Faeelin
Banned
Once, the Confucian school outside Quanzhou had bustled with students and scholars. Some of China’s greatest administrators had come from there, and in its day the school had been a center of learning. But since the famines, and the Manchu invasion, the school had grown quiet. The buildings were dilapidated, with peeling paint and rotten timber. There was only one man there, in the dark of night, standing by a fire.
The man watched as the flames cast a red glow over the temple, as it consumed the robes of a scholar. An Empire was collapsing outside its walls, but inside the silence was broken only by the crackle of the flame. He stood, and watched, as the yellow robes of a scholar were consumed.
The man had once trained to be a scholar, to serve the emperor faithfully. His only ambition had been to rise through the ranks and serve his family and emperor. Now, however, he was left with nothing. He could feel the tears falling down his cheeks, as he thought about what had happened. His mother was dead, and his father was a traitor. Where did that leave him?
The man sank to his knees before the fire, watching as the fire consumed his copy of the Book of Changes. His father, he remembered, had given it to him when he was a student. Now the man who had given those to him was his enemy.
The man’s face was covered with dirt and soot streaked with tears. “"In the past,” the man whispered, “I was a good Confucian subject and a good son. “
He paused, swallowing as he carefully said his next words. The hall was silent, save for the crackle of the flames. He began to weep then, a racking sound that echoed through the silent room. “Now I am an orphan without an emperor. I have no country and no home.”
There Qing had killed his mother. They’d raped her first, he’d heard. They’d done it for hours, until they were done with her. And then they had gutted her like a fish. How could he call the house where she had been killed home?
The man sobbed, his tears staining the silk robe he wore“I have sworn that I will fight the Qing army to the end,” said the man, “but my father has surrendered and my only choice is to be an unfilial son.”
“Please,” he begged, “forgive me.”
The man mourned for hours, for the death of a nation and a family. But while he mourned, he thought about what he must do. Eventually, the sobbing subsided, and was replaced by quiet weeping. At last, as the sun rose, he shakily stood up, and looked at the dying embers before him. And then Zheng Chenggong walked out, to save Perpetual Brightness [1].
[1] The Ming dynasty
The man watched as the flames cast a red glow over the temple, as it consumed the robes of a scholar. An Empire was collapsing outside its walls, but inside the silence was broken only by the crackle of the flame. He stood, and watched, as the yellow robes of a scholar were consumed.
The man had once trained to be a scholar, to serve the emperor faithfully. His only ambition had been to rise through the ranks and serve his family and emperor. Now, however, he was left with nothing. He could feel the tears falling down his cheeks, as he thought about what had happened. His mother was dead, and his father was a traitor. Where did that leave him?
The man sank to his knees before the fire, watching as the fire consumed his copy of the Book of Changes. His father, he remembered, had given it to him when he was a student. Now the man who had given those to him was his enemy.
The man’s face was covered with dirt and soot streaked with tears. “"In the past,” the man whispered, “I was a good Confucian subject and a good son. “
He paused, swallowing as he carefully said his next words. The hall was silent, save for the crackle of the flames. He began to weep then, a racking sound that echoed through the silent room. “Now I am an orphan without an emperor. I have no country and no home.”
There Qing had killed his mother. They’d raped her first, he’d heard. They’d done it for hours, until they were done with her. And then they had gutted her like a fish. How could he call the house where she had been killed home?
The man sobbed, his tears staining the silk robe he wore“I have sworn that I will fight the Qing army to the end,” said the man, “but my father has surrendered and my only choice is to be an unfilial son.”
“Please,” he begged, “forgive me.”
The man mourned for hours, for the death of a nation and a family. But while he mourned, he thought about what he must do. Eventually, the sobbing subsided, and was replaced by quiet weeping. At last, as the sun rose, he shakily stood up, and looked at the dying embers before him. And then Zheng Chenggong walked out, to save Perpetual Brightness [1].
[1] The Ming dynasty
. Will we find out which kings, archdukes, governors supported whom or is that too detailed?