w2

Welcome to the Water Margin Podcast. Thisis episode 2.

Last time, I laid out some backgroundinformation to give you some context for the novel. This week, we dive into thenarrative. Now, I mentioned last week that the novel is set in the reign of theHuizong (1,1) emperor, sometime in the years 1119-1125. But to start us off, weare actually going to go back four emperors and about 60 years, to late in thereign of the Renzong (2,1) emperor in the year 1058.

The Renzong emperor sat on the throne for42 years, from 1022 to 1063, and his reign was generally considered a time ofprosperity. But late in his reign, something went wrong.

Early on the third day of the third monthof the year 1058, the Renzong emperor held court as usual. He sat down in histhrone and the court officials bowed. Then the chief of ceremonies declared,“If you have business to report, then do so now; otherwise, court will beadjourned.” Cause, you know, the emperor has to get back to his busy life ofleisure.

But on this day, there WAS business. Fromthe ranks of the officials stepped forth the prime minister and his deputy.They told the emperor, “A plague is raging in the capital, and countlesscivilians and soldiers have fallen victim to the disease. We hope your majesty,in your forgiving and benevolent spirit, will reduce prison sentences and cuttaxes, so as to pray to heaven for relief for the people.”

Now, you might be scratching your head andwondering what tax cuts and criminal justice reform have to do with combattinga public health crisis. Well, tax cuts and amnesties were considered acts ofkindness and mercy, things that could curry favor with heaven in the hopes ofsecuring good fortune. Emperors would often do things like that on specialoccasions like naming an heir or, in this case, when there’s trouble brewing.So the Renzong emperor immediately told the Hanlin (4,2) Academy to write up adraft decree, proclaiming a general amnesty for all prisoners and canceling alltaxes.

The Hanlin Academy, by the way, was agovernment institution that started in the 8th century. It was a group of elitescholars, and one of their most important jobs was to decide on the officialinterpretation of Chinese classics, which then set the tone for the imperialexaminations through which aspiring scholars earned government offices.Basically, if you wanted a government job, you needed to toe the official linefor how the classics were interpreted. But another part of the Hanlin Academy’sjob was to basically serve as the emperor’s communications department, writingup and sending out his proclamations and decrees. So, imagine if the presidentof the United States put together a government office comprised of NobelLaureates in Literature, and they had the power to decide how Mark Twain shouldbe taught in schools, and at the same time they served as glorified secretariesand wrote  the president’s speeches,emails, and tweets. … Of course, now that I think about it, that might not besuch a bad idea these days.

Anyway, the decrees were written and sentout, the prisoners were released, the taxes were canceled, and yet, for reasonstotally beyond me, the plague stubbornly refused to stop. This concerned theemperor greatly. So he summoned his officials and asked them, “Ok, the gianttax cut did NOT lead to better health care outcomes like you promised. Sowhat’s your plan B?”

Another official now stepped forth andsaid, “The plague is decimating our soldiers and citizens. No one is safe. Inmy humble opinion, in order to end this pestilence, your majesty should summonthe Divine Teacher of the Daoists, who is part of a papal line that dates backto the Han Dynasty. Ask him to come to the capital right away and conduct agreat prayer service in the imperial park. That will save the people.”

[Sigh] Ok, I see we’re really earning ourpaychecks this month. But since that was the only idea presented, the emperortook up the suggestion and ordered his secretaries in the Hanlin Academy towrite up an edict to summon the Divine Teacher, which the emperor then signed.He also issued a bunch of royal incense sticks with the decree. Now the emperorneeded someone to go find this Divine Teacher, deliver the decree, and bringhim back to the capital. For this job, the emperor tapped a marshal named Hong(2) Xin (4).

Now, during the Song Dynasty, a marshal wasa military post, but it was often held by people who were NOT soldiers. Thefounder of the Song Dynasty was a general under the previous regime, and hecame to power when his troops … umm … spontaneously declared him emperor whilethey were out on campaign. So from the beginning, the rulers of the SongDynasty were paranoid about the military taking matters into its own handsagain, so they put the military under the command of civil officials. So whenyou hear me mention Marshal so and so in this novel, instead of picturing aseasoned soldier who rose through the ranks of the army on the strength of hismilitary service, you should picture a scholar or, worse, a good-for-nothingwho attained his post by currying favor with the right people.

Anyway, back to the story. So this MarshalHong (2) was ordered to go to Dragon and Tiger Mountain in the prefecture ofXinzhou (4,1), where he was to present the decree to the Divine Teacher, acertain Priest Zhang (1), and bring him back to the capital to perform thenecessary prayer service. The emperor lit some imperial incense in court andpersonally handed Marshal Hong the decree. Marshal Hong dared not dally, so heimmediately took his leave and set out with a few dozen men. His attendantscarried the decree and a golden box containing the imperial incense sticks. Hemounted his horse and his party set out.

Now, when government officials traveled,they had state guesthouses to stay in along the way, so Marshal Hong and hisentourage had their accommodations taken care of throughout the trip. After afew days’ travel, they arrived at their destination, and all the localofficials came to welcome this envoy from the imperial court. A messenger wasdispatched to the Temple of Supreme Purity on the mountain to let the abbot andother Daoists there know that, hey you’ve got a VIP coming, so roll out the redcarpet.

The next day, the local officialsaccompanied Marshal Hong to the foot of the mountain, and there, they saw aflock of Daoists descending from the temple. They were beating drums andringing bells, playing saintly music, bearing incense and candles, and hoistingbanners and canopies as they came to welcome Marshal Hong. Together, theytraveled up the mountain to the temple, which was truly impressive.

All the Daoists in the temple, from thepresiding abbot to the lowliest novice, came to welcome the imperial envoy andescorted him to the Hall of Three Purities. There, they asked him to place theroyal edict on an altar. This done, Marshal Hong asked where the Divine Teacherwas.

To this, the abbot answered, “Marshal, youmust understand, our current Divine Teacher is known as ‘Pure Serenity.’ He isof a very exalted nature and cannot be bothered with such mundane matters aswelcoming and seeing off visitors. He has built a thatched hut atop themountain to meditate and cultivate his spirit. That is why he doesn’t live inthis temple.”

“Well, I have an imperial edict for him, so how do I get anaudience?” Marshal Hong asked.

“Please leave the edict on the altar, and none of us will dare toread it anyway,” the abbot said. “Please come to the abbey for some tea, andthen we can figure it out.”

So the entourage now moved into the abbey,where the marshal sat down in the middle, and attendants served up tea andvegetarian dishes. After the meal, the marshal once again asked the abbot,“Since the Divine Teacher is in his hut atop the mountain, why don’t we sendsomeone to invite him to come down to receive the edict?”

“Sir,” the abbot replied, “our Divine Teacher IS at the top of themountain, but he has an unusual knowledge of the Way. He can ride the cloudsand mists, and no one knows his exact whereabouts. Even we rarely get to seehim, so how can any of us get him to come down?”

And by the way, being in touch with the Waywas kind of the whole point of Daoism. In fact the Dao in Daoism means the Way,and it was believed that if you were really in touch with the Way, you could domagical things like fly or make things turn into other things or live to anextraordinary age. So it’s kind of like being in touch with the Force.

Anyway, Marshal Hong was not going to takeno for an answer. He had to answer to the emperor, after all.

“Then how do I get to see him?!” he said, starting to lose hispatience. “A plague is raging in the capital, and his majesty has sent me todeliver an edict to invite the Divine Teacher to perform a great prayer serviceto quell the pestilence and save the people. What can I do?”

The abbot told him, “To help his majestysave the people, you must demonstrate your piety. Eat no meat, bathe, andchange into simple cotton garments. Then, carry the edict on your back, carryburning incense, and proceed up the mountain on foot alone. There, bow andproclaim your invitation aloud. Then maybe you will get to see the DivineTeacher. But if you are not sincere, then your trip will be in vain, and youwill not get to see him.”

“I have been eating vegetarian meals since I left the capital,”Marshal Hong grumbled. “Isn’t that sincere enough? Fine, I’ll do as you suggestand go up the mountain tomorrow.”

At 5 a.m. the next morning, the Daoists gotup and prepared scented water and a vegetarian meal for Marshal Hong. He bathedin the scented water, and then changed into a new cotton garment and strappedon straw sandals. After the vegetarian meal, he wrapped the imperial edict in apiece of yellow silk and strapped it across his back. In his hand he carriedsmoking incense in a silver incense burner. The Daoists then accompanied him tothe mountain behind the temple and pointed him in the right direction.

“If you wish to save the people, you must not harbor any regrets orthoughts of giving up,” the abbot told him. “Just press forward piously.”

Taking his leave of everyone, the marshalsaid a prayer for divine assistance and began his solo ascent. The winding pathseemingly led up toward the sky, through a mountain that truly seemed like thesanctuary of immortals, shrouded in mists, with awe-inspiring cliffs, babblingbrooks, and strange rock formations.

Marshal Hong forged ahead, climbing overhills and fighting his way through the twisting , overgrown path, undeterred bythe difficult journey ahead and wholly committed to his cause as his figurebegan to fade into the distan … oh wait, no, he’s slowing down, a lot.

Barely a mile into his pilgrimage, MarshalHong’s legs and feet were already getting sore, and he was starting to stagger.He didn’t complain out loud, but in his mind, he was thinking, “I am animportant official of the court. In the capital, I slept on double mattressesand dined on banquet dishes. Even then I didn’t have much energy. What the hellam I doing out here in straw sandals, climbing this mountain? Who knows wherethe hell that Divine Teacher is? Why do I have to suffer?”

Nonetheless, he staggered on. The things wedo to save millions of plague victims, you know? But another 50 steps or so,and he was doubled over and panting hard.

Just then, a strong wind blew through thehollow he was in, and when it passed, a roar thundered from behind the pinetrees, and a giant tiger with bulging eyes, a white forehead, and striped furleaped out.

“Oh crap!” a stunned Marshal Hong cried out as he tumbled backwardonto the ground, while the tiger, glowering with fangs and claws, circled witheyes fixed squarely on this human who was obviously in no shape to run away.

And then, the tiger let out a mighty roarand bounded off down the rear slope, leaving Marshal Hong sitting under a tree,with his teeth chattering and his heart clanging like 15 buckets swinging upand down in a single well. His pulse might have been racing, but his body wasparalyzed, and his legs were as limp as a rooster that just lost a cock fight.The only thing running was his mouth as he just kept muttering oh crap oh crapoh crap.

It was a long while after the tiger haddisappeared before Marshal Hong managed to pull himself to his feet. He pickedup the incense burner off the ground, relit the incense, and continued hisascent, for which I have to give him some credit. Of course, he complainedabout it the whole way, grumbling, “If the emperor had not sent me on thismission with a deadline, I would not have suffered such a fright!”

But he had barely finished grumbling whensuddenly, another strong gust of wind swept through, blasting him withfoul-smelling air. In that moment, Marshal Hong heard a loud hiss, and he saw agiant snake, as thick as a bucket and dappled with snow-white spots, slitheringtoward him from a bamboo grove.

“I’m done for!” Marshal Hong cried as he dropped the incense burnerand fell backward next to a spiral-shaped rock.

The giant serpent quickly slithered towardthe rock and twisted itself into a coil. Golden sparks shot from its eyes as itopened its mouth and flicked its tongue. Marshal Hong could feel another gustof noxious fumes hitting him in the face, leaving him so terrified that it wasas though his soul had left his body.

And yet, just like with the tiger, thegiant snake took a close look at this hapless human and then slithered down themountain side and disappeared. Only then did Marshal Hong get to his feet.

“Lucky me,” he thought. “That snake nearly scared me to death!”

Feeling goose bumps all over his body fromhis close encounter, Marshal Hong now started to curse the abbot of the temple.“How rude of him to play such tricks on me and scare me like this! If I can’tfind the Divine Teacher, that abbot will be hearing from me when I go backdown.”

Nonetheless, the mission remained, andMarshal Hong picked up his incense burner, straightened up his clothes and hisbundle with the edict inside, and prepared to resume his journey. But justthen, he heard another sound coming from behind the pine trees. Oh crap. Nowwhat?

Actually, this one was NOT so threatening.It was the melody of a flute, drifting closer and closer. The marshal looked inthe direction of the music and saw a Daoist novice, just a boy, riding backwardon atop a yellow ox, playing a metal flute with a wide grin on his face.

“Hey boy, where are you from? Do you recognize me?” Marshal Hongcalled out to the kid.

But the boy ignored him and just keptplaying his flute. The marshal called him a few more times before the kid burstout laughing and pointed at him with the flute.

“Are you here to see the Divine Teacher?” the boy asked.

Surprised, Marshall Hong said, “You arejust a young cowherd. How do you know such things?”

Smiling, the boy said, “I was attending theDivine Teacher in his hut earlier, and I heard him say, ‘The Renzong Emperorhas sent a Marshal Hong with an edict and incense to this mountain. He issummoning me to go perform a great prayer service to save the land from apestilence. I will ride a crane and fly there.’

“I figure he must have left already,” the boy continued, “so he’s nothere. Don’t go any farther. There are lots of poisonous creatures and ferociousbeasts in this mountain that can kill you.”

“You better not be lying to me,” Marshal Hong said.

The boy chuckled and gave no reply, insteadjust continuing on his way while playing his flute, disappearing around ahillside.

Marshal Hong now thought to himself, “Howcould that kid know so much about such matters? The Divine Teacher must havetold him to do so. That must be it.”

So now, he had a choice to make. Keepinggoing up or turn back like the boy suggested. With his close encounters withthe tiger and the snake still fresh on his mind, the boy’s words were all thereason Marshal Hong needed to turn back. So he retraced his steps and descendedthe mountain. The Daoists greeted him at the foot of the mountain and escortedhim back to the abbey. Once he sat down, the abbot asked him whether he met theDivine Teacher. And that’s when Marshal tore him a new one.

“I am an important court official!” Marshal Hong seethed. “How couldyou have me traverse mountain paths and endure such hardship? I almost gotkilled! I got midway up the mountain, and a giant tiger jumped out, scaring me out of my boots. Then, a giantsnake stormed out of the bamboo groves, wound itself into a coil, and blockedmy path. I’m lucky to make it back alive! You Daoists are playing a trick onme!”

“Sir, how would we dare to show any disrespect to a high official?”the abbot said. “That was the Divine Teacher testing you. This mountain doeshave snakes and tigers, but they have never harmed anyone.”

Marshal Hong now continued his story. “Iwas struggling to go on but was just about to press forward when a boy novicecame out from behind some pine trees, riding a yellow ox and blowing on aflute. I asked him if he knew who I was, and he said he knew all about me andthat the Divine Teacher said he was leaving for the capital this morning on acrane. That’s why I came back down.”

When the abbot heard this, he told themarshal, “Sir, you missed your chance! That cowherd IS the Divine Teacher.”

Huh? Come again?

“How can that rustic little boy be the Divine Teacher?” an astonishedMarshal Hong asked.

“This Divine Teacher is extremely unusual,” the abbot explained. “Hemay be young, but his command of the Way is remarkable. He is extraordinary. Hecan appear in any guise he wishes, and people call him the Master of the Way.”

“I saw him with my own eyes and did not recognize him. What a missedopportunity!” Marshal Hong lamented.

“Sir, don’t worry,” the abbot consoled him. “Since the Divine Teachersaid he was going, then by the time you return to the capital, he would havefinished the prayer service.”

That put Marshal Hong’s mind at ease, andthe abbot now ordered a meal prepared for him. They stored the imperial edictin a casket for royal documents for safekeeping in the Hall of Three Purities,and then burned the imperial incense in the hall. Then, they feasted deep intothe night, vegetarian-style, before Marshal Hong turned in.

The next morning after breakfast, the abbotand other Daoists at the abbey invited Marshal Hong to take a sightseeing tourof the premises. Now THIS was walking that he was happy to do, and who can sayno to a little fun excursion on a business trip? So the entourage set out, ledby two novices. Marshal Hong and his people oohed and ahhed as they toured thevarious impressive halls and walkways on the temple grounds.

Later on the tour, the group moved to therear of the walkway on the right side of the temple. There, Marshal Hongspotted a building with walls as red as peppers, and vermilion-colored latticework on its two front windows. The front double doors, though, were clampedshut by a lock as thick as a man’s arm, and a dozen strips of paper had beenpasted over the seam between the two doors. The papers were stamped withcountless red seals. Below the front eaves hung a red plaque inscribed withcharacters of gold, which read, “The Hall of Suppressed Demons.”

“What is this place?” Marshal Hong asked.

“A previous Divine Teacher locked demons in there,” the abbot replied.

“What’s with all the paper on the doors?”

“After that Divine Teacher locked the demons in there, every DivineTeacher since then has personally added a strip of paper to seal the doors,warning their disciples that they must not open the doors. It would be terribleif the demons escaped. The last eight or nine generations of Divine Teachershave sworn to keep the hall closed. The lock has been filled with meltedbronze. Who knows what’s going on inside? I have been in charge here for 30years, and yet I only know what I’ve been told.”

Now, if I was a superstitious man living in12th-century China and I came upon a locked building called the Hall ofSuppressed Demons with a bunch of keep-out and no-trespassing signs, and I’mtold that the building does exactly what its name says, my inclination would beto just leave well enough alone and move on. But Marshal Hong had other ideas.His curiosity had been piqued, and it demanded satisfaction.

“Open the door; I want to see what the demons look like,” he told theabbot.

“Sir! This hall MUST not be opened!” the abbot said. “The previousDivine Teacher had decreed that no one may open it.”

“Nonsense,” Marshal Hong said with a laugh. “Y’all are just making uplies to trick the people. You’re making claims about taming demons to make yoursect’s powers look good. I have read many books and have never seen anythingabout taming demons. Spirits only inhabit the nether regions. I don’t believethere are any demons inside! Open it at once and let me see the demons.”

But the abbot kept pleading, telling themarshal that if the doors were opened, there were going to be bad consequencesand people were going to get hurt. But by now, the marshal had grown weary ofhearing no and he started to throw his weight around. He pointed at the Daoistsand said, “If you don’t open the doors for me, then when I get back to court, Iwill tell his majesty that you Daoists prevented me from delivering theimperial edict and refused to let me see the Divine Teacher. Then I will tellhis majesty that you have set up this building to perpetuate a lie about demonsto deceive the people. I’ll have your religious orders canceled and have all ofyou branded as criminals and exiled to some distant land.”

Well, the guy was a court official, and theabbot knew when to change his tune. So he summoned a few members of the templewho worked as blacksmiths. They first peeled off the pieces of paper, and thenthey broke the lock. The doors were pushed open, and the entourage peeredinside and saw … nothing but darkness.

The group stepped gingerly into the hall.It was pitch black and you couldn’t even see your hands. The marshal orderedhis men to fetch a dozen or so torches. When these were lit, they saw that thehall was empty, except for a stone tablet in the center. It stood about 6 feethigh and sat atop a stone statue of a turtle, which had sunken halfway into thedamp earthen floor. On the front of the tablet were mystical scripts and signsand symbols that no one could understand. Marshal Hong then walked around tothe other side, and there, he saw four words on the back of the tablet: “Openwhen Hong comes.”

Well, ain’t this a coincidence? MarshalHong, of course, did not believe in coincidences. He was delighted and said tothe abbot, “You all tried to stop me, but look, how did my name end up herehundreds of years ago? It says, ‘Open when Hong comes.’ Clearly I am meant toopen this, so what’s the problem?! I think the demon must be under the stonetablet. Go get a few more blacksmiths and have them dig it out.”

“Sir, we must not disturb this!” the abbot pleaded again. “Or itcould cause great harm. It’s not safe.”

Wait, I’m sorry. Did you, a meager Daoistpriest, just say no to me, an official of the imperial court? Marshal Hong didnot take kindly to this, and he shouted, “What do you Daoists know?! The tabletclearly says it should be opened when I come. Why are you trying to stop me?!Go get the men I asked for!”

The abbot tried time and again to talk themarshal out of this, but to no avail. So the abbot had no choice but to getsome people together. They first laid the tablet down on its side, and thenthey started digging out the stone turtle statue. It took a lot of diggingbefore they got the thing out. And then, they started digging into the soilunderneath it. After about 3 or 4 feet, they discovered a large stone slab some10 square feet wide. Marshal Hong wanted this dug up as well, much to thechagrin of everyone who, you know, actually had to do the digging. Theirobjections were noted and ignored, and so they lifted up the slab.

Under the slab was a seemingly bottomlesspit. As soon the workmen removed the slab, a great ripping sound was heard, anda black cloud shot up out of the pit, accompanied by a sound that seemed tomake the heaven and earth tremble. This cloud tore through a corner of the roofand whooshed into the sky, where it broke up into more than a hundred goldenrays that shimmered and then dissipated in every direction.

Episode 2: Demons

Screaming in fear, everyone threw downtheir tools and scampered out of the hall, running over each other along theway. Marshal Hong himself was goggle-eyed with mouth agape and a face the colorof ash. He ran out to the porch, where he found the abbot bemoaning … whateverit was that just happened.

“What demon was it that just escaped?” a breathless Marshal Hongasked.

Uhh, maybe you should have asked thatBEFORE you insisted we tear down the DO NOT OPEN signs, knock over a tablet,dig up a stone turtle, and lift up the slab of rock that covered a bottomlesspit?

To see what demon it was that had justescaped, tune in to the next episode of the Water Margin Podcast. Thanks forlistening!