Hello friends!
　　


It's me 方安 again on the blog.  How is everyone?  大家好吗？一个星期没见，希望各位朋友都过的很好。

Now, last time I asked you all to guess my age. Well here's the answer.




So there you have it, 30 years old.  Well done to everybody who got the answer right. And thank you everyone who thought I was younger!

And also, I asked you to tell me where this was:
　　




The answer is Zhangjiajie 张家界.  Again, well done to everyone who got the answer right.  

You know, I love climbing, and I think it's really important to 登高 now and again, as 杜甫 said.  It helps you forget your worries, and put things in perspective 从实际的角度观察事物.

How about  you?  Do you enjoy climbing mountains, and why?  Which famous mountains in China have you visited?

Actually – I was in Zhangjiajie last year on my 29th birthday, and to my surprise I met this man at the top:
　　




Do you think he looks similar to Mao?  

Before we leave the subject of birthdays I wanted to ask you something.  When I was at university I studied Confucius 孔子, including his book 伦语which in English we call "The Analects".

Of course it was quite difficult to understand, especially as Chinese is my second language. But I remember some phrases, such as 三十而立。When I was at university, the age of 30 seemed very far away, but it's amazing how quickly time passes.

But what I'm interested in is what the phrase 三十而立 means to you.

I think it means that by the age of thirty, you should have already formed your ideas about life and how to be a good person.  

But perhaps the 立 means that you should have established yourself by the age of thirty, by doing things like getting married, buying a house and car? What does the phrase mean to you? Is 30 an important age in Chinese culture?


Here are a few quotations about turning 30.  I hope you find them interesting and funny.

“Everything I know I learned after I was thirty.”
- Georges Clemenceau

“When you turn thirty, a whole new thing happens: you see yourself acting like you parents.”
- Blair Sabol

“At twenty years of age, the will reigns; at thirty, the wit; and at forty, the judgement.”
- Benjamin Franklin

"You know you are getting old when the candles cost more than the cake."
- Bob Hope



Anyway.  In English we say "life begins at 40."  What do you think about that?

Ok, it's time for me to go now, but I'll see you all again later this week.

Here are my questions again - please send me your answers, I look forward to reading them.

1) Do you like climbing mountains? Which ones have you visited in China?
2) Do you think the man in the photo looks similar?
3) What does 三十而立 mean to you? Is 30 an important age in Chinese culture?
4) What do you think about the phrase "life begins at 40"?

再见！