Welcome to my Pavilion 歡迎! Huan yin! Welcome to the Evening Pavilion! I am Shì mèi, the youngest of this prosperous family of three children. Father (bà bà), the governor of this rich state and the businessman in charge of the import and export of silk, is one of the many important men of this country. Although, bà bà is known for his riches and power, many do not know of his generosity and wisdom-filled sayings. He has many sayings and often warns others when in near danger. He often discourages me to talk to strangers for he says one day I will find myself talking to the Black Spirit of this city. However, I will make an exception of you, my dear friend, and since I do not like to trust his wisdom words often. Should you wish to have some Chinese herbal tea feel free to pour some yourself. Umm…oh, you aren’t up for them! Oh dear me, would some jasmine tea do? We do have some wine here, but I doubt it will be to your taste, miss. At least, the ones we have here will not suit you for its strong taste. Anyway, I must comment on how delightful it is to have you over. If you wish, go ahead and enter the other areas of my Pavilion. You may visit the Gardens for your enjoyment or the other rooms such as the Library, an excellent place to learn chinese language, which are also here for you to investigate too. And don't forget the Hallways that are hold some wonderful plaques and presents that you must check out! Well, feel free to relax, sip some jasmine tea or Chinese herbal tea, eat some peaches, chat, read, or even just sit. As you can see my pavilion is now up and running in perfect order. Even if it is the smallest of all my sisters, I try to make it the home of comforts. Although, it's in need of a little more dusting, it's practically the most comfortable and cozy home a person like me can afford. Hopefully, you won't mind a little mess here and there. If you do come across this piece of land though please feel free to leave a scroll or gram me for I dearly enjoy the company of visitors, and I sincerely hope you will enjoy your stay here. Please feel free to leave a message with my close Japanese friend, Mayumi, or an e-mail with my lovely Indian friend, Sai. They will make sure your message gets to me. :) Well, I must leave you alone now. Thank you for visiting and hope you will enjoy your visit! *curtsy* 再见! Zai jian! Goodbye! Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast, you also miss the sense of where you are going and why. Eddie Cantor 草 離 離 原 上 草 一 歲 一 枯 榮 野 火 燒 不 盡 春 風 吹 又 生 遠 芳 侵 古 道 晴 翠 接 荒 城 又 送 王 孫 去 萋 萋 滿 別 情 --白 居 易 Bai Juyi An English translation of the above 唐 詩 Tang Shi: Grass Boundless grasses over the plain Come and go with every season; Wildfire never quite consumes them – They are tall once more in the spring wind. Sweet they press on the old high- road And reach the crumbling city-gate.... O Prince of Friends, you are gone again.... I hear them sighing after you. Wonder what this is? It's a lovely badge for writing an article in the Orient. For me, I've only have had the chance to make so far two articles, but I hope to do more in the future. Anyway, once you've written one, you get a lovely badge like this. If you want to know more click here. Here are some links which I found helpful and to guide you around the Orient and AW so you don't get lost too easily: A Beginner's Guide to AW Introductions & Welcomes in Orient Arachne's Web Help Center Global Level Welcoming Board Living in the Orient Click one of the chinese characters to get to the Garden, Library, or Hallway. My resources: ~My lovely avatar comes from Mysterious Ladies which however, I believe is inaccesable anymore and has closed down a while ago. ~My sunset entrance image can be found in Edenpics which have lovely wallpapers that may interest you. ~The lady in the green dress can be found here in People, Geisha, Oriental which have some nice oriental avatars for anyone looking for one. ~Lovely wild rye grass picture, huh? :) It's by Jean Accola, a fine artist. ~Those two dear dolls are from the lovely doll site Doll on the Hill Factory. An excellent doll site with some great dolls! ~The Living in the Orient plaque in my homesite was made by the great Shanti Ashoka!!! BTW, she makes amazing graphics which are really beyond me. :D ~Those plum blossoms of the main image of each room is from this lovely site, Kaleidoscope, that has some great japanese graphics. ~Finally, the background, masthead, the proud orient plaque, and the little purple graphic Thingy of this page were made by me. BTW, some of these graphics use several brushes from Touchstone's Art. Anyway, if you wish to use these graphics I made, please ask first and not take them without permission. ;)