old is Hard) is located at the Temple of the Medicine King in Beipo village in Shaanxi Province. It isn?t known exactly when the Beipo stele was carved but it is said to be related to a Mrs Li who lived in the temple and wanted it carved to teach her unfilial children a lesson. The use of simplified characters and catchy verse written in modern Chinese indicate that it is a 20th century artefact. The Beipo stele includes smaller carvings of eight old people using sticks along the vertical edges. This poster is a modern artistic stone rubbing interpretation of the main visual feature on the Beipo stele, i.e. the central figure outlined in characters, in a pose and design similar to the original. A well known educational Chinese folk illustration, ?Lao Lai Nan? is a moral lesson on respect for the elderly. ???? ???????????? ??????????????????? ???????????????????? ??????? ? Getting old is hard, it?s hard, I urge you not to look down on the elderly. Earlier, I despised others for being old, but now that I?m facing it head on, with a thousand kinds of troubles and difficulties, listen to everything I say. Being hard of hearing makes it difficult to communicate, if you miss this or that you annoy people? ? ?????????????? ???????????? ???? ???????, ???????? ??????????????????????????????????????? ? ? It?s hard to explain all the difficulties, one can?t sleep, and every night one gets up to urinate seven or eight times. I hate long nights, cold breezes, and I get sick from being in draughts. My lungs are weak and I cough and cough, and cough up phlegm, so my children dislike talking to me. They seem to think, I?m unkempt and don?t look like my former self. So old and still not dead, how much longer am I planning to live?