Dougong - The Journey to Chang An: Enso, #1

By RICHARD HOWE

The Song Dynasty ... an orphaned boy, raised by the great philosopher, Zhu Xi … seeks answers to the mystery of his life and the universe … and a young girl, rebelling at society's restrictions, seeking the wisdoms of ancient healing. They find their answers and, through their experiences, become eternally entangled … for to them, eternity means no time.
     Granny Panda once said, "Immortals are just ordinary people … who have done extra-ordinary things."
With a small group of companions, they journey to Chang An, the ancient Tang capital. However, powerful forces are determined to stop them … all because of a new style tea?
There must be something more here … some hidden meanings ... for this life ... and the afterlife.

• Language: English
• Publisher: RICHARD HOWE
• Release date: Apr 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9798987087718

RICHARD HOWE

I graduated from Bowdoin College in 1967 and spent most of the next 30 years as a real estate developer. In 1998, I moved to China. and over the next 25 years, traveled throughout the country and studied the history, culture, and philosophies of China, India, and other regions of the world (the Middle East, Christian lands, etc.). I have had a life-long burning desire to understand the mysteries of life. This quest has led me on many pathways … from acquiring and reading thousands of books, to trips to ancient temples, to solitary meditations on mountaintops and even visiting an ashram in India … and finally, one day, after all the many years, I found my answers. Then, in 2020-22, during the pandemic lockdown in China, I was invited to translate several Chinese historical books to be published in China. I enjoyed the endeavor so much that I embarked on writing about my search for the hidden meanings of the universe - hidden within the ancient texts … but set in an adventure novel story during Song Dynasty China. Fortunately, from my readings, I had a large database of ancient wisdom. During the epidemic, I wrote three books, The Enso Trilogy, which are the culmination of my life's golden thread. Each book in the trilogy focuses on a critical aspect of a spiritual life: enlightenment, fulfillment, and the afterlife. In Jan. 2023, while I was finishing the 3rd book, I contracted COVID. A few months later, a heart specialist told me I had a major problem in my heart valve which would require surgery to fix. I told her that I had done everything in my life and with the completion of these three books, I was ready for the next life (Socrates said it better). I read the other day, 'Sometimes we're afraid of something, because we're afraid of something else'. I think death is like that … people are afraid they won't finish something, but this fear is just a creation of our mind. I just finished Book IV (publish date Jan 2024) which delves into the backside of the universe's tapestry, to understand the divine purpose of it all. In this book, I write a lot about possibilities becoming probabilities and then becoming reality. It's about the journey after death and the purpose of my life. Thank you for reading my books.

Book preview

Prologue II Current time

(12 years later) Manting Mountain

It was the best day of my life...

YUFEI TOLD THE GIRL next to him years later as they sat on the mountaintop ... looking at the clouds drift by ... sometimes caught for a moment by a peak ... then drifting on, and down below them ... the waters of nine bend stream flowing ... carrying their words ... down to meet the river in the town ... on its journey to the endless sea ...

Where did you stay ... at first? she asks, dressed casually in pants ... looking more like a boy than a young woman.

At the old Academy in Wufu, behind the kitchen ... in the woodshed ... on a wooden bed with a bamboo mat ... Gonggong brought me a quilt and a small pillow ... actually a book ... a rolled bamboo book.

Gonggong?

You know ... the old caretaker ...

He told me that if I couldn’t sleep ... to read the pillow ...

The girl smiles ...

I read a lot of pillows that way ...

Do you remember them all?

"That is the strange part ... if I read a good book just once ... I can remember it.... what about you?"

Like you ... if the book interested me ...

Like what?

Like about herbs and medicines ... about tea ... but not the traditional books that girls read ... oh ... and once, my uncle gave me a book on martial arts ... I liked that one a lot.

What about your father and Lanting ... I have seen a lot of books in your house ...

My father doesn’t read much and Lanting reads mostly about traditional things ... being a good mother and also a good businesswoman ... someday she will run the tea business for father.

Really? That is amazing!

Yeah ... oh ... this ... Gonggong .... who is he ... really?

Gonggong? caught off guard and wanting to dodge the question without lying to her...

Just the old caretaker you see sweeping the academy ... he and Master Zhu are close ...  no one knows, or says, his real name ... like it has been lost in time.

He is different though, he appears old and stooped, but he can stand upright when he is alone or with me. That is when he will take out a metal amulet from around his neck ... on one side is the Tai Ji and BaGua ... I have never seen the other side. But I think he does not look on the other side because it reminds him about something sad from his past ...

Then he asks her, You have seen his hands?

She shakes her head. ...

His hands suffered terrible burns many years ago ... but no one has ever dared asked how ... or why?

Has he told you?

No ... well ... kind of ... then he changes the subject, I don’t know ... those two have secrets from the past.

But you trust them both?

Yes ...Master Zhu became a foster-father to me, and Gonggong became my foster-grandpa.

Were things better then ... for you ... after you came to the academy? she asks guardedly.

She reaches for his hand, It’s ok ... if you don’t want to talk about it....

"No ... I am ok ... it’s just that back then I had ... dreams .... and it is difficult sometimes to separate those dreams from what really happened ... sometimes it’s like things have already happened before".

He looks out over the peaks rising above the clouds in the distance.

He stares at the clouds for a long time ... as though listening ... to their silent passing.

Sometimes ... he told me ...I would wake up screaming ...

She looks at him ... cautiously,

You had nightmares?

She hesitates before continuing further,

Then resolving some inner debate, she asks,

About what?

I do not remember ... Gonggong would come rushing in and wake me up, but I couldn’t remember why I was screaming ...  I could not remember anything.

The dreams vanished when I woke up ...except that one time.

Near the old academy in Wufu is a large lotus pond ... with hundreds of lotus flowers ... do you know that place?

She nods, Yeah.

Gonggong and I went there one day to pick lotus roots ... I asked him if it was my fault what happened to my family ...

He throws a rock over the edge.

"He told me it wasn’t ... that I would understand it in time. That it was like the lotus ... our eyes only see the flower on the surface ... not the network of connected roots in the mud bottom ... then he said something strange at the time ... he said we need to use different eyes to see under the water ... to see underneath this reality."

What did he mean?

I didn’t know ... for a long time ... but now I am starting to understand.

Were you blaming yourself because of what happened to your family?

"I don’t know ... maybe ... I did not know what happened to them ... people wouldn’t talk about my mother and father ... no one ... and the old warrior was battling his own demons.

He shakes his head trying to get rid of a thought.

But that was when I became determined to understand why these things happened in my life ... was there a meaning ... or were the gods just playing with me?

She reaches for his hand .... but he pulls it away to grab another stone to throw ...

My grannie .... she was just worn down by everything ... especially grandpa.

Do you still have those dreams?

He shakes his head ... she reaches for his hand again ... this time he does not pull it away.

Maybe this is how fate works ... like they say ... after the dark clouds, the sun comes out.

He picks up a stick and draws an incomplete circle in the sand and stares at it ...

I didn’t talk much ... at first ...

She asks, Why?

He retraces the incomplete circle in the dirt ... pausing ... she waits ...

"Like I said before ...words make things ... less clear ... and ... I mean ... how can you describe emptiness ... in words? How can you describe pain? The words people use are ... (staring at his circle) incomplete ... just more dust clouding your mind."

She nods ... trying to understand ... when he talks this way ... it usually takes a while for it to germinate inside her.

He looks at her and wonders,

What was your childhood like?

She laughs, I don’t even remember when I was the age you went through all those things ...

My father worked in the terraces ... my mom worked in the factory ... and she did what mothers do ... she stops quickly, realizing he would not know what mothers do ...

I slept with granny and followed her into the mountains when she picked herbs.

What did you like to do best ... back then?

I liked being with granny in the mountains ... she taught me a lot... without me knowing it.

Then she laughs, "My mother said that we all come into this world with a purpose ... and mine was to be different."

I never knew how to be the daughter my parents wanted or the traditional girl that society demanded. I always seemed to go against everyone’s wishes.

What do you mean?

I did not like the traditional girl’s things ... sewing, cooking, homemaking ... I learned to read and write and think for myself ... but only if I liked the subject.

Did you have friends?

No ... just granny and Lanting ... even later when she and I went to the temple school ... oh ... and I was always close with my father.

Cautiously she asks, What about you? Did you feel lonely?

Sometimes, but granny was always there ... she was the only one that really understood me ...

My granny was the same ... and then granny got a cat, and the cat was my best friend ... haha.

He nods ... My dog too ...

Your dog?

He’s gone now but he was my best friend ... then he cranks his head to the side ... like a dog.

She laughs ... then she cranks her head to the side ... like her cat.

Then he asks, Did you have dreams?

Once ... that I can remember ... I will tell you later ... after it comes true ...

But why are you interested in the mysteries like me?

I don’t know ... granny brought me to see the mysteries of nature and told me the stories of the Mother Goddess and then fate brought me to you and ... the two seemed connected ... like the same song ...

Their thoughts drift over the mountains and down the streams ...

1 The Adolescent Years (6 years earlier)

The students at Zhu Xi’s Academy studied the Classics with Master Zhu ... in preparation to take the imperial examinations when they are ready.

The examinations are open to anyone as the government sought to recruit capable officials from all levels of society. The examinations are ... for the most part ...objective and fair ... in contrast to the Tang system, which was based on personal recommendation, which often recruited the most connected, but least qualified candidates. The current examinations offer a pathway to success for all young men ... but it represents much more to them and their family ... it is the penultimate of filial duty ... the goal of those with aspirations of a better life ... a meaningful life ... not just for them ... but for their family ... and their descendants.

The examinations are held at various levels, starting with the prefectural examination (zhousi), then the larger metropolitan examination (shengshi), and lastly, the palace examination (dianshi).

Master Zhu’s private academy is one of the finest private academies in Fujian with an extensive library of the relevant books, texts, and commentaries. And due to Zhu Xi’s notoriety, many famous scholars often visit the academy and offer informal lectures.

The increased number of private academies in the Song Dynasty has made it possible for even the most disadvantaged ... with hard work and study ... to achieve high government positions ... which is the shared goal of rich and poor.

The examinations covered the nine Confucian Classics as well as poetry and prose. To ensure fairness, the names of the candidates were blocked off, so that the scores were graded equally, without favoritism.

Many of Zhu’s students are from the local area, i.e., ‘day’ students, who stay at home in the evenings. Some, however, who come from a distance, live in the school dormitory, like Chen Anhua, who is from a prominent Quanzhou family ... and a close friend of Xiang Yufei.

Master Zhu’s personal pursuit these past few years has been on synthesizing the great beliefs of ancient China – Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. He follows in a long tradition of neo-Confucianists ... which started in the early days of the Northern Song Dynasty by a group of scholars to redefine and reinvigorate Confucianism which had waned over the years since the rise in Buddhism during the Tang Dynasty.

Master Zhu felt that only the Confucian teachings of virtue and benevolence, could save the empire against outside and inside forces which threatened the Imperial system and the Chinese way of life. In later years, his writings and curriculum would become the teaching standard for every subsequent dynasty.

Aside from the classics, the students also studied music, poetry, calligraphy, and martial arts. And, with the spread of moveable-type printing, other subjects were added, e.g., mathematics, astronomy, medicine, calligraphy, painting, and military strategy.

Martial arts were taught and practiced in the practice area behind the academy.

There, the boys were taught how to use the 18 weapons of the martial arts (lance, mallet, long bow, crossbow, staff, jointed bludgeon, truncheon, sword, chain, hooks, hatchet, axe, trident, halberd, shield, staff, spear, and rake) ... but most of the student exercises involved using the long staff (a hardwood staff about 2 meters high) ... practicing against each other ... in a less lethal but sometimes ... still painful manner.

Chen Anhua, as the third son in a prominent Quanzhou family, is still learning to be his own person ... he always thinks before talking and keeps his hands still by his side or clasped behind his back like the master. He is tall, strong, with a rectangular face. He is the top scholar and one of the best martial arts students.

He is one of the older students and even at this early age, he is reserved, cultured and humble ... he works out with Yufei often ... at first at Master Zhu’s urging, but later out of a growing friendship...

Whereas Chen Anhua is the top academic student in the academy, Xiang Yufei is the top in martial arts ... Yufei is a little shorter than Anhua, built strong, with a square face and wide-set eyes, like a hunting animal ... which helps him to see laterally better than others ...

Although only an adolescent, Yufei senses his opponents attack before the opponent makes his move. This gives him an advantage in all the mock combats. Yufei trains often with Chen Anhua and secretly with Gonggong, the caretaker ... and quickly becomes the best martial arts fighter at the academy.

Some of the students resent the boy’s prowess and his apparent favorable treatment by Master Zhu and Gonggong, the old caretaker.

Even in the close school environment, envy is the religion of the mediocre ... it comforts them, allowing them to justify their jealousies ... until they believe these to be virtues ... the net effect only drives these two, Chen Anhua and Xiang Yufei, closer together as friends.

One day ... on the martial arts grounds, some students are mocking Gonggong, who is sweeping around the practice court. One of the students tries to trip the old man who pretends to almost fall ... but is caught by Yufei who glares at the other boys who are laughing.

"You feel powerful against an old man? Is that virtue?" Yufei says using Master Zhu’s teachings to admonish them.

Three of them decide to confront Yufeng ... the bravest boy in front asks, "What’s it to you ... orphan boy?" (That was the boy’s first mistake.)

Although each one of the three is bigger than Yufei, they are individually wary of him. They know his fighting skills are better one-on-one, but they feel bolder with a three against one advantage. Yufei appears unfazed by their greater numbers and continues to confront them.

"What did you call me?" he snarls at the boy.

Gonggong, though, urges him to be calm, Don’t turn to anger ... it only hurts yourself more than the others.

"When anger is there, you become identified with the anger."

Then pointing to a lotus flower in the pool, he says, It is far better to be identified with that lotus than the mud.

The boy respects Gonggong, who has been a grandfather for him these years at the academy. He listens ... and ponders ... across the surface of the words ... but the deeper meaning still eludes him ... in any event ... he backs away from the confrontation.

Unfortunately, Yufei’s retreat only emboldens the others.

The boy in front asks, "Hey, orphan boy ... how’s life in your dormitory?" (That was his second mistake).

Yufei looks at Gonggong, who realizes the three youths may need a lesson in benevolence, so he shrugs his shoulders and nods to Yufei ... who grabs his staff and slowly walks up to the three.

Talking over his back to Gonggong he tells him, Maybe it is time for a lesson in virtue ... a martial arts virtue lesson ... what do you think?

Gonggong smiles, Well ... maybe but don’t hurt them too much ... Master Zhu will get angry at us again.

Yufei smiles at the boy in front who is taller than him and appears the strongest.

So how do you want to do this ... just you and me or you three and me?

The other two boys smile and move up next to the lead boy ... then they separate to surround Yufei.

Yufei smiles, Okay ... the three of you ... then he waits.

The three are not sure about the fight sequence for a three-on-one attack and are frozen for a minute ... hoping Yufei would attack the lead boy so they can attack him from the sides ... but Yufei already sensed this.

Finally, the lead boy nods to the others to attack from the sides ... to distract Yufei so he can strike him from the front ... he holds back to watch the others ... (This is his last mistake).

Yufei senses his hesitation and attacks the front boy swiftly with a blow to his legs before the others can even launch their attack ... this causes them to hesitate, which Yufei again senses and attacks each of them individually with leg blows. They all go down... hard.

Enough! Gonggong shouts ... "I think they have learned their lesson...remember boys, ‘fools talk ... wise men listen’."

Yufei rests his staff and starts to walk off with Gonggong.

The boys stagger up ... they know they have been defeated and they are smart enough to know it was their fault. The boys have been taught long and hard about what is right and wrong ... and especially about virtue and benevolence ... both important Confucian precepts. They can be boys but underneath they are all want-to-be scholars in the model of Confucian ideals.

The lead boy says, Yufei wait ... we are sorry ... to you and Gonggong ... okay?

Yufei nods, It’s ok ... even brothers fight at times ... but in the end we are brothers... right?

They all smile, Brothers ... yeah ... and oh ... ask Gonggong not to put hot chili peppers in our food ... okay?

Later Yufei climbs a hill behind the academy to meditate ... to clear his spirit of all negative energy.

When he comes back Gonggong asks him.

When you enter the void ...What do you see? 

Nothing

What do you think? 

Nothing

Later when you come out, what do you think? 

Nothing

But ... Gonggong starts to ask.

Yufei turns to him, What?

Oh ... nothing ...

And they both laugh ...

2 The Adolescent Years * Wang Factory

Wang Mingde, the tea merchant, has worked the tea fields all his life ... as did his father and grandfather. Now he has his own plantation, and after marrying Zhou Ruifang, the plantation is one of the biggest in the county.

The Wang compound is on a small rise of land ... near, but not too close, to the river edge in Wuyi village ... it is surrounded by a high wall for both privacy and security. Inside the front entrance gate is a plain but presentable courtyard leading to the main house ... in the back, is the tea factory where there is another large working courtyard, a small relaxing garden off to the side around a tree, and the interior perimeter is lined with storage sheds, tea frying rooms, preparation rooms, packaging rooms, storage rooms, and other areas to keep the business going ... even in the rain. Outside the back gate, granny tends a small vegetable and herbal garden. The main product of the tea plantation is the standard Wuyi tribute tea cakes.

In middle age, Mingde is medium height, a bit stout but strong with a large nose, square jaw, and a dark ruddy complexion ... his wife, Ruifang is the opposite, elegant, full-figured, and traditionally dressed and well-mannered. They have two daughters, Lanting, the oldest, and Yufeng, the youngest, a couple of years apart. The two daughters are close in their love for each other, but different in every other way.

Inside the manor house, everything is neat and tidy under their mother’s direction. The decorations are modest but tasteful. In the center is the main reception hall ... on one side is the dining room and on the opposite side is the office-study for the tea business, next to the ancestral altar. In each of these areas there is a porcelain set to make tea ... with a tea grinder stone, stove, bowls, and cups. Although this is a small country village, its’ kilns make some fine ceramic and porcelain vessels. Their best tea serving set is a white porcelain set from nearby Dehua kilns, which Wang Mingde bought for his wife last year on their 20th wedding anniversary.

The dining and study areas are part of the main open reception room but are set off by moveable folding wooden dividers, with each panel depicting a different season in the mountains. There are even 2-3 plants in large urns on the sides as decoration and to freshen the air. Nature is never too far from these country folk.

In the office study, there is a large desk and cabinets for ledgers. A large countertop and shelves are behind the desk and another smaller desk sits beside it with two more chairs in front. The walls of the study are lined with books ... which is a bit odd since, neither the father nor mother are great book readers.

Madam Wang usually occupied the study, working on the company books and ledgers ... and typically, seated next to her, is the oldest daughter, Lanting, who at an early age felt destined to learn the tea business.

The parents’ bedroom is good-sized for this small town. On the left side, near the windows, is a dressing-table and bench. The center of the room is dominated by a carved bed with railings at the head and foot and draped with a fine silk canopy to protect from insects. At the foot of the bed is a large footlocker for clothes and linens and to sit on when dressing. On the other side is a clothing armoire and a towel rack with a wash basin. A pewter lampstand rests on a red lacquer table, which was flanked by two matching lacquer chairs. In the center of the middle wall is a painting of a beautiful country girl ... the younger Madam Wang.

The oldest daughter’s bedroom is not as large but still a nice size for a small-town merchant’s house. On the right side near the windows is a dressing-table and bench. In the center is a simple carved bed with railings at head and foot and hung with a mesh canopy. There is a clothing rack and a towel at one end of the bed. At the other is a wash basin. In the center of the middle wall is a painting of a lotus flower.

The youngest daughter, Yufeng, sleeps with granny, Madam Wang’s mother, in the back ... in a small room closer to the kitchen. They both preferred this location ... away from the others and easy to steal out the back door to climb the mountains. Their bedroom is more rustic, a large kang bed along the window, and a large cabinet along the other wall with a small desk in the middle with several of Yufeng’s study books and a lone stool. The decorations are all granny’s ... hanging baskets, hanging dried flowers, a gazette paper which she cannot read and the usual washbasin, water jug, and towels. There is a mosquito mesh pulled up on the sides of the large kang bed. The one operable window has a wooden lattice with paper covering of a natural scene of bamboo branches and leaves.

The kitchen is separate and connected to the back part of the house ... it is a larger sized kitchen than normal, as it serves a dual purpose in feeding the family and meals for the workers in the courtyard factory. There are two cooking ovens with the usual large center cooking wok, which are fed with twigs and firewood below ... and a push-pull bellows to increase the airflow. Along the walls are cabinets for dishes, spices, and condiments ... urns for wine and water ... along one wall various wicker baskets hanging from hooks from the beamed ceiling ... and along the other wall hooks for drying meats and game fowl.

Lanting and Yufeng, are seated at the round dining table and ... under their mother’s direction ... practicing sewing ... Lanting is very adept because, in many ways, she is like her mother, traditional and mindful of her destiny as a supportive wife.

Yufeng, on the other hand, has always rebelled against ‘traditional’ duties ... and so sewing, cleaning, cooking come harder to her ... actually, all of the common filial duties required by society come harder to her ... but her disobedience is never directed against her parents, whom she loves deeply ... but rather against society’s rules and restrictions on all young women.

Although she and her mother often clash ... when she falls short of her mother’s traditional expectations ... she does not rebel very often against her father... instead, she usually does what he says ... on the surface anyway ... because it usually involves the plants ... the tea bushes. Also, she follows religiously whatever her granny (Ruifang’s mother) asks her to do ... of the older generation, she is closest to her granny, whom she shares the same bed ... and the same love of nature.

As they sew, Lanting, now a teenager, is talking about boys ...

I saw a cute boy in the market today ... one of Master Zhu’s students...

On the walls are various scrolls of paintings ... all copies of more famous pieces ... depicting distant mountains, a stream or lake closer and a small cottage in the foreground with indistinct figures depicting a scholar and student or a lone scholar contemplating the mysteries of the universe. In another painting, there are scenes of the various stages of tea making.

The windows along the side walls, like all windows in the area, are framed with a wooden lattice with paper covering. The paper showing local lotus flowers or birds in flight.

Yufeng makes a face,

Ugh ... those pretty boys ... prancing around like they are better than the villagers ...

Lanting shakes her head,

This one was different ... I could feel his compassion for the poor people.

Yufeng is defiant ... Why do we need boys ... girls are smarter and do everything ... women pick the tea leaves, do the cooking, take care of the children, take care of the ancestral duties, clean the house, pick the vegetables ... ha! What do men do ... sit around and tell each other how brave they are...haha.

Not all men are like that ... father isn’t like that ... Uncle Wang isn’t like that.

Father is different and so is Uncle Wang ... but the others ...ha ... and their boys ... worse ... look at Liu Bocan ... what a stupid bully ... who would want to marry him?

Their mother interjects, There is a boy and a girl for everyone ... I heard his mother was trying to arrange a wife for him...

Yufeng laughs, Ha! Who would marry him? He is such a pompous lout.

I don’t know ... the girls do not have much say ... especially if the parents need money. Several of my friends are worried they may be next for the matchmaker grannies.

But Liu Bocan? I can’t think of anyone in the temple school that would marry him.

Maybe Tingzhen.

What?

I heard her father owes a lot of money and with the drought and now the floods, he can’t repay ... he will lose everything unless he can find some money and the only thing left for him to sell is his daughter.

Don’t they own the terraces next to father’s Mother Tree?

Yes...

Madam Wang stands and goes to retrieve something from her bedroom.

Poor girl ... mother would never do that to us.

Mother’s different than the other women ... some of them are even making their daughters bind their feet.

What? If anyone comes near me with foot bindings I am running away.

Haha ... you crazy girl, don’t worry ... mother is against that also and the arranged marriage.

Why?

I don’t know ... something happened when she was younger ... she won’t talk about it, and neither will granny ... it’s something they want to lock away in the bottom of their memory wells.

Yufeng stabs herself with a needle, Ouch.

Just then granny enters ... sees her granddaughter’s distress and asks,

Yufeng ... can you help me gather herbs today?

YES!

Yufeng leaps up, throws down the knitting and drags granny outside before her mother comes back.

Later, up on the mountain trail, Yufeng and granny take a rest and sit on a fallen tree log.

It is silent in the mountains ... well, kind of ... there’s a pair of birds singing above them in the tree branches and some other chattering sounds (squirrels?) ... higher up the trees.

The trees are thicker higher up the mountain and the trail winds around these giants.

Yufeng looks at her granny ... who is more active than some of the other grannies ...

Granny always seemed ageless to Yufeng ... rising early, helping get the cookfires started, cutting the vegetables and cooking rice for porridge ... even after everything was prepared, served, and eaten ... she didn’t stop ... as the dishes needed cleaning and then ... after all her self-imposed chores were completed, she donned her bamboo cap, grabbed one or two baskets, and headed to her beloved mountain trails ... with little Yufeng running to catch up.

Alone now in their beloved mountain trails, Granny reaches out and touches with her flat palm against the fallen tree ... then she pauses ... as if ... listening ...

She motions for Yufeng to do the same ... she knows what granny is doing as she has done it many times before.

Next granny places her palm on the standing tree behind them and closes her eyes ... Yufeng does the same ...

Can you feel the difference? This fallen ones’ essence has all gone ... this ones’ is still strong.

Yufeng nods,

Later you will sense the trees and plants and animals as they talk to each other ...

Yufeng smiles, thinking ... I have already felt them many times granny ... don’t you remember? ... but Yufeng has some questions this day ... about life ...

Yufeng asks her grandmother, Granny, why do girls have to obey the men?

Granny has the same oval face as Yufeng ... it is obvious where Yufeng has inherited here genes. Only where granny’s face and skin has shrunk, and her lips parched ... Yufeng’s face is a glow of freshness and vibrancy ... and her burgeoning athleticism is showing now in her walking style ... while granny’s walk is becoming more stooped like most of the grannies in the mountains after years of carrying heavy loads.

Granny stops and looks caringly at this girl ... who is so much different than her mother and sister.

It is the rules ... of our people ... which have held us together as a tribe ... since long ago ... before we migrated here from the north.

But times change ... and people should change.

"Change comes slowly here, Feili ... you must learn patience."

But granny ... in town, the mothers are starting to bind the girls’ feet!

Granny is surprised, Really ... you have seen this?

No ... but one of the girls at the temple school stopped coming and they say it is because she can’t walk now...

Granny is shocked, That’s awful ... and her parents are doing this to her?

Yes ... the matchmakers say it will make her more attractive to the wealthier mothers ... and their sons.

Granny laughs, Ha!

Then she breathes a sigh of relief, Don’t worry Feili, your mother will never arrange a marriage for you or your sisters ... believe me.

Yufeng looks at her strangely, Why?

Don’t ask any more ... just believe me on this ... she will never arrange a marriage for you or your sister!

Yufeng drops the subject and granny starts marching up the trail to collect herbs ... Yufeng trails along with a furrowed brow thinking ... that was strange ... but good news.

3 The Adolescent Years * Spring Festival

After the mock fight , Chen Anhua walks up to Yufei and asks, What was that all about?

Yufei smiles, Nothing ... what’s up?

Oh ... I was looking for you ... there is something I wanted to ask you, but I had to ask Master Zhu first.

What is it?

I want to invite you to come to my home over Spring Festival holiday ... how about it?

Yufei is hesitant ... owing to the difference in social levels ... Anhua’s family is one of the most prominent in Fujian and live in a large compound in Quanzhou ... plus Yufei has never left Wuyi. He looks at Gonggong, who understands his hesitation.

Gonggong tells him, "It’ll be okay, I can take care of myself ... just think of it as part of your education ... although you can read many wise sutras ... experience is the best teacher ... words are just words ... until you experience them ... do you understand?"

He smiles and turns to Anhua, Okay ... when do we go?

Pack your things tonight, we will leave in the morning. Master Zhu will lend us some horses. Chen Anhua tells him and then strides away.

Yufei looks down at his lone tunic ... and then at Gonggong ... while mouthing Anhua’s words ...pack my things?

Gonggong laughs, I will help you ... come on...

And off they go ... Gonggong finds some new clothes for him and ... a gift for Lord Chen.

While they are packing, Yufei has many questions ...

How do I greet his parents ... his brothers? What about eating? What about going to the toilet ... what about ...

Just relax ... Anhua will guide you and I have heard of Lord Chen ... he is a good man.

Over these past 6 years, Gonggong and Yufei have grown the closest ... Master Zhu is more formal ... more disciplined ... like his writings ... but Gonggong has been broken by life and is more pliable ... more caring ... and it is he who has melded this young boy to the brink of his realization of the mysteries ... the mysteries that Gonggong has spent his lifetime pursuing ... and preserving.

Yufei is nervous ... Gonggong tells him to relax ... then a student runs in and tells him that Master Zhu wants to see Yufei in his study.

Yufei looks at Gonggong, who shrugs his shoulders ... Go.

.

When Yufei enters the study there is another man there ... a strangely dressed middle aged man ... in Japanese style of clothes and shaved head and topknot and a moustache. His oval face feels friendly to Yufei, so he enters relaxed.

Yufei enters and bows to Zhu.

Zhu tells Yufei, This is my friend, Akimoto ... he is from Kyoto ...

That information does not register on Yufei’s brain.

Zhu adds, He is from Japan ... and is on his way back there after studying at some of the famous Chan Buddhist and Taoist schools in China.

Yufei bows to him. ... then raises his eyebrows expectedly at Master Zhu.

He was showing me some of his ink drawings and I thought one of them might interest you...

Yufei does not understand until Lord Akimoto opens a portfolio of brush ink drawings ... all the same subject ... which he calls the ‘enso’ ..."

YUFEI IS SPELLBOUND as the Japanese scholar turns the pages on endless brush drawings of the seemingly same incomplete circle ... which to most observers would all look the same ... but not to Yufei...

Akimoto is talking all the time as he leaves through the artworks,

To some ...the brushwork is more important than the imagery ... one can sense the energy in the brush strokes that make up the form ... the artist seeks to imply movement through a resonance with a person’s inner senses .... the viewer senses the artists movement also.

When he gets to the fourth drawing, Yufei asks him to stop as he gazes closer at the brush stroke ... then he looks at the man and bows even more deeply than before and says just one word ... Master and bows deeply.

Master Zhu has brought out one of Yufei’s similar ‘enso’ drawings and holds it side by side to the one they are looking at ...

Yufei tries to block them from viewing his drawing, but the Japanese scholar nudges his hands away.

It is good ... I can sense your inner spirit coming out ... ‘blossoming’ as they say ... but where ... did you first see this?

Yufei is embarrassed, he points to his head, It was in here ... when I was young ...

Then he builds his courage to ask the scholar, Can I watch you draw one?

Zhu starts to object to what he thinks is an inappropriate request ... but the visitor brushes his objections aside,

Of course, but just for a few minutes ... what would you like me to draw?

Yufei thinks a moment ... then walks to the window and points to the sky ... no words are said ...

Akimoto smiles.

The artist-scholar gets his brush and inkstone out as Master Zhu brings out a clean sheet of his finest paper. He lays it down on his desk and places two short pieces of smooth hardwood on the two sides to keep it flat.

The artist moves around to the front of the paper, places his inkstone to the left side and then ... when he is satisfied that everything is ready ... he goes to the window, looks out for a moment, and closes his eyes ... then he opens them and walks back to the desk. The brush is large, and he loads it up with ink and then ... just as quickly ... it is over ... with a quick fluid sweeping arc he has drawn the ... the endless sky ... the incomplete circle ... the enso ...

It looks much like the other ones ... a bit more open ... and as Yufei looks at it he can feel the power of the man’s spirit in the drawing and ... the vast endlessness of the sky.

Yufei asks, "What does enso mean to your people?"

Akimoto shrugs, "There are no words to describe ... it is an experience ...some call it the Gate of Time & Space ... but I have my reservations about names..."

"Each enso is different ... and none are perfect ... in my country they call that wabi-sabi ... the beauty of imperfection."

Then Akimoto hands the brush to Yufei. Zhu puts down a new sheep of fine paper.

Yufei asks what he wants him to draw ... he says nothing ... just smiles ...

Yufei closes his eyes ... then opens them and draws his enso ... though it does not compare with the forcefulness of the Japanese one .... the man smiles and asks,

What does it mean?

Yufei says, It has no meaning ... then pointing to the parts, emptiness inside ... emptiness outside.

Akimoto asks, What about the circle?

Yufei smiles, "I am not sure ... my mind currently has a problem with it ..."

The two older men just smile and nod.

Master Zhu places a new piece of paper, and he asks Akimoto,

I have a request ... one that the Japanese are masters of ... draw a wave.

Akimoto draws a large crashing wave and inside the wave he draws two ancient parallel zig zag lines with the brush.

Zhu, Yufei, and Akimoto all know they have experienced a special moment ... a moment that seems ... outside of this time and place ...

Art is an outward expression of the inner state.

Then Yufei bows to them and tells Master Zhu, I will go with Scholar Chen in the morning.

Master Zhu nods, It will be a good experience, his father is an old friend of mine.

Then Yufeng bows and leaves ... he has learned everything ...

Akimoto looks at Master Zhu and says, He is well on the pathway ...

Master Zhu nods.

4 The Adolescent Years * Campsite

The two youths ride out early. With the wintry weather, they are wearing heavier clothes ... heavy felt riding robes with fur lined caps and leather fur-lined boots.

This early in the morning, the horse’s panted breaths freeze into clouds as they ride fast down the trail. They ride for most of the day, stopping briefly for lunch along the way ... later, further down the trail, they decide to camp for the night.

In an open area near the river, they tether the horses and gather firewood. It is always cold before Spring Festival and this night is no different. They build a large fire up against a large rock outcropping to throw the heat back out and keep the immediate area warm through the chilly night ... and hopefully still have some glowing embers to restart in the morning ... to warm their morning porridge.

Once the fire is lit, they place their bedding close to the fire and sit down to eat some biscuits and dried meat. The two boys have been good friends for the past two years ... before that, Anhua was immersed in his studies and Yufei was mostly doing outside chores with Gonggong. Gonggong had taken over Yufei’s education at Zhu’s request ... no one knew why ... except Zhu and Gonggong.

While they are eating Yufei asks, Tell me about your family ...

Anhua smiles, Well there is my father, Lord Chen, you will like him, he is extremely intelligent ... the ideal of Master Zhu’s benevolent man. He passed the examinations at the highest level when he was twenty-one and has risen in the government ever since. Now he is a minister in one of the government bureaus in the capital ...

My mother, Lady Chen, is nice ... and ‘traditional’ ... she comes from a local family with many siblings ... so I have many aunts and uncles ...

When he looks at Yufei he notices a melancholy look on his face ... so he changes the subject to his brothers.

My oldest brother, Chen Yi, passed the examinations last year and was posted as a deputy magistrate in Wenzhou ... in Zhejiang ... but he will be back for the holidays. He is very good in martial arts and was a top scholar.

And then there’s Chen Er, my middle brother, he is ... a bit of a rebel. He passed his exams ... not high ... but high enough to secure a captaincy in the navy. He has always loved ships and is thrilled about his posting in the naval fleet. He will be back for the holidays too ... you will like him ... you remind me a little of him ... he is a good wushu fighter also and he loves to play ...

Play?

With girls ... especially now that he is a ‘man’ and can go to the pleasure houses.

Yufei wrinkles his eyebrows and crooks his head,

Pleasure houses? What are they?

Places where men go to drink, talk, listen to music ... and play with girls.

Ugh ... play with girls?

They are not bad girls ... most are country girls trying to earn money before returning to their village ... some though, like the business and become professional consorts to wealthy patrons.

Yufei ‘s eyebrows rise as he opens his eyes wide and asks,

You have been there?

Shyly Anhua tells him the story, Well ... just once ... Chen Er took me to one of the places last year ...

What? Did your parents know?

Of course not, they would have killed us both ... anyway, not much happened ... well for me ... some girls were friendly, but I was too nervous ... I guess ... they started talking in their local dialect and giggling ...

Girls are stupid.

Well maybe but a few weeks ago ... I saw this girl in the Wuyi marketplace ... she looked at me and smiled and then ...

And then ... what?

I tripped ...

They both laugh... Just then they hear riders approaching... they reach for their staffs and stand up. Although they are carrying knives in their waistband ... their initial weapon for defense is the staff.

Two riders approach riding slowly in the night, then they stop and look at the fire. They look like soldiers ... or ex-soldiers as their worn-out tunics are standard military issue ... one is tall and thin, the other, a little shorter, and sturdy ... but they have friendly smiles on their faces.

Can we join your fire tonight ... fellow gallants? the lead rider asks in the local Wuyi dialect.

Yufei looks at Anhua who says, Sure ... you can hobble your horses over there near the stream.

The riders hobble their horses, remove their bedding, and walk over to the fire.

The lead rider says, Cold night, what brings you two out?

Going home for Spring Festival ... how about you two? Chen Anhua replies as Yufei is more alert for any danger.

The same ... where’s your hometown?

Quanzhou ... how about you two?

Xiaomei ... It is a small town you haven’t heard of ...

Yufei says, We know it ... we live in Wuyi at Master Zhu’s Academy!

I am Chen Anhua, and this is my younger brother, Xiang Yufei.

The thin one says, I’m Pangzi (Fatty) and this is my little brother Houzi (Monkey) ... we have just returned from the north as part of a prisoner swap.

You are criminals? Yufei asks as he scans these two strong men ... the one called ‘Fatty’ is thin with close-set eyes and the other called ‘Monkey’ has wide-set eyes and is more rounded ... but both seem friendly and unassuming ... he senses no danger.

He smiles, No, no ... soldiers that were captured by the Jin ... our battalion is no more so the army released us and sent us home.

You come from the north?

Yes.

Chen is excited to learn more, What’s it like, are the resistance forces still fighting to unify the country?

The two men look at each other, then Monkey tells them,

There is no ‘resistance’ any more ...

What? But ...

The one called Pangzi, with a round happy face, explains,

It has been many years since the Jin took over the north ... the people there don’t want to fight anymore ... they just want peace ... and to them ... one ruler is the same as another ...

Looking around, the other man, Monkey, says,

Now ... the north is the same as here ... people and families trying to provide for their children... the war is over in their minds ... it is ancient history to them.

Anhua says, But everything we hear is that the people can’t wait to rise up against the Jin invaders ...

Propaganda ... believe us ... we just came back, and we have no reason to lie ...

Thanks ... Anhua says, thinking (I need to tell father about this).

After this there is a little small talk about Wuyi village ... they know of Master Zhu and are very respectful of these student scholars ... after a while they all go sleep.

Yufei though, turns his inner senses on alert ... just in case they are not all they say they are ... and are bandits in disguise.

In the morning Yufei is up early and gets the fire going again, then he gets water from the stream to boil.

The others wake up soon and they share with them some early morning  porridge.

The men thank the boys.

Yufei wants to ask the men something ... he starts several times but stops ... he cannot find the words.

Finally, Pangzi notices this and asks him,

Is there something you wanted to ask us?

No ... nothing ...  well ... I was just wondering ... if you ran across any other soldiers from our village in the north?

Chen Anhua looks at Yufei ... understanding.

The men tell him, No ... we were the only two from this part of Fujian ... most of our battalion were from Jiangxi.

There is a pause, then the men stand up.

Well, we’ll be on our way ... thanks for your hospitality ... you two will make great gallants someday.

The two youths smiled as they liked hearing that.

After breaking camp, they go in different directions ... two go upstream ... the other two downstream ... for now.

5 The Adolescent Years * Chen Family

The Chen Manor is a large compound with an impressive entrance archway gate ... once you enter there is a large freestanding wall blocking the view within (and to keep hungry ghosts out). On this entry wall, there is a beautiful porcelain green garden scene with cranes flying over a lotus pool. Behind the wall is an inner courtyard with a lotus pool like the one on the screen-wall carving. Behind it are a few steps leading into the large manor house ... Yufei has never seen such an elegant home ... he is excited and apprehensive ... and strangely aware of everything as though this place seems familiar ...

As they enter, a servant has already told Anhua’s parents of their arrival. And when they come out to greet the youths, they are both smiling warmly.

Anhua and Yufei bow in obeisance. Lord Chen raises them up and welcomes his youngest son with a warm smile and a firm grip on his arms. Then looking at Yufei, he says, So this is your young friend ... welcome to our home for Spring Festival.

Yufei does not dare smile ... so he bows again, and says nervously,

Thank you, Lord Chen, my name is Xiang Yufei, I am from Wuyi Shan. I am a student at Master Zhu’s Academy.

Lord Chen is tall, with a long regal face and nose ... his eyes are wide, sharp, and keen as though seeing through everything. His beard is closely cropped and covers his mouth