I've made homemade moon skin mooncakes a few years now and wanted to bring the moon skin press with me from China. Last week I got to use it! I made a big batch of mooncakes (coconut, vanilla, and chocolate fillings- they're a bit untraditional but nice)...the probably was that everyone liked them so much (especially the kids) that I had to make them 2 more times!
Today's story is about one of my favorite people in ancient China: Shao Kong, one of the great emperors of the past. It's also our second story in our Kids in Ancient China series.
The Unknown Emperor: Shao Kang
“They’re looking for you,” Shao Kang’s grandpa told him one day.
“Who, Ye Ye (grandpa)?” Shao Kang asked.
“Han Zhuo and his sons. Actually, it’s his sons that are out looking for you. When their dad heard that your father had a son and he was alive, he sent his sons to go out and find you.” The old man said.
“Wow.” Shao Kang was stunned.
“The day has come. We knew people would find out about you sometime.” The old man said.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Do what you’re called to do: become the emperor!” His grandfather said.
“How am I to do that?”
“Leave. You won’t ever take the country back if you stay here your whole life. No, they will somehow, someday find you and probably kill you, your mother, your grandmother, and me as well.”
“Why?”
“They don’t want you taking back the country, but it’s what you’re meant to do.”
It was. Shao Kang was the son of the emperor. His dad was the 5th emperor of the Xia Dynasty. Sadly, his dad wasn’t a good ruler and was often lazy. This made it easy for Han Zhuo to form an army and fight against him. He slowly starting taking over the country and finally killed the emperor.
His wife was inside the capital when she heard the news and knew she had to escape. How was she going to leave? She couldn’t leave through the city gates because Han Zhuo would have people there looking for her. She walked along the inside of the city wall just as the sun was setting. She finally found the spot. She had seen dogs digging there earlier and thought the hole they dug might be big enough for her to get under the city wall. Thankfully, it was. She made it out of the city as the sky grew darker and darker. She didn’t go on the main road because she knew it would be watched.
It was a long trip back to her parents house, the only place in the country she knew she’d be safe. It would be good to see her parents because she hadn’t seen them for a long time. They knew she was pregnant because she wrote them letters, but she hadn’t seen them since becoming pregnant. Thankfully, she wasn’t that big yet so traveling so far by walking wasn’t as hard as it would be later. She finally arrived home and into the arms of her mom and dad.
A few months later she gave birth to a son there. Together, she and her parents saw it to be their job to teach him about culture, history, and how to be a good ruler (unlike his father). They taught him many things. He was a good student, but not always confident. Finally, the moment came when his grandfather told him the news: Han Zhuo heard that he, the emperor’s son, was alive.
“Where would I go? You, grandma, and mom are all I’ve ever known.” The young boy said. He was 16 years old. Even though he was told he was the emperor’s son, he never thought he’d have to do anything about it!
“Go up north. We’ve heard there are people there who are still loyal to the Xia Dynasty. Find them,” the old man said.
“How?”
“Take the road from our farm here to the nearest town. Don’t stop to talk to anyone. Then go north on that road. Do you remember how I taught you how to tell what “north” is?”
“Yes, I remember. Look for the sun and the shadows. From there I’ll be able to find where North, South, East, and West are.”
“Good. You’ve learned well. Walk a few hours until you reach a few towns after that. Talk to the people in those towns up north and tell them who you are. We hope they will help you. This is our only chance- your only chance.”
“When will I go?”
“You should go tomorrow. Your mom will make some extra flat bread and some other things for you to take for food on your long walk.”
The next day Shao Kang left his home, with tears in his eyes as well as huge tears in his mom’s, grandma’s, and yes, even his grandpa’s eyes. He walked to the nearest town and then walked passed 5 other towns before stopping to talk to people. It was about a 6 hour walk. He first went to the market in the town and asked where the leader was. It was a small bedouin town so it was easy to find the leader. After Shao Kang told him the story, the leader agreed to help him. Finally, Shao Kang started to get his confidence: he was going to be the next Xia Dynasty Emperor.
Epilogue: Shao Kang did take back the country and brought back the Xia Dynasty. He’s one of China’s legends and one of the greatest leaders China has ever had. He married the daughter of the leader of that village and together they had a lovely family, The people there helped him go from town to town to make an army to fight Han Zhuo and take back the country.
I wrote a few stories a few years ago and recently came across them. I love writing and love writing about history. These stories are kids who grew up in different time periods in Chinese history. I thought I'd share them here in a series of blog posts. The first one is called Moving Again? and is from the Xia Dynasty (2100-1766 BC, during the time of Yu The Great). Hope you enjoy it!
Moving Again
“Mom, do we have to move again?” The little girl asked her mom. Actually, it was more her complaining then talking with her mom. This was the 4th time they’ve moved in her short life of 6 years.
“Yes, the River is flooding again so we have to move. I know that it’s not fun, but if we don’t move, we’ll not only lose our home and all that we have, but we could also die,” the mom told her youngest daughter. There were three kids altogether: two girls and the eldest, a boy.
“All that I’ve known my whole life is moving because of the floods. Will the floods ever stop?” She asked.
“We hope so. I told you about Yu, right?” The older brother asked.
“I think so. He’s the guy who’s the leader in our city, right?” She asked her brother.
“No. He’s the guy who’s working with people like our dad to find ways to make the water from the floods go away from where the villages are. He’s trying to save the villages,” Said the brother.
“Speaking of dad, when is he coming home?” The young girl asked.
“He should be home soon, it’s almost time for dinner,” said the mom. “Ok, kids, can you keep packing? We need to be moving in a few days, before the water reaches the street that we live on, and I need to finish dinner before your dad gets home,” said the mom. Their parents decided earlier that week that it was time to move again. By this time, the family was so used to packing and moving that it didn’t take so long. Actually, they were almost all packed.
“Mom, where are we moving again?” Asked the young girl.
“I think it’s the village next to this one. You’re dad knows where it is,” said the mom.
By this time the kids had gotten used to “hello”s, “goodbyes”, “What’s your name?”, “Where you from?”, And “How old are you?”- all the typical questions you ask when you get to know people in a new place. They had had many new friends over the years and many goodbyes. They also knew what things they really want to keep and move with them from home to home and what they didn’t really need.
The next day when they were packing, the older sister asked the girl, “Why are you taking this with you? You know that we’re leaving today or tomorrow, right?”
“I know. I have everything I want to take with me, and, yes, I want to take this seashell with me.”
“Why? It’s not important,” said the older sister.
“Because it’s from my first best friend that I can remember. It was a gift that Wang Jing gave me when we said goodbye. She gave me this seashell to help me remember her. I miss her. Can’t we go back there and see her?”
“No, we can’t. It’s all been flooded- that’s why we had to move in the first place. Don’t you remember that her family also moved or were going to move a few days after we did? Everyone was moving, just to different towns.”
“I wish she would’ve moved to the same place we did. I miss her,” the young girl said.
“Oh, I know. Moving can be so hard,” said the older sister as she gave her sister a hug. “I miss my friends too. Do you remember what mom says?”
“No, what does she say?” Asked the girl.
“That we are each other’s best friends- that you, me, and our older brother are best friends because we’re family. Family is important.”
“Yes, I remember both mom and dad saying that Family is important,” said the young girl.
“Ok, time to move,” said the dad as he came in to tell his family. “The people I’ve been working with say that the water’s going to reach the area where our house is probably tomorrow so we should move today. Besides, the part of the canal that we were building is done. Most of the men are moving to the same place we are. This is good news for you kids because that means that their families are also moving to the same place. For once you kids might be able to keep some of your friends from here.”
“Really? That would be so cool!” Said the boy.
“Dad, you’re the best,” said the young girl as she gave her dad a hug.
“Ok, we’ve gotta get going. Get your things together. Remember, only take what’s important to you. We can get or make new things when we get to our new home,” said the dad.
They walked two days until they reached their new home. This time it was a little ways up the mountain, so they hoped they would be safe from the floods for a long time. Their dad kept working with Yu and the other men to make the canals in their area. It was a lot of work and took a lot of time, but they would help stop the flooding for good. The children were glad to see that a few families from their old village also moved to the same village they did. Of all of the houses the girl had lived in, this new house was her favorite because it was her home for good.
Epilogue: The Yellow River flooded for over 9 years, causing many people to move. Yu was sent to come up with a plan to stop the flooding. He worked with people from all over the country to make a series of canals to solve the problem. Later, when Shun the Great was looking for someone to take over the country after him, he decided to make Yu the next Emperor. Yu the Great started the first official dynasty of China: the Xia Dynasty (2000-1600 BC).
We went to the library last week; we've really enjoyed the library. I did something I've always wanted to do but never have: an interlibrary book loan. It was amazing. I found 3 books that I was hoping to read (and have been wanting to read for a while) in another library in our country and put a hold on it online. It arrived at the local library a few days later and I got to pick it up. I was super impressed! Also, one of the books I got on interlibrary loan seems to be a first print of the book (a Dorothy Sayers book from 1933).
We were just about to leave the library when we saw a group of people head into the library with these black cases. I thought maybe they were musical instruments and there was going to be some kind of small concert in one of the meeting rooms in the library. I asked them and they said they were going to polish the sword in the library. The library we normally go to (the only public library in our town) has a sword called the Fujita sword in a glass (although it's probably plastic) case. In World War II a pilot was able to fly over the Oregon coast and dropped two bombs in the hillside by the town, with hopes that it would start a big forest fire. It rained the night before so there was no forest fire. Twenty years later, the pilot that dropped the bombs came to visit and gave his Samurai sword to the city as a gesture of friendship. It was a huge deal because the sword had been in his family for many, many years. Samurai swords are very special, are of super high quality, and have often been in the family that owns them for generations. So, this sword has been in the library for many years now. It always looks shiny and clean...and now I know why: they come and clean it twice a year! We just happened to be there the day they were cleaning it. It was a class of people learning to sword fight; each person had a Samurai sword. The teacher was teaching them how to clean their swords and cleaned the Fujita sword as well (named after the man who gave it: Mr. Fujita). They had an extra sword and asked if anyone watching wanted to help clean it and they let my oldest son clean it. It was a very memorable experience!
The local museum has a day in the year when people can bring in their apples to press into apple cider (apple juice). Today was that day and...
