#西夏 Western Xia

[langyahallarchives]

萧景睿的身世 - Jingrui’s Birth (Ver. 3)

Twenty four years ago, the Marquis Ning, Xie Yu had left his pregnant wife, Princess Li Yang - sister of the current emperor, to take part in the military campaign launched against Western Xia. In the same year, Master Zhuo Ding Feng of Tian Quan Villa entrusted the care of his wife, who was then six months pregnant, to a friend in Jin Ling. He had had to leave his villa to honour his vow in a duel against the leader of a demonic sect at the country’s border with Miao.

Just as one can never predict the weather, disaster struck when it was least expected: an epidemic of a disease the people called ‘locked throat’ broke out in Jin Ling. Officials of high rank, their families and all the nobles were evacuated. Some chose to settle temporarily in the quiet temples on mountains located near the capital.

It so happened that the mistresses of the Xie and Zhuo families were respectively staying in the East and West courtyards of the same temple.

Unused to such isolation, the two ladies naturally began to interact. Finding themselves to be of similar temperament and disposition, each often sought the company of the other. On one fateful day, the two had been having a conversation over a game of chess when suddenly, their labour contractions began.

At the time, lightning was flashing, thunder booming, wind howling and rain was falling hard and fast. The servants who had accompanied their mistresses were on tenterhooks and busied about late into the night. It was chaos until the cries of two babies rang out, almost at the same time.

Amidst the atmosphere of happiness and delight, the midwives brought the two precious babes to a large wooden tub prepared specially for them to be washed.

And then it happened.

In the old temple, an arborvitae tree was struck by lightning. Its largest branch broke with a terrible cracking noise, falling onto the roof of the room that Mistress Xie and Mistress Zhuo were in. A weak beam in the ceiling which could not withstand the additional weight splintered, plunging into the room below in a shower of tiles. The candles were extinguished by the gush of wind and accompanying pelting rain through the damaged roof. Shrill screams were heard even over the storm.

Mistress Xie and Mistress Zhuo were rescued by their guards and servant girls; their midwives hurriedly lifting the baby boys from the bathtub and stumbling out of the room that had been plunged suddenly into darkness.

Fortunately, the accident was merely frightening and had not resulted in any casualties. New accommodations were arranged for the mistresses, and everyone eventually settled down with a sigh of relief. It was then that a big problem was discovered.

The two baby boys were naked when they were brought out of the pitch black room. Both were equally wrinkled, cried equally loudly, were of equal weight and did not have any distinguishing feature. Who was the son of Mistress Xie, who was the son of Mistress Zhuo?

The problem was exacerbated by the death of one of the boys the next day.

Because Mistress Xie was a princess, the sister of the reigning emperor, this incident had to be brought to his attention. The two families were then commanded to enter the palace with the remaining baby for a test of blood [5] to be carried out by an imperial doctor.

Unexpectedly, the baby’s blood coagulated with that of the members of both families. There was not even any difference in the degree of clotting observed in the water.

The Emperor could tell with one look at the two sets of parents, that judging by physical appearance would be difficult: Xie Yu and Zhuo Ding Feng were both tall men, with strong bodies and distinct - but not distinctive – facial features, their wives were beautiful with almond shaped eyes, and both were blessed with an elegant and graceful bearing. Though they could certainly not be said to look alike, but upon closer examination, nothing could be found to set them apart.

Even if they waited for the child to grow a little older, it would still be all but impossible to be sure of his parentage based on appearance alone.

The Emperor stared at the babe in his arms for a long time, and although he could not come to a decision, he found himself growing fond of it.

This helped to give him the idea for a compromise.

“Since there is no infallible method for ascertaining this child’s identity, giving him the surname of either Xie or Zhuo would be inappropriate. We [6] shall bestow the Imperial Surname upon him, and he will be named according to the convention for princes,” here he paused to think for a moment.

“Let’s call him Jing… Jing Rui. Well, he was born on Rui Mountain after all! Jing Rui can stay with the Xie family for one year, then spend the next with the Zhuo family, and ought to be considered the son of both families. What do you all think of this?”

The Emperor had spoken. Knowing that there was no better solution available, the four could only agree.

And just like that, Xiao Jing Rui came into possession of his double identity: the eldest son of the Xie family’s Marquis Ning, and the second young master of the Zhuo family of Tian Quan Villa. Through him, these two families that originally had nothing to do with each other gradually grew closer, their relationship approaching that of blood relatives.

Two years prior, the eldest son of the Zhuo family, Zhuo Qing Yao took the eldest daughter of the Xie family, Xie Qi, as his wife. This cementing of their ties by marriage brought harmony such that Xie and Zhuo seemed to become one big family.

二十四年前，宁国侯谢玉离开他怀孕的妻子——当朝皇妹莅阳长公主出征西夏，同年，江湖世家天泉山庄的庄主卓鼎风也将身怀六甲的爱妻送到金陵委托朋友照顾，自己前往苗疆约战魔教高手。谁知天有不测风云，一次被民间俗称为“锁喉”的疫情突然暴发，为躲避瘟疫，城内的达官贵人们纷纷离开，到附近的清静山庙避灾，而谢卓两家夫人巧之又巧地住到了同一座庙里的东西两院。

  由于山中寂寞，两位夫人有了交往，彼此都觉得性情相投，常在一处起坐。这天，两人正聚在一起聊天弈棋，突然同时阵痛起来。其时外面正是电闪雷鸣、风雨大作，随行的仆从们惶惶然地忙乱到深夜，终于有婴儿的啼哭声响起，两个男孩几乎是先后脚一起落草。

  在一片喜笑颜开中，产婆们捧着这金尊玉贵的两个小公子到外间准备好的一个大木桶��给婴儿浴身。

  就在此时，意外发生了。

  古庙院中一株空心柏被雷电击中，一段粗枝轰然断裂，砸在产房屋顶上，瞬那间瓦碎梁歪，窗棂也被震落，狂风猛卷而入，屋内烛火俱灭，一片尖叫声。侍卫和婢女们慌慌张张抢出两位夫人，被吓得向后跌坐在地上的产婆们也手忙脚乱地摸黑从木桶里捞出婴孩，逃了出去。

  好在有惊无险，无人受伤，重新择房安顿好了产妇之后，众人刚松了一口气，就突然发现了一个大问题。

  摸黑被抱出的两个男婴，赤裸裸身无牵挂，一般样皱皱巴巴，一般样张着嘴大哭，重量相仿，眉目相似，哪个是谢夫人生的，哪个又是卓夫人生的？

  到了第二天，问题更加沉重，因为其中的一个男婴死了。

  谢夫人既是当朝长公主，这件事就不可避免地惊动到了当今天子。皇帝下旨命两家带着婴孩入宫，派御医滴血认亲，谁知婴儿的血居然跟谁的都相融，根本没有区别，再一看两对父母的模样，皇帝知道事情难办了。

  谢玉与卓鼎风都是长身玉立，五官明晰，两位夫人都是柳眉杏眼，秀丽文雅；虽说不算很象，但细察其五官，轮廓特征竟然差不多。

  即使等孩子长大，只怕也难单凭长相，就判定他到底是谁家之子。

  皇帝抱着婴儿看了半天，虽无决断，但因心中十分喜爱，便想出了一个折中之计：“既然无法确认这孩子究竟是何人之子，那他姓谢姓卓都不合适，朕就赐国姓于他，按皇子辈取名，叫景……景睿好了，他生在睿山之上嘛。一年住在谢家，下一年就住在卓家，算是两姓之子，如何？”

  皇帝作了主，何况也没有更好的办法，大家也只能同意。

  就这样，萧景睿便有了双重身份，即是宁国侯谢家的大公子，也是天泉山庄卓氏门中的二少爷。而素无往来的谢卓两家也由此变得有如亲族一般，关系紧密。两年前，卓家长子卓青遥娶了谢府大小姐谢绮为妻，���家更是亲上加亲，和睦得有如一家一般。

[picturesofchina]

An Imperial tomb of the Western Xia dynasty near Yinchuan, Ningxia

[tendaysofrain]

Since many people enjoyed the Peach Blossom Springs build by Epicwork, here are some more builds that they’ve made over the years, along with some historical background on the builds, if anyone is interested:

The Thousand-Year Capital City - Luoyang (千年帝都·洛阳)

In ancient times, Luoyang served as capital city in Xia dynasty/夏朝 (2070 BC - 1600 BC; the existence of this dynasty is debated among scholars due to insufficient archaeological evidence), Shang dynasty/商朝 (1600 BC - 1046 BC; Luoyang was one of the two capital cities), Western Zhou dynasty/西周 (1046 BC - 771 BC; Luoyand was again one of two capital cities), Eastern Zhou dynasty/东周 (770 BC - 256 BC), Western Han dynasty/西汉 (briefly starting from 202 BC), Eastern Han dynasty/东汉 (25 AD - 220 AD), Kingdom (dynasty if going by the traditional official historiography) of Wei/曹魏 (220 AD - 266 AD; this is part of the famous Three Kingdoms period), Western Jin dyansty/西晋 (266 AD - 213 AD), Northern Wei dynasty/北魏 (386 AD - 534 AD; Luoyang became its capital in 494 AD), Sui dynasty/隋朝 (581 AD - 618 AD; Luoyang became the capital in 605 AD), Tang dynasty/唐朝 (618 AD - 907 AD, including the brief Zhou/武周 during which Wu Zetian was the first female emperor; Luoyang was the capital or one of the capitals starting from 657 AD), Later Liang dynasty/后梁 (907 AD - 923 AD), Later Tang dynasty/后唐 (923 AD - 937 AD), Later Jin dynasty/后晋 (936 AD - 947 AD).

The build here (minus the giant dragon statue of course) is based on Luoyang during Tang dynasty, possibly around the time when Emperor Gaozong or Wu Zetian was in power, due to the presence of the enormous standing Buddha statue (Wu Zetian believed in Buddhism, while most other emperors of Tang dynasty put more emphasis on Daoism, since they claimed to be descendants of the founder of Daoism, Laozi, whose real name was Li Er). 

The Garden of Gardens - The Old Summer Palace (万园之园·圆明园)

The Old Summer Palace or Yuanmingyuan/圆明园 was a garden constructed during Qing dynasty that incorporated elements of Chinese architecture and Western architecture.  The garden used to contain many priceless artifacts, the vast majority of which were stolen by British and French forces in 1860, and the garden itself was burned to the ground and thoroughly destroyed.  As a result of this purposeful destruction, only a few broken pillars remained, standing as a grim reminder to the plundering and destruction that were the results of Western imperialism.

Epicwork tried to reference old photos and historical records when recreating the garden here in this build.

The quote at the beginning of the video comes from a letter written by Victor Hugo to Captain Butler (boldened portion is the quote):

To Captain Butler

Hauteville House,

25 November, 1861

You ask my opinion, Sir, about the China expedition. You consider this expedition to be honourable and glorious, and you have the kindness to attach some consideration to my feelings; according to you, the China expedition, carried out jointly under the flags of Queen Victoria and the Emperor Napoleon, is a glory to be shared between France and England, and you wish to know how much approval I feel I can give to this English and French victory.

Since you wish to know my opinion, here it is:  

There was, in a corner of the world, a wonder of the world; this wonder was called the Summer Palace. Art has two principles, the Idea, which produces European art, and the Chimera, which produces oriental art. The Summer Palace was to chimerical art what the Parthenon is to ideal art. All that can be begotten of the imagination of an almost extra-human people was there. It was not a single, unique work like the Parthenon. It was a kind of enormous model of the chimera, if the chimera can have a model. Imagine some inexpressible construction, something like a lunar building, and you will have the Summer Palace. Build a dream with marble, jade, bronze and porcelain, frame it with cedar wood, cover it with precious stones, drape it with silk, make it here a sanctuary, there a harem, elsewhere a citadel, put gods there, and monsters, varnish it, enamel it, gild it, paint it, have architects who are poets build the thousand and one dreams of the thousand and one nights, add gardens, basins, gushing water and foam, swans, ibis, peacocks, suppose in a word a sort of dazzling cavern of human fantasy with the face of a temple and palace, such was this building. The slow work of generations had been necessary to create it. This edifice, as enormous as a city, had been built by the centuries, for whom? For the peoples. For the work of time belongs to man. Artists, poets and philosophers knew the Summer Palace; Voltaire talks of it. People spoke of the Parthenon in Greece, the pyramids in Egypt, the Coliseum in Rome, Notre-Dame in Paris, the Summer Palace in the Orient. If people did not see it they imagined it. It was a kind of tremendous unknown masterpiece, glimpsed from the distance in a kind of twilight, like a silhouette of the civilization of Asia on the horizon of the civilization of Europe.

This wonder has disappeared.

One day two bandits entered the Summer Palace. One plundered, the other burned. Victory can be a thieving woman, or so it seems. The devastation of the Summer Palace was accomplished by the two victors acting jointly. Mixed up in all this is the name of Elgin, which inevitably calls to mind the Parthenon. What was done to the Parthenon was done to the Summer Palace, more thoroughly and better, so that nothing of it should be left. All the treasures of all our cathedrals put together could not equal this formidable and splendid museum of the Orient. It contained not only masterpieces of art, but masses of jewelry. What a great exploit, what a windfall! One of the two victors filled his pockets; when the other saw this he filled his coffers. And back they came to Europe, arm in arm, laughing away. Such is the story of the two bandits.

We Europeans are the civilized ones, and for us the Chinese are the barbarians. This is what civilization has done to barbarism.

Before history, one of the two bandits will be called France; the other will be called England. But I protest, and I thank you for giving me the opportunity! the crimes of those who lead are not the fault of those who are led; Governments are sometimes bandits, peoples never.

The French empire has pocketed half of this victory, and today with a kind of proprietorial naivety it displays the splendid bric-a-brac of the Summer Palace. I hope that a day will come when France, delivered and cleansed, will return this booty to despoiled China.

Meanwhile, there is a theft and two thieves.

I take note.

This, Sir, is how much approval I give to the China expedition.

Regrettably, none of the priceless artifacts that were stolen had been returned by any of the countries involved, and instead became a major part of the museum collections of various Western countries.  The small portion of artifacts that had returned to China were mostly bought from auctions by Chinese people.  To this day, British and French mainstream media refuse to fully acknowledge the plundering and destruction of Yuanmingyuan.

Lijiang, the Ancient Mystic City (中国风·丽江古镇)

I thought the translation for the title should’ve been “the Ancient Mystical City”, but it’s okay.  This is Epicwork’s first Chinese architecture-style build that became popular.  This build is based on the real life Old Town of Lijiang (丽江古镇), which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The real life Old Town of Lijiang has architecture that incorporated features of Han culture and Naxi culture.

Finally, a build that doesn’t really fit the topic of this blog, but personally I really liked it, and just in time for October...

Devil Island (恶魔岛)

The cathedral in this build is based on Duomo di Milano.

[ruanbaijie]

@priestnet summer solstice event week 4 ✺ rain

mentions of rain in my top 3 favourite songs of the show

lyrics & translation notes below the cut

天问 (刘宇宁) Heavenly Questions (Liu Yuning)

问雨问晴心事多少

付明月暮暮与朝朝

asking the rain and the clear weather how many worries [1] there might be

every day and night I dedicate myself wholeheartedly to the bright moon [2]

[1] 心事 (xīn shì) literally means “heart matters” and refers to troubled thoughts and worries that weigh down on your mind. I’ve translated it here as “worries”.

[2] 付明月 (fù míng yuè) is from the phrase “我将真心付明月，明月缘何照沟渠” which is in turn derived from 《琵琶记》”Tale of the Pipa” by Gao Ming (1305-1370). The full sentence means something along the lines of: “I dedicate myself wholeheartedly and sincerely to someone (i.e. what the metaphor of the bright moon refers to), continuously working hard for them in the hopes that they would understand my innermost feelings. However, that person misunderstood all my efforts and did not treat me the way I hoped they would, causing me to feel hurt, sad, disappointed, and angry.”

天涯客 (张哲瀚&龚俊) Faraway Wanderer (Zhang Zhehan & Gong Jun)

西陵下凄秋凉雨吻我窗

任人憎任人谤未妨惆怅是清狂

down at the western mounds [3], the cold and desolate autumn rain kisses my window

I endure the hate and the slander, yet I might as well remain melancholic and stubborn in my blind infatuation [4]

[3] 陵 (líng) can mean a mound/ hill (yes this the same ling that is in “yiling”) but can also mean an emperor’s tomb.

[4] 未妨惆怅是清狂 (wèi fáng chóu chàng shì qīng kuáng) is from the phrase “直道相思了无意，未妨惆怅是清狂” which is part of a longer poem 《无题二首》 by Li Shangyin (813-858). The full phrase means that even though one knows that bitterly missing and pining for a loved one is completely futile, one still remains wracked with melancholy till the end of one’s life, stubbornly abiding by one’s blind infatuation.

无题 (胡夏) Nameless (Hu Xia)

两岸莺啼人无语 一川烟波淹没了眼睛

云万里无名无姓 也无风雨也无晴

on both shores the orioles cry [5] yet the people remain silent, a river of mist-covered waters [6] have drowned my eyes

the clouds stretch on for tens of thousands of miles without a name, and neither is there wind nor rain nor clear weather

[5] 莺啼 (yīng tí) literally means “oriole’s cry”, where 啼 refers to a bird’s cry, tweet, chirp, or song in general. I’ve stuck with “cry” in this translation because it sounds more sorrowful especially when personified.

[6] 烟波 (yān bō) refers to the occurrence of dense mist cloaking the surface of a river or lake. Alternatively, it can also mean to live as a recluse and cut oneself off from the rest of the world.

[bookofjin]

Commentary on the Water Classic: Congling

[The commentary now turns far west to the rivers flowing westward from the Congling (Pamir) Mountains. A lot of this material seems to derive from the Hanshu which is a bit disappointing. You would think there would have been more later and up to date material the commentator could have used.

Jibin is probably Gandhara, if so its capital Xiuxun might be identical to the capital of Gandhara visited by Faxian, presumably Puskalavati.

Dayuezhi, or Da Yuezhi, is the Kushan Empire and Anxi is Persia (the name could derived from the Arsacids, the ruling dynasty of the Parthian Empire). This should make the great river flowing through these lands the Amu Darya, and the sea it flows into the Leizhu Sea, the Arial Sea.

The account of the four stupas derive from Faxian (he visited them in the opposite order, from west to east), and the main places described can be pretty reliably identified as Purusapura, the Gandharan capital Puskalavati, and Taksasila. However the river Niluoqidi which is supposed to flow westward past these places into the Leizhu sea is puzzling. Purusapura and Puskalavati are located on the Kabul River which flows west to east, and Taksasila is east of the Indus. Either accounts of different rivers have been conflated together, or the commentator (or his sources) has been led astray by the Hanshu's statement that west of Congling the rivers flows westward. The Buddha's alms bowl was a famous relic that shows up in the art from the times. (According to Google it is now located at Kabul Museum?)

Lijian and Tiaozhi are too far west to include on the map. Lijian the Hanshuconsiders an alternative name of Daqin, which is usually thought to be the Roman Empire. Tiaozhi could be Susiana or at least was located in that general region.

Finished with the really faraway western lands, the commentator can turn to the merely faraway western lands, the oasis states of the Tarim basin. First is that branch of the He (really the Tarim River) flowing east from Congling, and the places along it. Unfortunately several of the places mentioned are otherwise unrecorded.]

Again south it enters Congling Mountain蔥嶺山. Again from Congling Mountain蔥嶺山 its set out and then flows north-eastward.[1]

(Congling, Xiuxun)

[1]Of the He River's河水 multiple sources there are three, not only two. One sources in the west sets out in the state of Juandu捐毒國, from up in Congling蔥嶺. The distance west to Xiuxun休循 is more than 200 li. Both where formerly of the Sai塞 kind. To the south it attaches to Congling蔥嶺,which are 1 000 li tall.

The Old Affairs of Xihe says: Congling蔥嶺 is 8 000 li west of Dunhuang敦煌, Its mountains are high and great, and upon them grows spring onions. For that reason it is called Congling蔥嶺[Lit. the “Spring Onion Peaks”].

The He's河 source issues underground from their peaks, divides and becomes two rivers. One river goes west to pass south of the state of Xiuxun休循, which is located west of Congling蔥嶺.

Guo Yigong's Broad Treatise says: The state of Xiuxun休循國 resides in Congling蔥嶺. In its mountains are many great onions.

(Jibin)

Again it passes north of the state of Nandou難兜國 which to the north is connected with Xiuxun休循. The distance south-west to the state of Jibin罽賓國 is 340 li. The He River again goes west to pass north of the state of Jibin罽賓國. At the breaking of the Yuezhi月氏, the king of the Sai塞 went south to lord over Jibin罽賓, he was seated at Xunxian City循鮮城. The soil and earth is level and harmonious, there is nothing which it does not have. Its gold, silver, and precious treasure, strange livestock and unusual things, are discussed among the Middle Xia, and it is a great state. Among the mountain passes there are the mountains of Datoutong大頭痛 [Lit. “Great Headache”], and Xiaotoutong小頭痛 [“Small Headache”], and the slopes of Chitu 赤土 [“Red Soil”] and Shenre身熱. The people's livestock are similar however.

(Yuezhi)

He River河水 again goes west to pass south of the state of Yuezhi月氏國, seated at Jianshi City監氏城. Their customs are similar to Anxi安息. The Xiongnu's Modun Shanyu routed the Yuezhi月氏, killed their king, and used his head as a drinking cup. The state thereupon divided. They who went far away beyond Dayuan大宛, and went west to reside in Daxia大夏, became the Dayuezhi大月氏 [“Great Yuezhi”]. Their remnant small multitudes who were unable to leave, together guarded the Southern Mountains南山 among the Qiang, and are titled the Xiaoyuezhi小月氏 [“Small Yuezhi”]. For that reason there are the names of Dayeuzhi and Xiaoyuezhi.

(Anxi)

Again west it passes by south of the state of Anxi安息國. The city overlooks Gui River嬀水, and their territory is several thousand li square, an exceedingly great state. There are traders and merchants that travel by cart and boat sideways through the state. They draw on leather during theyr sideways travels to make books and records. The He River河水 and the Niluoqidi River蜺羅跂禘水 similarly pour into the Leizhu Sea雷翥海.

(Niluoqidi River and the four great stupas)

Mr. Shi's Records of the Western Regions says: The Niluoqidi蜺羅跂禘 sets out from north of Anavatapta Mountian阿耨達山, going west it passes by the state of Yutian于闐.

The Book of Han, Account of the Western Regions, says: West of Yutian于闐, the rivers all flow west, and pour into the Western Sea西海.

Again west it passes by north of four great stupas, the place Shi Faxian speaks of as the state of Jiushuluo糺尸羅國[Takshasila], in Han speech “Cut off Head”. At the time when the Buddha was a bodhisattva, he used his head to bestow it on a person, for that reason they afterwards named the state. East of the state there is the place where he threw down his body to feed the hungry tiger. At both places they erected stupas.

Again west it passes north of the state of Qiantuowei揵陀衛國[Gandhara], this is the town where King Ashoka's son Fayi [Dharma-vivardhana] governed from. At the time when the Buddha was a bodhisattva, he likewise in this state used his eyes to bestow on a person. At that place they likewise erected a great stupa.

Also there is the state of Fulousha弗樓沙國[Purushapura], where the Heavenly Deity, Sakra, changed to be a little boy who herded cows, and gathered earth to make stupa for the Budda. A king of the Law following that then completed a great stupa. They are spoken of as the four great stupas.

(The Buddha's alms bowl)

Faxian's Account says: The state has the Buddha's alms bowl. The King of the Yuezhi月氏 greatly fostered a multitude of troops, and came to invade this state. He wished to take hold of the alms-bowl and leave, and put the alms-bowl on top of his elephant. The elephant was unable to advance. He once more built a four-wheeled chariot to transport the alms-bowl, with eight elephants pulling together, again they were not able to advance. The king knew his affinity with the alms-bowl had not yet arrived, and hence there erected a stupa keep the alms-bowl, and supply and provide for it.

The alms-bowl rooms two dou and is of mixed colour, but mostly black. The division into four junctures is clear. Its thickness could be two fen, and it has considerable shine and lustre. A poor person uses a few flowers to throw into it and readily fills it. A rich person uses many flowers to supply and provide, properly again hundreds, thousands, ten thousands of hu, in the end it also will not fill.

Fotutiao says: The Buddha's alms bowl is of blue-green jade, and allows three dou, that state treasures it. At the time when it is supplied and provided for, [if one] wishes for a whole day for fragrant flowers not to fill it, then it is like he said. [If one] wishes to fill it with a single handful, then it likewise readily will be like he said.

Also relying on the explanation by the person of the Way, Zhu Fawei, the Buddha's alms bowl is in the state of Dayuezhi大月支. They have erected a Buddhist temple, 30 zhang tall, and seven storeys, the alms bowl is located on the second storey. Gold-wrapped chains suspend the alms bowl, and the alms bowl is in blue-green stone. Some state they suspend the alms bowl in an empty hollow.

Subhuti set up the alms bowl on a golden desk. The footprint of one of the Buddha's feet and the alms bowl both are in the same place. The king of the state and the subject people altogether wield sacred fragrance, the seven treasures, and jade discs to supply and provide for it. The stupa's vesitges are the relics of the Buddha's tooth, kasaya and head protuberance altogether are in the state of Fulousha弗樓沙國.

Mr. Shi's Records of the Western Regions says: North of Qiantuoyue Royal City揵陀越王城 is Butuluoye City鉢吐羅越城, Fujiasha Royal City佛袈裟王城. East of it there is a shrine. Multiple times tracing back streams and rivers [?], ten li north-west there is the Hebuluolong Deep Pool河步羅龍淵, the place where the Buddha came and by the deep pool washed his clothes. The washing stone still exists. Its river arrives in Anxi安息 and pour into the Leizhu Sea雷翥海.

(Further on Anxi and other far western lands)

He also says: West of Qiantuoyue犍陀越, within the Western Sea there is the state of Anxi安息國.

Zhu Zhi's Records of Funan says: The distance from the state of Anxi安息國 to the state of Sihetiao私訶條國 is 20 000 li. The lands of the state overlooks the shores of the sea, it is precisely the Book of Han's Tianzhu's天竺 state of Anxi安息國. Their households is near to 1 000 000, an exceedingly great state.

The Book of Han's Account of the Western Regions also states: Lijian 棃靬 and Tiaozhi條支 overlooks the Western Sea. [According to] the old and elderly's transmitted knowledge, Tiaozhi條支 has the Ruo River弱水 [“Weak River], [where] the Queen Mother of the West also never has been seen. From Tiaozhi條支, sailing the river and travelling west, possibly for more than a hundred days, [you come] near the place where the sun enters.

According to some, where is the He River's河水 passage to the Western Sea.

For that reason the Treatise on the Lands of Liang's Unusual Things says: The rivers of Congling蔥嶺 divide to flow east or west, to the west they enter the Great Sea, to the east they become the sources of the He河, it is what the Records of Yu speaks of as Kunlun崑崙. Zhang Qian was sent to Dayuan大宛, but was stranded at the sources of the He河. He spoke of the pinnacle being there, but he did not get to Kunlun崑崙.

(The He's source in the Congling Mountains, and the states it flows past)

The He River河水 from Kunlun蔥嶺 divides its sources, and goes east to pass the state of Jiasheluo迦舍羅國.

Mr. Shi's Records of the Western Regions says: there is a state named Qiesheluoshi伽舍羅逝. This state is confined and small, but by controlling the strategic roads of ten thousand states nothing is impossible.

South of the city there is a river, it flows north-east to set out from the mountains west of Luoshi羅逝, the mountains are precisely Congling蔥嶺. It passes Qisha Valley岐沙谷, setting out from the valley it divides to become two rivers. One river flows east, and passes north of the state of Wulei無雷國 which is seated at Lu City盧城. Their customs are similar to Xiye西夜 and Zihe子合. Again it flows east to pass north of the state of Yinai依耐國. The distance to Wulei無雷 is 540 li, their customs are similar to Zihe子合.

The He River河水 again goes east to pass north of the state of Puli蒲犂國, which is seated in Puli Valley蒲犂谷. The distance north to Shule疏勒 is 550 li, their customs are similar to Zihe子合. The He River河水 again goes east to pass north of the state of Pishan皮山國, which is seated at Pishan City皮山城. The distance north-west to Suoju莎車 is 380 li.

[umichenginabroad]

No Place Like China for the Holidays

Recently China had two pretty big Holidays: Mid-Autumn festival 中秋节 and National Day 国庆节. Mid-Autumn festival being the celebration of the full moon at its biggest and National day being a week long celebration- sorta similar to the United States’ 4th of July- celebrating the founding of the PRC.

For Mid-Autumn Festival, a few of us went to the Bund in Shanghai and ate mooncakes and looked at the moon. This picture was taken by my roommate Erik Reidel.

We didn’t have school this week and instead were taken by other Joint Institute students to their homes and shown around. I was taken to the lovely province of NingXia 宁夏. Below is my buddy and me atop a section of the HeLan mountains 贺兰山.

On the very first day of being there, I didn’t disobey the one rule Michigan gave me. And as a result, we took a 3~4 hour bike ride tour around the city of ShiZuiShan 石嘴山市, as pictured below.

We went to many famous tourists sites around the area, including the tomb of the ancient Xia kings 西夏王陵, the film studio where many western Chinese movies were shot 西部电视城, and even a vineyard where we picked our own grapes. NingXia’s biggest tourist attraction was an area where the Desert meets the lake, a place called Sha Hu 沙湖, literally meaning Sand Lake. There, we saw many sand sculptures, a variety of different kinds of birds, and even a section of the Great Wall. We even made some four-legged friends as pictured below.

Lastly, the food was great. It was amazing. Pretty much every meal, I was told, was one of NingXia’s specialty dishes. Among them, NingXia mutton was very prevelant. And delicious. Unfortunately, I don’t have pictures of those meals due to the food quickly disappearing. So instead I present this aesthetic picture of me and the HeLan Mountains 贺兰山, taken by my buddy, 王淦伟.

Stay tuned for more: TALES OF SHANGHAI!

Braden Saltus

Nuclear Engineering

IPE Shanghai JiaoTong Joint Institute 2018

P.S. Michigan’s One rule is we are not allowed to drive cars while abroad.

[raybai]

宁夏银川市西夏王陵 #ningxia #chinatravel （在 西夏王陵 Western Xia Mausoleums） https://www.instagram.com/p/CRkYb5-sF8R/?utm_medium=tumblr

[lrmax]

PHOTO OF THE DAY_VOL.0123 Western Xia Mausoleums and Helanshan Mountain. 02-05-2020（在 西夏王陵 Western Xia Mausoleums） https://www.instagram.com/p/B_rNSkMDJ6B/?igshid=1ap44x1xlma0p

[langyahallarchives]

萧景睿的身世 - Jingrui’s Birth (Ver. 1)

Twenty-four years ago, the Marquis Xie of Ning embarked on a campaign in western Xia, leaving behind his pregnant wife, the Grand Princess Liyang, who remained in Jinling to await the birth. That same year, the master of Tianquan manor, Zhuo Dingfeng, agreed to spar with a cult leader at the border of Miao. Before leaving, he entrusted his beloved wife, heavy with child, into the care of his father-in-law in Jinling.

Now, who could have guessed that disaster would strike so swiftly? There was a sudden outbreak in Jinling of the disease commonly known as diphtheria, and the city rapidly became a hellish prison. In order to prevent the spread of the epidemic, local authorities sealed the city. Commoners were strictly prohibited from coming and going as they pleased, with exceptional allowances made for only a few wealthy families. Naturally, this included the two women in the Xie and Zhuo families.

Although prominent officials and other noblemen had the special privilege of leaving the infected zone, in the end, they still were not able to act however they wished. Government officials prepared various quiet mountain temples in the nearby vicinity to serve as temporary dwellings, where they were quarantined for a time to prove they weren’t carriers of the disease before being given their freedom.

At this time, Lady Xie was eight-and-a-half months pregnant, and Lady Zhuo was nine months pregnant. By chance, they were sent to the same temple on the Rui mountain, and became neighbors there. Originally, the two women were but passing acquaintances who only saw each other at various social events. However, thanks to experiencing this hardship together, and without their husbands by their sides, the contact between them increased, and they discovered that their personalities were quite agreeable. They often sat together doing needlework and conversing happily, swapping stories about their pregnancies, and soon became as dear to each other as sisters.

And then one day, as the two of them were playing chess and chatting together, all of sudden, they went into labor at the same time. Because it was before their due dates, their servants were taken by surprise, and hastened to prepare the delivery rooms. From the afternoon all the way to the deepest night, it was sheer chaos. Outside, the wind howled, the rain came down in sheets, and thunder and lightning roiled. At last, when everyone’s insides were twisted up into knots from anxiety, the cries of infants pierced the night, and two little boys were born, seemingly at the same time. Amongst a field of smiles, the midwives carried these two most precious little young masters outside, to bathe them in a large wooden tub that had been prepared for that purpose.

At that moment, the unexpected happened.

Lightning struck a hollow cypress tree which was situated in the center of the old temple’s courtyard, and one of its branches snapped off with a crash, falling upon the roof of the delivery room. In an instant, roof tiles cracked, the ceiling beam was knocked askew, and the window lattices shattered. The gale from outside extinguished all the candles in the house, and someone screamed. Both guards and maids hurried to extricate the two women, and the midwives, who were so startled that they had fallen over backwards, hastily fished the babies out of the tub, and fled.

Fortunately, they were more scared than hurt, and no one was injured. However, once the new mothers had been resettled in their respective rooms, and everyone had breathed a sigh of relief, a rather large problem arose. The two little boys that had been carried out in pitch darkness, naked and without a care in the world, were both equally wrinkled, were both wailing at the top of their lungs in quite the same way, were of similar weight, and had similar features. So which infant belonged to Lady Xie, and which to Lady Zhuo?

By the next day the question became even more critical, as one of the infants began to have difficulty breathing, and before long, it had passed away.

Thus, when Marquis Xie returned from a successful campaign pacifying insurgents, and when Master Zhuo returned from the prestigious accomplishment of vanquishing the cult, they were greeted by their beloved wives, both sickly and grieving, as well as a single child that no one was sure who should take home.

Since the Lady Xie was also a Grand Princess of the current court, it was unavoidable that this matter would come to the attention of the emperor. The emperor issued a decree commanding both families to bring the child to the palace, so that he could personally preside over the case.

However, upon seeing the appearances of both pairs of parents, the emperor quickly realized that the situation would not be easy to resolve. Both Xie Yu and Zhuo Dingfeng were tall and slim, with distinct features. Both mothers had arched brows and almond-shaped eyes, and were beautiful and refined. They were not terribly alike, and yet when scrutinizing their features, the contours of their faces and other characteristics were more or less similar. Even if they were to wait for the child to grow older, the possibility remained that it would be difficult to judge whose child he was, simply by his appearance.

So the emperor held the child for nearly half a day, and did not come to a decision. However, in his heart, he found that he was becoming fond of the child, and thus came up with a compromise.

“Since there is no way to confirm who this child belongs to, it would be improper for him to use either of the surnames Xie or Zhuo. We shall bestow upon him the imperial surname, as well as the generational name of princes. That makes him Jing… mm… Jingrui will do, as he was born upon Rui mountain. He shall live for one year with the Xie family, and then spend the next year with the Zhuo family—in other words, he shall be the child of two families. What say you?”

Thus went the emperor’s decision, and since there were also no better suggestions, both families could only agree to this.

This was how Xiao Jingrui ended up with dual identities: he was the son of the Marquis of Ning, and also the second son of the Zhuo clan. Furthermore, because of this, the two families who previously had very little to do with one another became as members of the same clan, with a very close relationship.

Having two identities meant double the love and double the honor, but also double the work. From the time that he was young, Xiao Jingrui understood that he was not like his other brothers and sisters: he had to satisfy the expectations of two sets of parents. The Xie family placed emphasis on his studies, and the Zhuo family valued martial prowess. Xie Yu wished for his child to master clever strategies for commanding troops, and Zhuo Dingfeng wished for his child to gain thorough experience with the pugilist underworld.

Although he was under exceptional pressure, all things considered, Xiao Jingrui lived up to expectations; his performance was splendid. He could speechify well enough to startle members of the imperial academy, he could match his sword against others in the pugilist world, and on top of that, he was handsome, and had an elegant frame. His best friend Yan Yujin put it this way: “Wish I could be that perfect…”

- From Nirvana in Fire Ver. 1, Chapter 1, The Child Of Two Families. Translated by Andrea

二十四年前，宁国侯谢玉离开怀孕的妻子出征西夏，莅阳公主留在金陵待产；同年，天泉山庄庄主卓鼎风与魔教教主约战苗疆，临走前也将身怀六甲的爱妻送到金陵委托岳父照顾。谁知天有不测风云，一次被民间俗称为“白喉”的疫情突然暴发，金陵城内顿成修罗狱场。为免疫情扩散，官府封了城，严禁百姓出入，只有一些富贵家族得到了特殊的照顾，其中当然就包括谢卓两家夫人。

虽然达官贵人们有些特权离开疫区，但毕竟不能随意行动，州府官员们在附近的各处清静山庙为他们安排了住处，要度过危险期确认没有染病后才得自由。

这时谢夫人怀胎八月半，卓夫人怀胎九月，碰巧被送到了睿山上的同一座庙宇中作了邻居。两位夫人原本只是在社交场合见过的点头之交，这次同遇患难，丈夫又都不在身边，��往多了后，彼此都觉得性情相投，常在一处针线谈笑，交流怀胎的感受，很快就情同姐妹。

这天，两人正聚在一起聊天弈棋，突然同时阵痛起来。因为产期提前，仆从们措手不及，匆匆准备产房，好一番忙乱，从下午直折腾到深夜，外面电闪雷鸣，风雨大作，等大家惶惶然把心都揪成麻花了的时候，终于有婴儿的啼哭声响起，两个男孩几乎是同时落草。

在一片喜笑颜开中，产婆们捧着这金尊玉贵的两个小公子到外间准备好的一个大木桶里给婴儿浴身。

就在此时，意外发生了。

古庙院中一株空心柏被雷电击中，一段粗枝轰然断裂，砸在产房屋顶上，瞬那间瓦碎梁歪，窗棂也被震落，狂风猛卷而入，屋内烛火俱灭，一片尖叫声。侍卫和婢女们慌慌张张抢出两位夫人，被吓得向后跌坐在地上的产婆们也手忙脚乱地摸黑从木桶里捞出婴孩，逃了出去。

好在有惊无险，无人受伤，重新择房安顿好了产妇之后，众人刚松了一口气，就突然发现了一个大问题。

摸黑被抱出的两个男婴，赤·裸裸身无牵挂，一般样皱皱巴巴，一般样张着嘴大哭，重量相仿，眉目相似，哪个是谢夫人生的，哪个又是卓夫人生的？

到了第二天，问题更加沉重，因为其中的一个男婴突然喘不上气来，未几就死了。

当谢侯带着平定叛乱的赫赫战功，卓庄主带着击败魔教的烁烁威名赶来时，只看到自己虚弱哀伤的爱妻，与一个不知该归谁所有的婴孩。

谢夫人既是当朝长公主，这件事就不可避免地惊动到了当今天子。皇帝下旨命两家带着婴孩入宫，想亲自做个判断。

但一看到两对父母的模样，皇帝就知道事情难办了。

谢玉与卓鼎风都是长身玉立，五官明晰，两位夫人都是柳眉杏眼，秀丽文雅；虽说不算很象，但细察其五官，轮廓特征竟然差不多。

即使等孩子长大，只怕也难单凭长相，就判定他到底是谁家之子。

皇帝抱着婴儿看了半天，虽无决断，但因心中十分喜爱，便想出了一个折中之计：“既然无法确认这孩子究竟是何人之子，那他姓谢姓卓都不合适，朕就赐国姓于他，按皇子辈取名，叫景……景睿好了，他生在睿山之上嘛。一年住在谢家，下一年就住在卓家，算是两姓之子，如何？”

皇帝作了主，何况也没有更好的办法，大家也只能同意。

就这样，萧景睿便有了双重身份，即是宁国侯家的大公子，也是卓氏门中的二少爷。而素无往来的谢卓两家也由此变得有如亲族一般，关系紧密。

两个身份带来的是双倍的宠爱与双倍的尊荣，但同时，也有双倍的辛苦。萧景睿从小就知道自己与其他的兄弟姐妹不同，要同时满足两对父母的期许。谢家重文，卓家重武，谢玉想让儿子掌握将兵奇谋，卓鼎风要求儿子通晓江湖历练。虽然承受着极大的压力，但萧景睿总算不负众望，表现得甚是优秀，论文可词惊翰林，论武能拔剑江湖，再加上天生一副潇��俊美的好皮囊，按他最好的朋友言豫津的说法，就是“完美成这样也就够了……”

[picturesofchina]

Prehistoric faces and 11th-12th century Western Xia writing carved into the rock of the Helan Mountains, near Yinchuan, Ningxia

[picturesofchina]

An imperial tomb of the Western Xia Dynasty in Yinchuan, Ningxia