Hermits around the web – Hermitary
news, sites, and pages of interest about hermits and solitude
Edward A. Burger is the director of Amongst White Clouds, the 2005 documentary film on the Chinese hermits of the Zhongnan Mountains. In October 2011, Burger was interviewed by Kyoto Journal on questions about the hermits: their inspiration, practice, and daily life, and how it affected Burger.
URL: http://www.kyotojournal.org/the-journal/conversations/alone-with-your-self-the-hermit-experience/
Painter Tian Xuesen has devoted his artistic efforts to painting the majestic Huashan mountains of China. The Shanghai Daily reports in an article titled “Tapping a muse in the solitude of mountains.”
Sometimes when Tian Xuesen sits in city traffic, waiting for a red light to turn green, he feels said he feels dislocated.
Small wonder that urban noise and crowds make him uncomfortable. More that half his year is spent deep in the silent mountains of Shaanxi Province, where he paints.
“With no one to talk to, I am surrounded by silence for weeks in the mountain,” says the 41-year-old oil painter, referring to his refuge in Huashan (Mount Hua), about 120 kilometers east of Xi’an, the capital city, and the westernmost peak of the “Five Great Mountains of China.”
“The mountain is and will be the sole subject of the rest of my life,” he says.
” … Years of living alone in the mountain have taught me what to choose and what to give up,” Tian says. “I have chosen to give up city conveniences and embrace solitude and art.
The article describes Tian’s life and routines in the mountains, his earliest years acquainting himself with the surroundings, how he came to settle on his artistic themes, and the significance of the mountain and solitude.
URL: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/feature/ideal/Tapping-a-muse-in-the-solitude-of-mountains/shdaily.shtml
From the Manila Bulletin comes an article titled “Hermit couple lives in cave for 54 years”
describing a married couple living in a cave (in Nanchong, Sichuan province, China) for 54 years — so far. Liang Zifu and his wife, Li Suying, originally intended the move to the cave to be temporary, but they decided to stay and raise a family. Though of advanced age, they refuse to move out, despite the urging of their children and of the village. The village did concede to the couple’s presence and now provides them electricity and running water.
URL: http://www.mb.com.ph/hermit-couple-lives-in-cave-for-54-years/
Hermits, a 2015 documentary film directed by Shipig He and Chengyu Zhou, follows author and translator Bill Porter’s three decades’ long journeys in search for modern Chinese hermits in the Zhongnan mountains of China. The film is based loosely on Porter’s classic book Road to Heaven, and includes some hermits who appeared in the film Amongst White Clouds.
Information about the film is scanty (Internet Movie Database IMDb lists the several film festival showings around the world) FilmFreeway includes a 4+ minute trailer and the director’s summary “13 Commandments” for hermits.
A colorful overview of Chinese hermits today is presented by the View of China website. Highlights the famous Mt. Zhongnan (Mt. Chung-nan) and its long history of nurturing hermits. Discusses professional hermits, Buddhist and Daoists, as well as casual hermits who visit the mountains on weekends to meditate and absorb the atmosphere of the famous Zhongnan.