Seppur sia vero che rispetto al primo libro questo era un po' più 'sottotono', la cosa ha ovviamente i suoi perché: mentre in 'Una magia infusa di veleno' era tutto molto più misterioso e movimentato dato che la protagonista, Ning, sta partecipando alla sfida per diventare shennong-shi e nel frattempo trovare una cura per la sorella mentre finiva in mezzo ai misteri di corte, qui abbiamo abbandonato il palazzo e siamo perennemente in viaggio insieme ai protagonisti per un solo e semplice motivo: sopravvivere. Per la maggior parte del tempo si fugge e le 'avventure'/side quests che i protagonisti affrontano sembrano più situazioni di contorno per quello che resta il loro obiettivo principale, ovvero cercare di restare in vita continuando a proteggere quelli che amano Hideyoshi’s enemies had spread a rumour Rikiu would murder the warlord by poison during a tea-ceremony. As it was in 1591, “suspicion was sufficient ground for instant execution.” After this, one last wish went the way of the unfortunate man. He chose to die by self-immolation. Above all we should pay homage to Taoism for what is has done to the Celestial character, giving to it a certain capacity for reserve and refinement as ‘warm as jade.’ Chinese history is full of instances in which the votaries of Taoism, princes and hermits alike, followed with varied and interesting results the teachings of their creed. The tale will not be without its quota of instruction and amusement. It will be rich in anecdotes, allegories, and aphorisms. We would fain be on speaking terms with the delightful emperor who never died because he never lived. We may ride the wind with Liehtse and find it absolutely quiet because we ourselves are the wind, or dwell in mid-air with the Aged One of the Hoang-Ho, who lived betwixt Heaven and Earth because he was subject to neither the one nor the other. Even in that grotesque apology for Taoism which we find in China at the present day, we can revel in a wealth of imagery impossible to find in any other cult. It’s an elongated haiku, then, although tea-masters such as Kobori-Enshiu attempted different approaches to the roji and believed this verse to be the perfect influencer: Dow, Arthur Wesley (1916). Composition, a Series of Exercises in Art Structure for the Use of Students and Teachers. Doubleday, Doran and Company, Incorporated. p.28.

An eminent Sung critic once made a charming confession. Said he: "In my young days I praised the master whose pictures I liked, but as my judgement matured I praised myself for liking what the masters had chosen to have me like." According to Tomonobu Imamichi, Heidegger's concept of Dasein in Sein und Zeit was inspired – although Heidegger remained silent on this – by Okakura Kakuzō's concept of das-in-der-Welt-sein (being-in-the-worldness) expressed in The Book of Tea to describe Zhuangzi's philosophy, which Imamichi's professor Ito Kichinosuke had offered to Heidegger in 1919, after having followed private lessons with him the year before: [5] Let us stop the continents from hurling epigrams at each other and be sadder if not wiser by the mutual gain of half a hemisphere.Der zweite und letzte Band der Dilogie geht schon in eine andere Richtung als der Vorgänger, wo der Wettbewerb viel Platz einnahm, wodurch der Handlungsort eingeschränkt war und man auch ein langsames Tempo hatte. Hier fand ich es schon schade, dass Nings Magie und auch die Teemagie nur noch eine kleine Rolle spielten. In all circumstances serenity of mind should be maintained, and conversation should be so conducted as never to mar the harmony of the surroundings … Thus the tea-master strove to be something more than the artist, – art itself. It was the Zen of aestheticism. Perfection is everywhere if we only choose to recognise it. This chapter is about Japanese architecture, which is markedly different from most of the rest of the developed world. The use of wood and bamboo “seems scarcely worthy to be ranked as architecture”, the writer muses. As Okakura points out: “[The Sungs] sought to actualise what their predecessors tried to symbolise.”

Non ho molto da dire, ritengo che il libro abbia mantenuto le aspettative del primo e sia stata una conclusione più che degna alla dilogiaHonestly, I think that the first volume in this series could have been written as a standalone and the rest of the series combined into it. Though it's not a bad book, While this is a decent duology outcome and everything is resolved by the end, I didn't find this as enjoyable as the first book, which I thought was doing okay and that I still enjoyed. Tea – unless one is drinking it in the Russian style — should be drunk without sugar. I know very well that I am in a minority here. But still, how can you call yourself a true tealover if you destroy the flavour of your tea by putting sugar in it? It would be equally reasonable to put in pepper or salt. Tea is meant to be bitter, just as beer is meant to be bitter. If you sweeten it, you are no longer tasting the tea, you are merely tasting the sugar; you could make a very similar drink by dissolving sugar in plain hot water. Their serene tenderness restores to us our waning confidence in the universe even as the intent gaze of a beautiful child recalls our lost hopes. When we are laid low in the dust it is they who linger in sorrow over our graves.