Land of Mercy: A Tale of the Three Jewels of Tibet by Fan Wen

Author:Fan Wen [Wen, Fan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789810967383
Publisher: Rinchen Books
Published: 2016-02-24T20:00:00+00:00

______________________

1A popular Tibetan gesture to show subserviency.

Book 2 Chapter 18

Hero

Zhajie was a hero, but he looked more like a skeleton wandering the plains. However, when the nomadic shepherds saw him, they would sometimes kowtow. In the starlit night, a heroic glow radiated from his form. It was visible more than ten miles away, like a guiding lamp. Songs telling the old story of the hero had been chanted on the plains for many years. Other songs had been sung about the former darkness of the prairie under the rule of the demons, as well as songs about the heroic fight between the knight, Zhajie and the one–horned dragon sent by the demons. There were songs, too, about the stars falling from the sky and the hero’s soul taken to paradise. They also sang of the hero’s sword standing upright like the snowy peaks, shining as cold as the stars, splitting the sky and earth like lightning. This sword still hung upon the skeletal hero, waiting for another hero to wear it.

Zhajie walked about on the plains, traversing it from east to west and north to south. When the people saw his wandering bones, they wept and worshiped with compassion in their hearts. A hero amongst men is as rare as a pearl and as high and unreachable as the stars. He seems taller and more mysterious than the humble mortals. If you wanted to be a hero on this plain, you needed first consider whether or not you would be willing to become another wandering skeleton like Zhajie.

Long ago, this beautiful stretch of fertile grassland was occupied by hordes of one–horned dragons. Sent by the devil, they were ferocious creatures as big as elephants, cunning as snakes and bloodthirsty as wolves. When they ran across the plains, the earth rumbled like a drum. Their howls were as loud as a flood. They went about ruthlessly killing tigers, leopards and bears on the plains, before turning on the tame and gentle cattle and shepherds on the prairie. When the dragons stuck out their huge rough tongues, they could lick off a man’s arm. Their skin was like rock. When the shepherds’ swords struck their skin, the blades would roll up or break. A matchlock fired at them would only cause them to itch. The lone horns on their heads were harder than iron and sharper than a sword, tilting in a beautiful arc. Any animal gored by their horns would be thrown to the sky. The dragons’ gigantic hooves were like legs. They would give the heads of their prey a flying kick, sending them crashing to the ground, before crushing them beneath their feet.

When Zhajie came to this horrible plain, he was almost bones. He was a lone knight crossing the horizon, mounted on his handsome horse, treasured sword adorning his side. He was upright and valiant, with long, flowing hair. In those days, if one had a treasured sword, courage and a good horse, he could hold the world in his hands and the most beautiful girl in his arms.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.