Minds Ripen Series: 30, 40, 50, 60, 70

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The work was inspired by the following verse in “The Practice of Government” from The Analects of Confucius: “At fifteen, I had my mind set on learning. At thirty, I stood firm. At forty, I had no doubts. At fifty, I knew the decrees of Heaven. At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth. At seventy, I could follow what my heart desired, without transgressing what was right.” In this verse, Confucius accounted for the six stages and processes in the practice of his life. Later on, people interpreted these stages as the ways of socialization in different ages. Therefore, I have translated the living attitude of Confucius into modern scenarios and re-interpreted these stages with appropriate signifiers.

As time has gone by, the form of Chinese characters has evolved into different styles, such Song, Gothic, and Li typefaces. Each brings a different feeling. For example, Gothic is pithy and clean, sans serif, and brings a modern and young image. Li contains a significant trace of Chinese calligraphy and brings a more mature and classical feeling. Therefore, this work will exploit the form characteristics of Traditional Chinese characters and select the signifiers that can express the signified to depict the semanteme and state of the different stages mentioned in the verse.

《論語 · 為政篇》漢字設計系列海報

本系列創作為孔子《論語·為政篇》：「吾十有五而志於學，三十而立，四十而不惑，五十而知天命，六十耳順，七十而從心所欲，不踰矩。」這段文字為孔子自述生命各階段學習及修養的過程，後人將其用以勉勵各年齡層應有的待人處事態度。於是我將孔子所描述的人生態度呼應自己觀察到的現今狀況，選用適切的符具詮釋其年齡狀態。

中國文字字形隨其悠久歷史演化出許多樣貌，如宋體、黑體及隸書等，每種字形賦予的心理感受各有不同，例如：黑體的筆畫簡潔俐落，無襯線，具有現代感、年輕的形象；而隸書帶有明顯的書法運筆的特徵，則帶給人較為年長、古典的感受。因此本創作將延伸使用中國繁體字字形特性，並使用能夠表達語義的符具，描繪上述年齡反映的語意及狀態。

“At thirty, I stood firm”

At 30, the stage of standing firm—the ‘blueprint drawing’ implicates the status of planning for future, ready to get married and start a career. The neat, sophisticated san-serif correctly matches with the image of this stage.

三十而立

三十歲，而立之年。運用「建築藍圖」來表達此年紀準備成家立業並且規劃未來的狀態，黑體無襯線且簡潔俐落的特徵正符合準備成家立業有擔當的樣貌。

“At forty, I had no doubts”

At 40, the stage with no doubts—use the confident, unrestrained semi-cursive script to imply a 40-year old person with a clear object in his mind. In the poster the typeface structure of ‘no doubts’ was designed into an ‘intersection’; it looks like having plenty of choice, while have has one in mind.

四十而不惑

四十歲，不惑之年。用行書的奔放及自信來表現四十歲的人對自己的人生已有明確的方向；海報將「不惑」的字體結構設計成「十字路口」，看似有許多選擇，然而「心」裡已有答案。

“At fifty, I knew the decrees”

At 50, the stage of knowing decrees –the ‘knowing decrees’ refers to facing everything positively regardless of what has happened, and take it calmly. Life is like the moon; now dark, now full. This work compares changes in life with the moon’s face, using elegant, steady song typeface to show the peaceful mind.

五十知天命

五十歲，知命之年。「知命」意指「樂知天命」，描述的是到了五十歲，不論遇到什麼遭遇，都能平靜對待且樂於接受。「月有陰晴圓缺」，使用「月亮」的運轉來比喻世事的變化，並使用優雅、平穩的宋體來表現平靜的心境。

“At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth”

At 60, the stage with obedient ears –‘with obedient ears’ means kind elders in sixties. The sturdy mountain is compared to the mature elders, and the waterfalls implicate the externality. Whatever good or bad from externality, the elders can tolerate and accept. The Clerical script with coherence landscape reveals the atmosphere of magnanimity and sedateness.

六十歲，耳順之年。「耳順」意指心胸寬大的六十歲長者。用安穩的「山」譬喻沈穩的長者，「瀑布」譬喻外在的事物，形容不管外在事物的好壞，長者都能包容接納。並用寬穩的隸書結合和諧的山水，呈現寬宏大量且穩重的氛圍。

“At seventy, I could follow what my heart desired, without transgressing what was right.”

At 70, the stage of following hearts—following ones’ hearts suggests freedom and relaxed, and going with the flow. I pictured its image with the wind, and the typeface of lesser seal was chosen for the fluent strokes, showing free and unconstrained of the seventies, while still retaining the no transgressing spirit of the lesser seal.

七十而從心所欲，不踰矩

七十歲，從心之年。「七十從心所欲不踰矩」，「從心」意指自由從容、隨遇而安，我使用「風」的意象來描繪。字體則使用小篆，它流暢筆畫呈現出七十歲的長者無拘無束的樣子，但仍保留小篆的書寫特色表現「不踰矩」的精神。