Chasing After Flowing Clouds追云

Clouds are still-life paintings created by the God of Heaven at His will. To the cloud-lover， the sky covered by clouds looks like a beautiful painting.

云是静物画，天公随意抹。喜云者，常把云天当画作。

Clouds are iridescent， and can appear in shades more nuanced than the seven visible hues of the rainbow， as has been portrayed in poetic lines like “The dawn clouds are an eye-dazzling spectacle” （by Wu Jun） and “The sun sets in molten gold; / The evening clouds form a jade disk.” （by Li Qingzhao）， not to mention the magnificent view described by Wang Bo： “The rainbow clouds with lonely bird together fly; / The autumn water blends with the endless blue sky.”

云有彩，七彩1颜色不为多。“朝云乱人目”（吴均），“落日熔金，暮云合璧”（李清照），更莫说王勃所描绘的“落霞与孤鹜齐飞，秋水共长天一色”的壮丽景观了。

We tend to describe beautiful sky and clouds as “blue sky and white clouds”. However， it is a bit too stereo-typical. The phrase “blue sky and white clouds” can only be used to refer to sunny days. How about red clouds？ “The clouds turn bright-red again in the waning glow of the setting sun.” （by Shi Yan） And yellow clouds？ “Yellow clouds have been carried along by winds for thousands of miles.” （by Li Bai） In “rainbow-colored clouds spread out for miles” （by Jiang Yan）， “rainbow-colored” is used to describe the strike beauty of iridescent clouds.

人说天美、云美，常以“蓝天白云”相称，但若仅限于天之蓝、云之白，未免单调了些。“蓝天白云”只是对于晴好天气的形容。红云如何？“彤云又吐，一竿残照”（时彦）；黄云怎样？“黄云万里动风色”（李白）。“云漫漫而奇色”（江淹），用“奇色”状述云之美，则是在无奈中表现云之多彩给人的震撼之感。

Clouds appear in a variety of forms， as in the sea of clouds conjured by Li Bai： “A bright clear moon rises over the Mountain of Heaven upon a boundless hazy sea of clouds.” Or they appear thin and wispy as depicted by Han Yu：  “Then， clouds drifting， willow catkins floating， / The land is vast， the sky is high.” The characteristics of clouds change along with seasons. The poet Tao Yuanming celebrates the wondrous shapes of clouds in the summer： “Clouds in the summer are continually changing and often appear in the form of grotesque mountain peaks.” The poet Liu Che describes the grace of clouds in the autumn： “Autumn wind rises; white clouds sail across a blue sky.”

云是有形的，或壮观如海，所以有了李白“明月出天山，苍茫云海间”的印象，或柔细如丝，所以有了韩愈“浮云柳絮无根蒂，天地阔远随飞扬”的感触。季节不同，云各有特点，陶渊明“夏云多奇峰”，描绘的是夏云的秀姿；刘彻“秋风起兮白云飞”，描绘的是秋云的洒脱。

Clouds are flowing. “Looking up I see flying clouds turn to dragons and snakes， swirling and dancing gracefully before melting in the azure sky.” （by Qin Guan） They are flowing all day long and at any moment， sometimes apparent， and sometimes unseeable. The high clouds seem to be motionless， but the low clouds are flowing like water. As a child， at summer time， looking up at the rain clouds in the sky， I would always recite the old saying： “Clouds travel southward， rains would follow; clouds travel northward， no rain comes down; clouds travel eastward， strong winds swirl; clouds travel westward， rains drown chickens.” The words are still ringing in my ears today.

云是流动的。“飞云当面化龙蛇，夭矫转空碧”（秦观）。云之流动，不消于一天之中、一时一刻之中，要么显而易见，要么隐而不察。高层的云岿然不动，低层的云如行云流水2。小时候一到夏季，仰望欲雨之云都要喊上几句“云向南，水涟涟；云向北，干研墨；云向东，刮大风；云向西，淹死鸡”，至今声犹在耳。

There are even changes in clouds that appear static. When you make a slight movement， or look away for a few seconds， the clouds look different as if they were forever changing in forms， colors and heights. The flowing clouds， aided by human imagination， produce wonderful phenomena in the sky.

即使静景的云，也有静中之变。只要你身子稍动，眼光就那么转上一圈，云可就有了不一样的观感，形状啊、色彩啊、高低啊，就都在变化之中。云，加上想象，不就有了魔幻般的体验嘛。

Taking clouds as a kind of source material， you may become a master of collage art， a painter or a photographer. I often take photos of clouds and show them to people：

拿云做材料，足可成就你个拼图大师、画家或摄影家。我常拍些云图给人看：

Look， what kind of buildings， or trees should be arranged with what kind of clouds—

你看，这样的楼房、树木和这样的云一搭配——

Look， when you place streets， traffic lights with this kind of clouds—

你看，这样的街道、红绿灯和这样的云一搭配——

Look， when you place fields， rivers with that kind of clouds—

你看，这样的田野、小河和这样的云一搭配——

Such arrangements work wonders！ Beautiful photo collages can be kept for a long time so the fond memories they capture can be revisited at any time.

奇妙可就来了！美图一旦拼好，便能长久存放，时时欣赏。

I have made cloud-themed collages as such：

我拼过：

The auspicious clouds with a reddish glow come from the east，

祥瑞红云日边来，

Golden beams of light burst through clouds at the Heaven Gate.

云后金光射天界。

The evening clouds are like hundreds of boats racing back，

百舸争流暮云归，

A white curtain of rain falls out of clouds turning dark.

墨云带雨雨幕白。

White clouds above the vast grassland， the looming cumulus clouds over the face of the waters， the magnificent red clouds behind high-rise buildings， and the fantastical sea of undulating clouds being traversed by hikers halfway up the mountain： one couldn’t help but be captivated by the picturesque beauty of all these natural wonders.

草地上白云衬托的辽阔，水面上团云压来的阵势，楼房后红云喷薄的瑰丽，山腰里云与游人共现的仙境，无不让人流连再三。

The brightly-shining sun evokes romantic feelings， while low-hanging dark clouds are often associated with disaster films. When you find your life to be dull， look up at the sky where clouds are changing in certain ways; when you feel confined in your living quarters， look up at the sky where clouds are moving in unstrained ways.

艳阳高照，让人想到了风花雪月；黑云压城，让人想到了灾难大片。当你感到生活单调了，那就不妨看看云吧，因为云有变化；当你感到区域受限，那就不妨看看云吧，因为云天马行空。