The world is a sea of bitterness and woes.
We, everyone, is in this sea.
Body is the vessel.
Soul is the passenger in the vessel.
The vessel, carries the passenger to the other shore (nirvana).
Do we work on our body, strengthen the vehicle, still we reach the shore,
Or do we work on the soul, and teach the passenger how to swim?
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
It is deep in fall. Although snowfall has yet to come, it does get colder and colder in the days to come. Winter in the Jade Capital is harsh, raw, like the icicles hanging down the eaves of commoners’ residences, thick like infants’ arms, clear like crystal, sharp like blades.
Jade Capital is the seat of central government of the Great Qian (乾, can be used to denote heaven) Dynasty.
The Qian Dynasty is at the height of its prosperity, with the vastest of land, the richest of things, the biggest of population, the true “heavenly dynasty, upper vicinity”, and this year, the Qian Dynasty is exactly sixty years of age.
In these sixty years, four generations of Qian’s Emperors summoned all their goodness of will to run the country, and it is now a prosperity of “blossoms on taffeta, flames under oil”, the best of the best times.
The manor of Marquis of Wu Wen is seated at the southeast corner of the Jade Capital, set in hundreds of acres of land. Outside of the scarlet painted front gate is a pair of carved Kirins, a full 3 stories tall. Along with the shiny bronze ornaments and well-dressed guards, Marquis of Wu Wen is one of THE most eminent of Qian Dynasty’s dignitaries. Family name Hong (洪), given name Xuan Ji (玄机, meaning “a profound, secret theory”. Possibly comes from a famous female Taoist priest/poet Yu Xuan Ji 860—874 AD).
Not only is Hong of high ranks of nobility, but also significant in Qian’s politics. He is the senior grand secretary of Cabinet, instructor of the crown prince (officials of the second rank. When the crown prince assumes his throne, this position will be elevated to first ranking official, as one of the “three counsellors”. In reality, this position is often given to the emperor’s closest vassal as a sign of trust). He served with highest distinction in the military when he was 22. The he gave up military and joined literature and “had his name on the golden board” (idiom for passing the imperial examination) and won “reaching for the flower”, first rank number three. He was granted a job and participated in state affairs.
“The heaven sees what people see, the heaven hears what people hear……...” (This is actually a quote from Book of Documents, chapter Grand Pledge, by Ji Fa, King Wu of Zhou, “? – 1043 BC”)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
It is early in the morning. The sound of reading is already coming from an obscure little cabin, the northeast corner of the Manor of Wu Wen Marquis.
Hong Yi (our main character) left his window ajar and lit up a pot of burning coal. He is reciting by the desk, preparing for the imperial examination.
He is wearing a turquoise long gown, about fifteen or sixteen years old, and just a little bit frail for a man his age.
Decors are simple in his room. The hot pot is made of steel, and the coal is just normal coal, nothing like the exquisite bronze cauldron style pots that are used by a typical big marquis family, or the beautifully hand curved coal in different shapes of beasts, the “beast coal” they call. After all, he is not of high status in the manor. He has no servant boys to help his study, or servant girls to grind ink sticks for him. He is also not a slave, since he is allowed to study and does not have to work menial physical jobs.
“Whether I can establish a name for my late mother depends on the extra exam as spring begins and the general exam next fall. I should first become the provincial candidate, then the national candidate, put my name on the golden board and give three generations of my ancestors a good title. Only by that can my mother’s ashes be moved to the ancestral grave of the Hong family.”
Hong Yi opened a book, recited a few sentences, and thought of his mother who died when he was seven.
Before his mother married the Marquis of Wu Wen, she was a renowned talented girl, well versed in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, all the fancies of men of letters, not to mention all forms of poetry which she exceled at. She was a prostitute, although that is too much of a coarse word as she sold her talent rather than her body. (Very common in old time China. Prostitutes entertain guest with witty language, poetry and literature, not their body.) She met the Marquis at a meeting. They wrote and sing poems together, fell in love and got married.
Although she was a talented girl, this is really just a euphemism for working in the “turquois house” (the brothel). In a reputed household like that of the Marquis of Wu Wen, she had very low status. Also when she married the marquis, he already had a formal wife, two flat wives and some concubines. According to Qian Dynasty’s law, a man can marry one formal wife, two flat wives, and 4 concubines. Concubines have very low status. They are basically slaves that sleep with their masters. Some ill morale men even exchange their concubines for fun.
When concubines dine, they cannot sit down like rest of the family. They have to stand, like servants.
Hong Yi, as the offspring of a concubine, has no heirship to the marquis’ heirloom. The only way out, is the imperial examination. He knows that if he becomes the national candidate, he can not only leave this manor and make something of himself, but most importantly he can put a title of “ladyship” on her mother.
“Ladyship” is no picnic. So far there are only three Ladies in the house of Marquis, and that is the result of Xuan Ji’s remarkable personal achievements in the military, a special award from the emperor. In a normal house of nobility, there is only one “Lady” of the house. In fact, most of the times even one lady in the house is more remarkable an occasion than being awarded a higher title of nobility.
“Guess what expression will be on face of Mrs. Zhao when I am awarded national candidate and my mother gets the title of a Lady.”
“Mrs. Zhao, Mrs. Zhao…” Yi mutter to himself. Hatred comes out of his eyes. (Mrs. Zhao is the formal wife of the Marquis. In China wives do not take their husband’s family name.)
Yi can never forget. When he was seven years old and just starting to understand the world, his father threw a Mid-Autumn soiree for admiring the full moon. As his father was reading and writing poetry with his friends, just because his mother added a line to a poem without permission, she was scolded by Mrs. Zhao in front of the pubic for being “frivolous, coquettish and slutty, full of brothel manners”.
After that night Hong Yi’s mother was so infuriated that she became very ill, and died only two months after. She was only twenty-five when she passed.
“I am almost all prepared for the near exam, but I still have to try to fathom more closely about the texts.” Hong Yi thinks. He closes his textbooks, and opens Notes in the Hut (borrowed from an actual book Notes in the Hut of Yue Wei, also known as Fantastic Tales by Ji Xiao Lan).
This book has a rather new cover, but the pages are aged. Clearly it is an old book that no one reads. This Note is not on the list of required texts of the imperial examination. It belongs to the class of outlandish fantasy books.
“A gentleman does not speak of strange things, physical strengths, chaos and supernatural.” (An actual quote from The Analects, Chapter Shu Er, by Confucius)
Scholars are not supposed to read fantasy novels like this.
However, Hong Yi read it for the purpose of preparing for the exam.
This Note, is written by the Prime Minister of the previous dynasty, Li Yan. It is about demons (nonhuman that has gained consciousness. Can be animals, plants, or a stone), devils (people that practice evil doctrines), ghosts (spirit of a dead man) and strangeness, Dao practitioners and Gods, Immortals, the talents and the beauties, pretty fox demons seducing scholars.
“Although this book is all about weird things, but every story in here is a fable. He truly deserved to be the prime minister, and the founder of the School (of Thoughts) of Li.”
“Now Li Yan has “become ancient”, but most of the officers coming from the imperial examination in the royal court are still his disciples, even the examiner in chief. If I read this fable and understand his thoughts, I can better cater to the taste of his pupils and therefore getting a better grade out of this coming exam.”
“Those students in the family schools, however good, only knows to remember the text by the book, but never knows “A grasp of mundane affairs is genuine knowledge; Understanding of worldly wisdom is true learning.” (Quote from the novel Dream of the Red Chamber, by Cao Xue Qin) If the examiner does not agree with your style, you can write like an angel and still lose in this battle.”
Knowing your examiners is very important before the exam. Hong Yi is young, but he knows the rules.
He goes through a story, ponders a little bit, and gets truly amazed.
Here is goes:
A commoner daughter in-law was having a sleep with her mother in-law, when the wall collapsed out of a sudden. The daughter was sleeping inside, supported the fallen wall so that her mother could escaped, at the expense of her own life. After her death, her mother in-law was feeling very depressed. So the people in the neighborhood told her, that they all had a dream that her daughter in-law went to heaven and was awarded godhood as Chenghuang, an under-world judge of a city.
Li Yan was having a discussion with his fellow scholars and bureaucrats about this. Of course everyone highly admired the selfless piety of the daughter in-law, but the talk about awarded godhood was just purely absurd farmers’ poppycock.
However, Li Yan presented different opinions. He insisted that the daughter in-law had truly became a god. From books of the saints, “the heaven sees what people see, the heaven hears what people hear”. If the people saw her as god and were willing to acknowledge that, then this was the will from the heaven and therefore, she has become a god.
Other scholars laughed at him for his pedantry, but Li continued his lecture: “Gods are merely manifests of human thoughts, ideas and emotions. All the gods and Buddhas in the temples can make their presence because of the burning incense coming from the believers and their faith. There were no gods in this world; people started to believe in them, the will was gathered, and gods were born. To destroy gods is also easy. Tear down their temples, make people forget them and worship them, not for long they will be gone.”
Another scholar asked: “If we tear down their temples, and god inflicts calamities upon us?” to which Li Yan replied: “Righteousness, integrity and wisdom is our god. We are scholars. Keep honesty, honor and courage in our mind and our thoughts are as just as powerful as gods. How can gods inflict any karma on you?”
“We scholars hold our integrity tight, our thoughts will be powerful and pure, like the Yang spirited Immortals in Daoism. That is so much more powerful than the Yin spirits that cannot even show their looks in reality, but only give people bad dreams.”
Scholars saw Li Yan talking about these stuff, and had awe in their mind. So they asked him more about the Yang spirit and Immortals in Daoism.
Li Yan said: “Yin spirit can leave the body and travel. Human eyes cannot see it. It has not body, it has not shape, no texture, just a ball of spirit. It can only manifest itself through the outside world, but a Yang spirit is nothing unlike a live human. It can shows all kinds of powerful image, fly up to heaven down to hell, live forever and forever young.”
When others tried to ask more questions, Li Yan got serious and said: “We scholars should only talk about civilians life, court affairs, kindness and etiquettes, and forget about ghosts and gods. We have already crossed the line today.”
“There aren’t gods? Gods are just image of human worship?” Yi is very impressed by this refreshing theory. It’s like this book opened a door to a whole new world.
Pang! Pang! Pang!
Someone is knocking on the door, rather loudly, almost like he is doing it with his feet.
The world is a sea of bitterness and woes.
We, everyone, is in this sea.
Body is the vessel.
Soul is the passenger in the vessel.
The vessel, carries the passenger to the other shore (nirvana).
Do we work on our body, strengthen the vehicle, still we reach the shore,
Or do we work on the soul, and teach the passenger how to swim?
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
It is deep in fall. Although snowfall has yet to come, it does get colder and colder in the days to come. Winter in the Jade Capital is harsh, raw, like the icicles hanging down the eaves of commoners’ residences, thick like infants’ arms, clear like crystal, sharp like blades.
Jade Capital is the seat of central government of the Great Qian (乾, can be used to denote heaven) Dynasty.
The Qian Dynasty is at the height of its prosperity, with the vastest of land, the richest of things, the biggest of population, the true “heavenly dynasty, upper vicinity”, and this year, the Qian Dynasty is exactly sixty years of age.
In these sixty years, four generations of Qian’s Emperors summoned all their goodness of will to run the country, and it is now a prosperity of “blossoms on taffeta, flames under oil”, the best of the best times.
The manor of Marquis of Wu Wen is seated at the southeast corner of the Jade Capital, set in hundreds of acres of land. Outside of the scarlet painted front gate is a pair of carved Kirins, a full 3 stories tall. Along with the shiny bronze ornaments and well-dressed guards, Marquis of Wu Wen is one of THE most eminent of Qian Dynasty’s dignitaries. Family name Hong (洪), given name Xuan Ji (玄机, meaning “a profound, secret theory”. Possibly comes from a famous female Taoist priest/poet Yu Xuan Ji 860—874 AD).
Not only is Hong of high ranks of nobility, but also significant in Qian’s politics. He is the senior grand secretary of Cabinet, instructor of the crown prince (officials of the second rank. When the crown prince assumes his throne, this position will be elevated to first ranking official, as one of the “three counsellors”. In reality, this position is often given to the emperor’s closest vassal as a sign of trust). He served with highest distinction in the military when he was 22. The he gave up military and joined literature and “had his name on the golden board” (idiom for passing the imperial examination) and won “reaching for the flower”, first rank number three. He was granted a job and participated in state affairs.
“The heaven sees what people see, the heaven hears what people hear……...” (This is actually a quote from Book of Documents, chapter Grand Pledge, by Ji Fa, King Wu of Zhou, “? – 1043 BC”)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
It is early in the morning. The sound of reading is already coming from an obscure little cabin, the northeast corner of the Manor of Wu Wen Marquis.
Hong Yi (our main character) left his window ajar and lit up a pot of burning coal. He is reciting by the desk, preparing for the imperial examination.
He is wearing a turquoise long gown, about fifteen or sixteen years old, and just a little bit frail for a man his age.
Decors are simple in his room. The hot pot is made of steel, and the coal is just normal coal, nothing like the exquisite bronze cauldron style pots that are used by a typical big marquis family, or the beautifully hand curved coal in different shapes of beasts, the “beast coal” they call. After all, he is not of high status in the manor. He has no servant boys to help his study, or servant girls to grind ink sticks for him. He is also not a slave, since he is allowed to study and does not have to work menial physical jobs.
“Whether I can establish a name for my late mother depends on the extra exam as spring begins and the general exam next fall. I should first become the provincial candidate, then the national candidate, put my name on the golden board and give three generations of my ancestors a good title. Only by that can my mother’s ashes be moved to the ancestral grave of the Hong family.”
Hong Yi opened a book, recited a few sentences, and thought of his mother who died when he was seven.
Before his mother married the Marquis of Wu Wen, she was a renowned talented girl, well versed in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, all the fancies of men of letters, not to mention all forms of poetry which she exceled at. She was a prostitute, although that is too much of a coarse word as she sold her talent rather than her body. (Very common in old time China. Prostitutes entertain guest with witty language, poetry and literature, not their body.) She met the Marquis at a meeting. They wrote and sing poems together, fell in love and got married.
Although she was a talented girl, this is really just a euphemism for working in the “turquois house” (the brothel). In a reputed household like that of the Marquis of Wu Wen, she had very low status. Also when she married the marquis, he already had a formal wife, two flat wives and some concubines. According to Qian Dynasty’s law, a man can marry one formal wife, two flat wives, and 4 concubines. Concubines have very low status. They are basically slaves that sleep with their masters. Some ill morale men even exchange their concubines for fun.
When concubines dine, they cannot sit down like rest of the family. They have to stand, like servants.
Hong Yi, as the offspring of a concubine, has no heirship to the marquis’ heirloom. The only way out, is the imperial examination. He knows that if he becomes the national candidate, he can not only leave this manor and make something of himself, but most importantly he can put a title of “ladyship” on her mother.
“Ladyship” is no picnic. So far there are only three Ladies in the house of Marquis, and that is the result of Xuan Ji’s remarkable personal achievements in the military, a special award from the emperor. In a normal house of nobility, there is only one “Lady” of the house. In fact, most of the times even one lady in the house is more remarkable an occasion than being awarded a higher title of nobility.
“Guess what expression will be on face of Mrs. Zhao when I am awarded national candidate and my mother gets the title of a Lady.”
“Mrs. Zhao, Mrs. Zhao…” Yi mutter to himself. Hatred comes out of his eyes. (Mrs. Zhao is the formal wife of the Marquis. In China wives do not take their husband’s family name.)
Yi can never forget. When he was seven years old and just starting to understand the world, his father threw a Mid-Autumn soiree for admiring the full moon. As his father was reading and writing poetry with his friends, just because his mother added a line to a poem without permission, she was scolded by Mrs. Zhao in front of the pubic for being “frivolous, coquettish and slutty, full of brothel manners”.
After that night Hong Yi’s mother was so infuriated that she became very ill, and died only two months after. She was only twenty-five when she passed.
“I am almost all prepared for the near exam, but I still have to try to fathom more closely about the texts.” Hong Yi thinks. He closes his textbooks, and opens Notes in the Hut (borrowed from an actual book Notes in the Hut of Yue Wei, also known as Fantastic Tales by Ji Xiao Lan).
This book has a rather new cover, but the pages are aged. Clearly it is an old book that no one reads. This Note is not on the list of required texts of the imperial examination. It belongs to the class of outlandish fantasy books.
“A gentleman does not speak of strange things, physical strengths, chaos and supernatural.” (An actual quote from The Analects, Chapter Shu Er, by Confucius)
Scholars are not supposed to read fantasy novels like this.
However, Hong Yi read it for the purpose of preparing for the exam.
This Note, is written by the Prime Minister of the previous dynasty, Li Yan. It is about demons (nonhuman that has gained consciousness. Can be animals, plants, or a stone), devils (people that practice evil doctrines), ghosts (spirit of a dead man) and strangeness, Dao practitioners and Gods, Immortals, the talents and the beauties, pretty fox demons seducing scholars.
“Although this book is all about weird things, but every story in here is a fable. He truly deserved to be the prime minister, and the founder of the School (of Thoughts) of Li.”
“Now Li Yan has “become ancient”, but most of the officers coming from the imperial examination in the royal court are still his disciples, even the examiner in chief. If I read this fable and understand his thoughts, I can better cater to the taste of his pupils and therefore getting a better grade out of this coming exam.”
“Those students in the family schools, however good, only knows to remember the text by the book, but never knows “A grasp of mundane affairs is genuine knowledge; Understanding of worldly wisdom is true learning.” (Quote from the novel Dream of the Red Chamber, by Cao Xue Qin) If the examiner does not agree with your style, you can write like an angel and still lose in this battle.”
Knowing your examiners is very important before the exam. Hong Yi is young, but he knows the rules.
He goes through a story, ponders a little bit, and gets truly amazed.
Here is goes:
A commoner daughter in-law was having a sleep with her mother in-law, when the wall collapsed out of a sudden. The daughter was sleeping inside, supported the fallen wall so that her mother could escaped, at the expense of her own life. After her death, her mother in-law was feeling very depressed. So the people in the neighborhood told her, that they all had a dream that her daughter in-law went to heaven and was awarded godhood as Chenghuang, an under-world judge of a city.
Li Yan was having a discussion with his fellow scholars and bureaucrats about this. Of course everyone highly admired the selfless piety of the daughter in-law, but the talk about awarded godhood was just purely absurd farmers’ poppycock.
However, Li Yan presented different opinions. He insisted that the daughter in-law had truly became a god. From books of the saints, “the heaven sees what people see, the heaven hears what people hear”. If the people saw her as god and were willing to acknowledge that, then this was the will from the heaven and therefore, she has become a god.
Other scholars laughed at him for his pedantry, but Li continued his lecture: “Gods are merely manifests of human thoughts, ideas and emotions. All the gods and Buddhas in the temples can make their presence because of the burning incense coming from the believers and their faith. There were no gods in this world; people started to believe in them, the will was gathered, and gods were born. To destroy gods is also easy. Tear down their temples, make people forget them and worship them, not for long they will be gone.”
Another scholar asked: “If we tear down their temples, and god inflicts calamities upon us?” to which Li Yan replied: “Righteousness, integrity and wisdom is our god. We are scholars. Keep honesty, honor and courage in our mind and our thoughts are as just as powerful as gods. How can gods inflict any karma on you?”
“We scholars hold our integrity tight, our thoughts will be powerful and pure, like the Yang spirited Immortals in Daoism. That is so much more powerful than the Yin spirits that cannot even show their looks in reality, but only give people bad dreams.”
Scholars saw Li Yan talking about these stuff, and had awe in their mind. So they asked him more about the Yang spirit and Immortals in Daoism.
Li Yan said: “Yin spirit can leave the body and travel. Human eyes cannot see it. It has not body, it has not shape, no texture, just a ball of spirit. It can only manifest itself through the outside world, but a Yang spirit is nothing unlike a live human. It can shows all kinds of powerful image, fly up to heaven down to hell, live forever and forever young.”
When others tried to ask more questions, Li Yan got serious and said: “We scholars should only talk about civilians life, court affairs, kindness and etiquettes, and forget about ghosts and gods. We have already crossed the line today.”
“There aren’t gods? Gods are just image of human worship?” Yi is very impressed by this refreshing theory. It’s like this book opened a door to a whole new world.
Pang! Pang! Pang!
Someone is knocking on the door, rather loudly, almost like he is doing it with his feet.
