An old pine stays forever green
老松壽綠
18 X 52cm in Clerical Script (隸書)
Background Information
"Old pine (老松)" is a metaphor for an elderly person, while "stays forever green (壽綠)" is a metaphor for everlasting youth. "壽" carries the meaning of "long-lasting/everlasting (長久)" (1) , and so "壽綠" here is translated as "stays forever (壽) green (綠)".
"壽 (longevity)" alone is also commonly used to celebrate birthdays.
Personal Comments
Everyone dies. Yet, how can one die but not perish?
In Christianity, one follows God’s way like a little child to enter eternal life after bodily death:
For further discussion on following God, see Lord’s Prayer.“At that time, the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:1–4)”
In Buddhism, one can transcend to the eternal "Nirvana(涅槃)", as suggested in the Heart Sutra:
“遠離顚倒夢想，究竟涅槃。”"Stay far away from delusional dreams, and ultimately reaches the state of Nirvana."
For further discussion, please see Heart Sutra.
In Taoist philosophy (道家), those who do not lose their ways in following Tao shall die but not perish:
“不失其所者久, 死而不亡者壽。”
“Not losing one’s way in following Tao enables one to last long; to die but not perish enables one to have true longevity.”
For further discusson, please see Laozi’s Tao Te Ching.
KS Vincent Poon June 15, 2017, revised July 2020.
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