DPM Chapter 65-**Authority
Translated by Snowfall77
After the two men had crossed the secretively layered forest, the long-absent sun finally showed its face again.
While the sun launched its rays, white fog continued to shroud the earth’s surface, turning everything around them blurry and illusionary. Behind them, in the deep forest, the garishly beautiful carnivorous flowers hid away, leaving only mottled beams of sunlight filtering through the trees.
Peering into the distance, Wu Xingyun saw the lush vegetation of the forest turning thinner, trees sparser. The city Xi’an, also draped in white fog, was faintly visible, like an counterfeit fairyland.
Both Ye Fan and Wu Xingyun felt a burst of excitement in their hearts, their pace towards the city quickening.
Yet the closer they got, the more apprehensive Wu Xingyun became. He couldn’t help recalling Ye Fan and himself going to City C and the things they’d encountered there.
Trampled on in a narrow deadly tunnel, packed with people. Gigantic lizards wrecking an entire city. Fleeing like fugitives along a highway.
Hopefully, this time would be different.
Wu Xingyun prayed silently, Ye Fan walking in front of him, making a path. They passed by an extravagantly overgrown willow tree, then Ye Fan turned around, saying: “People are coming, we’d best be careful.”
“Mmm.” Wu Xingyun concealed himself in a thicket. Ye Fan stood on the road, out in the open.
They waited a while, until finally a group of people emerged from the city buildings, approaching Ye Fan.
It was about twenty people, holding rather primitive weapons, single-edged knives, double-edged blades, clubs, and some bows and arrows. Bringing along two dogs, it appeared they were going hunting for food.
" "Ye Fan loped towards them. After exchanging a few words, Ye Fan waved and called to Wu Xingyun: “Yun, come out!”
Wu Xingyun materialized out of his hiding spot, and the two sides introduced themselves. Ye Fan explained to Wu Xingyun that the group was in fact hunters sent out by Wang Ruoxu.
Partly owing to the departure of the scientists and strong military troops, Wang Ruoxu was at a loss when it came to producing food, nor did he have a way of extracting oil. Consequently, the city’s supplies were invariably short.
Every day, people were sent out to hunt. When they returned, whatever they’d procured was handed over to the Wang brothers to allocate.
The hunters noted Wu Xingyun’s attire, and knew without Ye Fan even telling them. “This is your family? He’s an ordinary person, isn’t he?”
Ye Fan nodded: “I heard that normal people can live here well?”
The group’s leader, a middle-aged man named Zhang Hao, nodded in turn: “Yes, it’s true. Most of us sought shelter with the Wang brothers for the sake of our family members. My daughter is ordinary. Go on to the city or would you like me to take you?”
Zhang Hao gripped a machete in one hand, his broad chest covered in just an undershirt, disregarding the cold weather. It only took a glance to tell that he was a mutant.
He appeared to be quite congenial. But he’d barely turned to go back into the city with Ye Fan and Wu Xingyun, when an accompanying slight, short man pulled at him: “Zhang Hao, if you return like this……I’m afraid the hunting be poor. There won’t be enough.”
Startled, Zhang Hao stared blankly for a second, then his expression turned apologetic. A finger pointing towards the old city wall, he told Ye Fan and Wu Xingyun: “Look at me, I’ve still got work to do. I can’t show you the way, but it’s not hard to find. Keep following this straight road and when you get into the city, just ask around.”
Ye Fan and Wu Xingyun thanked the group and promptly started on their way.
They’d both been to Xi’an before, when the military had been replenishing their troops. At that time, Wu Xingyun remembered that the city walls had been decorated, promoted as a tourist attraction. Now the walls were unexpectedly dilapidated, although parts that had been razed were being rebuilt. People doing hard labor could be seen, while guards stood watch at the temporary city gates, looking rather wooden. And because they were without textile technology, everyone’s clothes were tattered and worn.
Initially, Ye Fan and Wu Xingyun figured they might meet trouble, yet the guards had somehow already heard about the two of them. They were let in the gates, and greeted by an escort, who proceeded to lead the way to the Wangs’ residence.
Within the city walls, there were no cars, no firearms or corresponding equipment. Meanwhile, Wu Xingyun’s exceedingly strange appearance attracted many people’s stares.
The guts of damaged houses fell down onto the street, cement buildings were crumpled, and chunks of broken wall lay strewn all around.
In Ye Fan’s eyes, who’d been with the Federation, this state of affairs was pretty bad. However, as someone living through the last days, and who’d struggled to arrive here, Ye Fan also found it to be a passable paradise—no man-eating monsters, no terrorizing forests, no pressing anxiety of being killed for no rhyme or reason……
The three men made a big circle of the city before arriving at a park.
Wu Xingyun remembered the last time he’d come here. It hadn’t been a complete mess, but it had been in rough shape. He’d looked at the half-broken sign and asked Ye Fan what a ‘Rongyuan’ was. Ye Fan had laughed, a little surprised that Wu Xingyun didn’t know about Dàtáng Fúróngyuán (Tang Paradise).
Now, standing there again, both Ye Fan and Wu Xingyun were truly astonished.
They faced a verdant treed garden, with red bricks and yellow roof tiles. A huge stele at the entrance was engraved with the words— Ruo Xu Zhai (Taoist phrase).
The blue slate pathways unfolded spotlessly, flower beds on either side lush with green vegetation.
Exchanging a look, Ye Fan and Wu Xingyun’s thoughts were the same. To grow green plants in an area where plant-life and animal life mutated speedily—the plants would grow so fast that they’d need to be trimmed every hour.
Furthermore, after the descent of the thick Saer fog, these kind of non-threatening, purely ornamental plants were nearly extinct.
Even crossing through the forest, they hadn’t seen something even half like this.
But here, surprisingly, such a wide expanse was growing. And without carnivorous garish flowers snapping at anyone’s heels.
Still walking, the two men eyed the scenery.
Before the last days had struck, Ye Fan had come here on holiday. Now that fun mood had morphed into something completely different.
Nearly everything had been fixed up on either side. There was the Quijuang Pond, coiling through white jade rails, and ancient-styled buildings concealed in the bamboo forest. Many mutants could also be seen hard at work, tending the land.
Outside the end days raged on, yet here was practically heaven. Or at least the heaven of the last age.
Inwardly assessing all his senses could pick up, Ye Fan brimmed with vigilance, especially for the those people he was about to meet.
Their guide ushered Ye Fan and Wu Xingyun into the main hall of a seemingly Tang Dynasty building, then promptly departed.
Clearly, the building had been reconstructed, because Ye Fan remembered it being completely decimated the last time he’d been here. The floor was a spread of black marble, with a kneeling girl incessantly wiping off dust, working hard to keep the semi-open area spotless.
Ye Fan and Wu Xingyun stood still in the spot they’d been left, and not long after, Ye Fan heard the fall of footsteps.
Ordinarily, Ye Fan could detect sounds from about a five kilometer distance, however these sudden steps sounded about ten meters away.
Raising his head, Ye Fan faced where the footsteps were coming from, to find a tough, fierce-faced acquaintance walking towards him.
Wang Qiang.
In his heart, Ye Fan made a rapid determination of Wang Qiang’s mutant growth and strength.
Initially, Wang Qiang’s attitude had been impatient, but when he saw Ye Fan and the thoroughly covered Wu Xingyun, his face split into an appalling smile: “Hahaha, Ye Fan, it’s you!”
“Yes,” said Ye Fan.
Wang Qiang had tried to entice Ye Fan into joining his gang on the long flight from City C. Both Wu Xingyun and Ye Fan had disapproved of Wang Qiang’s practices though, their paths in life appearing to fundamentally diverge, and Ye Fan had very bluntly refused Wang Qiang.
Who would have supposed they’d meet again roughly a year later?
“Are you here to beg me?” Wang Qiang’s eyes looking Wu Xingyun up and down, “Is this your woman?”
Hearing that, Wu Xingyun became uncomfortable head to toe. Ye Fan, on the other hand, nodded slightly and plastered on most friendly smile he could muster: “That’s right. I’ve heard your older brother can help normal people survive. So I’ve come to try and find help.”
Wang Qiang snorted. “Didn’t you have scruples back then? Didn’t you have someone who could pull strings for you with the military? Now……really? I knew it’d end up this way, so why be all high and mighty back then?”
Ye Fan replied: “Let’s not talk about the past. Who expected that we’d be abandoned? In this last age, everyone should help each other live well. I want my lover to survive, and I’m asking for help in all sincerity.”
Laughing, Wang Qiang, unable to see Wu Xingyun’s face and ignorant of the soldier’s identity, rolled his eyes: “Sure, no problem. But we have rules here. If anyone brings women here, that means one of the girls has to spend the night with me. Fair and square, everyone gets the same deal. So, Ye Fan, let your woman sleep with me tonight. If she pleases me, I’ll take her to see my brother in the morning.”
Face instantly turned ashen, Ye Fan couldn’t help his hands fisting up.
Wang Qiang smiled, patting Ye Fan on the shoulder. “Ye Fan, you’d best learn that you bow your head when under someone else’s roof. It doesn’t matter, I won’t insist on it. You think it over for yourself!”
Ye Fan’s brow furrowed, then gradually eased. Though the hands he’d hidden in his pants pocket were still tightly clenched, the corner of his mouth quirked up, showing an indifferent expression: “Wang Qiang, remember that smaller soldier who was with me back then?”
“Oh, I remember. The one who —- —- —–. The —- one?” Wang Qiang grimaced in disdain.
Ye Fan’s hands slowly loosened, his smile turning even more casual: “Yes, he’s my lover. Anyways, as long as you can get it up, I don’t mind him spending one night with you.”
TN-Wang Qiang says something racist there at the end.
I am not translating that.
“蓉园” Rong Yuan “Hibiscus Garden”
Initially built in the Sui Dynasty (581-618), the “Tang Paradise” was named “Hibiscus Garden” (Furong yuan) at the time and was also the best-known imperial garden. In Tang times, it was expanded and renamed “Tang Paradise”. Today’s Tang Paradise, build on its original sites, is the first large-scale imperial garden-like cultural theme park to fully display the high Tang period in China.
The scenery spots of the Tang Paradise is divided into 14 cultural theme areas, including the Purple Cloud Tower (Ziyun lou), the female spirit exhibition area, the imperial banquet hall, the flowery grove, the Flying Phoenix Cinema, the area of civil service recruitment examination, Lu Yu Tea House, the Tang market, and the Flowing Wine in the Qujiang River, where the splendid civilization of the prosperous Tang Dynasty is presented in various aspects. Additionally there are rich and colorful cultural programs including the world intangible cultural heritage of Xi’an Drum Music, the large-scale fantastic music-and-dance performance Dreams back to the Great Tang, and the ultra-large type water screen film The Monkey King, all on show every day.
http://en.xa.gov.cn/services/travel/attractions/1051.htm
Ruo Xu Zhai 若虚斋若
ruò to seem / like / as / if
虚xū emptiness / void / abstract theory or guiding principles / empty or unoccupied / diffident or timid / false / humble or modest / (of health) weak / virtual / in vain
斋zhāi to fast or abstain from meat, wine etc / vegetarian diet / study room / building / to give alms (to a monk)
Zhuangzi Xinzhai Method
Xin Zhai means to get rid of distracting thoughts, to make the state of mind empty, quiet and pure, and to clear the way. Zhuangzi ‘s philosophical language during the Warring States Period in China . The words ” Zhuangzi · The World “.
There is a fable in “Zhuangzi: The World”: Yan Hui asked Confucius how to persuade the arbitrarily defending monarch. Confucius told him to do “heart fast” first, and pointed out that this is not a fast for sacrificial worship, but a fast for spirituality. .
He replied: “Dare to ask Xin Zhai.” Zhong Ni said: “If you have a mind, if you don’t listen, you can listen to your heart with your ears; if you don’t listen, you can listen to your heart with air. Listening stops at your ears, and your heart stops at a symbol. Also, those who are empty and waiting for things. Only the Tao is empty. Those who are empty, the heart is also”.
The so-called “listening to the breath” means listening to the breath of oneself, using only the roots of the ears , without awareness, not replacing that thought with this thought, let alone focusing on the nose or lungs, or listening to any sound in the nose. If you feel the whereabouts of the breath, don’t let it hide it, that’s right. As for the speed, thickness, and depth of the breath, let it change naturally, and you don’t need to control it. After hearing it, the spirit is one, there is no distracting thoughts, even the breath is forgotten, and you gradually fall asleep. This is what The most effective elbow in the process of recovering from a weakened nervous system is to take this opportunity to fall asleep, and you must not force your mind to resist drowsiness; after waking up, you can listen to the breathing method from the beginning, and you can fall asleep peacefully. . If you sleep a few times during the day and you don’t want to sleep again, you might as well get up outside for a little activity, or pick a place with lots of trees and clean air, and stand there for a few minutes to breathe in, or do calisthenics or Tai Chi Boxing is good, but it should be adequate, and don’t make the body feel tired; return to the room, or sit or lie down, and still listen to the breath, and may fall into the state of deep sleep. Most people suffering from neurasthenia have insomnia. Sleeping pills should not be taken regularly. Only listening to the breathing method can solve the problem fundamentally, without any malpractice, and it is consistent with the theory that yang enters yin in the “Huang Di Nei Jing”. (“Lingshu. Dahui Theory”: “Wei Qi always stays in the Yang, and the Yang Qi is strong; if it is not in the Yin, the Yin Qi is weak, so the eyes do not look at it.”)
Predecessors often used the term “heart-breath interdependence” in previous books, but did not explain how to follow the law. Su Dongpo used the method of counting interest first, followed by the method of random interest; Zhu Zi’s method of “Adjusting Breath” used the method of “observing the nose and whitening” in the Shurangama Sutra. But to count the breath, you must count intentionally, not purely without thought; to observe the nose, you must open your eyes to observe. After a long time, your eyes will inevitably get tired; only “Zhuangzi” listens to the breathing method, does not need to read in the heart, and does not feel tired after hearing it for a long time. It really fits into the track of “heart-breath interdependence”.
These three methods are listed below and explained briefly, so that scholars can experiment by themselves.
” Yan Hui said: Dare to ask Xinzhai? Zhongni Ri: If you have a mind; if you don’t hear, use the ear, but listen to the heart; if you don’t listen, use the heart, but listen to the air; listening stops at the ear, and the heart stops at the talisman. Those who have the air, those who are empty but treat things, only the Tao gathers the empty, and those who are empty have the heart.”
Brief explanation
Yan Hui is one of Confucius’ disciples, and Zhong Ni is the character of Confucius. Yan Hui asked what does “Xin Zhai” mean? Confucius said, “You should concentrate your thoughts in one place and don’t think about it. When your thoughts are unified, use the word’listen’, but not with ears, but with your heart; this is still a superficial way of saying that At the first level, it is not to listen with the heart, but to listen with the air. At this state, the effect of ear-listening has long since ceased. The spirit and the air become one, and the heart does not work. The essence of air is empty. It has to wait for something to gather with it. Only the “Tao” often gathers together with the Qi of Taixu. If the heart is the same as Taixu, it is considered as a heart fast.”,
The above is how Confucius Gao Yanhui asked about Shinsai’s time. This kind of work is done in a series. The middle stage does not matter at all, but for the sake of easy entry for scholars, we might as well divide a few steps in the whole work and explain them in detail:
The first step is “Ruoyizhi”. The word “Ruo” is used as the word “you”. “Aspiration” means thought, or thought. When you first do the work, you must be focused on your mind, and don’t have many distracting thoughts disturbing it. If the distracting thoughts are not cleaned up, it will be difficult to do well.
The second step is “not listen to ears, but listen to heart.” “No” is equal to “Wu”, and can also be used as a solution to the word “wu”; the word “Zhi” is a pronoun, referring to the listener; and the word “以” is used as the word solution for “yong”. Once the thoughts are united, start working, using the word “listen”. The ordinary so-called listening is to listen to various sounds with two ears; the so-called listening here is by no means listening to sounds. People are about to have questions: if they say that they are listening, there must be someone to listen to. If you don’t listen to the sound, what should you listen to? There is no clear answer to this question in various comments. Today I specifically pointed out that the first step is to listen to the breath in the nose. Anyone who has a normal respiratory system without obstructions has no sound in the nose, so they say “don’t listen with ears”; although there is no sound, they can know that the breath in the nose is going in and out, whether it is fast or slow. Whether it is thick or thin, even a deaf person will have this feeling, so I say “listen to your heart.”
The third step is “the heart without hearing but the breath with the heart”. Here is another problem; the mind is conscious, and it can be said to be a word “listening”; qi is without consciousness, so you can use it anyway Come to listen? The object that the mind listens to is qi, and what is the object that qi listens to? If you use your breath to listen to your breath, this sentence doesn’t make sense in the theory, how to explain it? The answer is: Listening to the breath has been done for a long time, the heart and the breath have become one and they are inseparable, and the breath can no longer be the object of the mind. You can no longer talk about using this mind or listening to that breath. At this time, although the spirit and energy in the body are united, they have not yet reached the realm of chaos, and they are still a little conscious. If you continue to do it, it does not take a lot of time, and naturally you are completely unconscious. In the temporary process from being conscious to unconscious, it is better to listen to the breath with the breath, so that the gap between the heart and the breath is cleared. gas”. Although the word “listen” is still used here, in fact it means to stop focusing on “listening”. The idioms called “listen to nature”, “listen to nothing more”, “listen to him and go”, these words “listen” are the best here. explanation of.
The fourth step is “listening to ears and ears to symbols”. At the beginning, pay attention to the word “Yi”; when the thoughts are back to one, focus on the word “listen”; if you hold on to a word “listen” for a long time and refuse to relax, you will be too persistent. The word “stop” is used. The so-called “listening to the ear” is to teach people not to pay attention to listening. At this time, kung fu has gradually entered the realm of chaos, the body is in harmony with spirit and energy, and the perception of the heart has no effect, so it is said that “the heart stops at the talisman” (Fu is the meaning of conformity). This state of unity of spirit and spirit is ignorant. It looks the same as sleeping on the outside, but the situation inside is different.
The fifth step is “the one who is in the air, the one who is empty but the thing is, only the Tao gathers the empty, and the one who is empty is the heart fast.” In the past, the realm of shallow and deep has passed step by step, and finally the realm of “virtual”. This “virtuality” is naturally obtained from ignorance and unconsciousness, and is not created by consciousness. If you are working on it, you often want to be virtual, but you can’t be virtual. All the work was originally returned from the day after tomorrow to the innate, so the fifth step of work should be experienced in the innate realm. If you ask how to call it Xiantian, this matter has gone beyond the scope of the convalescent method, so I don’t need to go into it here. Ordinarily use meditation to cure the disease; as long as the body is in the state of the unity of spirit and energy (that is, the heart stops at the talisman), it is enough.
https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%BA%84%E5%AD%90%E5%BF%83%E6%96%8B%E5%90%AC%E6%81%AF%E6%B3%95/10076904
Xi’an City Wall
The first landmark visitors will encounter in Xi’an is the ancient city wall, which surrounds the old city in a large square area. The northern side runs parallel to the railway.
Xi’an was originally a walled city, and even today the wall is considered a landmark dividing the city into the inner part and the outer part. The city wall is massive — tall, long and thick. The South Gate and North Gate are the two main entrances to the inner city. The city itself is neatly arranged along the city wall.
Why the Wall was Built
Xi’an City Wall was erected in the 14th century Ming Dynasty, under the regime of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang.
When Zhu Yuanzhang captured Huizhou, long before the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, he was admonished by a hermit named Zhu Sheng, who told him to “build high walls, store abundant provisions and take your time in proclaiming yourself emperor”, advice heeded by Zhu Yuanzhang.
The current city wall is an enhancement of the old Tang Dynasty structure, as a result of the emperor’s wall building campaign.
The Structure of the City Wall
Interesting to note is that the base of the wall was made of earth, quick lime, and glutinous rice extract, tamped together. It made the wall extremely strong and firm. Later, the wall was totally enclosed with bricks.
A moat, wide and deep, ran around the walls. Over the moat, there was a huge drawbridge, which would cut off access to the city, once lifted.
Xi’an’s city wall, after its enlargement in the Ming Dynasty, stands 12 meters high. It is 12–14 meters wide across the top, 15–18 meters thick at bottom, and 13.7 kilometers in length.
There is a flanking tower every 120 meters. The flanking towers were built to allow soldiers to see enemies trying to climb the wall. The distance between the flanking towers is within the range of arrows fired from either side. This allowed soldiers to protect the entire wall without exposing themselves to the enemy. There are 98 flanking towers; each has a sentry building on top of it.
The gates of the city wall were the only way to go in and out of town. Therefore, these gates were important strategic points, which the feudal rulers racked their brains to try to defend.
In Xi’an’s case, the north, south, east and west gates, each consist of three towers: the gate tower, which holds the drawbridge, the narrow tower and the main tower. The gate tower stands proud of the wall. It is used to lift and lower the drawbridge. The narrow tower is in the middle. Its inner walls have square windows to shoot arrows from. The main tower is the innermost one, and forms the entrance to the city.
Tunnels
The narrow tower and the main tower are connected by tunnels, in which soldiers could be stationed. From the tunnels there are also horse passages leading to the top of the wall. There are gradually ascending steps, made so that it was easy for war horses. There are 11 horse passages around the city.
Watchtowers
A watchtower is located on each of the four corners of the wall. The one at the southwestern corner is round, probably after the model of the imperial city wall of the Tang Dynasty, but the other three are square-shaped.
On top of the watch towers there is a corner rampart, higher and larger than the ordinary ramparts. This shows the strategic importance of the corners of the city wall during wars.
Battlements
Along the outer crest of the city wall there are crenelations or battlements. Under each of the 5,984 crenels there is a square hole, from which arrows were shot and watch was kept. The lower, inner walls are called parapets. They were used to prevent soldiers from falling off the wall, when traveling back and forth.
https://www.chinahighlights.com/xian/attraction/ancient-city-wall.htm
DPM Chapter 65-**Authority
Translated by Snowfall77
After the two men had crossed the secretively layered forest, the long-absent sun finally showed its face again.
While the sun launched its rays, white fog continued to shroud the earth’s surface, turning everything around them blurry and illusionary. Behind them, in the deep forest, the garishly beautiful carnivorous flowers hid away, leaving only mottled beams of sunlight filtering through the trees.
Peering into the distance, Wu Xingyun saw the lush vegetation of the forest turning thinner, trees sparser. The city Xi’an, also draped in white fog, was faintly visible, like an counterfeit fairyland.
Both Ye Fan and Wu Xingyun felt a burst of excitement in their hearts, their pace towards the city quickening.
Yet the closer they got, the more apprehensive Wu Xingyun became. He couldn’t help recalling Ye Fan and himself going to City C and the things they’d encountered there.
Trampled on in a narrow deadly tunnel, packed with people. Gigantic lizards wrecking an entire city. Fleeing like fugitives along a highway.
Hopefully, this time would be different.
Wu Xingyun prayed silently, Ye Fan walking in front of him, making a path. They passed by an extravagantly overgrown willow tree, then Ye Fan turned around, saying: “People are coming, we’d best be careful.”
“Mmm.” Wu Xingyun concealed himself in a thicket. Ye Fan stood on the road, out in the open.
They waited a while, until finally a group of people emerged from the city buildings, approaching Ye Fan.
It was about twenty people, holding rather primitive weapons, single-edged knives, double-edged blades, clubs, and some bows and arrows. Bringing along two dogs, it appeared they were going hunting for food.
" "Ye Fan loped towards them. After exchanging a few words, Ye Fan waved and called to Wu Xingyun: “Yun, come out!”
Wu Xingyun materialized out of his hiding spot, and the two sides introduced themselves. Ye Fan explained to Wu Xingyun that the group was in fact hunters sent out by Wang Ruoxu.
Partly owing to the departure of the scientists and strong military troops, Wang Ruoxu was at a loss when it came to producing food, nor did he have a way of extracting oil. Consequently, the city’s supplies were invariably short.
Every day, people were sent out to hunt. When they returned, whatever they’d procured was handed over to the Wang brothers to allocate.
The hunters noted Wu Xingyun’s attire, and knew without Ye Fan even telling them. “This is your family? He’s an ordinary person, isn’t he?”
Ye Fan nodded: “I heard that normal people can live here well?”
The group’s leader, a middle-aged man named Zhang Hao, nodded in turn: “Yes, it’s true. Most of us sought shelter with the Wang brothers for the sake of our family members. My daughter is ordinary. Go on to the city or would you like me to take you?”
Zhang Hao gripped a machete in one hand, his broad chest covered in just an undershirt, disregarding the cold weather. It only took a glance to tell that he was a mutant.
He appeared to be quite congenial. But he’d barely turned to go back into the city with Ye Fan and Wu Xingyun, when an accompanying slight, short man pulled at him: “Zhang Hao, if you return like this……I’m afraid the hunting be poor. There won’t be enough.”
Startled, Zhang Hao stared blankly for a second, then his expression turned apologetic. A finger pointing towards the old city wall, he told Ye Fan and Wu Xingyun: “Look at me, I’ve still got work to do. I can’t show you the way, but it’s not hard to find. Keep following this straight road and when you get into the city, just ask around.”
Ye Fan and Wu Xingyun thanked the group and promptly started on their way.
They’d both been to Xi’an before, when the military had been replenishing their troops. At that time, Wu Xingyun remembered that the city walls had been decorated, promoted as a tourist attraction. Now the walls were unexpectedly dilapidated, although parts that had been razed were being rebuilt. People doing hard labor could be seen, while guards stood watch at the temporary city gates, looking rather wooden. And because they were without textile technology, everyone’s clothes were tattered and worn.
Initially, Ye Fan and Wu Xingyun figured they might meet trouble, yet the guards had somehow already heard about the two of them. They were let in the gates, and greeted by an escort, who proceeded to lead the way to the Wangs’ residence.
Within the city walls, there were no cars, no firearms or corresponding equipment. Meanwhile, Wu Xingyun’s exceedingly strange appearance attracted many people’s stares.
The guts of damaged houses fell down onto the street, cement buildings were crumpled, and chunks of broken wall lay strewn all around.
In Ye Fan’s eyes, who’d been with the Federation, this state of affairs was pretty bad. However, as someone living through the last days, and who’d struggled to arrive here, Ye Fan also found it to be a passable paradise—no man-eating monsters, no terrorizing forests, no pressing anxiety of being killed for no rhyme or reason……
The three men made a big circle of the city before arriving at a park.
Wu Xingyun remembered the last time he’d come here. It hadn’t been a complete mess, but it had been in rough shape. He’d looked at the half-broken sign and asked Ye Fan what a ‘Rongyuan’ was. Ye Fan had laughed, a little surprised that Wu Xingyun didn’t know about Dàtáng Fúróngyuán (Tang Paradise).
Now, standing there again, both Ye Fan and Wu Xingyun were truly astonished.
They faced a verdant treed garden, with red bricks and yellow roof tiles. A huge stele at the entrance was engraved with the words— Ruo Xu Zhai (Taoist phrase).
The blue slate pathways unfolded spotlessly, flower beds on either side lush with green vegetation.
Exchanging a look, Ye Fan and Wu Xingyun’s thoughts were the same. To grow green plants in an area where plant-life and animal life mutated speedily—the plants would grow so fast that they’d need to be trimmed every hour.
Furthermore, after the descent of the thick Saer fog, these kind of non-threatening, purely ornamental plants were nearly extinct.
Even crossing through the forest, they hadn’t seen something even half like this.
But here, surprisingly, such a wide expanse was growing. And without carnivorous garish flowers snapping at anyone’s heels.
Still walking, the two men eyed the scenery.
Before the last days had struck, Ye Fan had come here on holiday. Now that fun mood had morphed into something completely different.
Nearly everything had been fixed up on either side. There was the Quijuang Pond, coiling through white jade rails, and ancient-styled buildings concealed in the bamboo forest. Many mutants could also be seen hard at work, tending the land.
Outside the end days raged on, yet here was practically heaven. Or at least the heaven of the last age.
Inwardly assessing all his senses could pick up, Ye Fan brimmed with vigilance, especially for the those people he was about to meet.
Their guide ushered Ye Fan and Wu Xingyun into the main hall of a seemingly Tang Dynasty building, then promptly departed.
Clearly, the building had been reconstructed, because Ye Fan remembered it being completely decimated the last time he’d been here. The floor was a spread of black marble, with a kneeling girl incessantly wiping off dust, working hard to keep the semi-open area spotless.
Ye Fan and Wu Xingyun stood still in the spot they’d been left, and not long after, Ye Fan heard the fall of footsteps.
Ordinarily, Ye Fan could detect sounds from about a five kilometer distance, however these sudden steps sounded about ten meters away.
Raising his head, Ye Fan faced where the footsteps were coming from, to find a tough, fierce-faced acquaintance walking towards him.
Wang Qiang.
In his heart, Ye Fan made a rapid determination of Wang Qiang’s mutant growth and strength.
Initially, Wang Qiang’s attitude had been impatient, but when he saw Ye Fan and the thoroughly covered Wu Xingyun, his face split into an appalling smile: “Hahaha, Ye Fan, it’s you!”
“Yes,” said Ye Fan.
Wang Qiang had tried to entice Ye Fan into joining his gang on the long flight from City C. Both Wu Xingyun and Ye Fan had disapproved of Wang Qiang’s practices though, their paths in life appearing to fundamentally diverge, and Ye Fan had very bluntly refused Wang Qiang.
Who would have supposed they’d meet again roughly a year later?
“Are you here to beg me?” Wang Qiang’s eyes looking Wu Xingyun up and down, “Is this your woman?”
Hearing that, Wu Xingyun became uncomfortable head to toe. Ye Fan, on the other hand, nodded slightly and plastered on most friendly smile he could muster: “That’s right. I’ve heard your older brother can help normal people survive. So I’ve come to try and find help.”
Wang Qiang snorted. “Didn’t you have scruples back then? Didn’t you have someone who could pull strings for you with the military? Now……really? I knew it’d end up this way, so why be all high and mighty back then?”
Ye Fan replied: “Let’s not talk about the past. Who expected that we’d be abandoned? In this last age, everyone should help each other live well. I want my lover to survive, and I’m asking for help in all sincerity.”
Laughing, Wang Qiang, unable to see Wu Xingyun’s face and ignorant of the soldier’s identity, rolled his eyes: “Sure, no problem. But we have rules here. If anyone brings women here, that means one of the girls has to spend the night with me. Fair and square, everyone gets the same deal. So, Ye Fan, let your woman sleep with me tonight. If she pleases me, I’ll take her to see my brother in the morning.”
Face instantly turned ashen, Ye Fan couldn’t help his hands fisting up.
Wang Qiang smiled, patting Ye Fan on the shoulder. “Ye Fan, you’d best learn that you bow your head when under someone else’s roof. It doesn’t matter, I won’t insist on it. You think it over for yourself!”
Ye Fan’s brow furrowed, then gradually eased. Though the hands he’d hidden in his pants pocket were still tightly clenched, the corner of his mouth quirked up, showing an indifferent expression: “Wang Qiang, remember that smaller soldier who was with me back then?”
“Oh, I remember. The one who —- —- —–. The —- one?” Wang Qiang grimaced in disdain.
Ye Fan’s hands slowly loosened, his smile turning even more casual: “Yes, he’s my lover. Anyways, as long as you can get it up, I don’t mind him spending one night with you.”
TN-Wang Qiang says something racist there at the end.
I am not translating that.
“蓉园” Rong Yuan “Hibiscus Garden”
Initially built in the Sui Dynasty (581-618), the “Tang Paradise” was named “Hibiscus Garden” (Furong yuan) at the time and was also the best-known imperial garden. In Tang times, it was expanded and renamed “Tang Paradise”. Today’s Tang Paradise, build on its original sites, is the first large-scale imperial garden-like cultural theme park to fully display the high Tang period in China.
The scenery spots of the Tang Paradise is divided into 14 cultural theme areas, including the Purple Cloud Tower (Ziyun lou), the female spirit exhibition area, the imperial banquet hall, the flowery grove, the Flying Phoenix Cinema, the area of civil service recruitment examination, Lu Yu Tea House, the Tang market, and the Flowing Wine in the Qujiang River, where the splendid civilization of the prosperous Tang Dynasty is presented in various aspects. Additionally there are rich and colorful cultural programs including the world intangible cultural heritage of Xi’an Drum Music, the large-scale fantastic music-and-dance performance Dreams back to the Great Tang, and the ultra-large type water screen film The Monkey King, all on show every day.
http://en.xa.gov.cn/services/travel/attractions/1051.htm
Ruo Xu Zhai 若虚斋若
ruò to seem / like / as / if
虚xū emptiness / void / abstract theory or guiding principles / empty or unoccupied / diffident or timid / false / humble or modest / (of health) weak / virtual / in vain
斋zhāi to fast or abstain from meat, wine etc / vegetarian diet / study room / building / to give alms (to a monk)
Zhuangzi Xinzhai Method
Xin Zhai means to get rid of distracting thoughts, to make the state of mind empty, quiet and pure, and to clear the way. Zhuangzi ‘s philosophical language during the Warring States Period in China . The words ” Zhuangzi · The World “.
There is a fable in “Zhuangzi: The World”: Yan Hui asked Confucius how to persuade the arbitrarily defending monarch. Confucius told him to do “heart fast” first, and pointed out that this is not a fast for sacrificial worship, but a fast for spirituality. .
He replied: “Dare to ask Xin Zhai.” Zhong Ni said: “If you have a mind, if you don’t listen, you can listen to your heart with your ears; if you don’t listen, you can listen to your heart with air. Listening stops at your ears, and your heart stops at a symbol. Also, those who are empty and waiting for things. Only the Tao is empty. Those who are empty, the heart is also”.
The so-called “listening to the breath” means listening to the breath of oneself, using only the roots of the ears , without awareness, not replacing that thought with this thought, let alone focusing on the nose or lungs, or listening to any sound in the nose. If you feel the whereabouts of the breath, don’t let it hide it, that’s right. As for the speed, thickness, and depth of the breath, let it change naturally, and you don’t need to control it. After hearing it, the spirit is one, there is no distracting thoughts, even the breath is forgotten, and you gradually fall asleep. This is what The most effective elbow in the process of recovering from a weakened nervous system is to take this opportunity to fall asleep, and you must not force your mind to resist drowsiness; after waking up, you can listen to the breathing method from the beginning, and you can fall asleep peacefully. . If you sleep a few times during the day and you don’t want to sleep again, you might as well get up outside for a little activity, or pick a place with lots of trees and clean air, and stand there for a few minutes to breathe in, or do calisthenics or Tai Chi Boxing is good, but it should be adequate, and don’t make the body feel tired; return to the room, or sit or lie down, and still listen to the breath, and may fall into the state of deep sleep. Most people suffering from neurasthenia have insomnia. Sleeping pills should not be taken regularly. Only listening to the breathing method can solve the problem fundamentally, without any malpractice, and it is consistent with the theory that yang enters yin in the “Huang Di Nei Jing”. (“Lingshu. Dahui Theory”: “Wei Qi always stays in the Yang, and the Yang Qi is strong; if it is not in the Yin, the Yin Qi is weak, so the eyes do not look at it.”)
Predecessors often used the term “heart-breath interdependence” in previous books, but did not explain how to follow the law. Su Dongpo used the method of counting interest first, followed by the method of random interest; Zhu Zi’s method of “Adjusting Breath” used the method of “observing the nose and whitening” in the Shurangama Sutra. But to count the breath, you must count intentionally, not purely without thought; to observe the nose, you must open your eyes to observe. After a long time, your eyes will inevitably get tired; only “Zhuangzi” listens to the breathing method, does not need to read in the heart, and does not feel tired after hearing it for a long time. It really fits into the track of “heart-breath interdependence”.
These three methods are listed below and explained briefly, so that scholars can experiment by themselves.
” Yan Hui said: Dare to ask Xinzhai? Zhongni Ri: If you have a mind; if you don’t hear, use the ear, but listen to the heart; if you don’t listen, use the heart, but listen to the air; listening stops at the ear, and the heart stops at the talisman. Those who have the air, those who are empty but treat things, only the Tao gathers the empty, and those who are empty have the heart.”
Brief explanation
Yan Hui is one of Confucius’ disciples, and Zhong Ni is the character of Confucius. Yan Hui asked what does “Xin Zhai” mean? Confucius said, “You should concentrate your thoughts in one place and don’t think about it. When your thoughts are unified, use the word’listen’, but not with ears, but with your heart; this is still a superficial way of saying that At the first level, it is not to listen with the heart, but to listen with the air. At this state, the effect of ear-listening has long since ceased. The spirit and the air become one, and the heart does not work. The essence of air is empty. It has to wait for something to gather with it. Only the “Tao” often gathers together with the Qi of Taixu. If the heart is the same as Taixu, it is considered as a heart fast.”,
The above is how Confucius Gao Yanhui asked about Shinsai’s time. This kind of work is done in a series. The middle stage does not matter at all, but for the sake of easy entry for scholars, we might as well divide a few steps in the whole work and explain them in detail:
The first step is “Ruoyizhi”. The word “Ruo” is used as the word “you”. “Aspiration” means thought, or thought. When you first do the work, you must be focused on your mind, and don’t have many distracting thoughts disturbing it. If the distracting thoughts are not cleaned up, it will be difficult to do well.
The second step is “not listen to ears, but listen to heart.” “No” is equal to “Wu”, and can also be used as a solution to the word “wu”; the word “Zhi” is a pronoun, referring to the listener; and the word “以” is used as the word solution for “yong”. Once the thoughts are united, start working, using the word “listen”. The ordinary so-called listening is to listen to various sounds with two ears; the so-called listening here is by no means listening to sounds. People are about to have questions: if they say that they are listening, there must be someone to listen to. If you don’t listen to the sound, what should you listen to? There is no clear answer to this question in various comments. Today I specifically pointed out that the first step is to listen to the breath in the nose. Anyone who has a normal respiratory system without obstructions has no sound in the nose, so they say “don’t listen with ears”; although there is no sound, they can know that the breath in the nose is going in and out, whether it is fast or slow. Whether it is thick or thin, even a deaf person will have this feeling, so I say “listen to your heart.”
The third step is “the heart without hearing but the breath with the heart”. Here is another problem; the mind is conscious, and it can be said to be a word “listening”; qi is without consciousness, so you can use it anyway Come to listen? The object that the mind listens to is qi, and what is the object that qi listens to? If you use your breath to listen to your breath, this sentence doesn’t make sense in the theory, how to explain it? The answer is: Listening to the breath has been done for a long time, the heart and the breath have become one and they are inseparable, and the breath can no longer be the object of the mind. You can no longer talk about using this mind or listening to that breath. At this time, although the spirit and energy in the body are united, they have not yet reached the realm of chaos, and they are still a little conscious. If you continue to do it, it does not take a lot of time, and naturally you are completely unconscious. In the temporary process from being conscious to unconscious, it is better to listen to the breath with the breath, so that the gap between the heart and the breath is cleared. gas”. Although the word “listen” is still used here, in fact it means to stop focusing on “listening”. The idioms called “listen to nature”, “listen to nothing more”, “listen to him and go”, these words “listen” are the best here. explanation of.
The fourth step is “listening to ears and ears to symbols”. At the beginning, pay attention to the word “Yi”; when the thoughts are back to one, focus on the word “listen”; if you hold on to a word “listen” for a long time and refuse to relax, you will be too persistent. The word “stop” is used. The so-called “listening to the ear” is to teach people not to pay attention to listening. At this time, kung fu has gradually entered the realm of chaos, the body is in harmony with spirit and energy, and the perception of the heart has no effect, so it is said that “the heart stops at the talisman” (Fu is the meaning of conformity). This state of unity of spirit and spirit is ignorant. It looks the same as sleeping on the outside, but the situation inside is different.
The fifth step is “the one who is in the air, the one who is empty but the thing is, only the Tao gathers the empty, and the one who is empty is the heart fast.” In the past, the realm of shallow and deep has passed step by step, and finally the realm of “virtual”. This “virtuality” is naturally obtained from ignorance and unconsciousness, and is not created by consciousness. If you are working on it, you often want to be virtual, but you can’t be virtual. All the work was originally returned from the day after tomorrow to the innate, so the fifth step of work should be experienced in the innate realm. If you ask how to call it Xiantian, this matter has gone beyond the scope of the convalescent method, so I don’t need to go into it here. Ordinarily use meditation to cure the disease; as long as the body is in the state of the unity of spirit and energy (that is, the heart stops at the talisman), it is enough.
https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%BA%84%E5%AD%90%E5%BF%83%E6%96%8B%E5%90%AC%E6%81%AF%E6%B3%95/10076904
Xi’an City Wall
The first landmark visitors will encounter in Xi’an is the ancient city wall, which surrounds the old city in a large square area. The northern side runs parallel to the railway.
Xi’an was originally a walled city, and even today the wall is considered a landmark dividing the city into the inner part and the outer part. The city wall is massive — tall, long and thick. The South Gate and North Gate are the two main entrances to the inner city. The city itself is neatly arranged along the city wall.
Why the Wall was Built
Xi’an City Wall was erected in the 14th century Ming Dynasty, under the regime of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang.
When Zhu Yuanzhang captured Huizhou, long before the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, he was admonished by a hermit named Zhu Sheng, who told him to “build high walls, store abundant provisions and take your time in proclaiming yourself emperor”, advice heeded by Zhu Yuanzhang.
The current city wall is an enhancement of the old Tang Dynasty structure, as a result of the emperor’s wall building campaign.
The Structure of the City Wall
Interesting to note is that the base of the wall was made of earth, quick lime, and glutinous rice extract, tamped together. It made the wall extremely strong and firm. Later, the wall was totally enclosed with bricks.
A moat, wide and deep, ran around the walls. Over the moat, there was a huge drawbridge, which would cut off access to the city, once lifted.
Xi’an’s city wall, after its enlargement in the Ming Dynasty, stands 12 meters high. It is 12–14 meters wide across the top, 15–18 meters thick at bottom, and 13.7 kilometers in length.
There is a flanking tower every 120 meters. The flanking towers were built to allow soldiers to see enemies trying to climb the wall. The distance between the flanking towers is within the range of arrows fired from either side. This allowed soldiers to protect the entire wall without exposing themselves to the enemy. There are 98 flanking towers; each has a sentry building on top of it.
The gates of the city wall were the only way to go in and out of town. Therefore, these gates were important strategic points, which the feudal rulers racked their brains to try to defend.
In Xi’an’s case, the north, south, east and west gates, each consist of three towers: the gate tower, which holds the drawbridge, the narrow tower and the main tower. The gate tower stands proud of the wall. It is used to lift and lower the drawbridge. The narrow tower is in the middle. Its inner walls have square windows to shoot arrows from. The main tower is the innermost one, and forms the entrance to the city.
Tunnels
The narrow tower and the main tower are connected by tunnels, in which soldiers could be stationed. From the tunnels there are also horse passages leading to the top of the wall. There are gradually ascending steps, made so that it was easy for war horses. There are 11 horse passages around the city.
Watchtowers
A watchtower is located on each of the four corners of the wall. The one at the southwestern corner is round, probably after the model of the imperial city wall of the Tang Dynasty, but the other three are square-shaped.
On top of the watch towers there is a corner rampart, higher and larger than the ordinary ramparts. This shows the strategic importance of the corners of the city wall during wars.
Battlements
Along the outer crest of the city wall there are crenelations or battlements. Under each of the 5,984 crenels there is a square hole, from which arrows were shot and watch was kept. The lower, inner walls are called parapets. They were used to prevent soldiers from falling off the wall, when traveling back and forth.
https://www.chinahighlights.com/xian/attraction/ancient-city-wall.htm
