See American Burton Watson's comment about Ancient Chinese practical attitude toward History and Metaphysics..."they didn't think they can achieve Truth from metaphysics without watching process of change...unlike Indians and Greeks." So they diligently kept their astrological and political record. (Of course, Kralori ISN'T Chinese, I KNOW. Burton Watson was a translator of Sima Qian "History")
But most beautiful and noble tales of Ancient China is from the virtue of Confucians, even if it was refused by Current Chinese Communists, do you know the historian Sima Qian's grief when he was forced to choose castration or death sentence? Do you know General Yue Fei's tattoo of his hide when he was slandered and false charged, naked and executed? These are foremost of Chinese Stories. Who can ignore them?
And now I now want to tell about Qu Yuan of Glorantha, Minister of the South
and Great Poet.
http://www.chinapage.com/quyuan1.html
http://www.personal.kent.edu/~xxu/gorge/xiling/qy.htm
Shia-oh and Emperor Vashanti
(From Sima Qian's History)
Sekever died by the hand of Emperor Vayobi, but his will still lurked and disguised to each mulcontent souls, and Vayobi left Empire with quarrelsome warlords and soldiers, much of Mikaday's great mandarins died out in the war, Teshnans and Vormaians revolted to Vayobi's will. The War Dragon's great deeds eventually went to nothing.
In the early days of Vashanti's reign, it was very disordered and civil wars
(called Warring States Period?*) threatens the Empire, for Vashanti confined
himself to inside of the Chamber of Chi Tin, meditating for true definition
of his Web of Righteous Knowledge, for preparing to leave Ancient myth and
to reach History, banish Evil Spirits, Illusionists, Swindlers, Delinquents
of Hankalo, Sorcerers and demigods who had nothing with Kralori Draconic Way
to Underworld, Dreamworld of Avanapdur, and beyond his Empire. It was the
time of Trial for kralori imposed by him.
But Vashanti's meditation took more than 500 years (**), and while that time, only greed, slyness and ambition ruled the Empire. Warlords insisting Mandate of Emperor Vayobi claimed territories and fought savagely for right-to-rule and unifying the Emperor for next true Emperor. (That was the day of Hankalo and Avanapdur's Illusion!) Wisemen of the Empire secluded and chose the Way of NyangMao or ***, escaped to tunnels of ShanShan Mountains or eastern Paradise Islands of Sagacity, abandoned poor populace.
Among such Warlords, Evil Exarch of City Goropheng (my image of the city is Ancient Sian, see Peter Metcalph's opinion about the city (he thinks that Goropheng was sunk in the reign of New Dragon Ring****) and Kingdom of Tiger and Wolf claimed largest territory in Empire, it ruled much of Puchai, Jaubon (*****) and now sunk land under Suam Chow, oppressed Southern and Eastern Kingdoms.
Shia Oh was born from three Noble Houses of Wanzow, he was a great poet and had a strong sense of justice. But many of his contemporary hsin-tu (******) colleagues envied to his genius and kept at a distance from his patriotic spirit to his home Province. And they whispered lies and slanders several times to their Exarch, and Shia-oh could not do anything for it and was dismissed and banished to local areas by each turns. But by each turn, the Exarch always called him back to City Lay-luan (*******) for his great knowledge and art. (Each time he made a fine verse of his adversity.)
At that time, Sekeverans were active behind the scenes and plotted to destroy Provinces each other by fighting each other, Kingdom of Tiger and Wolf also had a such Sekeveran counselor and he used his evil intelligence to spread lies, the Sekeveran tried to use the Strongest Province to destroy the Empire. He sent bribe to many Wanzow mandarins and even to King's concubine. The Exarch was deceived and began to keep away from Shia-oh. Shia Oh remonstrated his King without caring his life, but he wasn't heeded.
Kingdom of Modaings was another strong Province, north of two Provinces at that time, Shia Oh counseled his Exarch to ally with it and to refuse the tongs of Kingdom of Tiger and Wolf. But many of Wanzow people was too scary to invoke the thunder of Exarch-King of Goropheng, and rather wanted to pay tribute for menace of his presence. "Can we trust the Tiger and Wolf?" Shih Oh asked to such people. "Which never heed the promise and wisdom of Mikaday, only care about War and Force? Don't you know how they treat their subject Provinces and kingdoms?"
But Sekeveran Conselor had bribed mandarins of Wanzow whisper sweet lies to their Exarch, "If you broke off diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Modaings, the Kingdom of Tiger and Wolf will gift you a wealthy border land of Shang 600 miles. " While Shia-Oh went to Modaings as an emissary, the King was deceived and decided to break of the relation from Modaings.
When the emissary of Wanzow visited to the Court of Goropheng and asked for the gift, the evil Sekeveran Counselor said "600 miles? Are you kidding? I said 6 miles. You misheard me." The Exarch of Wanzow enraged and advanced the army to attack Goropheng, but the army of Tiger and Wolf was too strong to merely a Wanzow king's obstinacy, eventually retreated and lost much of land of Wanzow.
When the emissary of Goropheng pretending good will reached the court of Wanzow and offered the King in return for the land lost by Wanzow failed campaign, the pathetic Exarch of Wanzow refused it and claimed the body of Evil Sekeveran Counselor. Everyone surprised, the King of Goropheng agreed and sent him packed to Wanzow.
But the Evil Counselor previously bribed the Exarch's concubine and taught her the King of Goropheng sought a beautiful woman that would be gifted to Exarch of Wanzow, and she would be kept away if she didn't help the Counselor then, so she asked Exarch-king to save his life and not to invoke the anger of King Goropheng, he was deceived again and let the counselor escape away before Shia-oh could remind him how the Counselor deceived and insulted him many times.
Finally, the Evil Counselor made Wanzow isolated from other Provinces and invited the King to Goropheng, the son of Exarch was also bribed and let his father visit Goropheng (though Shia Oh again and again risked his life to persuade the Exarch.) He became directly a hostage of Goropheng and Goropheng "requested" Wanzow large territory for exchange, Exarch once tried to escape from there, but finally killed and King of Goropheng sent back his corpse without any reverence.
http://www.chinapage.com/poem/quyuan/quyuanwendu.html The son of Exarch succeeded father's post and he banished Shia Oh to the north lake area, he wandered with disheveled hair and dressed only ragged. A fisherman(*********) met him and asked him "What has brought you this pass?" "The world" replied Shia-oh, "is foul, and I alone am clean. There they are all drunk, while I alone am sober. So I am dismissed."
The fisherman, "The true sage does not quarrel with his environment, but adapts himself to it. If, as you say, the world is foul, why not leap into the tide and make it clean? If all men are drunk, why not drink with them and teach them to avoid excess?"
Shia-oh replied, "I cannot do such thing, I will choose death rather doing so, I don't know why Emperor made such a world and let such atrocity thrives. I always doubt wisdom of dragons, what reason dragons kept in the turmoil of Mundane World and care about little people?"
Finally, the people of Wanzow found Shia-oh dead, they lamented his death and made an oath that "the doom of Tyranny of Goropheng shall be the spirit of Wanzow, even if we suffered how severely in now and future!" and that became a prophecy, but it is another story....(**********)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++This tale was recorded by the one of scribe of Vashanti, many of emperors consultants accused his record and slandered against him, Vashanti in face ordered the scribe to delete the portion of record, or be executed. But the scribe refused, "if there is no truth in these records," the scribe bravely asked Vashanti, "how you can keep your Web of Righteous Knowledge and prohibit foreign magic?" Emperor smiled and said that he tested justice and true loyalty of the scribe, and punished evil slanderers. left the scribe to keep his record undamaged,
*Unofficial, but I think Gods Age circumstance is not good for such humanized stories......
**Unoffcial, but in Grey Age ***Something related to Larn Hasamador sect? ****But Genertela Box set said it was sunk in Gods Age..... *****Change them to more Ancient Names, if you think it is more appropriateto be, and read Efendi's assumption for Kralori names. ******Hsin-tu class is under Mandarins and Xia Ko (Exarchs) since Emperor Vashanti's reign, but at that time, Mandarins were not always from Mikadays system of Draconic Tests, rather from election from local areas and Great Houses. (Unofficial)
TI
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