#he guangzhi

[zhang-ling-he]

221217 | 智族GQ Weibo

[jcmarchi]

Black Myth: Wukong Preview - A Classic Tale Retold - Game Informer

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/black-myth-wukong-preview-a-classic-tale-retold-game-informer/

Black Myth: Wukong Preview - A Classic Tale Retold - Game Informer

Black Myth: Wukong is an action role-playing game that closely follows the events of Wu Cheng’en’s seminal novel Journey to the West. The work, based on Chinese mythology and Buddhist folklore, follows a monk who meets a spirit called Sun Wukong, often called Monkey King, during his search for sacred religious texts. While its central narrative is still unknown, Game Science’s upcoming Soulslike depicts Wukong’s encounters with Yaoguai, various creatures and demons in Chinese myth, set within stunning Eastern landscapes.

My hands-on demo begins at the base of Black Wind Mountain’s summit, in a place called the Forest of Wolves, populated with rich greenery, alpine trees, and all manner of wind-weathered stones and shrines. The path to the top is guarded by scattered groups of foxes and wolf-like humanoids who wield axes, shields, and bows. While these enemies aren’t challenging, they serve as great punching bags to learn combat fundamentals like dodging, charged-up staff techniques, and early spells like Immobilize, which freezes enemies in place for a burst-attack opportunity.

Black Myth: Wukong Release Date Trailer:

[embedded content]

Wukong’s primary weapon is a bō staff, referred to as Ruyi Jingu Bang in the inspirational literature, which he can shrink down to the size of a needle for safe-keeping inside his ear. The Monkey King commands an arsenal of weapon combos, including the ability to charge up Jingu Bang to pool together Focus Points, which allow him to unleash flashy heavy strikes. While you can’t store the Focus Points you acquire by charging his weapon – Wukong automatically attacks as you release the button – you can store up focus points to use later in the fight by landing enough light attacks on an enemy. Learning the timing of these weapon flourishes and how to use them alongside your growing library of mystic spells is critical to success against large opponents like the game’s many bosses.

While there are at least half a dozen optional and required bosses in the Forest of Wolves, I spend my time challenging two of its more difficult adversaries. The first is a flame-spear-wielding wolf named Guangzhi, who rushes me down and overwhelms me with flame-bending sweeps and dashes. After beating him on my fourth attempt, which I manage to do by relying on my immobilization spell’s cooldown, Guangzhi drops his double-tipped spear, called Red Tides, which slots into one of Wukong’s empty spell slots rather than replacing his magical staff. Upon activating the ability, Wukong momentarily transforms into the wolf I just defeated, allowing me to wield the boss’ fiery powers to inflict Scorch Bane, a status effect that sets enemies on fire and deals damage over time. Notably, Wukong’s health pool is separate from the Yaoguai he embodies, making this new ability a great tactic to use when low on health against Black Wind Mountain’s ravenous bosses.

I run past another optional boss – a gargantuan humanoid with a disproportionate golden head – and maneuver a bamboo-laden mountain ridge, finally making it to my destination: the Guanyin Temple, which is home to Lingxuzi, a building-sized canine appointed by a mysterious character known as the Black Wind King. The towering white wolf jumps in the air, scaling the entirety of the arena in a few seconds, and gets a taste of my blood after a swift strike. While Lingxuzi licks his lips, I freeze him in place and begin a flurry of light attacks and focused heavy strikes. Of course, this is a Soulslike, so I end up dying multiple times, slowly memorizing the Yaoguai’s movements and tactics over the course of roughly five attempts. When I finally triumph, I equip a rare wolf mask I loot from Lingxuzi’s corpse, granting me a damage buff against critically wounded enemies.

Black Myth: Wukong seems to present a compelling world of striking character designs, boss fights requiring skill mastery, and gorgeous environments. I eagerly await the game’s release, not simply for its excellent combat and promising character building, but to experience its take on the prominent Chinese folk tale.

[44oooo]

Photo by Guangzhi Zeng

Hong Kong-born photographer Tsang Kwong-chi began his influential black-and-white self-portraits after moving to New York in 1979. Shot over a decade, the expedition series, also known as East Meets West posed in front of numerous landmarks around the world.

The series, entitled When East Meets West, shows Zeng Guangzhi posing as an unidentified visitor from the ZG, exploring and mocking Western stereotypes of the Asian world. He stands in the symbolic places mentioned in the American epic and photographs himself in a Zhongshan suit and sunglasses.

Zeng Guangzhi's photographic process combines elements of surrealism and pop. Not only does he force a detached figure in front of the familiar monuments frozen in this group of images and memories, its to create a unique perspective by superimposing a recurring, completely identical, and eternally contrived portrait of the figure in front of the natural image of each architectural symbol.

According to the calibration of this transitional figure, in the presence of these iconic landscapes, Zeng Guangzhi becomes a symbol in itself: a canonical image, possessing a sacredness of its own.

[sashabarkov]

So what's prince in exile about?

prince-in-exile is my absolutely mammoth (and i do mean mammoth, i haven’t written much of the narrative yet but the rough outline alone is over 4k words) au in which jin zixuan’s 13th birthday party is interrupted by his uncle jin guangzhi (oc, jin guangshan’s younger brother, jin zixun’s dad) staging a bloody coup. with his parents dead and a target on his back, jin zixuan has to survive alone on the run, evading the disciples sent to catch him and the dangers of the road as he follows his mother’s last orders and tries to make it to lotus pier in the hopes that the jiangs might deign to shelter him

it’s gonna be my magnum opus if i manage to finish it (and probably even if i don’t)

[superpruchika99world]

Elon Musk says Chinese rival Xpeng 'stole' Tesla and Apple codes

Companies News Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has accused Chinese electric car maker Xpeng of stealing the old source codes of his electric vehicle maker company. Musk even alleged that Xpeng stole Apple's code too.

In a chat with one of his followers on Twitter who asked why is Xpeng using LiDAR technology which is a big deviation from copying Tesla, Musk replied: "They have an old version of our software & don't have our NN inference computer".

ALSO READ: India top destination for MNCs looking to invest, says CII-EY survey

He continued: "They stole Apple's code too". In July 2019, Guangzhi Cao, a former engineer at Tesla admitted to uploading Tesla's Autopilot source code to his iCloud account.

Tesla sued Cao for allegedly giving the secret code to Xpeng. Tesla does not use the LiDAR sensor technology and relies on deep neural networks. Xpeng is using LiDAR which is different...Read more.

[imperceptibility]

清和 (Qinghe) -- by 来自远方 (Lai Zi Yuan Fang) -- ch. 2

~

Author → here

JJWXC → here

Disclaimer & summary → here

Translated by me

Index of characters → here

⯇ Chapter 1

~

Meng Qinghe considered himself to be a kindhearted person, despite most of those who had experience dealing with him holding an opposing opinion.

Although he had never committed any monstrous acts and was far from being a person steeped in evil, every single individual who was familiar with him would involuntarily shiver upon seeing his signature action of putting his finger on the frame of his glasses.

Meng Qinghe was against violence. Moreover, he would never speak maliciously towards another person.

Physical appearance aside, his scholarly aura often caused others to err in their judgement of him.

He liked to calmly deliberate, though 90% of the time, the subjects of his ‘deliberation’ would meet quite the tragic fate.

Meng Guangxiao did not know that Qinghe was no longer the same person inside, and so he gleefully waited to cheaply acquire the big house and the farmland that Meng Guangzhi had left behind.

So what if Meng Guangzhi had a reputation for his generosity? So what if he had been able to amass so much property? The world was full of hypocrisy. After he had kicked the bucket, who came forward to speak out for his family? Ultimately, the house and the farmland he had had in life wound up in Meng Guangxiao’s hands, did they not?

Meng Guangzhi had become the squad leader over him. But while he was leading the squad on its way to answering the mandatory call of labor, they had run into the Tatars[1] and he and his two sons died together in the northern borderland. Just by recalling this made Meng Guangxiao feel somehow vindicated.

Served him just right!

Meng-Liu-shi came out of the kitchen with warmed wine and two small side dishes. As soon as she pushed open the door, she saw Meng Guangxiao sitting on the chair with his legs crossed, drumming his fingers on the table and shaking his head. His muttering was too low to make out.

“Dangjiade[2],” Meng-Liu-shi placed the wine and food on the table, wiping her hands on her apron. Her expression was somewhat hesitant, but she still spoke: “Why not forget about the matter with shi’erlang? I have tried persuading you not to back when they first sold plots of their farmland. We are all relatives, so doing this is not a good idea. Once things are out in the open, how will we face one another? Plus, you are the head of the clan, so it would not do for others to gossip about you for your actions. Besides, they really are having a hard time...”

Bang!

Smashing the wine cup down upon the table, Meng Guangxiao’s expression was thunderous. Meng-Liu-shi did not dare to say more. Even if she said more, Meng Guangxiao was not going to change his mind. All it would achieve would be getting herself in trouble as well. In the end, she could only sigh. Their family hardly needed that house or those few mu of land. And yet it was as if her husband was stubbornly stuck on this matter, unwilling to listen to any advice to the contrary. They were all members of the Meng clan. Back during the time of liutangdi[3] Meng Guangzhi and his sons’ funeral, there was already gossip floating around, causing Meng-Liu-shi to want to crawl into some fissure in the ground with shame. And now this. If shi’erlang’s family was actually pushed off the cliff, would hers really have gained something?

This sort of thing could be done by Meng Guangshun or Meng Guangming, just not her husband! If nothing else, her oldest son was still in school. What would happen if news got out that his elders were acrimonious towards their relatives?

She was brimming with anxiety. With Meng Guangxiao refusing to listen, all she could do was fret in secret.

Meng Guangxiao did not know of his wife’s thoughts. Sitting next to the table, he picked up some peanuts and tossed them into his mouth between sips of wine, fully content.

As the sun grew closer to the horizon, the wine pot on the table became empty. Meng Guangxiao burped, his entire face flushed red. 

Meng Qinghai returned home from school. After brushing the snow from his body, he greeted Meng Guangxiao and Meng-Liu-shi.

“Father, mother, I am back.”

Meng Guangxiao looked up. Upon seeing his eldest son dressed in a rushan, wearing a sifangpingdingjin[4], Meng Guangxiao became a little more clear-headed.

“You are back.”

Meng-Liu-shi gave Meng Qinghai a look. When Meng Guangxiao was in a temper, only their oldest son could perhaps convince him otherwise.

Meng Qinghai nodded towards his mother and carefully chose his words: “Father, about shi’erlang...”

Before he could finish, Meng Guangxiao shook his head. “Just focus on your studies. Do not worry about anything else.”

“But father...”

“Enough. Do not say more.” Meng Guangxiao was inebriated and he impatiently cut Meng Qinghai off. “That boy is but a fool. No need to waste more energy on thoughts of him.”

Seeing his father’s displeasure, Meng Qinghai could only stop. Steering the conversation away and choosing things that would please his father to say, he finally managed to lighten Meng Guangxiao’s expression.

Ultimately, his multiple efforts to persuade his father were for his own sake, not out of some brotherly affection for Meng Qinghe. If Qinghe really were as his father described him, then there was nothing to worry about. Moreover, his father was the head of the Meng clan while his father-in-law was the village chief[5]. Once he passed the exam and entered the county school, to him, Qinghe would be merely an ant that he could crush at will.

With that thought, his last trace of worry vanished.

Only Meng-Liu-shi’s expression continued to carry some degree of concern. She wanted to speak but had no way of getting the words out.

Like this father and son pair, Meng Qinghe and Meng-Wang-shi also had a long conversation.

When the talk took place, Meng-Xu-shi and Meng-Zhang-shi were not present. It was not that he did not trust his sisters-in-law; rather, he just wanted to prevent side issues from arising. Meng-Wang-shi was capable of unconditionally believing in and supporting him, but that was not necessarily true for Meng-Xu-shi and Meng-Zhang-shi. After all, what he wanted to do would not be affecting just himself.

Reality proved that his apprehension was not, in fact, unwarranted. After telling Meng-Wang-shi of his plans, she was stunned for an entire ten minutes.

Her thought: could it be that shi’erlang has really turned into a fool?

He wanted to throw away his perfectly good occupation as a farmer[6] and enlist in the army? Once he became a soldier, how could he take the imperial examination? Were all these years of study going to waste? If her husband were to find out, would he be rolling in his grave?

And once she passed on, what face would she have to go see the Meng clan ancestors?

“Mother, I have not become a fool. Neither am I momentarily confused.” Qinghe slowed his speaking as much as he could. He knew what sort of an effect his words would have on Meng-Wang-shi, but he would never go back on something that he had decided upon.

Joining the army was for himself, for the family of “Meng Qinghe”, and for the sake of conveniently tricking Meng Guangxiao.

If he had not wound up in the body of this boy, he could not be sure he would not have become a lonely soul drifting six hundred years in the past. If he could drift his way back to the present, then all would be well. If not, then death would only be a matter of time.

When living was an option, nobody would want to die.

Seeing as he was ‘benefiting’ off the original Meng Qinghe, then he must shoulder the responsibilities that came with this ‘benefit’, regardless of whether he had asked for it for not.

Although through his planned action, Meng Guangxiao would not be the only one falling into the hole that he dug. There was no escape for the entire Meng Village[7].

In retrospect, the only thing that could be said was that Qinghe’s hole-digging technique had reached new heights

“Son, are you really set on this?”

“Mother, please put your faith in me this once.”

Gritting his teeth, Qinghe fell to his knees in front of Meng-Wang-shi. From this moment forward, he was no longer the Meng Qinghe of the 21st century but rather the boy living during the early years of the Ming Dynasty who had just lost his father.

“Mother, I was chased out of the school. I am afraid that from now on, nothing will come of my test-taking. Father and my brothers are gone. There is absolutely no way for us to keep possession of our farmland. Meng Village is also not a place to permanently call home. The only way forward is to enlist.”

The corners of her mouth trembling, Meng-Wang-shi lifted her hand, as if wanting to caress Qinghe’s head. But she aborted the action part of the way, setting her hand back down.

“Son, as your mother, it is I who is useless, dragging you down like this.” Meng-Wang-shi’s eyes reddened with tears, but alas, none fell. Ever since her husband and two of her sons had died, her tears had flown so much that they were now nearly dried up.

“Mother, this is what I have decided.” Qinghe looked at Meng-Wang-shi, his eyes resolute, his words impassioned. “Father and my brothers were killed by the Tatars. Even if I cannot kill their murderers with my own hands, I must kill a few of the Tatars to console their souls!

With tears hanging in the corners of her eyes, Meng-Wang-shi suddenly thought of something. “Kill the Tatars?”

“Indeed!”

“To avenge your father and brothers?”

“Indeed!”

“But son,” she paused, her tone doubtful, “can you lift our family’s hatchet?”

“......” It would appear that he could not.

For a moment, mother and son looked at one another, simultaneously silent.

At the start of the Ming Dynasty, soldiers were fierce and courageous. All the Princes stationed to defend the northern borderland had amiable meetings with their prairie friends every few days or so. Those prairie friends also liked to come to the border of the Ming Empire to display the qualities of a good neighbor. Both sides often came and went in the midst of swords and spears, extremely ‘intimate’ in their relationship.

With Qinghe’s current small and lean frame, he barely had any flesh for a sword to slice off. Unable to even lift a hatchet, on the battlefield, the others would not even deign to use him as cannon fodder.

Qinghe wanting to join the military was not hard.

Him wanting to make contributions after joining was very hard.

Three meals a day, a standalone house, no worries over food or clothing — he was still quite a distance away from those goals.

Pinching his own thin arms, Qinghe lowered his head, squatted down, and drew circles on the ground in silence.

He missed his eight-head height in the 21st century, his six-pack.

With just the right timing, the old cat outside gave a meow, contentedly licking its paw and washing its face, clearly having just ate a full meal.

Qinghe turned his head and bared his teeth in the direction of the door. While the cat bristled, he clenched his fists: effort was what mattered. A six-pack, so what? Sooner or later, he was going to achieve an eight-pack!

Although...the difficulty was a bit high.

After their conversation, Meng-Wang-shi no longer made any effort to stop Qinghe’s actions. When her daughters-in-law found the chance to inquire about them, she would dismiss them with a “shi’erlang has his plans”.

Seeing that their mother-in-law’s expressions betrayed no lie, Meng-Xu-shi and Meng-Zhang-shi had no choice but to drop the subject. In their family, the decision-makers were their mother-in-law and their xiaoshu. Since they had no desire to remarry, surely no great wrong could come of listening more and speaking less for each and every matter.

Besides, ever since datangbo had came over, they could feel that their xiaoshu had changed a great deal, as if he had grown up over night. He was no longer a teenager but one hundred percent a man.

~

Chapter 3  ▶

~

T/N

[1] It’s a bit complicated. Tatars = the direct translation but I’m not sure it correctly conveys the actual people this refers to. Historically at this time, 鞑靼 were northern neighbors to the Han Chinese. Although I’m not clear on the relationship between the Mongols, the Tatars, and the Turkic peoples (other Turkic people? since the Tatars were Turkic? but had come under Mongolian rule? or were allied with the Mongols? but were absorbed into the Mongols? anyway...), it is perhaps important to point out that what preceded the Ming Dynasty was the Yuan Dynasty, a time of Mongolian rule.

[2] Dangjiade is literally “head of the house”. Wives sometimes referred to their husbands by their role: head of the house, father of the kids, etc.

[3] Di is younger brother. Tangdi is a younger male paternal cousin. Liutangdi is the sixth oldest male in that generation.

[4] Rushan is a type of garment. Sifangpingdingjin is a type of square-shaped soft hat (literally “brought-peace-to-all-the-land head-covering”), worn by Ming Dynasty Confucianist scholars.

[5] Lizhang was a local official who oversaw the people within his jurisdiction and their obligatory labor.

[6] Farming was a well-respected occupation...abuse by some members of the gentry aside. As such, it was desirable to have your identity registered under the classification of “farmer”.

[7] Meng Jia Tun is literally Meng family village. Back in the days, some small and/or remote villages were populated by mostly people of the same clan/surname.

[bookofjin]

Fragments of the Hanzhao ji

[The Suishu bibliography lists He Bao’s Annals of Han and Zhao in 10 scrolls, but now only fragments remains, as fragments in the Taiping Yulan and similar works. These have been collected together by the Qing era scholar Tang Qiu. The source text can be found here: https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=en&chapter=701978

Tang Qiu at the end appends three fragments the Yulan attributes to the Book of Zhao. Tang Qiu argues these could not have come from Tian Rong’s Book of Zhao (also now only fragments left of), because Tian Rong’s book only dealt with the Shi of Later Zhao.

Below Tang Qiu’s notes appear in {}.]

He Bao's Annals of Han and Zhao.

Liu Cong's 3rd Year of Jiaping [313 AD], the Commandant of Justice, Chen Yuanda, was extremely admonishing. Cong was angry and wanted to behead him. Cong at the time favoured the Xingxiao Park's plum tree middle dais. Yuanda embraced the tree beneath the dais and shouted, saying:

The words by Your Subject are plans for the altars of soil and grain.

Cong made an effort to listen to him. Hence he changed the Plum Tree Dais to be Shamed [by the] Worthy Dais.

{Chuxueji 24. Yulan 176.}

The Marquis of Luyang, Wang Guang, courtesy name Guangzhi, was Inspector of West Yang province. At the end of Jin, he gathered the multitudes to escape the era. There was a Mei Fang of the Man who fanned the mountain barbarians to action and besieged Guang. The city was captured. The Man took Guang prisoner and wanted to turn him [?] to Fang.

Guang's daughter had a beautiful appearance. Fang pulled her in to enter, she considerably had favour. She entered through a ten day period. Wang waited until Fang was asleep, and pulled out a blade to behead Fang. Fang was startled and stood up, saying:

Why are you rebelling?

Wang scolded [him] saying:

Animal of the Man, I desire to execute the rebellious thieves, why speak of me rebelling? I have heard that with one's father's enemy one does not share the heavens, with one's mother's enemy one does not share the earth. Your rebellious treason is indescribable, [you] murdered this person's father and mother, and then without courtesy affronted this person.

The reason why I did not die is that I desired to execute you, that is all. Now death I myself will mete out, and not wait for you to kill. I only resent not getting to display your head at the roadway intersection, so as to close up the great shame.

Her phrases and manners were savage and sharp, her appearance had no change in form. She then killed herself. At the time she was 15 years old.

{Yulan 414.}

The Present Sovereign {Yao} killed Jin's Cavalier in Regular Attendance, Liang Wei, and summoned his wife, Ms. Xin. He crouched on the ground and greatly wept, raised her end and declared to the Present Sovereign, saying:

Your Handmaid has heard a woman does not twice pledge, a man uses righteous zeal. I have heard. Your Handmaid's husband is already dead, [I] manage not to live alone. [I] beg to attain sentencing and have the ministers for the earth send down the affair to my husband's father and mother. [?] Moreover a wife twice betrothed, Your Enlightened Excellency, likewise how [will you] make use of her?

Thereupon she she wept and wailed without ceasing. The Sovereign said:

Chaste wife, thus rely on it.

She likewise killed herself.

{Yulan 414}

[These two stories are also found in JS096, as well as several others on the same themes also involving Han-Zhao.]

Liu Cong's 3rd Year of Linjia [318 AD], the Heir-Apparent, Can, punished Zhao Tong and Guo Mo at Luoyang. Mo sent Geng Wei and others to at night cross north over the He, and ambush the Heir-Apparent's encampment. With lofty ladders they vaulted the palisades, and entered. The Heir-Apparent directed troops to the north-east, pushed through the palisade and left.

{Yulan 336}

The Present Sovereign's 2nd Year of Guangchu [319 AD], Shi Le summoned the multitudes of You and Ji, more than 100 000 people, built attack chariots and loft ladders, and attacked the lesser wall of Pingyang. The Present Sovereign dispatched 15 000 cavalry, dragging firewood and scattering ashes, clouding in the mountain valleys. Soon after Fen province turned towards Pingyang to inside and outside strike them. Le's host scattered.

{Yulan 236}

6th Year of Guangchu [326 AD], the Present Sovereign punished Chen An at Longcheng. Within the city they got news of An's death [?]. Chen An striving with swords, left and right all together brought it out. In Longshang there was a proverb which said:

Longshang's strong soldier was Chen An.

A zhang and eight snake spear winding left and right.

{Yulan 496}

Liu Yuan went to rule from Pingyang [?]. From the middle of the Fen river he obtained a white jade signet, 4 cun wide, 2 fen tall {some write obtained a white jade, 4 cun, 2 fen tall.} with a dragon knot. The writing said “Is a New Protector for It”. {Shilei fuzhu 9, Yulan 804.}

{Note that the below all are pulled from attributions to the Book of Zhao, [which I] suspect is likewise He Bao's book. Probably Tian Rong's Book of Zhao always recorded the affairs of the Shi, and is due to that also named Assembled Annals of the Two Shi, it does not speak then of Han-Zhao. For that reason [I have] for the moment appended them to the end of the Annals of Han and Zhao, to accordingly wait for examination.}

Zhao Ran assaulted Chang'an. The King of Qin, Ye, ran to the Sheyan Tower. The grappling fight reached Tianming, but [the city] was not overcome. {Yulan 176}

Liu Yao at Longmen from the middle of the He river obtained one jade signet, the writing said “Achieve Old age and Eternal Glory”. Yao considered it as Heaven bestowing a divine signet, he fasted for nine days and then accepted it. {Shuchao 131. Yulan 682}

Liu Yao punished Chen An below Longcheng. The junior generals Liu Yong, Zhao Lao and Lu Songduo strengthened the defences and did not come down. Within the city they got news of An's death, and therefore made song which said:

Longshang's strong son, named Chen An.

Though small in body, wide amidst the belly.

Cared for and fostered officers and men, the same in heart and liver.

The horse a swift dappled steed, with iron inlaid saddle.

Seven chi great sword, matched equally all over [?].

[With] a zhang and eight snake spear, winding left and right.

Ten times charged and ten times broke out, nobody were in front.

A hundred riders all set out, like drifting clouds.

The pursuing ten million, riding in haste and hurry.

In the battle's first three clashes, lost the snake spear.

Ten times the riders all charged, nine times the riders stopped.

He left our swift dapple, to climb the cliffs in grief.

Heaven greatly brought down rain, the pursuers rested.

A-ha hu-wu, how is it, Sir!

Wu-hu a-ha, what is it, Sir! [?]

{Yulan 353 & 465}

[I have not attempted to preserve the original’s rhyme structure. For a more poetic translation, see @fuyonggu‘s translation of a slightly different version here: http://the-scholars.com/viewtopic.php?p=615278#p614321]

[lightblue-flower]

Midnight at The Continental Chapter 1: The Deep Bay

Summary: 1950s/1960s AU RoChu

After his father is taken as a prisoner by the government and his mother has fallen ill that would likely lead to her death, 21 year old Yao Wang illegally escapes China to live with his aunt in Hong Kong. When the family decides to immigrate to Toronto, Canada, Yao must take on and live under a false identity, running the risk of being deported back to China and facing the severe consequences that escaping would bring to him.

While living his life as their paper son in Chinatown, Yao encounters a young Russian man at The Continental Hotel, who would change his life, for better and for worse.

Pairings: RoChu (Main), Small pairings (fruk, ameripan/amerinyo!pan, hunkraine)

Also Read Here: AO3 | FF.NET

Next

Part I: Luck

Characters

Yao Wong - China Chun-Yan Lieng - OC Yao’s mom Lei Wong - OC Yao’s dad Dong- OC

Chapter 1: The Deep Bay

春季到来绿满窗， 大姑娘窗下绣鸳鸯。 忽然一阵无情棒， 打得鸳鸯各一旁。

Spring comes and the window fills with green A maiden sits by the window embroidering a pair of mandarin ducks Suddenly, a heartless blow Splits the ducks in two

***

August, 1957

Inhaling the cold salty air sharply, he couldn’t help but be reminded of the times when he was younger, much younger than he is now, and when he would take his rusty bike with his friends down the dirt road from his grade school to the estuary nearby that connected to this very bay he stood in front of, to the wider ocean that was unknown to him.

Hau Hoi Wan was what they called this bay - the Back Bay - and for quite some time, the man had always been envious of the fishermen on there long narrow boats on the sea, steadying themselves as they would toss a long nets made of intricately tied ropes, hauling in fish. He would rather sit on a boat all day than work in the rice fields his family owned in the small village of Jinqiu that was much further away from the coolness of the ocean and consumed by the heat of the sun.

The man was looking at the same body of water that he would stare out at as a young student- however, he stared at the dark waters in front of him with fear and dread rather than with the wonder and anticipation he would have had. He glanced ahead at the darkness that laid before him, no sight of land to be seen. The reflection of the moon could be seen rippled on the water that was far from still, and as he glanced up to the ink black night sky freckled with a few heavy clouds rolling in the distance, he wanted to remain static in this moment.

He wanted to go back home. He wanted to turn around and traverse back to Jinqiu, not caring that it would take him another week by walking to get there. He wanted to see his Mama again, even though at this point, she is nothing more than skins and bones.

Alas, he knew he had nothing left to turn back to. He had no future here, either in Jinqiu or anywhere in the province of Guangdong. His Baba was likely dead at this point, and his Mama- his poor, lovely Mama- was laying on her deathbed at home, painfully dying from pneumonia under the watchful eye of the village women.

He glanced back to the village that was a few meters away from the shore, and saw the flickering flames of the lanterns within the small stick huts die slowly, one by one.

This is the last time he would be in China. The last thing he’ll see is Shenzhen- this poor, tiny village that he watched silently. In the next four hours, he’ll either be a dead floating body in the bay, or he would have made it to the shores of Hong Kong safely.

“Yao,” a low, steady tone, drew the man’s attention away from the lanterns to the side.

He had travelled from their tiny village to the village to Shenzhen with a few other men around his age with the same goal he had- to leave China and make it Hong Kong in one piece.

Had travel not been restricted between Hong Kong and China, they would not have to resort to swimming across the Back Bay in order to get to the old British colony. It was the only way- there was no Hong Kong patrols in the bay, and it was better than attempting to be smuggled through a boat where they would be grave consequences for being caught.

The man who he knew as Dong, a close family friend who was few years older than Yao, and who had promised his mother that he would accompany Yao to Hong Kong. Dong had been planning on doing this since the first wave of soldiers marched through their village, gathering all the men who were considered to be rightist by the government standards.

Yao’s dad, Wong Lei, was one of those men. Along with Dong’s father, they rushed them into a military van, whisking them away after causing further chaos by burning the a few of the crops of land the village owned.

Chun-Yan, Yao’s mother, had begged Dong to take Yao to Hong Kong with him in order to escape the potentially devastating fate that may befell him if he continued to live in Guangdong. She specifically wanted him to go to Un Long Town, a town in the innerland that was a popular place that Chinese mainlanders aim to land according to the bandit Dong had arranged this journey with. This town was where Yao knew his aunt, his mother’s younger sister, Lieng Chun-Yi, lived with her three children, and he knew that they were the only ones he could turn to for solace.

Yao did not trust the bandit in the least, with his unkempt short hair and short beard that was unusual for young men to wear, and the sinister look in his beady eyes as he accepted the payment from Dong. Yao, however, did trust Dong, and as long as he was beside him in this journey, he knew he would be safe.

He hoped he would be safe.

“Come what may, I’ll be by your side,” Dong said, narrow eyes maintaining eye contact with Yao’s, making the latter even more uneasy than he already was. “I promised Auntie Liang to take you to your aunt safely.”

Yao simply nodded, not knowing what to say and took one last look at the village, longingly. He had accepted that there was no home to turn back to. He took a step forward, his bare feet tipping into the cold water, sending goosebumps throughout his body.

His mind blanked, the light splashing of legs running towards the water could be heard as he slowly walked forward, fear leaving his body.

“From the end of the world, to the farthest sea I searched for my heart's partner A young girl sings, while he accompanies her on the instrument Our love through the hard times is deep indeed Oh, our love through the difficult times is deep”

One of Yao’s earliest memory of his younger days was hearing this song playing on the small radio their family owned, on a warm spring day. His mother was making their afternoon meal, sitting on the floor of their kitchen as she washed the rice in a bowl, while Yao was staring out from the open door to their flat yard, his legs swaying idly to the song. He was likely waiting for his father to return from the rice fields, but the details were vague.

He knew he had loved this particular song, with the tune being oh too familiar. His mother always hummed this particular song to herself as she went about her family chores, and when she would try to lull Yao to sleep.

When he first heard the song on the radio, albeit the reception they received from their village was terribly, with the static interfering here and there, he instantly fell in love with the singer, with the way her words flowed out in a high voice, and with the beautiful erhu that accompanied her throughout the song.

“The song is called ‘The Wandering Songstress’,” Chun-Yan said after the song had finished and Yao had questioned her about it. Yao sat in front of her, staring, as she continued to shift the rice through the water. Her thick black hair was pulled back into a bun, a scarf pushing back her stray hairs, and yet, she still looked young for her age. “Zhou Xuan is the singer.”

Chun-Yan continued, her warm brown eyes glazing over as if she were looking into a far distant. “She released this song the year you were born. She was quite a doll in Street Angel! If only I had a photo of her to show you- your father and I used to watch her movies whenever we went to Guangzhi.”

Yao only half cared about the latter information, not caring much for the trivial affairs of his parents, but the name Zhou Xuan was imprinted in his mind, and the song in association. The singer was further imprinted after his mother showed him a torn photograph of the singer that she had kept for quite some time, Yao instantly falling in love with the singer’s entire being.

Even now as an adult, listening to Zhou Xuan’s voice puts his mind at ease, wrapping his body in the warmth and happiness of a lover’s want and affair. Oddily, however, hearing the song filled him with safety as well. It was the safety of his mother that he sensed in the song, who he could still sometimes hear her soft voice singing and humming the song, even though she has stopped doing ever since she fell ill.

But as he swam through the cold waters in front of him, the cold air filling his lungs causing a distinct pain and his body feeling numb, he repeated the song in his head, in his mother’s voice.

“Looking north from my mountain nest My tears fall and wet my blouse Missing him, I will not rest Only love that lasts through hard time is true”

And he kept going. 

And going.

 And going.

Mao Zedong, chairman of the Communist Party of China, formally gained power on October 1st, 1949. Not only did Yao have this memorized in head from the yearly military marches that would be broadcasted in the village leaders television and every villager would clamour around to witness the black and white images play in front of them with wide eyes, but he would constantly be reminded of this fact due to him being born on October 1st as well.

Yao was born in the year 1937, a few months after the first attack by the Japanese in Peking, preluding the Second Sino-Japanese War and allowing Japanese occupation that lasted well until the fall of 1945. These parts of history have always been drilled in Yao’s head, from his lessons at his school to what his father would vividly recount to him, even though they were relatively safe from most of the conflicts that occured. Though, as luck may have it, they were never apart of the conflict zone or targets of incidents with the Japanese army, and Yao’s life during the war was nothing more than a blur of various colourful parts of the village.

Wong Lei had always supported the Communist Party- as a farmer in a village forgotten by the state, they fought for the poor and forgotten of China. Yao remembers hiding behind the wall separating the living room to the kitchen, snippets of fuzzy discussions of support from men during the civil war, drinking from small clay cups while Chun-Yan would bring in a fresh pot of tea. Most had supported Chairman Mao and wanted the KMT gone.

“He is for the people,” the men would say, a slogan that stuck with the CPC in the public’s mind, and would be carried when Chairman Mao proclaimed that their nation was now the People’s Republic of China.

Until after his election, however, they started to have complex feelings about how he handled the situation in China. Closed borders and lack of resources affected the village much more than what they expected to be. Censorship was the main issue with Yao’s father, who was a man of many opinions and have the skills to sway anyone who cared to listen to him talk. And in their village, there were plenty of people willing to listen.

He could have been a scholarly man, Chun-Yan had told Yao. He could have went to university if he wanted to, with a strong personality and the willingness to learn and write of many topics, especially in politics. Yao has seen his collection of books and papers that were tucked away in the corner of the house, layered in dust due to neglect.

Yao admired his father for his opinions. He admired that he stood up for what he believed in.

His opinions caused his own downfall, alas.

It had happened so fast. The day was like any other July day, the sun high and bright, the trees swaying to the light wind as wind chimes could be heard from the distance. Yao was pulling water from the well on the outskirts of the village and was walking up the dirt path towards home when he heard distant yelling and cries.

He walked to his house to find a hanful of men in the green uniforms with guns in their hands, ready to hurt anyone who interfered.

"Wong Lei," a man who stood taller than the rest of the soldiers, with his red sash and medals that signified he was of higher rank, barked out as two soldiers held Yao's father between them, nearly dragging his legs through the dirt. "You are under arrest for cultivating a rightist movement against the government of the People's Republic of China."

Yao couldn't do anything other than sneak into his house to find his mother on the ground, sobbing and alone, but unharmed. The house was a mess, with the table being flipped over, and his father's books ripped up and splayed across the floor.

Within a blink of an eye, they left, with other men who they claimed to be rightists, and thus a threat to the government. Yao never heard from his father again.

From the rumours that surrounded this campaign the government is holding, his father would be in a camp either working as a hard labourer or dead.

For his father’s sake, Yao had hoped that he was executed. His spirit would be liberated from the shackles of this world, and he could live eternally in the peace he could not receive while alive.

NOTES:

Yao Wang -> Yao Wong Due to Yao originating from the southern province of Guangdong in China, where there are alot of native Cantonese speakers, I changed his last name to the Cantonese equivalent

The Anti-Rightist Campaign was a reaction by Mao against the Hundred Flowers Campaign (which was also controlled by Mao's government in order to encourage citizens to openly express their opinions on the government). The campaign was to arrest and persecute "rightists" (vague, but those who may favour capitalism). The first wave was in July 1957.

Jinqiu is a fictional village further from the capital city of Guangzhou, most likely near where modern Duangguan is

The Back Bay is the literal translation for the Shenzhen Bay (or Deep Bay)

Zhou Xuan She was a Chinese singer and actress during the early 1930s till her death in September 1957. Her career was mostly in Shanghai, and gained prominence by the 1940s. The first stanza at the beginning is from her song "Song of the Four Seasons", which appeared in the 1937 movie "Street Angel" where her other song mentionned, "The Wandering Songstress" also makes an appearance. Her songs and her character is a theme in this story because I think Yao in this story would idolize her.

The Continental Hotel mentioned in the summary will make an appearance in Part 2, but it was basically a lounge in Toronto's old Chinatown during the 1950s-1960s where lesbians would hang out. Since Canada had restricted Chinese immigration, Chinese male workers were mostly 'bachelors', and a lot of them would go to The Continental Hotel to basically form relationships with these women (whether sexual or platonic)

A/N: Hey, so this tale was inspired by my in depth research into Toronto’s queer and immigration history, and I’ve always wanted to write a historical piece soo...here it is ^_^ Hope you enjoyed reading this first chapter!

[qodeify]

Tesla settles with ex-engineer accused of stealing trade secrets

In 2019, Tesla sued an employee Cao Guangzhi who was an engineer, for downloading data regarding the autopilot feature of the company. The lawsuit stated that he copied more than 300,000 files and directories which had information about Autopilot to his personal iCloud account before submitting them to XMoters China which is currently owned by Xpeng.

Read More: Tesla settles lawsuit with their former engineer accused of stealing trade secrets

[ittroubleshooters]

Tesla settles with ex-employee over Autopilot code theft accusations

Tesla settles with ex-employee over Autopilot code theft accusations

Tesla settled a lawsuit against an ex-engineer who copied the source code of its Autopilot driver-assistance tech before taking a job with a Chinese competitor, according to documents filed Thursday with a US district court Reuters has reported. Former Tesla employee Guangzhi Cao will pay the electric vehicle maker an undisclosed sum as part of the settlement, though he maintains he never did…

[isfeed]

Tesla settles with ex-engineer accused of stealing Autopilot source code

Tesla settles with ex-engineer accused of stealing Autopilot source code

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Tesla and former Tesla engineer Cao Guangzhi have come to a settlement after the electric car company accused Cao of stealing the Autopilot source code. Cao, an engineer focused on autonomous driving, told Reuters that the source code has never been used since he parted ways with Tesla. In 2019 Tesla sued Cao after the engineer left Tesla to work at its…

[alpaca1]

テスラと係争中の中国EVスタートアップXpengが約535億円調達 Alibaba（アリババ）の前幹部であるHe Xiaopeng（何小鵬）氏が経営する電気自動車スタートアップのXpeng（シャオペン）は米国時間7月20日、シリーズC+ラウンドで5億ドル（約540億円）を調達したと発表した。中国のテック好き中流階級の消費者向けモデルのさらなる開発にあてる。 今回の調達は2019年11月にクローズした4億ドル（約430億円）のシリーズCラウンド（未訳記事）に続くものだ。とある情報筋はTechCrunchに対して、Xpengバリュエーションが2018年8月のラウンド時点で250億元（約3840億円）を超えていた、と明らかにした。 新たなラウンドにより、創業5年のXpengの累計調達額は17億ドル（約1820億円）になった。 この1年の間、XpengはTesla（テスラ）と法的闘争を展開してきた。Teslaは同社で働いていたエンジニアがXpengに移る前にAutopilotのソースコードを盗んだ、と主張している（Reuters記事）。エンジニアのCao Guangzhi氏はTeslaのソースコードの一部をダウンロードしたことを認めた（Bloomberg記事）が、Teslaを退職する前にすべてのファイルを削除したと述べた。 Teslaは、ソースコードやコンピューター画像などの証拠を求め、Xpengに対して召喚の手続きを進めた。この動きをXpengは「若い競合相手をいじめて潰すもの」と表現した

[self-driving-cars-360]

A former Tesla employee admitted to uploading Autopilot files to his iCloud account, but denied he's using them at the Tesla competitor where he now works Guangzhi Cao, a former Tesla employee wh... Read more: https://www.selfdrivingcars360.com/a-former-tesla-employee-admitted-to-uploading-autopilot-files-to-his-icloud-account-but-denied-hes-using-them-at-the-tesla-competitor-where-he-now-works/?feed_id=1983

[imperceptibility]

清和 (Qinghe) -- by 来自远方 (Lai Zi Yuan Fang) -- ch. 4

~

Author → here

JJWXC → here

Disclaimer & summary → here

Translated by me

Index of characters → here

⯇ Chapter 3

~

Meng Guangxiao fainted at Qinghe’s house, his life not in danger but his unconsciousness persistent.

At dusk, his two sons finally came knocking. With Ming Qinghai at the front and Meng Qingjiang behind him, both brothers’ faces were full of anxiety when they saw their father unconscious. Meng Qinghai could still control himself, leaning down to examine his father’s condition (though his expression shifted subtly in an instant when he did so). Meng Qingjiang was more simple-minded. With wide glaring eyes, he swung his fist, intending to beat Qinghe’s face in.

Meng Qingjiang had incredible strength. His fist, formed from a hand habituated to farm work, flew through the air. Qinghe could feel the whoosh of air as it passed by his nose, a hair’s width away.

Qinghe was in the middle of offering his ‘apologies’ and sincerely reflecting upon his ‘mistakes’. Unexpectedly, a fist came right for his face so he hurriedly backed up two steps. Although he had no intentions of pursuing the imperial examinations, he still had to protect his face. With this era’s level of medical care, it was no small matter to have his nose bridge broken. Tetanus and all that aside, what was he going to do with a crooked nose? Even if he were not looking to shack up with a wife, he could not become disfigured.

“Silang[1],” Meng Qinghai called out in a low voice, “Cease this at once!”

“Dage[2]!”

Meng Qingjiang’s eyes were red. Since he was young, he did not like to study and he was not as smart, instead obeying all the instructions of his father and older brother. Now that Meng Qinghai had told him to stop, no matter how unwilling, he lowered his fist.

Qinghe had the look of someone who had been wronged but could not argue back. There was even a touch of stubbornness to his expression. Putting the unconscious Meng Guangxiao aside, without knowing what happened, any bystander would probably think Meng Qinghai and his brother were bullying Qinghe.

Meng Qingjiang grew even angrier. Meng Qinghai also pressed his lips tightly together. Qinghe was still immersed in ‘feeling wronged’ by them, but in his mind, he had other machinations.

According his impressions, Meng Qingjiang had a one-track mind. The way he spoke and acted was completely different from his older brother and father. To put it nicely, he was frank and hot-headed; to put it not so nicely, he was missing a screw or three.

The only good thing about him was that he was nice to look at.

Tall, muscular all over, with strong defined facial features and a clear and resonant voice. This sort of stature and appearance had Qinghe envious. If he had been (re)born into this body, he would not need to miss his 21st century six-pack.

But alas, the heavens liked playing with people. There were no absolutes. One could not have everything to one’s liking.

Comparing Meng silang’s body and Meng shi’erlang’s brain, he would still rather choose the latter.

Unlike Meng Qingjiang, Meng Qinghai had the gentle looks of an intellectual.

Medium build, dressed in rushan, not a hair out of place. He had upright features and clear eyes, giving off a scholarly aura with his actions. If Qinghe did not have the memories in his head, he would have had a pretty good impression of Meng Qinghai.

Too bad there were no ifs.

“Shi’erlang, why is my father like this?” Meng Qinghai looked at Qinghe and his face full of innocence. “If you cannot give me a satisfactory explanation, then I will have to ask the village head and the elders to judge this.”

The Ming Dynasty placed great value on the teachings of the Six Lun[3], the first and foremost of value, ‘being filial to one’s parents and respectful to one’s elders’. Not being filial and respectful was often looked upon as disgraceful.

Meng Guangxiao was Qinghe’s tangbo. On top of that, Meng Guangxiao was the head of the clan. Should the accusation of Qinghe being disrespectful to his elder stick, the best case scenario would be him getting reprimanded. The worst, he would be dragged to the ancestral hall and receive a caning. Should that happen, the rumors of Meng Guangxiao abusing his authority to bully Qinghe and Qinge being pushed into a dead end would be nothing in comparison.

In the past, Meng Qinghai would not have been so direct. However, the exams were coming up and gossip was still swirling at school. He might not be as calm and composed as he was appearing to be.

So what if he had the favor of an assistant teacher? Scholars placed heavy value on reputations. As soon as one’s reputation was stained, even if it were the fault of a family member, there was no way of ever washing the stain away.

Qinghe did not speak. Meng Qinghai was about to press again when Meng-Wang-shi suddenly walked out from the inner room, sobbing aloud before she even got close.

“Dalang, do not blame my son! What great misfortunes have befallen him!”

Meng Guangxiao was Qinghe’s elder. Likewise, Meng-Wang-shi was Meng Qinghai and Meng Qingjiang’s elder. She was also a widow. With her present, Meng Qinghai could not continue with his interrogation.

Meng-Wang-shi repeatedly spoke of their misfortunes and her dead husband, peppering those laments with mentions of her two dead sons. Her two daughters-in-law, who were trying to console her, also hid their faces and cried.

They filled the house with the sound of weeping. No passerby could hear it without casting a sidelong glance.

As it turned out, the only one with any medical knowledge in the Meng Village, Meng Chongjiu, was invited over by Meng jiulang’s oldest daughter and just happened to catch sight of this scene.

Looking at Meng Guangxiao, who was lying down, and then looking at Meng-Wang-shi and her daughters-in-law, who were crying their hearts out, he almost came to the conclusion that following Meng laoliu, Meng laoda’s[4] family was going to need a funeral soon too.

“What has happened?”

“Jiushugong.”

Qinghe, Qinghai, and Qingjiang greeted the man together. Qinghe was dressed in hemp, his face wan. Before Meng Qinghai and Meng Qingjiang could open their mouths, he said: “Jiushugong, it is all my fault.”

“Oh?”

While he placed his fingers upon Meng Guangxiao’s wrist, he looked at the three young men standing in the room.

“Datangbo does not want me to enlist. His intentions are good and I am grateful, but there is no way I can obey him! The murders of my father and brothers are unforgivable; how can I not avenge them? My words were rather impassioned, and so...” As he spoke, Qinghe’s eyes moistened. “Shugong, if something were to happen to datangbo, I will take the punishment!”

On the surface, there was nothing wrong with this statement. Indeed, it would inspire in others admiration for his sincerity.

But when one thought about it more carefully, that was not the case at all.

Meng Guangxiao had collapsed from a momentary flare of rage. Qinghe’s words, however, seemed to imply that he was going to kick the bucket soon. Was this not Qinghe’s way of cursing him to die?

Meng Qingjiang remained unaware but Meng Qinghai’s expression became strained. However, with Meng Chongjiu and Meng-Wang-shi present, he could not let out his anger.

Perhaps managing to understand the implications of her son’s words, Meng-Wang-shi’s weeping suddenly grew in volume. Seeing her wracked with sobs, her two daughters-in-law joined in, one louder than the next. Even if they did not understand the reasoning, just seeing Meng Qinghai’s worsening expression alone was worth it!

They had finally seen through to the true colors of the Meng clan members.

The Meng clan head?

Pah!

Their relatives?

Pah again.

Meng dalang, who was studious?

Pah once more.

After spitting in contempt, let them continue weeping.

After all, they were widows. What did it matter if they wept some more?

Meng Chongjiu let go of Meng Guangxiao’s wrist and pressed down hard on his philtrum. Seeing that Meng Guangxiao flared his nostrils but kept his eyes tightly closed and remained ‘unconscious’, he knew what was going on.

In the twenty-seventh year of Hongwu, the Emperor established the elder system. All the nominated elders were virtuous, full of knowledge, and well-respected individuals. Not only did their responsibilities encompass supervising and guiding the local agriculture and spreading the teachings of the Six Lun, they also had slight judicial powers to deal with some of the disputes that arose in their villages.

As such an elder, Meng Chongjiu’s knowledge and conduct were, naturally, different. He knew of all that was happening within the Meng clan. He knew of Meng Guangxiao, Meng Guangshun, and the rest scheming to take Meng Guangzhi’s family properties. However, due to various reasons, he had not stepped in.

Meng Guangzhi’s branch of the family had gone into decline. Shi’erlang did not appear capable of heading up the household. As such, it was not necessarily a good thing for him to be holding onto all this coveted farmland.

However, Meng Chongjiu did not anticipate that Meng Guangxiao would go to such extreme ends, forcing shi’erlang to turn to the military. His trip to shi’erlang’s home today had also changed his thinking.

Meng Guangzhi’s branch of the family might not actually be on the decline. And Meng Qinghai might not be actually destined for achievement.

Compared to his three panicked sons, Meng Chongjiu was not all that anxious about Qinghe’s plan for enlistment. With regards to blood relations, his own branch of the family was sufficiently removed from Qinghe’s. So long as Meng Guangxiao and the rest’s families still had men, his own sons and grandsons would not be drafted into the military to replace Qinghe.

Meng Chongjiu was over the age of seventy and had lived through the tumultuous period of war that closed the curtains on the Yuan Dynasty. He had made it through the toughest of days. As such, his heart was harder than others and his wisdom also greater.

Shi’erlang had yet to reach the age of twenty and was already so thoughtful and fierce. Once he latched onto an opportunity, who was to say he would not accomplish great things?

“Jiushugong?”

Qinghe was afraid of neither Meng Guangxiao nor the Meng Qinghai brothers. In his eyes, it would be a piece of cake to bury these three. Facing Meng Chongjiu, however, his heart lurched.

‘Meng Qinghe’ had met Meng Chongjiu before, but his memory of the man did not hold a candle to his impression of him now.

It was as if this elder had seen right through him and his thoughts.

In an instant, Qinghe could feel the hairs on his nape rise. He trusted his instinct, and because he did so, his expression turned more solemn than ever.

One should not underestimate anyone, especially before one could be sure whether that person was a friend or a foe.

Meng Chongjiu rose to his feet and wiped his hands, not calling out Meng Guangxiao’s pretense of fainting. He simply told Meng Qinghai and Meng Qingjiang that their father was fine and just needed to go home and sleep it off. Sure, Meng Guangxiao was pretending to be unconscious, but he did show signs of having been enraged[6]. As to what stoked his fire, Meng Chongjiu could guess without asking.

Shi’erlang really was not a simple one.

Dalang was also smart, but he was still lacking compared to Qinghe.

Meng Qinghai was unsatistifed and wanted to say something more, but Meng Qingjiang was in a hurry to take their father home. “This is not the time right now. We will take care of that little mutt later on!”

With that, Meng Qingjiang lifted Meng Guangxiao on his back and left.

Full of filial piety, he had no awareness that he had just ruined his brother’s ‘big business’. Neither did he realize that his father’s hands, which rested on his shoulders, suddenly had strength in them again.

Looking at Meng Qingjiang in his hurry and Meng Qinghai in his frustrated ire, Qinghe had to remind himself that he could not laugh, that he absolutely must not laugh.

“Shi’erlang.”

With a slight cough, Qinghe turned around. An unperturbed expression on his face, he cupped his hands in the gesture of respect and bowed. “Jiushugong, thank you for your troubles today.”

His household was still in mourning. Asking another person over at this time was naturally rather taboo. By having Meng Chongjiu visit today, Qinghe originally had other plans, but after seeing the man, he threw his plans out the window. It would not be wise to try to be smart in front of this old man. Better to be more careful.

Qinghe was confident but not arrogant, cautious but not cowardly. This was the basis of his success.

“Shi’erlang,” Meng Chongjiu stopped by the door, his beard blowing in the wind. “You want to enlist in the military?”

“Yes I do.”

“Mm,” Meng Chongjiu nodded, “I am on familiar terms with the county registrar[7] so perhaps I can be of help.”

“I would be grateful for that, jiushugong!”

“Not so fast.” Meng Chongjiu lifted a hand. “In exchange for helping you, I need you to agree to one thing.”

Qinghe raised his head, neither agreeing nor refusing right away. He simply gazed at Meng Chongjiu respectfully.

“Please tell me what it is.”

“No hurry. Once things are set, I will tell you.” Meng Chongjiu suddenly changed his serious expression. “Do not fret. I will not ask something impossible of you.”

“Alright.” Qinghe agreed readily this time. It was easy to get things done when you had connections in the local government office. If Meng Chongjiu could smooth the way for him, then why not?

Morever, him enlisting was bad news for not only Meng Guangxiao but pretty much everyone with the surname Meng. It might not be as serious as being surrounded by enemies on all sides, but from now on, he was bound to have poor relations with his fellow clan members. If he could get an ‘ally’ to take some of the heat off his back, that was hardly a bad thing.

Even if Meng Chongjiu was going to put him in a hard spot, he could always find a way to deal with it when the time came.

A hero can be defeated by a penny, that much was true, but Qinghe had never thought of himself as a hero.

Without copper money, he still had paper money, right?

The eyes of the old man and the young boy met. Both of their mouths split into a grin. It was as if both had a fox’s tail wagging behind them.

The next day, Meng Chongjiu got out his ox-pulled cart and headed for the county town. As he drew near the town gate, a team of cavalrymen flew past him.

Vermilion mandarin duck battle coats[8], long swords in black sheaths, bows and arrows that glinted coldly. Each rider held the reins with one hand and raised the whip in the other. In the wake of their horses’ hooves, there was only  a cloud of dust.

The person at the front was dressed in the deep blue uniform of a military official. With such a brief glance, it was impossible to make out his features, but his soldierly aura was sharp as a blade.

Meng Chongjiu hurriedly moved his ox cart to the side of the road. Only after the dust lifted by the galloping horses settled once again did he let his breath out. He thought to himself: such a heavy aura of viciousness! 

~

Chapter 5 tbc

~

T/N:

[1] This refers to Meng Qingjiang, who is the fourth oldest male in his generation. (Brief reminder: Qinghai = 1, Qinghai’s younger brother Qingjiang = 4, Qinghe’s oldest brother = 8, Qinghe’s second oldest brother = 9, Qinghe = 12.)

[2] Literally: oldest brother.

[3] Confucian teachings had five lun, or five ‘relationships’: between ruler and subject, father and son, husband and wife, brothers, and friends. The sixth lun is the relationship between oneself and strangers/the rest of society.

[4] This works along the lines of Meng laoliu (six) and Wang laosan (three), as seen in the last chapter. Da means big/oldest, so the Meng laoda here refers to Meng Guangxiao, who is the oldest in his generation.

[5] Shugong is a great-uncle. Jiu (nine) refers to the fact that Meng Chongjiu is the ninth oldest of his generation.

[6] The description of qi huo gong xin relates to traditional Chinese medicine. Basically anger increases the heart rate, can cause shortness of breath and fainting.

[7] I’m not sure what the official translation for this administrative job (zhubu) is.

[8] This was part of the uniform during the Ming Dynasty. It was a bright red cotton-padded knee-length robe with narrow sleeves and called “mandarin duck battle coat”.

[bookofjin]

Wang Guang’s daughter

[This story I have found in two near identical versions, One is a quotation in the Taiping Yulan from He Bao’s Annals of Han and Zhao (Hanzhaoji), the other is in the Jinshu’’s Biographies of Women, JS096.

Hanzhaoji (Taiping yulan 414)

The Marquis of Luyang, Wang Guang, courtesy name Guangzhi, was Inspector of West Yang province. At the end of Jin, he gathered the multitudes to escape the era. There was a Mei Fang of the Man who fanned the mountain barbarians to action and besieged Guang. The city was captured. The Man took Guang prisoner and wanted to turn him [?] to Fang.

Guang's daughter had a beautiful appearance. Fang pulled her in to enter, she considerably had favour. She entered through a ten day period. Wang waited until Fang was asleep, and pulled out a blade to behead Fang. Fang was startled and stood up, saying:

Why are you rebelling?

Wang scolded [him] saying:

Animal of the Man, I desire to execute the rebellious thieves, why speak of me rebelling? I have heard that with one's father's enemy one does not share the heavens, with one's mother's enemy one does not share the earth. Your rebellious treason is indescribable, [you] murdered this person's father and mother, and then without courtesy affronted this person.

The reason why I did not die is that I desired to execute you, that is all. Now death I myself will mete out, and not wait for you to kill. I only resent not getting to display your head at the roadway intersection, so as to close up the great shame.

Her phrases and manners were savage and sharp, her appearance had no change in form. She then killed herself. At the time she was 15 years old.

魯陽侯王廣，字廣之，為西揚州刺史。晉末，聚眾避世，為蠻梅芳扇動山夷圍廣，城陷，蠻囚廣，將指芳。廣女有美色，芳引入，甚有寵，入經一旬，王伺芳睡，引刀斬芳，芳驚起曰：「何故反耶？」王罵曰：「蠻畜！我欲誅反賊等，何謂我反乎？吾聞父仇不同天，母仇不同地，汝反逆無狀，害人父母，而複無禮凌人。吾所以不死者，欲誅汝耳。今死，自吾分，不待汝殺，我但恨不得梟汝首於通衢，以塞大恥。」辭氣猛厲，色無變容，乃自殺，時年十五。 

Jinshu 096

Wang Guang's daughter, unknown where she came from. Her looks and quality was considerably beautiful, her righteous fortitude had the composure of a grown man. The Man leader Mei Fang attacked and captured Yang province, and Guang was killed. Wang at the time was 15 years old, Fang took her in. Soon after in a closed room she struck at Fang but did not hit. Fang was startled and stood up, saying:

Why are you rebelling?

Wang scolded [him] saying:

Animal of the Man, I desire to execute the rebellious thieves, why speak of [me] rebelling? I have heard that with one's father's enemy one does not share the heavens, with one's mother's enemy one does not share the earth. Your rebellious treason is indescribable, [you] murdered this person's father and mother and then accordingly without courtesy affronted this person.

The reason why I did not die is that I desired to execute you, that is all. Now death I myself will mete out and not wait for you to kill. [I] only resent not getting to display your head at the roadway intersection, so as to close up the great shame.

Her phrases and manners were savage and sharp. Finished speaking she then killed herself. Fang [tried] to stop her but could not.

王廣女者，不知何許人也。容質甚美，慷慨有丈夫之節。廣仕劉聰，為西揚州刺史。蠻帥梅芳攻陷揚州，而廣被殺。王時年十五，芳納之。俄於闇室擊芳，不中，芳驚起曰：「何故反邪？」王罵曰：「蠻畜！我欲誅反賊，何謂反乎？吾聞父仇不同天，母仇不同地，汝反逆無狀，害人父母，而復以無禮陵人，吾所以不死者，欲誅汝耳！今死自吾分，不待汝殺，但恨不得梟汝首於通逵，以塞大恥。」辭氣猛厲，言終乃自殺，芳止之不可。 

[Taiping Yulan 414 quotes a second story from the Hanzhaoji about the wife of the Jin official Liang Wei who when her husband is killed prefers suicide to further indignity. I have posted this story earlier as it very similarly appear in JS096. There is actually several of these stories in JS096 of women chosing death before dishonour, and most of them seem to involve Han-Zhao. It’s tempting to suggest they all originate from the Hanzhaoji.]

[ready-jet-go]

Slashdot: Tesla Sues Former Employees For Allegedly Stealing Data, Autopilot Source Code

Tesla Sues Former Employees For Allegedly Stealing Data, Autopilot Source Code Published on March 21, 2019 at 06:40PM Tesla is suing a former engineer at the company, claiming he copied the source code for its Autopilot technology before joining a Chinese self-driving car startup in January. Reuters reports: The engineer, Guangzhi Cao, copied more than 300,000 files related to Autopilot source code as he prepared to join China's Xiaopeng Motors Technology Company Ltd, the Silicon Valley carmaker said in the lawsuit filed in a California court. Separately, Tesla lawyers on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against four former employees and U.S. self-driving car startup Zoox Inc, alleging the employees stole proprietary information and trade secrets for developing warehousing, logistics and inventory control operations. The Verge reported on the lawsuit filed against Cao: Tesla says that last year, Cao started uploading "complete copies of Tesla's Autopilot-related source code" to his iCloud account. The company claims he ultimately moved more than 300,000 files and directories related to Autopilot. After accepting a job with XPeng at the end of last year, Tesla says Cao deleted 120,000 files off his work computer and disconnected his personal iCloud account, and then "repeatedly logged into Tesla's secure networks" to clear his browser history before his last day with the company. Tesla also claims Cao recruited another Autopilot employee to XPeng in February. Tesla claims that it gives XPeng "unfettered access" to Autopilot: "Absent immediate relief, Tesla believes Cao and his new employer, [XPeng], will continue to have unfettered access to Tesla's marquee technology, the product of more than five years' work and over hundreds of millions of dollars of investment, which they have no legal right to possess," the company's lawyers write.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.