Wednesday, September 12, 2012

MADAM SHANG TELLS OF FIRST FACTS BEFORE LATER FACTS

Come, oh best beloveds, or those I deem to call by that name. Attend to me and hear what I say. Turn away from the 'evil cloud' that passes among you. The truth of it may come as a surprise. Drift with me, as I enlighten you. I speak especially to the mortals of the New World and share first truths, which were twisted into new lies.

Know this. I was already Jiang-Shi, or Kyuuketsuki < old Chinese terms for 'vampire'>  long before these times...and a demi-goddess too. But I never relinquished an interest in my people. An many a royal ear felt the breath of my whisper. If only they had listened. 

There came a master, sent to us by The Divinities of Heaven, named Zhu-Di, known to the ages as The Great Yong Le Emperor. Your puny peninsula of Europe was greatly weakened at this time, having recently weathered The Plague. But China was strong, rich with the treasures of Persia and Araby, Angor Wat and Ethiopia. And our Most Perfect Benefactor , the emperor, desired more. 

So in the year known to you as only 1400 or so, he decreed ships to be built. Great ships. Vast ships. Unseen in your world til  the age of steam. Six hundred feet long they were and one hundred ninety feet wide. They carried men and cattle and weapons and eunuchs. They carried intricate brass, navigational devices, gun powder and gold. And they ventured out beyond the islands of our little brother, The Empire of Nippon. 

But, lo, The Jade Emperor was in a playful mood. And He Who rules The Heavens birthed a great storm, confounding the fleet and scattering it far to the east, before finding rest in another enchanted realm, known to the world as Tiuantinsuyu, The Empire of The Four Ways..... north, south, east and west. I believe your mandarins style it 'The Inca Empire.' From that noble anchorage they set out to see more, exploring far, far up the coastline to a vast natural harbor, which is at this time known as the Golden Gate, in the place you call California.

Strange beasts, armadillos, condors and miniature camels called llamas appeared in the noble menageries of The Middle Kingdom. Courtiers petitioned He Who Holds The Mandate of Heaven to return to the east, so that these lands might be civilized and brought under our beneficent tutelage. But the cost of such endeavors was dear and the Great Yong Le said - No.

We retreated to our pleasure domes, allowing lesser kings to gnaw at the carcass of these novel lands. But we learned and we hoped and we suffered and we waited. 

Now I am here. And the one you call 'Papa' is with me. True, the quest is not his. But he will help.  And The Golden Gate shall welcome back the Yong Le fleet once more.

Be gone!! I have breathed on you enough! I go to take my pleasure with my new Cro-Magnon prince.....

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