國家

MV 1.
Guo Jia (Country), by Jackie Chan and Liu Yuanyuan, premiere February 28, 2009 in Beijing.



MV 2.
This is a substantially different Music Video rendition of the 2009 Jackie Chan song "Guo Jia" (Country). It features many ordinary families from all over China. As always, it is the faces of many, many anonymous individuals that touches the soul.



国家
词：金培达
曲：王平久
唱：成龙、刘媛媛

一玉口中国 一瓦顶成家
都说国很大 其实一个家

一心装满国 一手撑起家
家是最小国 国是千万家

在世界的国 在天地的家
有了强的国 才有富的家

国的家住在心里 家的国以和矗立
国是荣誉的毅力 家是幸福的洋溢
国的每一寸土地 家的每一个足迹
国与家连在一起 创造地球的奇迹

一心装满国 一手撑起家
家是最小国 国是千万家

在世界的国 在天地的家
有了强的国 才有富的家

国的家住在心里 家的国以和矗立
国是荣誉的毅力 家是幸福的洋溢
国的每一寸土地 家的每一个足迹
国与家连在一起 创造地球的奇迹

国是我的国 家是我的家
我爱我的国 我爱我的家
国是我的国 家是我的家
我爱我的国 我爱我的家
(国爱万家 我爱国家)


MV 3.
This is a song with exactly the same title, "Guo Jia" (Country), although the "country" here refers to the Republic of China (Taiwan). I find the song with a little bit of a Russian folk song flavor (which is a little bit ironic), but perhaps not surprising since the composer, Liu Qichang was born in 1941; and perhaps shouldn't even be ironic at all because Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925, "Father of the Nation," the only politician revered in both mainland China and Taiwan, the central figure in this MV) adopted the policy of taking Russia as an ally during his final years, in the 1920s.

The tune and lyrics of this song are extremely touching, if the listener with PRC background could hear beyond the one politically sensitive phrase in the last sentence (which I took the liberty to withhold). Another irony here is that the singer, 張帝, who gave a splendid performance of this very serious and solemn song, is more widely known as a comedian-singer.



國家
詞:劉家昌 (1941-)
曲:劉家昌
唱:張 帝 (1942-)

沒有國哪裏會有家, 是千古流傳的話,
多少歷史的教訓證明失去國家多可怕。
炎黃子孫用血和汗, 把民族的根紮下,
多少烈士獻出生命, 培育出自由的花。
國家, 國家, 我愛的大中華,
四海之內的中國人永遠在青天白日下。

沒有國哪裏會有家, 是萬世不變的話,
當你踏上別人的土地才知道更需要它。
在風雨中使我有信心, 就是我的國家,
苦難中把我撫養長大, 也是我的國家。
國家, 國家, 我愛的大中華,
四海之內的中國人永遠在青天白日下!


*劉家昌其他作品

夢駝鈴、月滿西樓、庭院深深、一簾幽夢 等2000多首歌曲
電影《晚秋》等

為歌迷所熟知的鄧麗君、鳳飛飛、劉文正、費玉清、甄妮、黃鶯鶯、陳淑樺、蔡幸娟等很多華語流行樂壇巨星級的人物，都曾經是劉家昌栽培、提攜過的弟子。有人說，台灣華語流行樂壇的30年間，有3位舉足輕重的人物，即70年代的劉家昌，80年代的羅大佑和90年代的李宗盛。同時，由於70年代的娛樂消閑方式很少，不是電影就是歌曲，所以三人之中又以劉家昌的影響最大。

Source: http://www.hudong.com/wiki/刘家昌

Habanera

Habanera
Carmen
by Bizet, premiere in Paris, 1875.

Angela Gheorghiu sings the Habanera (L'amour est un oiseaux rebelle) from Bizet's opera 'Carmen' (Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands Silver Jubilee Concert in Amsterdam, April 29th, 2005).

Quand je vous aimerai?

Ma foi, je ne sais pas,

Peut-être jamais, peut-être demain.

Mais pas aujourd'hui, c'est certain

L'amour est un oiseau rebelle

que nul ne peut apprivoiser,

et c'est bien en vain qu'on l'appelle,

s'il lui convient de refuser.

Rien n'y fait, menace ou prière,

l'un parle bien, l'autre se tait:

Et c'est l'autre que je préfère,

Il n'a rien dit mais il me plaît.

L'amour! L'amour! L'amour! L'amour!

L'amour est enfant de Bohème,

il n'a jamais, jamais connu de loi;

si tu ne m'aimes pas, je t'aime:

si je t'aime, prends garde à toi!

Si tu ne m’aimes pas,

Si tu ne m’aimes pas, je t’aime!

Mais, si je t’aime,

Si je t’aime, prends garde à toi!

Si tu ne m’aimes pas,

Si tu ne m’aimes pas, je t’aime!

Mais, si je t’aime,

Si je t’aime, prends garde à toi!

L'oiseau que tu croyais surprendre

battit de l'aile et s'envola ...

l'amour est loin, tu peux l'attendre;

tu ne l'attends plus, il est là!

Tout autour de toi, vite, vite,

il vient, s'en va, puis il revient ...

tu crois le tenir, il t'évite,

tu crois l'éviter, il te tient.

L'amour! L'amour! L'amour! L'amour!

L'amour est enfant de Bohème,

il n'a jamais, jamais connu de loi;

si tu ne m'aimes pas, je t'aime:

si je t'aime, prends garde à toi! (x2)

Temps des Cathedrales

Bruno Pelletier - Temps des Cathedrales

Notre-Dame de Paris, musical, 1998.



C'est une histoire qui a pour lieu
Paris la belle en l'an de Dieu
Mil-quatre-cent-quatre-vingt-deux
Histoire d'amour et de désir

Nous les artistes anonymes
De la sculpture ou de la rime
Tenterons de vous la transcrire
Pour les siécles à venir

Il est venu le temps des cathédrales
Le monde est entré
Dans un nouveau millénaire
L'homme a voulu monter vers les étoiles
Ecrire son histoire
Dans le verre ou dans la pierre

Pierre après pierre, jour après jour
De siècle en siècle avec amour
Il a vu s'élever les tours
Qu'il avait baties de ses mains

Les poètes et les troubadours
Ont chanté des chansons d'amour
Qui promettaient au genre humain
De meilleurs lendemains

Il est venu le temps des cathédrales
Le monde est entré
Dans un nouveau millénaire
L'homme a voulu monter vers les étoiles
Ecrir son histoire
Dans le verre ou dans la pierre

Il est venu le temps des cathédrales
Le monde est entré

Bohémienne

Bohémienne

Notre-Dame de Paris, musical, 1998.



Phoebus:

D'où viens-tu belle étrangère
Fille du ciel ou de la terre
Bel oiseau de paradis
Que viens-tu faire par ici ?

Esmeralda:

Bohémienne
Nul ne sait le pays d'où je viens
Bohémienne
Je suis fille de grands chemins
Bohémienne
Bohémienne
Qui peut dire où je serai demain
Bohémienne
Bohémienne
C'est écrit dans les lignes de ma main

Ma mère me parlait de l'Espagne
Comme si c'était son pays
Et des brigands dans les montagnes
Dans les montagnes d'Andalousie
Dans les montagnes d'Andalousie

Je n'ai plus ni père ni mère
J'ai fait de Paris mon pays
Mais quand j'imagine la mer
Elle m'emmène loin d'ici
Vers les montagnes d'Andalousie

Bohémienne
Nul ne sait le pays d'où je viens
Bohémienne
Je suis fille de grands chemins
Bohémienne
Bohémienne

De la démocratie en Amérique

elle le ramène sans cesse vers lui, et menace de le renfermer enfin tout entier dans la solitude de son propre coeur.

it throws him back forever upon himself alone and threatens in the end to confine him entirely within the solitude of his own heart.

Credit

THE HISTORY OF THE BANKRUPTCY LAWS IN THE UNITED STATES
Charles Jordan Tabb
3 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev. 5 (1995)
(American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review)

"...Credit generally was viewed as immoral and almost fraudulent; as Blackstone noted:

"[T]he law holds it to be an unjustifiable practice, for any person but a trader to encumber himself with debts of any considerable value. If a gentleman, or one in a liberal profession, at the time of contracting his debts, has a sufficient fund to pay them, the delay of payment is a species of dishonesty, and a temporary injustice to his creditor: and if, at such time, he has no sufficient fund, the dishonesty and injustice is the greater."

2 WILLIAM BLACKSTONE, COMMENTARIES *473-74.

Quotes

I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.

--Voltaire (1694-1778)

The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the force of the Crown. It may be frail; its roof may shake; the wind may blow though it; the storms may enter; the rain may enter - but the King of England cannot enter; all his forces dare not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement.

--William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatam (1708-1778), Speech on the excise bill.

Ignorance is bliss.

--Thomas Gray (1716-1771)

Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno.
Un pour tous, tous pour un.
One for all, all for one.
我为人人，人人为我。

--Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) in Les Trois Mousquetaires

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Politics is the art of the possible.

--Otto Von Bismarck (1815 - 1898), remark, Aug. 11, 1867

History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.

--Karl Marx (1818-1883)

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

--Lord Acton (1834-1902)

"I have nothing to declare except my genius."

--Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), upon arriving at US customs 1882.

Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not.

--George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

My object in life is to unite my avocation and my vocation, as my two eyes are one in sight.

--Robert Frost (1874-1963)

Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.

--Winston S. Churchill (1874-1965)

I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity.
我孤寂地生活着，年轻时痛苦万分，而在成熟之年却甘之如饴。

--Albert Einstein (1879-1955), in "Self-Portrait," 1936.

The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist.

Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.

--John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946)

Biography is history seen through the prism of a person.

--Louis Fischer (1896-1970)

As a moth is drawn to the light, so is a litigant drawn to the United States.

--Lord Denning (1899-1999)

I don't necessarily agree with everything I say.

--Marshall McLuhan, Canadian author, educator, & philosopher (1911 - 1980)

The new electronic interdependence recreates the world in the image of a global village.

--Marshall McLuhan, "Gutenberg Galaxy", 1962

The medium is the message.

--Marshall McLuhan, "Understanding Media", 1964

I don't care who writes a nation's laws, or crafts its treatises, if I can write its economics textbooks.

--Paul A. Samuelson (1915-2009)

Journalists are the midwives of history.

--Unknown

Moral politics in the long run is realpolitik.

--Unknown

An ounce of luck is better than a pound of wisdom.

--English proverb

Curiosity killed the cat.

--English proverb

Man thinks, God laughs. (L'homme pense, Dieu rit)

--Jewish proverb

Lyrics

I wander o’er green hills through dreamy valleys,
And find a peace no other land could know.
I hear the birds make music fit for angels,
And watch the rivers laughing as they flow.

...And then into a humble shack I wander,
My dear old home — and tenderly behold.
The folks I love around the turf fire gathered,
On bended knees, their rosary is told.

-- Isle of Innisfree

孤独是一个人的狂欢，狂欢是一群人的孤独。

--歌曲《叶子》

No guts...no glory.

--Fifth studio album by American southern rock band Molly Hatchet, released in 1983

NYT: Harvard Endowment Falls 27.3%

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/business/11harvard.html?hp

Did China also have whipping boy in ancient times?

From Wiki:

A whipping boy, in the 1600s and 1700s, was a young boy who was assigned to a young prince and was punished when the prince misbehaved or fell behind in his schooling. Whipping boys were established in the English court during the monarchies of the 15th century and 16th century. They were created because the idea of the Divine Right of Kings, which stated that kings were appointed by God, implied that no one but the king was worthy of punishing the king’s son. Since the king was rarely around to punish his son when necessary, tutors to the young prince found it extremely difficult to enforce rules or learning.

Whipping boys were generally of high birth, and were educated with the prince since birth. Due to the fact that the prince and whipping boy grew up together since birth, they usually formed an emotional bond, especially since the prince usually did not have playmates like other children would have had. The strong bond that developed between a prince and his whipping boy dramatically increased the effectiveness of using a whipping boy as a form of punishment for a prince. The idea of the whipping boys was that seeing a friend being whipped or beaten for something that he had done wrong would be likely to ensure that the prince would not make the same mistake again.

The life of a whipping boy was usually one of sorrow and pain, but sometimes they were rewarded by the princes they served. King Charles I of England made his whipping boy, William Murray, the first Earl of Dysart in 1643 after he had been living in the palatial Ham House since 1626 under the request of King Charles I.

The children's book The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman, which is about a prince and his whipping boy, was the winner of the Newbery Medal in 1987.

大致说来，就是皇子犯错后替他受体罚的伴读。我知道中国古代宫廷有侍读的制度，但却想不起来侍读需不需要替皇子受体罚了。有没有什么文学、影视作品或历史研究涉及这个问题？

Irish writers

James Joyce (1882-1941)
Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

to be completed.

Wandering China: Napoleon and his views on China

http://wanderingchina.blogspot.com/2008/08/napoleon-and-his-view-on-china.html

Some might be already familiar with the notion of China being the world's sleeping dragon (well, they're now pretty much awakened and breathing fire, albeit, peacefully). Napoleon needs little introduction - the short and stout Frenchmen who pretty much took over Europe with a belly of fire, never taking no for an answer. Apparently, even 200-odd years ago, he had the foresight to predict what's happening in the world today.

On China...He was supposed to have said, "Let China Sleep, for when the Dragon awakes, she will shake the world." Now - foresight or wisdom? Another perspective would reveal that he could have very much appreciated the value of what a cultural centre like China's could do to keep an empire together (like how early Christianity served as a glue for the Roman Empire).

Or something to that effect. That triggered a little hunt online for the origins of such a saying, if it indeed happened, and if it did, what it meant.

And I managed to find a pretty decent entry at the China History Forum.

"Actually, there seem to have been two quotes. The first one is attributed to Napoleon in 1803 (ie before he became emperor), he is said to have pointed to a map, on china and said (more or less, there are many versions of the quote)
"Ici repose un géant endormi, laissez le dormir, car quand il s'éveillera, il étonnera le monde" - "here lies a sleeping giant (lion in other versions), let him sleep, for when he wakes up, he will shock the world"

And then, there is a second, more famous one, which is supposed to have been said in St Helena (in which case, it might be in Las Cases Memorial of St Helena): "quand la chine s'éveillera, le monde tremblera" (when China wakes up, the world will shake).

As for Napoleon's knowledge of China, the second half of the 18th century was a moment when Jesuit missions were quite active in China (time of Amyot, Castiglione, etc... all Jesuits who held high positions in the Qing court). The first translations of classics date from this era, and many of the translations were into latin or french. The first translation of the Daodejing, of some Confucian classics, and more importantly of the Sunzi and other military books were done in the second half of the 18th century. It is quite likely that Napoleon did read Amyot's translation of Sunzi (in fact, a compilation of several military texts, which included the Sunzi).

Note also that all things asian, and especially chinese, were fashionable among european intellectuals from the 17th and 18th century. Leibniz was probably the first, but Voltaire took sides in the quarrels on the origin of chinese civilisation, and wrote a tragedy "l'orphelin de la Chine", which had some success, after a translation of a chinese play based upon a story from the Shiji (the orphan of Zhao).

So, Napoleon did have some notions about china, and chinese civilisation, and was in this respect pretty typical of many young educated people in the late 18th century (or early 19th)."

---

In another article found on the Washington Times

The sleeping giant stirs
J. Ross Baughman
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Source - http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/aug/03/the-sleeping-giant-stirs/ (Date of Access 17 August 2008)

"Alexander the Great would have liked to have conquered the entire world, but found his limitations on the doorstep of east Asia. Centuries later, Napoleon knew his own military ambitions would fall short of the same frontier, and supposedly muttered "China is a sleeping giant. But when she awakes the whole world will tremble."

Sigmund Freud, who had a lifelong fascination with ancient Oriental art, also found this metaphor irresistible, except that the father of modern psychology saw in the sleeping giant China's potential for rage, born out of a deep-seated repression of ego and individualism.

Mao Tse Tung, the Marxist revolutionary, with an image of the "sleeping giant" in mind, promised his people that "All that the West has, China will have."

Now that's some food for thought on the world's imagination of China. At this point I'm wondering if any of these worries are founded as China has always proven to prefer to take the a 'pacifist' strategy of non-violence (as anyone who reads Sun Tze in any detail would know), and have hardly been known to take her internal problems outside of the country, much unlike the West, who take lands as they see fit hiding their resource gathering under a guise of pseudo-legitimate reasons. Why's the West keeping relatively quiet on Georgia today? I doubt there's anything to fear about China unless provoked. But it looks like the provocation will continue.

何勤华眼中的李克强

同学眼中的李克强　英气逼人、刻苦勤奋

http://www.chinareviewnews.com 2009-03-22 09:36:13

来源：法制日报　作者：何勤华，华东政法大学校长

2002年5月，大学毕业20周年庆典时，作者和克强同学（左）在一起。

李克强是从安徽考上来的，与我同年。比我高半个头，一米七六的样子，身材非常匀称，肤色较黑，浓眉大眼，鼻直口宽，头发有点卷，耳朵也很有福相，给人感觉是英气逼人。话不多，但讲起来很有分析力，非常精辟。

　　克强当时分在一组，和王志勇、王建平、丛培国等在一起。因此，我们之间平时接触不是很多，说话也不是很多。他给我最深的印象就是学习异常用功。没有课的时候，一早就离开宿舍，吃好早饭就去图书馆，除了出来吃中午饭和晚饭之外，一直要待到晚上闭馆才离开。

　　由于我们这一代人的小学、中学都在“文化大革命”中度过的，没有外语的基础，所以克强入学时的英语也不好，但他非常勤奋，自己制作一个小本本，正面是一个英语单词，反面是中文解释，苦记硬背，看到英语单词认识了，理解了，就翻过去；不认识或者还不太记得住，就看反面的中文解释（《南方周末》去年发表的关于北大法律系77级的那篇文章，记者将这一点搞错了，写成：“正面是英语，反面也是英语”，这样，就无法让读者理解当时我们背外语的方法和过程）。

　　克强学英语的刻苦勤奋，现在的年轻人是无法想象的，他走在路上也在背，上食堂吃饭排队时也在背，外出坐公共汽车等车时也在背。正是由于他抓住了生活中点点滴滴的时间，拼命苦读英语，因此，没过多久，克强的英语水平就上去了，大三以后就开始翻译英文原版的法律文献了。

　　1980年5月17日，我的日记是这么写的：“克强同学真不简单，他翻译的《英国宪法资料》已被人大常委会法制委员会录用，共一万多字。他另外翻译的两篇文章，也初步为我系杂志《国外法学》看中。他写的《信息控制与法学》的论文，已由系里打印，送交《法学研究》。他与周振想同学合写的报道《法律系学生五四科学讨论会》也将被《光明日报》录用”（当然，这些内容有的也是从其他同学那里听来的，没有核实过）。

　　克强后来还和其他同学一起合作翻译了几部西方著名法学家的名著（如英国丹宁勋爵的《法律的正当程序》一书，就是由克强等三名同学翻译的，该书于1999年由法律出版社出版）。

　　在我与克强同学的交往中，有两件事印象比较深刻，至今依然非常清晰。

　　一件是我们两人认识的过程。那是入学之后的事，在一次全班大会上，听取系里领导的讲话。我一边听，一边翻看手里的同学花名册。我当时的学号是 36号，跟在我后面的37号同学叫李克强。在这次大会之前我已经知道了他是从安徽考上来的，1955年出生，去农村插队落户，是个知识青年，入学之前是大队党支部书记，还获得了全省学习《毛选》的先进个人的称号。我想这个同学的经历与我非常相似，我应该认识他，交流交流。此时，我看到坐在身边的一位同学也在翻看同学名册，于是，我就问他：你是哪个小组？他说是一组的。我又问他：哪个是李克强？他说我就是。同时，他马上反问：你是何勤华吧？我说是啊（大概是我们的学号连在一起，故他对我也比较注意）。就这样，我们认识了。之后，有过几次我们坐在一起听学术报告的经历。印象最深的一次，是我们听一个外国专家的讲座，专家讲到一个名词：canonlaw，讲座中多次出现。我没有听出来，就问克强：什么是canonlaw？他就告诉我：canonlaw就是教会法呀，我才反应过来。同时也对他的专业外语水平感到钦佩。

还有一件印象比较深的事情，是在1979年我们读大二的时候。有一个晚上，我们看了香港电影《至爱亲朋》，它描写的是资本家之间为了获取最大经济利益而彼此竞争，乃至完全丧失了朋友、亲戚、父女、夫妻感情的故事，虽然许多地方模仿了巴尔扎克小说中的情节和手法，有些夸张和搞笑，但看过以后，给人的印象还是很深的，而且人也很兴奋。趁着一股热情，我就将看后的一些想法，结合马克思在《资本论》中阐述的关于资本在遇到剩余价值时就变得活跃起来，以及资本主义为了利润将人世间温情脉脉的面纱完全揭开的原理，花了两个晚上一气呵成写了一篇两万多字的文章。写好后给我们宿舍的几位同学看后，大家都没有提出什么意见，但都建议我将文章给克强看看，说他看了许多西方经济学的书，对经济理论比较有研究。于是，我就将文章给了克强。

　　三天以后，他将文章还给了我，我就请他帮我提提意见。他说，我们同学之间就不讲客气话了。你这篇文章，虽然下了点功夫，而且也看得出，你对马克思的《资本论》也非常熟悉，作为习作是没有问题的，但如果要投出去发表，则还有两个问题必须解决：第一，你文字太啰嗦，至少可以删掉三分之二；第二，你必须补充第二次世界大战以后西方资本运作的新情况以及经济学理论的新成果。

　　可以想象，克强的这个意见，如果是换作另一个同学听了，可能会深受打击，非常沮丧，因为他的意见实际上就是把文章给否定了。但我听了以后，感觉到他讲得还是有道理的：一则我当时写东西确实很啰嗦冗长，这一点李志敏老师已经批评过我好多次了。二则我对西方资本的情况以及西方经济学理论成果并不了解，甚至可以说是一片空白。这样，我最后听从他的意见，将此文作为习作，既不修改（按照我当时的水平和能力也没有办法修改），也不投出去，就一直放在了抽屉里。大学毕业整理行李时，我还看到过这篇文章，之后因为不断搬家，资料丢失了许多，这篇文章，也不知道在什么时候、什么地方丢掉了。

　　回忆上述小事，并将其写出来，主要目的是要说明，一个人的成长并不是很容易的。就拿写东西而言，我虽然也写了并且公开发表了不少论着，但开始时完成的成果，许多都是很幼稚、很粗糙、很肤浅的，后来之所以一点点有进步，主要是因为自己比较执着，从不放弃，不断琢磨，并且得到了像李志敏、由嵘、徐轶民、陈鹏生、余先予等老师以及武树臣、李克强、陈兴良等同学的指点、帮助乃至批评。

　　因此，任何人都不必埋怨自己的处境，只要你能够多听他人的意见，善于吸取身边每一个人的长处，来弥补和充实自己，就一定可以有所进步，慢慢前进。

Strawberry Fields

Source:

http://www.centralpark.com/pages/attractions/strawberry-fields.html

On December 8^th, 1980 John Lennon was shot dead as he entered his home at the Dakota Apartment

John B. Moore Strawberry Fields in Central Park.

Building at 72^nd St. and Central Park West. A long time resident of New York City Mr. Lennon had taken many walks with his wife and young son through the friendly confines of Central Park. Long a favorite son of his adopted city John Lennon wasn’t simply New York’s Beatle, he was, for many, the embodiment of the spirit on which city had been built. One half urbane cynic and one half romantic dreamer, he unabashedly embraced the disparate parts which, as every New Yorker knows, combine to form a uniquely gifted, passionate individual. And city.

On March 26, 1981, the city council adopted legislation introduced by then-council member Henry J. Stern on December 18, 1980, which designated the area, stretching from 71st to 74th streets, as Strawberry Fields. His widow, the artist and performer Yoko Ono, later donated $1 million to the Central Park Conservancy to re-landscape and to maintain the 2.5-acre tear-drop-shaped parcel of park landscape. Designed by landscape architect Bruce Kelly the ground breaking ceremony was in March 21, 1984. The name of the site is taken from the Beatle’s song Strawberry Fields Forever and was also, for John, an evocation of an orphanage in Liverpool by the same name. At the center lies the famous Imagine mosaic, donated by the city of Naples. There is also a bronze plaque that lists the 121 countries endorsing Strawberry Fields as a Garden of Peace.

Strawberry Fields opened on October 9, 1985, John's 45th birthday. Every October 9^th since then has seen an all day vigil of people of all ages from around the world; fans of his music and believers in his vision.

Location: West Side between 71st and 74th Streets

Details: Strawberry Fields was dedicated by Mayor Edward I. Koch, October 9, 1985, John Lennon's birthday.