Atop the beam of white light appeared a face, shining brightly and multicoloured, emitting thousands of reflections and shadows; its name was ‘Summoning Demons’. A little while later, the winds howled, a thick fog descended, and dark clouds gathered. The winds strengthened, announcing the arrival of all the Demons under heaven to that Temple to listen to the word of the Goddess. The Goddess Nuwa told her attendant Rosy Clouds to bid the other Demons and Monsters to leave, and to bid only the Three Attendants of the Grave of the Yellow Emperor to remain.
These three Demons entered the Temple together, and said, ‘My Lady’s powers are boundless! Long live My Lady!’ One of the three was a thousand-year old spirit of a vixen, the second was a nine-headed pheasant spirit, and the third was a jadestone lute spirit; together, they prostrated themselves before the Goddess Nuwa in the Red Courtyard of the Temple. Nuwa said to them, ‘listen to my command, O Demons! Cheng Tang’s dynasty must fall and lose the rights to the land. The phoenix calls from Mount Xiqi, heralding the birth of the one from the Land of West Zhou who will replace them! Heaven has decreed this…’
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
Chap 1 Part 9
'What a corrupt ruler King Zhou is! He doesn’t think of improving himself so that he can rule his land. Instead, he is fearless of Heaven and has dared to even flirt with me through his poetry! How evil this is! Well, I suppose six hundred years have passed since Cheng Tang defeated Xia Jie to become King; the time his descendants were given has come up. I would not be showing my divinity if no reaction is given to this King’s poem.' So she summoned her pageboy, Twilight’s Clouds, and together they rode on blue clouds towards the City of Chaoge, where they saw the two Crown Princes, Prince Yin Hong and Prince Yin Jiao, visiting their father, King Zhou of the Shang. Later, Prince Yin Jiao would be known as the Ancient One on the List of Appointed Gods, and his brother Prince Yin Hong would become the God of Grains and Cereals; the both of them were notable Gods who were Generals when they were human.
During the Princes’ visit, two rays of red light bolted through the sky. The Goddess Nuwa was prevented from going ahead by the two rays of red light, and she peered down at the scene below. She noted that the King still had 28 years of good luck left to him, and that she was not allowed to tamper with this, so she returned, unhappily, to her Temple.
There, she summoned another page, Rosy Clouds, to go to the back of the Temple and bring her the Golden Calabash, which she then put in the Red Courtyard in the Temple. She took off the stopper on the Calabash, and pointed; a beam of white light as large as a pillar, as high as four or five zhang,shot out of the Calabash.
During the Princes’ visit, two rays of red light bolted through the sky. The Goddess Nuwa was prevented from going ahead by the two rays of red light, and she peered down at the scene below. She noted that the King still had 28 years of good luck left to him, and that she was not allowed to tamper with this, so she returned, unhappily, to her Temple.
There, she summoned another page, Rosy Clouds, to go to the back of the Temple and bring her the Golden Calabash, which she then put in the Red Courtyard in the Temple. She took off the stopper on the Calabash, and pointed; a beam of white light as large as a pillar, as high as four or five zhang,shot out of the Calabash.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Chap 1 Part 8
'Screens displaying phoenixes and rocs are extremely commonplace, but these are as mud made up to look like gold
The colours of the winding mountains are jade-green, and resemble the billowing sleeves of a dancer.
The flowers of the pear tree, when flecked with rain, compete with each other in beauty,
Peonies and caged smoke hasten the arrival of charm
If only we had the use of the arts of love at our disposal
We would take you back with us to provide everlasting pleasure to us.'
When the King finished the poem, the Prime Minister, Shang Rong, hurriedly bowed to him and said, ‘Nuwa is a Goddess of Old, and the benevolent owner of our City, Chaoge. Your humble servant beseeches you to light some incense, to pray for luck and wisdom to rule the people well, to pray for good weather, and to pray that there will be no rebellions and no calamites befalling your reign. Your Majesty has written this poem which purports to show Your Majesty’s might and power, but which is truthfully rude and blasphemous; Your Majesty will surely offend the Gods, and this is not behaviour that a King, the Son of Heaven, should pursue! I beg of Your Majesty to please cleanse the walls with water, so that the people may not see this poem, and speak ill of Your Majesty's conduct!’
But the King said, ‘we saw the face of Nuwa, and its beauty is not of this world, and so we only wrote this poem in praise of this, and nothing else. Say no more! We are leaving this poem as it is; let the people see it, so that they may also see the beauty of Nuwa, of which our poem will be testament to!’
With that, he returned to his Palace, and the Literati and the Martial Officers, having all dared not to say another word, shook their heads silently, and followed him back. A poem says:
‘The cortege of phoenixes and dragons came from the royal capital to light incense and pay homage to the Woman of Women.
The best interests of the people were at heart, but how could people possibly imagine that the recital of a poem would leave tens of thousands quaking in their boots?
This is how the Vixen became Queen, and how jackals and scavengers clung to this Court
The Heavens did retaliate, and every hero felt injustice because of this!’
The King, he whom his people called ‘the Son of Heaven’, returned to his Palace, and was greeted by adoring crowds on his arrival. As the new day dawned, the Queen and the Concubines of the three Palaces – Queen Jiang from the Central Palace, Concubine Huang from the Western Palace, and Concubine Yang from the Palace of Fragrance – were summoned to him; the morning ended and they left, and what happened next will not be spoken of here.
Now, in the meantime, the Goddess Nuwa had just been to a birthday party held in her honour by three of the Gods - her brother, Fuxi; the Fiery Emperor, who was also known as the Farmer of Farmers; and the Yellow Emperor, and was now on her way back to her Temple. On arrival, she dismounted from her ride, a green-feathered roc, and being attended to by the Jade Girl and Golden Pageboy, went to sit on her throne. She raised her head, saw the poem on the chalk walls, and gave a furious cry.
The colours of the winding mountains are jade-green, and resemble the billowing sleeves of a dancer.
The flowers of the pear tree, when flecked with rain, compete with each other in beauty,
Peonies and caged smoke hasten the arrival of charm
If only we had the use of the arts of love at our disposal
We would take you back with us to provide everlasting pleasure to us.'
When the King finished the poem, the Prime Minister, Shang Rong, hurriedly bowed to him and said, ‘Nuwa is a Goddess of Old, and the benevolent owner of our City, Chaoge. Your humble servant beseeches you to light some incense, to pray for luck and wisdom to rule the people well, to pray for good weather, and to pray that there will be no rebellions and no calamites befalling your reign. Your Majesty has written this poem which purports to show Your Majesty’s might and power, but which is truthfully rude and blasphemous; Your Majesty will surely offend the Gods, and this is not behaviour that a King, the Son of Heaven, should pursue! I beg of Your Majesty to please cleanse the walls with water, so that the people may not see this poem, and speak ill of Your Majesty's conduct!’
But the King said, ‘we saw the face of Nuwa, and its beauty is not of this world, and so we only wrote this poem in praise of this, and nothing else. Say no more! We are leaving this poem as it is; let the people see it, so that they may also see the beauty of Nuwa, of which our poem will be testament to!’
With that, he returned to his Palace, and the Literati and the Martial Officers, having all dared not to say another word, shook their heads silently, and followed him back. A poem says:
‘The cortege of phoenixes and dragons came from the royal capital to light incense and pay homage to the Woman of Women.
The best interests of the people were at heart, but how could people possibly imagine that the recital of a poem would leave tens of thousands quaking in their boots?
This is how the Vixen became Queen, and how jackals and scavengers clung to this Court
The Heavens did retaliate, and every hero felt injustice because of this!’
The King, he whom his people called ‘the Son of Heaven’, returned to his Palace, and was greeted by adoring crowds on his arrival. As the new day dawned, the Queen and the Concubines of the three Palaces – Queen Jiang from the Central Palace, Concubine Huang from the Western Palace, and Concubine Yang from the Palace of Fragrance – were summoned to him; the morning ended and they left, and what happened next will not be spoken of here.
Now, in the meantime, the Goddess Nuwa had just been to a birthday party held in her honour by three of the Gods - her brother, Fuxi; the Fiery Emperor, who was also known as the Farmer of Farmers; and the Yellow Emperor, and was now on her way back to her Temple. On arrival, she dismounted from her ride, a green-feathered roc, and being attended to by the Jade Girl and Golden Pageboy, went to sit on her throne. She raised her head, saw the poem on the chalk walls, and gave a furious cry.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Chapter 1 Part 7
The saying goes: ‘Unwanted items will be caught from casting a hook and line when travelling slowly down a river.’ So what was the scene that day? A poem puts it thus:
The King’s carriage left his glorious city
The bright flags leaving trails of colour.
As the cortege passed
Flowers bloomed along the roadside
If one wanted to know what this meant
He soon would come to realise that his King was out
And he would come to greet him.
Thus, as the King left Chaoge, he was greeted by whole families, lighting incense, or placing their petitions forward to him, or laying down carpets or colours. Protected by the Wucheng King Huang Feihu, The Yellow Flying Tiger, accompanied by the literati and the martial officers, the King passed three thousand iron mounts and eight hundred imperial forests.
The King finally arrived at the Temple of Nuwa. He left his chariot, entered the Temple, lit some incense in an incense burner, and began to pray, his cortege following his every move. The King noted how grand the Temple was; how did he see it?
‘He saw the Temple in its grand glory – colourful, and gilded with gold.
Whilst the Gold Boy stared at the curtains
The Jade Girl clasped her hands together in greeting.
A crescent moon hung at a sloping angle;
He next saw the phases of the moon, from waxing to waning, hung over the ceiling
Folded, wrinkled silk curtains hung from the ceiling to the floor
And faced tens of thousands of duelling birds.
The side of the Bed of the Goddess
Was surrounded by dancing cranes.
The heavy perfume of incense sunk towards the Goddess’s Throne
Which faced walking dragons and flying phoenixes.
Such floaty, strange sights were rare indeed!
The golden stove released auspicious clouds, a floaty, purple mist
And the silver candles shone brightly.
And as the King was gazing at the rich sight
A powerful gust of wind, so cold that it reached a man’s innards, began to stir.
The King was looking at the Goddess’s Temple, noting its perfect symmetry and sumptuous decoration, when a powerful, powerful gust of wind blew in; the wind lifted the curtains, revealing the statue of the Goddess Nuwa. The face on that statue was of an unearthly beauty, and the complexion blooming; it was as though an immortal, or the Goddess of the Moon, were present.
There is an old proverb that goes like this: ‘Just as the rise of countries must involve some degree of luck, the fall of countries must involve a degree of black magic.’ Now the King saw the statue, and was shaken by it, but shaken with lust, and he thought, ‘We are the King, the Son of Heaven; we own the four seas, six courts, three palaces, and yet we have not seen such beauty as this!’ And he commanded his courtiers to bring him some writing implements, which they did, and in a fit, the King wrote this poem on the chalk walls of the Temple:
The King’s carriage left his glorious city
The bright flags leaving trails of colour.
As the cortege passed
Flowers bloomed along the roadside
If one wanted to know what this meant
He soon would come to realise that his King was out
And he would come to greet him.
Thus, as the King left Chaoge, he was greeted by whole families, lighting incense, or placing their petitions forward to him, or laying down carpets or colours. Protected by the Wucheng King Huang Feihu, The Yellow Flying Tiger, accompanied by the literati and the martial officers, the King passed three thousand iron mounts and eight hundred imperial forests.
The King finally arrived at the Temple of Nuwa. He left his chariot, entered the Temple, lit some incense in an incense burner, and began to pray, his cortege following his every move. The King noted how grand the Temple was; how did he see it?
‘He saw the Temple in its grand glory – colourful, and gilded with gold.
Whilst the Gold Boy stared at the curtains
The Jade Girl clasped her hands together in greeting.
A crescent moon hung at a sloping angle;
He next saw the phases of the moon, from waxing to waning, hung over the ceiling
Folded, wrinkled silk curtains hung from the ceiling to the floor
And faced tens of thousands of duelling birds.
The side of the Bed of the Goddess
Was surrounded by dancing cranes.
The heavy perfume of incense sunk towards the Goddess’s Throne
Which faced walking dragons and flying phoenixes.
Such floaty, strange sights were rare indeed!
The golden stove released auspicious clouds, a floaty, purple mist
And the silver candles shone brightly.
And as the King was gazing at the rich sight
A powerful gust of wind, so cold that it reached a man’s innards, began to stir.
The King was looking at the Goddess’s Temple, noting its perfect symmetry and sumptuous decoration, when a powerful, powerful gust of wind blew in; the wind lifted the curtains, revealing the statue of the Goddess Nuwa. The face on that statue was of an unearthly beauty, and the complexion blooming; it was as though an immortal, or the Goddess of the Moon, were present.
There is an old proverb that goes like this: ‘Just as the rise of countries must involve some degree of luck, the fall of countries must involve a degree of black magic.’ Now the King saw the statue, and was shaken by it, but shaken with lust, and he thought, ‘We are the King, the Son of Heaven; we own the four seas, six courts, three palaces, and yet we have not seen such beauty as this!’ And he commanded his courtiers to bring him some writing implements, which they did, and in a fit, the King wrote this poem on the chalk walls of the Temple:
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Part 6, Chapter 1
Apologies for the long absence. I went fishing ;). Anyways, I'm back, and here's the rest of the Nerdy Fengshen Translation Blog!!
One morning, King Zhou attended to his Courtly duties, and met with the martial officers and the literati. This was the sight that day:
On a Throne of auspicious clouds and golden gilt sat the King
The martial officers and the literati were surrounded with lights of good fortune as they stood before the stage of white jade.
Heavy smoke from stoves of gold met with pearly drapes as they rose
[The next line is particularly obscure and I shall not bother with it. I'm sure you will get the gist of this piece of doggerel.]
The King, the Son of Heaven, then said to his men, ‘Speak up if you have any business; if not, you may leave this morning.’ As he uttered the last of his words, he saw a man, who was to his right, approach his gilded throne and prostrate himself before it.
The man cried out in a loud voice, ‘I am your servant and your Prime Minister, Shang Rong, and I am in charge of Courtly Duties. If I have any business, I will not hesitate to inform you of it; I should not dare to keep it to myself. Tomorrow is the 15th day of the Third Moon, and the birthday of the Goddess Nuwa, and I beg of my liege to go to her temple to burn incense!’
‘And why is this Nuwa great? Why should we burn incense to her?’ asked the King.
Shang Rong replied, ‘The Goddess Nuwa is the daughter of Shangdi, the Lord from On High; she was born with wisdom and grace. At the beginning of time, the head of the God Gonggongshi could not reach around each and every mountain, and the sky tilted to the northwest, and the earth sunk to the southeast. Nuwa then took some five-coloured stones and patched up the blue sky, and that was how she helped us mortals, and henceforth we made sacrifices of hemp and corn to her as a token of our gratitude. If our capital Chaoge were to continue with our worship of this benevolent Goddess, we will be assured of good fortune, stable rule, good weather, and riddance of pestilance. This is one protective, benevolent and just Goddess, and my liege would be wise to burn incense to her!’
‘Then I shall do so,’ said the King, and he gave his command to do so as he retired.
The next day, the King set off in his carriage, accompanied by his martial officers and his literati, for the Temple of the Goddess Nuwa.
At this instance, it would have been better if King Zhou had not gone to burn incense at the Temple of Nuwa; it took but the burning of only a few sticks of incense to invite chaos to the world and for this King to lose his Kingdom.
One morning, King Zhou attended to his Courtly duties, and met with the martial officers and the literati. This was the sight that day:
On a Throne of auspicious clouds and golden gilt sat the King
The martial officers and the literati were surrounded with lights of good fortune as they stood before the stage of white jade.
Heavy smoke from stoves of gold met with pearly drapes as they rose
[The next line is particularly obscure and I shall not bother with it. I'm sure you will get the gist of this piece of doggerel.]
The King, the Son of Heaven, then said to his men, ‘Speak up if you have any business; if not, you may leave this morning.’ As he uttered the last of his words, he saw a man, who was to his right, approach his gilded throne and prostrate himself before it.
The man cried out in a loud voice, ‘I am your servant and your Prime Minister, Shang Rong, and I am in charge of Courtly Duties. If I have any business, I will not hesitate to inform you of it; I should not dare to keep it to myself. Tomorrow is the 15th day of the Third Moon, and the birthday of the Goddess Nuwa, and I beg of my liege to go to her temple to burn incense!’
‘And why is this Nuwa great? Why should we burn incense to her?’ asked the King.
Shang Rong replied, ‘The Goddess Nuwa is the daughter of Shangdi, the Lord from On High; she was born with wisdom and grace. At the beginning of time, the head of the God Gonggongshi could not reach around each and every mountain, and the sky tilted to the northwest, and the earth sunk to the southeast. Nuwa then took some five-coloured stones and patched up the blue sky, and that was how she helped us mortals, and henceforth we made sacrifices of hemp and corn to her as a token of our gratitude. If our capital Chaoge were to continue with our worship of this benevolent Goddess, we will be assured of good fortune, stable rule, good weather, and riddance of pestilance. This is one protective, benevolent and just Goddess, and my liege would be wise to burn incense to her!’
‘Then I shall do so,’ said the King, and he gave his command to do so as he retired.
The next day, the King set off in his carriage, accompanied by his martial officers and his literati, for the Temple of the Goddess Nuwa.
At this instance, it would have been better if King Zhou had not gone to burn incense at the Temple of Nuwa; it took but the burning of only a few sticks of incense to invite chaos to the world and for this King to lose his Kingdom.
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