carlainoasis

[carlainoasis]

010: Now, I Leave

Eight long years from all the lessons, who would have thought. And two years after that, I was so pumped to check whether I learned something from my college years or none. Even doubted how I got the chance to be a tester of the worldwide known game OASIS and not the best people I know who were either my classmates or my schoolmates.

The world has so much to offer. And the OASIS that time helped me time travel and almost experience what it was like being in the places I have been and the people I met without leaving my hometown. I am not fully hyped by the journal I just read – not that I find my younger self to have a life more colorful than I have right now because of the young age – that it would make me want to step back out there and face the world again. What I learned though is that anything is possible – from the moment I received that email of invitation from OASIS, to writing my experiences and what I learned: visiting the past and learn of the country and their people’s tragic, miserable, and fulfilling lives, and still having a copy of the journal I just read after all this time. I will be taking things slow for now. This is my first step to coming back up and do my part in this world. It will not be an easy task to do, but like all of the people I met in the Library of OASIS, not one of them did not have an easy life to begin with. They all strived, until they have learned their true purpose in life.

I might be a teacher again after these self-exploration, I might write my experiences on my all-time low, or maybe I could just turn my hobbies as something that would provide me my needs and wants. Who knows – I might be sent an email once again of being a tester of the OASIS again. It has been a long time since I have last heard of them.

And now, I leave.

[carlainoasis]

009.2: The Deserved Recognition

After I checked on Firdausi, I proceeded on learning about Hafiz: one of Persia’s finest lyrical poets. Unlike Firdausi, little is known about the early life of Hafiz other than being born in modern-day Iran. He was also well-educated that he was known to have connections in their time’s ruling house since he spent his life being one of the court’s poets. However, scholars who studied his works were not able to finalize whether his works were truly his and when all of it were made: there are no definitive collections of his works. This did not stop him though from being one of the well-respected poets of his time and up to these present days, his works of mystical insights and beautiful compositions hold up his reputation. His life as a court poet was colorful having to plan on immortalizing the government through verses of mercy, military prowess, physical beauty, and piety. What was tragic about his literary life was how his works lost most of its vital points due to translations – around his time, one original Persian word can have multiple definitions. This became the reason why he became famous as well: the freedom of interpretation given to his readers.

I was running out of time so I ran to the books section, reading at least two stories before leaving for the game world. I took the pieces The Bewildered Arab and Rubaiyat. The first piece tells of a man’s journey of pure confusion: he was a traveler and after resting, he discovers that he does not remember anything. I remember a trick in my Creative Writing class where if one is stuck with no idea in mind, tying themselves to their chairs might help them focus. This, I thought, was the reason why the Arab tied his ankle to the corner of where he slept. As soon as he finished, he looked outside and only got more confused. A person then comes to be his acquaintance, helping him understand what was going on, only to see himself in a loop – a never-ending situation of being in the same place with little to no memories and have himself repeat everything over again. From what I understood, this poem was trying to share the struggles people have to face as they live the same life over and over when one decides to settle down on a place to which they are not meant to be in. Rubaiyat, unlike the Bewildered Arab, is an entire collection of Persian poetry – it directly translates to four-line poems or quatrains. The piece I read from the collection was about a person’s fate to face death and nobody in this life would be able to help them through what we have to go through before death comes. Reading it sent chills down my spine as I realized that death truly is mysterious: not one has returned to tell humans what it’s like after life. What death actually feels like. We will only know if we go ahead in life and experience it on our own, likely to never return as well like the ones before us because we would be gone by the time.

[carlainoasis]

009.1: The Deserved Recognition

My aforementioned friend invited me to play with them in other worlds the next day. They told me I should not waste my time on academic-related worlds only especially it might take years until we might enjoy the virtual world again. I agreed to them but I asked if I could at least go to the Library one last time, and they said yes. I asked for only half an hour tops and I’ll follow them by using the portal update. I already had Persia in my mind due to a dream I had the other night, so that was where I decided to be in.

Literature was Persia’s jewel in the crown having to influence numerous countries and inspired a lot of writers: its works are one of the oldest literatures of the world spanning for thousands of years. Despite this fact though, more than few works survived from its ancient times. The reason for this would beAlexander the Great’s destruction of Persepolis where its library was located. What survived were the inscriptions of the royal Achaemenid kings. Another tragedy of this era was the Arab conquest of Iran where most of the religion Zoroastrianism’s writings were destroyed – the ones that were saved were brought to India: Avesta and Zend are some of it. After all of these, medieval Persian literature grew having New Persian as the literary language after years of Arabic. This was given credits to the generation of Daqiqi, Ferdowsi, Rudaki, and Unsuri since they revived the language through customs of ancient Persia and pre-Islamic nationalism. It was said that Persian literature was more of poetry than of prose, and the reason for that is because scholars are told that writing in verses was their prerequisite no matter their track or path of work is – literature, metaphysics, or science. These early poetry verses were extravagant, exalted in style, and has a strong court patronage. Another style has a conceited diction, dignified tone, and a literate language. Epic poetry came to the limelight when Persian poet Ferdowsi and other writers started writing verses in elevated and heroic, glorifying their historical past. Persia was known to be the language of literary circles, nobility, and royal courts. It has then reached the Western countries due to translations of their works published, and had its new readers inspired.

I asked permission from the librarian that day if I could use the pod – they gave the wall rooms name that I missed in the orientation – to search if I could meet the people I can watch with the help of the books through it so I could feel as if I was truly with them as I have with the historical background clips I have been in. The librarian agreed and guided me to my usual pod, letting me use their controls to choose the person I want to visit. I tapped the sixth letter of the alphabet and saw Firdausi to which I was familiar with because we studied him in our literature class. He was Persia’s first-ranking poet, the writer of one of the greatest national epics in the world of literature: Shahnameh. Born in the province of Tous – the largest city of its area in the fifth century – with the personal name Mansur ben Hasan, he was from a rich, independent family. Throughout his life, he was able to study astrology, astronomy, philosophy, and poetry. Firdausi’s fame brought him to the court of Afghanistan, once Mahmud of Ghazni. He traveled his way there to present his works only to have his works seen as works of dissatisfaction due to lack of recognition. After series of other disagreements, he had to flee for his safety, leading him to the southeast of the Caspian Sea: Tabaristan. He then lived the rest of his life in peace back in his hometown, Tous.

[carlainoasis]

008.4: Discover the Endless

I wanted to try and meet some of the people of the past so I tried searching for names and I randomly tapped a name as soon as the screen showed me hundreds of results. In front of me then stood Seami Motokiyo, a Japanese founder (theater group), musician, and playwright. Where we stood is the stage of the Noh Theater, one of oldest theatrical forms in the world. Seami was one of the creators of present-form Noh drama, alongside his father Kan’ami. He wrote more than fifty plays in the theater and a book that instructs storytellers of the highest status of Noh. When he was young, he performed on a competition in Imakumano which made him famous – known for his talents and skills. He was recognized and became a star actor. Other than that, he was also provided the knowledge of Japanese classics, his foundation to being a part of the founding. Seami was known to be a completely curious person and had no interest in love. Due to this, he grew up with no successor for the Noh theater, that was why he adopted his brother’s son and started writing the Fushi kaden – the book about the world of Noh. No record was stated when he died and why, but according to word-of-mouth stories, he died at the age of eighty-one – dying on 1443.

I tapped another name in hopes of continuing to read lighter life stories – where they may have lived a tough life, their last breaths are in a better place. A person came from my right side with their hands held together in front of them. Above their head says Yosa Buson – one of Japan’s great haiku masters from Edo, present Tokyo. He came from a wealthy family but chose to live on a different path: pursuing his dream that was arts-related. On his travel, he learned a lot from several poetry masters, until he eventually settled down as a painter and poet in Kyoto. His loyalty to his predecessor had him urging the revival of Matsuo Basho’s poetry styles. However, he just could not reach Basho’s level of understanding, with his works being considered as sensuous and ornate. That did not stop him though from sharing over two thousand and five hundred haiku to the world. But out of all of these poems he made, no translator was able to express the thoughts he actually had, and that was what makes Buson’s works remarkable: he was beyond a lover of enchantments, nature, and oddities.

There were four knocks on the door of the wall room which I believe came from the librarian so I immediately exited the list of people and entered the first word that came to my mind: wise. When I did, one result that caught my eye was the story The Wise Old Woman written by Yoshiko Uchida. I was separated to the scene as the story played right in front of me. A rude ruler declares that all of his subjects who are aged sixty and above will be brought to their mountaintop to be left and die of loneliness so that all of the people left in his town will be hardworking individuals. The main character’s mother had to face this fate but thought to disobey the rule and keep his mother under their house’s kitchen when he noticed that as he brought his mother to the top, she cut branches off of trees so her son will not be lost on his way back. Soon enough, a competing and threatening ruler came with three impossible challenges the rude ruler must solve or he shall let them conquer his land. All the challenges were solved by the wisdom the hidden mother was through her son who would reveal the answers to their ruler. When the ruler learned of this betrayal then also lesson, he renounced his law and allowed every old and wise people live in his land and continue through generations their wisdom. From this, I learned that every being in this world serves purposes: not only a specific one, but rather a set that evolves and improves as time passes by. Waiting outside for me was my dismissal friend who told me I was beyond our time limit already.

[carlainoasis]

008.3: Discover the Endless

In a Grove by Ryunusuke Akutagawa slid next to the wide screen, a short story that tells how stories can differ from different perspectives. It revolves around a samurai’s death where four testimonies were taken: one who saw a dead body, a Buddhist who saw a man walking with a woman on a horse, one who was a paroled prisoner who helped the police capture a notorious criminal – name Tajomaru, and last would be an old woman with a daughter – named Masago – married to a samurai by the name of Takehiko. After the four people sat in front of me in a room, the daughter of the old woman appeared, her hair a mess and sobs loud. She took her time before telling her side of the story, saying that she was violated by Tajomaru in front of Takehaki and had to kill herself and Takehaki afterwards for she could not let two men coexist knowing of her stain. She tried to kill herself in many ways – dagger to the throat, drowning herself in a pond, and more – but her spirit was just too strong.

As for Takehaki’s side – which he shared through a medium since he already died, he mentioned how he tried to tell Masago not to believe anything Tajomaru but could not because he was full of leaves on his mouth. He watched Tajomaru stain his wife in anger until Tajomaru was done, and heard his own wife scream that he – Takehaki – should die. He was beyond confused as to why his wife was suddenly crazy, cursing her own husband to die. Tajomaru asked whether he would allow his wife’s statement to happen, but nothing happened since Masago had ran away already, and she was followed by Tajomaru, taking with him Takehaki’s bow and arrows. Due to the sadness that overwhelmed him, he committed suicide. But before he died, he was able to feel a final touch of a person taking the dagger off his chest, but that was it.

For the final character, Tajomaru, he admitted to his mistake, telling everything from his point of view. He started off by saying he saw Takehiko and Masago and immediately admired Masago. He then lured them deep in the woods where he was first able to bound Takehaki on a tree, followed by him taking Masago to the scene. There, after the incident, Masago clung to his arm, telling him she will marry anybody who would continue to live because for her, only one of the men should continue living who knows her shame. He was eaten up by the idea of Masago being his wife but also stuck with staying with his plan of not killing Takehaki. What he did was he invited Takehaki on a swordfight where Takehaki lost, but he also lost since Masago ran off, maybe to ask for help. He decided to steal the bow and arrows Takehaki had and sold his sword. He then accepted his fate being hung, and that everything he said was all that had happened.

It is terrifying to know how stories end up to be depending on who is telling the story. Readers or viewers, such as I, would even think twice about everything that we already concluded about if we ever hear other people’s side of the story which are purely their own and not a product of influences.

[carlainoasis]

008.2: Discover the Endless

When I noticed that the librarian was nowhere to be found out of the wall room, I tried to manually search some literary works if the room has it or not, so I would know whether or not to go to the books section. Appeared in front of me are what the books section could offer me. I thought to myself I could have read everything in this room easier than I did with half of the time being in historical backgrounds then walking to the aisles for books. I tapped on the poetry tab and saw Manyoshu, Japan’s known oldest collection of Waka which was compiled during the Nara Period. It is also known as Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves and is the high point of Japanese poetry. It has twenty volumes which was divided to three genres: Zoka which was sang at banquets, Somonka which was sang by women and men in love, and lastly, Banka which was sang in mourning deaths. It contained about four thousand and five hundred, ten percent of it being Otomo no Yakamochi’s - the poet whom many scholars considered to be the one to compile all of Manyoshu. Other contributors’ names were Kakinomoto Hitomaro – Japan’s first great literary figure, and Yamanoue Okura – a member of Japanese embassy with missions brought to Tang China. A lot of later poets were inspired by the imagery, phrases, and styles seen in the work, and has since then been studied by different artists.

Another work of art is the Essays in Idleness – also known as Tsurezuregusa in Japanese – written by Yoshida Kenko. It is another collection, this time, of aphorisms and essays, all inspired by the events around Kenko’s time. He shared his stories of aesthetics, behavior, and impermanency – a downward trajectory of a man’s life. Essays in Idleness is not exactly made to be memorable, in fact, Yoshida himself wrote that all that is in his work were his nonsensical thoughts he had. But his opinion aside, his work was the product of him being anachronistic, ethical, nostalgic, observant, sentimental, and traditional.

[carlainoasis]

008.1: Discover the Endless

On the second half of the day, I was trying to recall any of the people I knew in real life visiting other countries so I could have those conversations with them: what they enjoyed while they were out there and all that I am going to learn in the Library. Hongkong is on the top of the list I have in mind but I think the people I know would just tell me how enjoyable the Disney park was out there. As for Korea, most of my acquaintances would only enjoy the songs and dramas they show. And then it hit me: Japan.

I went to the librarian who was standing in front, waiting for me and other possible testers who might finally visit the Library. I asked her if they could show me anything Japan related, and they brought me to the wall room I have been staying in for days. I was directed to the code to Japan, and there it was, layers and layers of screens showing me Japan’s culture. I head on first with its history, starting with the Heian Era.

The Heian Era was considered Japan’s golden era for its flourished culture. This era lasted for four hundred years, starting from 794 to 1185 before the Kamakura period took over. What was also beautiful in this era was their courts full of festivals, practices, and rituals. Stood tall in front of me was Emperor Kammu with his proclamation of moving the capital to Heiankyo, freeing everyone – government to people – from Buddhist influence and corruption. Heiankyo literally translates to “the capital of peace and tranquility”, and this capital would sit on its throne for a thousand years. This city was beyond impressive having eastern and western quarters in it, buildings of crimson columns and green tiled roofs, palaces with their own gardens and pleasure parks for aristocrats, and artists own quarters for artists, metal, and potter workshops.

After years of peace, in front of me slowly grew the Feudal period of Japan: when families, military warlords, and samurai ruled. This period lasted for four eras namely Kamakura, Muromachi, Azuchi-Momoyama, and Edo – the final years of Japan’s medieval years, before they rose to modernity with Meiji. The Feudal era lasted for more than six hundred years due to the personal relationships between the lords and vassals, considering that relationship as family which strengthened as time went by. This apparently was also the reason why their era was weakest since they lack formality in government which they could not pass on successively through generations. This period was all about large land distribution to landowners by the samurai warriors, and as they do this, more and more people transferred to the rural areas of Japan – modernizing the cities, all until the system they tried to hold on fail.

Japan had numerous religions in it, but two that lasted long enough with most population were Shinto and Zen Buddhism. In Shintoism, people believe that all men are good and only evil spirits cause them to do wrong. If they stay away from these evil spirits, they will be left alone and they will be one with their Kami, shrines where they give thanks through rituals and offerings and praise various spiritual beings. They do not have their own religions to believe in: all they serve are their own local shrines. As for Zen Buddhism, it is the combination of Mahayana Buddhism of India and Taoism where they believe that enlightenment is possible if their intellect is not intervened by any distractions and be a Buddha whose nature is to be a true human. Buddha, after all, is an enlightened being, not any deity or supreme being to serve.

[carlainoasis]

007: The Truth and Triumphs

It already felt as if we spent months in the virtual world when we were only on our third day. That day, I decided to visit India, hometown of one of my relatives’ husband. I was unsure which aunt or grandmother it is, what I’m sure was their husband was once a Hindu.

The librarian suggested for me to try the wall room alone this day as the books of floating screens were being arranged and fixed. I agreed to do so and the next thing I know, I was already inside of the room, panel in front of my right hand where I could control the settings. I entered Hindu Literature, and in front of me lie clips and short information about each. India has had numerous literatures, mostly influenced by religion. One of which was the Vedic Literature. In this period, they were using Vedas – Atharvaveda, Rigveda, Samaveda, and Yajurveda. However, before it was written, it was passed down through word of mouth. This was the reason why the Vedas was also known as Shruti, literally translating to What is Heard.

In order, the Rigveda comes first, having also one of the most important texts of the Hindus. This was composed of praise songs, chanted in rituals. It is also known at the Knowledge of Verses, written in fifteen-hundred BCE. The Rigveda believes in the existence of several deities and divinities. Unlike the first Veda which was written verses, the next is more of a pronounced Veda: Yajurveda. Translating to sacred formulas, this collection of mantras is used in rituals for sacrificing. It was written one thousand BCE by the great Vyasa. Third comes Samaveda, directly translating to Veda of Chants. It is a collection full of chants and melodies, and yet the shortest among the four. Those who read this book are called the Samans and it was written closely with the first oldest book, same year the Rigveda was made. Lastly, Atharvaveda is the fourth Veda that speaks about the procedures for everyday lives. Its twenty books are composed of a total of six thousand mantras and seven hundred and thirty-three hymns. The collection in this era were charms, hymns, prayers, and spells. It works best in protecting crops, fighting venomous serpents, and healing and love spells.

Another era would be the Medieval one where it mentions about the rise of poetry in the modern India. Depending on their locations, Saiva poets would address their god Shiva on their works, while Vaishnavas serve to Vishnu. Another would be the poet-saint Surdas and Miribai, both serving Krishna, and Kabir serves his own. It was not much of an episode to watch so I head on next with the pieces it could offer. It was like the Hebrew and Egyptians works: it had not much to offer, mainly because this is also a part of the fresh updates.

I felt nostalgic checking the available literary pieces because those were the pieces we read when we were still studying in school: The Tame Bird and the Free Bird, and the Duel between the Elephant and Sparrow. I liked the first one but did not like the second. The Tame Bird told a tragic story of longingness and adventure: how birds in love cannot be together due to their environment – how they were forced to live the way they do. I remember learning from the story that everything differs depending on the place you grew up in. The even sometimes, staying in that one particular space makes you forget your real purpose and cannot have your wings fly. Those who are too free on the other hand sometimes find themselves oblivious about others’ conditions that makes them beyond different to one another. As for the Duel, it was more of a tragic and depressing story because what happened was a little violent. An innocent elephant was murdered by smaller animals due to the elephant’s uncontrollable actions caused by a strange disease. The lesson I learned here was that people need to learn both sides of every story before making decisions to avoid hurting either parties. That just because someone found themselves an enemy, it does not and should not require the rest of its folks to hate the latter too.

[carlainoasis]

006.2: I See No Coincidence

The scrolls consist of Ecclesiastes, Esther, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Ruth, and Song of Solomon. Ecclesiastes tells of one’s life being meaningless until they decide to live in fear of Lord God, living to the commandments He has created, and enjoy life as His gift. As for Esther, the message is that God is the One who has been behind the scenes, working with people all along. Lamentations was about the commemoration of Jerusalem’s destruction: its city and temple. The story of Ruth teaches how people receive their rewards if they are selfless and compassionate. Last for the scrolls would be Song of Solomon which main messages are about true love: it never fails, it is protective, and it is worth waiting for.

The prophecy refers to Daniel’s story: how he was thrown into the lions’ den and was unharmed due to his unwavering faith – his obedience and loyalty to God’s law rewarded him of being untouched by the lions he was thrown in a pit to.

Finally, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles, all under the section history. Ezra explains that men are meant to create mistakes. What God wants to see from His children is their forgiveness for the sins they have committed: to admit their faults and are willing to accept the consequences or prize of their actions. Nehemiah tackled about his specific plans when facing his problems and that God was with all of them as they do so. Lastly, the Chronicles represent the conclusion of this division of the Hebrew Bible: a reflection of cultural values preserved throughout history.

Good stretches are encouraged, I recalled from our orientation since I have been scanning and reading texts from the floating screen in front of me. But to not waste any more time, I tapped the following tab which mentions the New Testament. The New Testament collection has twenty-seven books in it, all are the product of the promises and messages from the Old Testament. In this part of the present Bible, people who serve God are then called Christians – children after the birth of Jesus Christ. The testament contains about a thousand and fifty commandments to which these Christians must obey.

One of the New Testament’s contents is the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus Christ taught his followers about the Parable of the Good Samaritan where a Samaritan finds a traveler which teared clothes and is half dead, ignoring the current despise that happened between them and the Jews. This showed how people analyze situations critically, not just any mercy happens in such events. As for the Story of Ruth – found also in the New Testament, it was a story showing a beautiful relationship that goes on through family with loyalty and humility. Ruth was a woman of humanity: one who works humbly as God blesses her.

[carlainoasis]

006.1: I See No Coincidence

Nothing else was on the Egyptian tab so I checked the other new feature which was the Hebrew literature, with contents such as the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament, and the New Testament. The Hebrew Bible is also known as the Tanakh. The writings within it were preserved as sacred books of the Jewish and is also a part of the Christian Bible. Its interpretation is monotheistic, meaning the Old Testament is composed of ideas and traditions that there is only one God and He is the creator of everything: from human life to the vastness of the universe. The Hebrew Bible is divided to three sections namely Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim.

In front of me floated the five books of Torah, how God revealed his teaching and guidance to humankind: Bresheit – which was the beginning of everything, Shemot –the delivery of Israelites from Egypt, passing the Red Sea, Vayikra – sharing of the different ways to connect to God, Bamidbar – the part where God finally ordered that a headcount must be done in the tribes of Israel, and finally, Devarim – Moses’s farewell address to the Israelites: a summary of Israel’s past, retelling of the laws created, and how important it is to follow the law so they could fit best in the promised land.

For the second division of the Hebrew Bible, the title Nevi’im or the Prophets rose. The prophets are known to be people who are in contact with God, speaking on His behalf. The Nevi’im is divided to two sections: when I scrolled my hand to the left, tabs Former Prophets and Latter Prophets appeared. The Former Prophets consisted of Joshua, Judges, Kings, and Samuel. Under the Latter stood Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Habakkuk, Haggai, Hosea, Joel, Jonah, Micah, Malachi, Nahum, Obadiah, Zechariah, and Zephaniah.

Inside the final division – Ketuvim – were poetical books, scrolls, prophecy, and history. The poetical books are composed of Psalms which was meant to be sung, with two thousand, four hundred and sixty-one verses, Proverbs which questions the meaning of human life, moral behaviors humans have, righteous conducts, and values, with thirty-one chapters, and Jobs with a thousand and seventy verses, all concentrating on the suffering that comes along living.

[carlainoasis]

005.2: It Begins Here

One story I remember about these Egyptian stories about death was about Ani, who had his organs taken out of his body – but his heart which was the home of emotions and memories, had his body inserted with salt, and then finally wrapped in resin-soaked linen: mummified. The linen that finally covered him was woven with protection charms and also a scarab amulet that served as his cover so his own memories will not betray him when facing questions in the Duat or underworld. In there, monstrous beings – such as Apep, the serpent god of destruction – awaited his arrival and all were defeated due to Ani’s customized scroll of spells and magic. Another part was facing more than forty assessor gods, stating Ani has never done one wrong deed while he was alive. Being once the human being that he was – imperfect and sinful, the heart scarab amulet worked its magic, blocking his mortal memories reminding him of his mistakes. His final challenge was to weigh his heart side-by-side with god Anubis’s pure ostrich feather: if his heart is heavier than the feather, it means he lied his way in to Duat and is to be fed to the half crocodile, half leopard, and half hippopotamus Ammit. When his heart was proven pure, their sun god Ra brought Ani to Osiris, the god of the underworld where he got his final approval before entering the beautiful afterlife, meeting his deceased parents once again.

Going to the poem To Whom Shall I Speak Today, it tells of a man’s fear of its society’s then and now cases – that human relations became worse. The character of the poem shares their thoughts of not being able to determine which person could he lean on to and share his stories of regrets and longingness. The poem was filled with heartbroken lines: the repetitive question of who the character should speak to for eight times serves to be a reminder to them that this world is nothing without anybody to share it with, and this helps them critically think of who to judge and talk to at that period of time.

[carlainoasis]

005.1: It Begins Here

Back on our second half of the day’s session, the librarian told me that they added new information to the system during our break but only contains few contents. For someone who did not want to miss the firsts of the Library, I agreed to take a peek on the said information: Egypt and Hebrew.

Egypt is known to have three periods: the Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, and New Kingdom. The Old Kingdom was the unified state period of Egypt with expanded military and complexity. In front of me in the wall room are sped up construction of pyramids – the rulers of the Old Kingdom were the ones who had the first pyramids commanded to build – which serves as their monuments and also a location for their tombs when they died. The construction and building of these architectures required a government that is at peace with all so their command about resources will be given immediately. The ones who worked for these rulers were peasants as a form of taxation: households must provide at least one worker from their family to attend to the projects of the past. However, the rich could pay substitutes so their families will be left untouched by these visions. In this era, ships were also built out of wooden planks, ropes, and reeds.

I was then surrounded by hundreds of armies, which stands as a reminder that I was in the Middle Kingdom already – where kings took their powers back from their governors. What the political highlight is of this kingdom was its instability. Due to this, their rulers were easily replaced with the Hyksos’ – non-native speakers of Egypt – cultural and technological innovations. These innovations include the following: animals of new breed, battle-axes, bronze works, chariots with horses, composite bows, fortification techniques, new crops, and pottery techniques.

Finally, the New Kingdom showed me how Egypt had a centralized politics once again, marking the peak of the kingdom’s power. Egypt has had female leaders, but the most famous was Hatshepsut, having to have helped build Egypt’s wealth, commissioned more than hundreds of projects. She was also the one who ordered that the abandoned and broken temples from the Hyksos era be repaired. In this period of time, monotheism was first recognized by the Egyptians when their pharaoh – Akhenaten – chose to exclusively worship only one god – Aten, the sun god – and disregard the other deities. This monotheism however did not last: it only did until Akhenaten’s death.

For the literary works that the system had saved, they were able to show me the Book of the Dead and To Whom Shall I Speak Today. Egyptians highly believe in life after death, the reason why they recorded religious formulas about the conduct of the soul: this scroll with a length of seventy-eight feet contains spells and magic that when placed inside the tombs of the deceased, they will be able to pass through the challenges of the underworld and attain immortality.

[carlainoasis]

004.6: Where the Flowers Bloomed

The Little Incident is new to me, and it seemed to be a dark story where a man’s status blinds them, making them see other people as less important and less valuable. The story tells of a man riding a human-powered rickshaw, but when the rickshaw worker gets caught on a minor incident, dragging an old woman with ragged clothes, the man on the rickshaw got mad and commanded the worker to leave the old woman as she was and head to his destination. The worker, despite the consequences he might face for not attending to his passenger, left him and carried on with helping the old woman to the police station. The passenger, still feeling pride, left money on the rickshaw anyway and walked away from the scene as if he was never a part of it. At the end of his narration, he admits he felt bad for his actions, that it still haunts him to this day, and he questions why did he ever do his actions: that he should have known better. The story showed how the world is divided to three classifications: the passenger who is too privileged to understand how the lower classes work, the rickshaw worker who represents the middle-class people – those who are not rich but can survive every single day of their lives by thriving hard, and the old woman who represents the lower-class, those who are too helpless, poor – lives the lowest of the low kind of lives. Among the three, I felt as if the worker was the best among the three because it was the only one who was able to see how much damage one little incident brings the poor, ignoring the consequences he will face which could have been brought by the rich: it does not take much to become a better person. Just an open mind and heart, it is more than enough.

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004.5: Where the Flowers Bloomed

Giving myself a break from the heavy-hearted pieces I read, I opened the writers list book and then again, closed my eyes and tapped the name my finger stops: Chuang Tzu of the Han dynasty. He was known for his comprehensive works of interpreting the texts of Daoism. His teachings even brought him to being Chinese Buddhism’s great influence, and also a huge effect on landscape paintings and poetry of his period. Chuang Tzu has literary and philosophical skills that disproves the belief of the Confucians – which was everybody has a good side, and Mohists – believing in being concerned for everyone. He is the writer of Zhuangzi with thirty-three chapters – fifty-three if including the fourth century, divided to two sections: the inner, and the outer and the miscellany. The inner contains Chuang Tzu’s messages for himself, the outer and miscellany on the other hand was a product written by his followers. Another author I tapped was a Chinese poet from the Tang dynasty: Li Po, also known as Li Bai. He did not have the best and perfect life: he was arrested for treason and married four other times. He desired to be a part of the imperial family, but was not granted just because he had the same surname as the imperial family. He left home at an early age to explore the world and saw himself marrying his wife. Around that period, he wrote poetry and had them checked by officials in hopes of being a part of the rulers’ secretary. His death was unknown, but one of the reasons may have been drowning from trying to enjoy what the moon looked like on its reflection in the water while being drunk.

Before I was notified that our first part of day one is through and we were about to be sent to break, I took one last look at the stories of the final book I have not yet touched. The Trial of the Stone and A Little Incident. I remember reading the Trial of the Stone as a story we read on our high school years. It was about a boy who sells cake but had all of his hard-earned money stolen from him when he helped an old woman cross the street with her bags. When no one would claim they stole the money from him, the kind judge of his town had a stone in court for trial since it was the only witness there that does not speak. On the people’s way to the court due to curiosity, the judge asked them to pay money first – dropping it on a big bowl of water – before entering the court and from there, he was able to tell who was the criminal: the one who paid money clueless about the oil that will be seen separating from it. Initially, I thought that the lesson of this story had something to do about the one who stole – that they should be wiser next time and not let their curiosity get the better of them but I already knew better then. That justice protects anybody it could help, that the truth always finds its way back to the spotlight, and that people who looks innocent can be the ones who are at fault – that people must be careful of them.

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004.4: Where the Flowers Bloomed

I felt honored to be able to take a look at few of the Chinese selections – Dream of the Red Chamber and the Injustice Done to Tou Ngo. The novel Dream of the Red Chambers is China’s greatest novel – it even became a part of the greatest pieces of world literature. This novel was written and published in the eighteenth century and was originally written by Cao Zhan, then continued by Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E after his death – thirty years after: Cao Zhan wrote eighty of its chapters, while Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E completed it adding forty more, a total of one hundred and twenty chapters. This novel was a blend of numerous literary genres: starting from daily lives, fate, psychological motivation, realism, romance, and supernatural occurrences. This has about two thousand and five hundred pages on its English translation, divided to episodes of main character Jia Baoyu’s development. It is believed to be the mirror of the Cao servants, friends, and family’s own life stories – a semi-autobiography work. It tells of the story of a young boy’s struggle of growing up in a family of doted and pedantic members – how he was stuck in a love triangle between his two female cousins, namely Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai. Up until this point of time, having in a romantic or any kind of relationship with cousins are inappropriate, but on this novel and its time and place, it was socially acceptable. Another defining work in early China was the Injustice Done to Tou Ngo which talks about courage, kindness, and spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of injustice. On the floating screen of the book rose Tou Ngo about to be executed through beheading as she claims her innocence will be proven. Tou Ngo was setup by Zhang who initially planned on getting Mistress Tsai killed by food poisoning, but Zhang’s father was the one who got poisoned. Tou Ngo was thought to have gotten out of trouble if only she married Zhang but sue to her refusal and the court not listening her side, she was killed. She was proven innocent few years later and had Zhang beheaded for his crime, while the one who sold him the poison was exiled. There were different theories to this novel: first one being the Sociological theory wherein it states how evil societies can be – her cry for injustice unheard, another being the Gender theory where, due that Tou Ngo was her father’s payment for this debt, she wholeheartedly accepted her fate so her father will not suffer anymore from the hands of Mistress Cai – she highly respected her father’s decision, likely because in that particular time, fathers are known to be the highest authority in the house. Females tend to be payments as helpers or fixed on marriages because they are thought to be more vulnerable than male ones.

[carlainoasis]

004.3: Where the Flowers Bloomed

I exited the room and there I felt dizzy so I was allowed to take a break by resting on the lobby part of the Library. There, I tried to see if even the librarian can give me information without being taken to the book aisles. I asked the librarian about the philosophies that reigned in China to which they responded Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. Buddhism is known for its Four Noble Truths – consisting of the teachings of Buddha that are left further unexplained – and the Eightfold Path – discusses the aspects that an aspirant must practice in order to reach nirvana. Confucianism is the belief system wherein people believe that every human being is good and has the capacity to change through personal experiences: it focuses on one’s betterment of their values. As for Taoism, it is also known to be the art of not trying. They believe that manmade ideas – ethics, values, and rules – must not be followed despite the benefits they all bring because it will only damage the natural relationship we already have with nature.

The librarian added that those philosophies came with works. Some of which are the Analects of Confucius which contains the passages – life stories and conversations of Confucius with his disciples, and words of his students which was added within the span of thirty to fifty years after Confucius’ death. This work has five hundred and twelve passages divided to twenty chapters. The identified ethics in this work are autonomy, beneficence, justice, and non-maleficence. Its concepts were duty, humanity, and ritual – these are not the only principles Confucianism offers but they are a great start. As for the Tao Te Ching, also known as the Book of the Way and its Virtue, it explains the intention of the way of life: to restore humanity and tranquility on land. These received a lot of interpretations due to its mysteriousness: had contents that implies the noninterference of the natural course of everything on earth – just complete spontaneity. If Confucianism believes in trying to be better, Taoism (to which Tao Te Ching is the fundamental text of Taoism) believes in not trying to interfere the way of everything to be continuously at one with nature.

As soon as I was able to regain my strength, I walked to the book sections and got myself the same thing I had the day before: random literary books of short stories, poetry, and biographies. I first got a hold of the poetry to which I was introduced Shih and Fu. Shih translates directly to poem. Its earliest kind was gushi which directly means old poem, and it was the most popular form during Han Period. It did not have any strict rule to follow in terms of tones except for euphony – making changes in phonetics that are pleasing to the ear. Lushi on the other hand had to follow a precise pattern of pitch. Lushi developed in Tang dynasty and it was known to describe nature and the poet’s emotions. Moving to Fu, it is known to be from the Han dynasty and was described to have freer pattern of rhythm. However, its beauty was abused – piling nonsensical words to another – until it overall lost its significance as a poetry genre.

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004.2: Where the Flowers Bloomed

The Battle of Mingtiao consisted of two dynasties battling: the Xia dynasty and the Shang dynasty. Shang dynasty winning the battle became the beginning of their reign which went on for almost six hundred years. Named as China’s Bronze Age with their bronze crafts, advances in artwork, astronomy, mathematics, and military technology, this was the earliest dynasty that was established in recorded history – complete with archaeological and documentary evidences. On the five hundred and fifty-four years of its existence, thirty different rulers led their country. Two of the Shang dynasty’s largest settlements were Zhengzhou and Anyang: Zhengzhou was where the archaeological finds were discovered, while Anyang was where the bronze potters and workers, with stone carvers as well, were traced. Zhengzhou was where the first parts of the Great Wall was built, and on the other hand, Anyang was where the rulers lived. Excluding the Xia dynasty’s existence, the Shang dynasty contributed the most important aspects on the foundations of the following dynasties in terms of civilization and culture. As for religion, Taoism or the Way was thought to be developed in this time – this brought its people with happiness and prosperity. After watching China build its country, I stood alongside the millions of witnesses of how the Zhou announced they have overthrown the last king of Shang dynasty for moral reasons: the kind was mad and the heaven does not want him to lead all of China. I turned my back to the open screen and called the attention of the librarian by knocking the glass that separates us. I asked how do I transfer to another point of time without having them do it for me. I was told to just slide my right hand downward and my settings would show up: my attires – which was still under developed, my inventory which was still empty, a portal map – also under developed due to how big the virtual world was, and location features – in my case, the features of this room on the wall I stepped in. I scrolled down to look for the golden age of China which is Tang Empire. All I remembered about it was the development of medicine of the Chinese, and I am not proud of it. When I saw the Tang Dynasty tab, the looped video of the Shang dynasty melted and was replaced by Li Yuan stepping as the new founder of China. Li Yuan is not far from ruling China for he was the cousin of the first emperor of the Sui dynasty. He rose to power when a mass rebellion emerged from the northwest who seek the position on the throne happened. Other than founding the Tang dynasty, his contributions were developing strong relations with the nomadic people who dominated the Silk Road trade called the Gokturks and being in charge of the military operations in Hedong. The Tang dynasty covered about almost three hundred years with achievements stretching from flourishing of the arts – paintings and literature, to making China the largest and strongest nation in the whole world. I saw how the porcelains become of better forms and how gun powders were invented, how they were able to treat patients with goiter, their creation of the woodblock printing and playing cards, I was also able to see how the poems, short stories, and tales bloomed in that period, and on the final parts of the Tang dynasty clip, I was able to see dramatic paintings of their time and the construction of the royal acting and musical academy names Pear Garden. The last I heard about this Pear Garden was how the professionals of Chinese opera are called its disciples.