A few weeks ago we went to the mountains to pick out and cut a Christmas tree. It was our first real tree and the first time I ever went to cut down a tree. The kids were a huge help! We also had a long drive in the rain with lots of waterfalls on the roadside. Then we went to the beach...it was beautiful.
Here's another installment in the story about Xuanzong (historical fiction):
Part 3
The next big event in my life is another moment I won’t ever forget. I was eight years old at the time. My mother died. Well, she didn’t just die- my grandmother had her killed! For some reason, my grandmother thought that my mom and my dad’s wife (my mom isn’t my dad’s wife- my mom was one of the servants in the palace) were working together to take over the country. My grandmother wanted to be the only one to rule the country so she had both of them killed. The sad part about it is that no one knew what was going on. I was having a history lesson when I heard the shouting. Then a few minutes later someone came and told me that my mom died. I didn’t even get to say goodbye to her.
After that moment, Goo Goo made sure that I was ok and that my grandmother wouldn’t hurt me. I don’t remember ever talking with my grandmother, especially after this. I saw her being carried on a fancy carrier or in chariots getting ready to leave the palace to go out, but it was always from far away. She was a complainer and usually had something to gripe about: the carriage was too dirty for her or the horses didn’t look good or even the people driving the carriage were looking sloppy. Nothing ever seemed good enough for her! After she left, each time I could hear the servants complain about her.
I remember one time in particular that was hilarious. I was walking from one building to another inside the palace walls when I heard her voice. Actually, just about everyone could’ve heard her that day because she was yelling at this person, and then that person. I stood next to the building, along with one or two of the servants, watching what was going on.
“The steamed buns and baozi (filled steamed buns) were horrible this morning! I expect better!” She complained. It seemed that she was talking with one of the cooks.
“Yes, your highness,” he said. The poor guy. You could tell, even from far away, that he was one of the newer cooks.
“I expect all of my cooks to be the best cooks in this country and you are certainly not one of them!” She said. “Anyone can make steamed buns and baozi. I don’t know how to cook but even I can make them!” She said. Now, to be honest, steamed buns are actually quite hard to make. Baozi are even harder because you have to get the filling right and then wrap the dough around it before steaming it. I had never seen my grandmother enter the kitchen. I doubted she could even boil an egg!
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, looking at the ground.
“Don’t “ma’am” me- it’s “your highness” to you! Now, were you or were you not the one to make the steamed bun that I ate for breakfast?” She asked.
“Actually, your highness, I was only the one who delivered them to your room. I can pass along your message to the head cook if you’d like, your highness.”
“No, I expect more. Go back to the kitchen and bring him in.” She said.
Within a few minutes, the head cook came.
“Your highness. I heard that something was wrong with your breakfast today.”
“Yes, the baozi and the steamed buns were horrible today! I wanted bean paste in the baozi and plain steamed buns but today I got bean paste on the steamed buns and vegetable baozi!”
“Yes, your highness. Yesterday you specifically requested to have bean paste on the baozi and plain steamed buns today for breakfast,” said the cook. The cook was one of the few people who weren’t afraid of my grandmother because he knew how hard it would be to find a replacement if he was fired.
“Did I?” She asked.
“Yes, you had one of your servants ask us specifically about this yesterday afternoon.” The cook explained.
“Did I? Oh, well, I forgot. Tomorrow I want better!” She said.
“Do you mean that you want to have bean baste in the baozi and plain steamed buns for breakfast tomorrow, your highness?” Asked the cook.
“Yes, yes, whatever you think best,” she said and looked around like she couldn’t be bothered about it anymore.
My grandmother was like this, especially the few years before she died. You never knew what would get you in trouble or how quickly she changed. Many times I was thankful I wasn’t a servant. My strategy was to avoid her at all costs.
Here's another post in the Kids in Ancient China series. This is part 2 of the story of Xuanzong. It's a historical fictional story. There are 5 parts total. Enjoy.
Part 2
Whenever my dad told me stories about my uncle, it made me miss having him around when I was growing up. If things had been different and we were just an ordinary family, he wouldn’t have had to go away. Everything would’ve been different, but I can’t change the family I was born into.
After my uncle left, my dad became the emperor. My grandmother wanted to rule through him too. When it didn’t work, she exiled him as well. This was one of the saddest days of my life. I was only 5 years old, but I still have a memory of him leaving the palace. Tears rolled down my face. There was a whole group of us waving goodbye to him as he left: me, my mom, some of the servants, and some other relatives. When the gates of the palace closed behind him, my mom and I just hugged each other for a long time because we knew our lives would be even more hard.
Later on I found out that the reason I wasn’t exiled with my dad was because of my aunt, my grandmother’s daughter. Although her name was Princess Taiping, I just called her Goo Goo (“aunt”). She became like a mom to me and made sure that I learned about China’s long history, art, and poetry. I loved learning about art and poetry because it let me have a picture of how life was like on the outside of the palace.
I had different tutors and teachers come to teach me. Some of them were very boring, but my favorite was my history teacher. He made history come to life and told story after story of all of the famous people that lived before us. I remember one class in particular when he was talking about Sima Qian, China’s great historian.
“Sima Qian wrote about many people and wanted to remember not only the rich and famous, but also the everyday people. You are one of the famous people in China because of your family. If Sima Qian were alive today and he was going to write about you and your life, what would he say?”
This threw me off and challenged me. “What do you mean?”
“How do you want people to remember you?” He asked.
“Remember me? Why would they remember me at all? My family might be famous, but I’m not the next person to become the emperor. Most likely my half-brother will be the next emperor, not me!”
“Yes, he might be the next emperor, but no one knows what will happen. How do you want people to remember you?” He asked me again.
“I really don’t know.” Was my answer.
“Yes, I know that it’s a big question. Just something for you think about. Class is over. Sometime down the road, I might ask you this question again.” He said.
Thankfully, he never did ask me that question again because two years later I got a new history teacher. I was sad because the new teacher was boring and wasn’t as good of a story teller as my old teacher was. My old teacher made every emperor and every important person in history sound fascinating. However, his question about how I want people to remember me was something that stuck with me my whole life.
We went on a super short trip to the East Coast to see my husband graduate from boot camp. We are very proud of him. It was a long trip- 3 flights there and 3 flights back...all for 2 days with him! It was worth it though; we hadn't seen him in a good 2 months. He should be able to come back for Christmas, which will be nice.
On another note, if you're looking for something for Christmas, I wrote a book that has the story behind (and words for most of them) 35 Christmas Carols. The publisher is offering 30% off. The book is called Discovering Christmas Carols; use the code BOOKGIFT30 to get 30% off that and all the other books I wrote, including the Chinese, geography, and other books (look for Rachel Bubb).
We went to the beach with some friends; it was as super low tide (a minus tide) and good weather. We are so thankful to live so close to the beach for this season of life.
I haven't posted for the series: Kids in Ancient China in a long time. It's about time! There are 10 stories altogether and this is story #8. After I finish all 10 stories, I might write a few more (I enjoy writing these- it's great fun to get into Chinese history).
Xuanzong
Part 1
A few months ago my grandmother died. This was one of the big moments that changed my life for the good. I’m twenty-one years old and last year and this year have been the best years of my life. My dad came back last year and my uncle started ruling as emperor. Our whole family is different now than it was a year or two ago.
Before I continue, I should tell you about my life before this. I was born in 685 AD and my name is Li Longji. A year before I was born my uncle was going to become the emperor. Some people think that it would be great to be an emperor and rule over all of China. One of those people was my grandmother. She tried to rule through my uncle, but my uncle didn’t want to do what she said. So, a year later he was sent far away and was exiled (which is when someone has to leave their country). Actually, I don’t even think he was around when I was born!
After he left, my dad was made the emperor, but it didn’t last long. For the first 5 years of my life my dad was the emperor. My grandmother wanted to keep a watchful eye on my dad so she made a rule that none of us could leave the palace. The palace is a great place to live, but when you’re not allowed to leave, it becomes like a big jail. As a kid, I remember spending a lot of time in the gardens so that I could at least feel that I was outside. I loved it when my dad told me stories of “the outside.” My dad was a great story teller and his bedtime stories always made me laugh and smile.
I remember one story he told me in particular. It was about him and his brother, my uncle. He didn’t talk a lot about my uncle because it was so hard. Growing up, my dad and uncle were close and my dad really missed my uncle when he had to move away.
“Your uncle and I went for a walk in the hills close by. We knew there were a few apple trees and we had a contest to see who could fill up their basket full of apples first. We were supposed to meet back at the bottom of the hill by the fig tree. There was only one fig tree there and it was huge- it was our favorite tree to climb.
“It was hard finding apples because they were often high up in the tree, which meant that I either had to use a stick to hit the branches to get the apples down or I had to climb the tree to pick them. I decided to use a stick because it would be faster. I soon realized that my apples weren’t going to be the most pretty apples or the most delicious because when they fell from the tree, they got bruised up.
“Finally, my basket was full so I raced down the hill to the fig tree. My brother, your uncle, wasn’t there. I waited. Then I ate an apple while I waited to see how it tasted like (and because I was hungry!). I ate another apple. It seemed to be a long time so I started to wonder what happened. Was he done picking apples? Did he somehow fall off the tree if he climbed up to get them? Did something else happen to him?
“I started walking back to town and saw that the door was open in one of our friend’s home. I thought I’d stop to ask if they had seen my brother. I knocked on the door and then went in. Sure enough! Right there, was my own brother! He was at his friend’s house!”
“ ‘ What are you doing? We were having a race to see who could pick apples the fastest? Have you forgotten? I was getting worried about you! I ate 3 apples already- just waiting around for you!’ I said.
“ ‘Oh, I did pick apples. I picked 3 apples. Then I remembered that my friends here were going to make something sweet with the apples. So I decided to stop by and give them my 3 apples instead. They, in turn, gave me some of their sweet apple whatever this is.’ “ he said.
“I couldn’t believe it! I knew that my brother, your uncle, loves sweets, but this was too much! We were having a contest! We went home with only one basket full of apples- mine! However, I will have to say that the apple whatever it was, was really good! Our friend’s mom put cinnamon with the apples, which changed the flavor of the apples.”
The winter 2025 edition of the magazine that I put together is out. It's $10 on lulu (www.lulu.com) and is called Keep Learning Chinese in America: Winter 2025. Here's the description:
This is our last issue of 2025: Winter 2025. This magazine is meant to help families who are learning or trying to keep up their Chinese while they live in America. In this issue we’ll learn continue learning about ancient Chinese history, a famous Chinese poem about Lu Zhai Mountain, and finish a famous story (Cao Chong weighs an elephant, part 2). There are also several Chinese characters to learn, a story entirely in Chinese characters, and an interview about someone who lived in Alaska. The animal we’re talking about this time is the peacock and the food we’re looking at is filled steamed buns.
We don't see much fall where we live because most of the trees are evergreen. However, we had to drive to Medford, about a 3 hour drive away. We stayed the night so we took our time and stopped by a few places...it was so beautiful with all the leaves changing colors!
Some friends introduced us to a new favorite beach. The kids had a blast playing with their kids. They went down some sand dunes and explored some tide pools. It was beautiful.
We went to the Winchuck River this afternoon. We have been there before and it's always so beautiful! We are so blessed to live in a place with such beautiful scenery...and the beach and the redwoods close by too! We've had a bit of sunshine lately so we've been trying to soak it up. We found a small frog and lots of water spiders who glide on the top of the water. Yesterday we met up with some other families to go to a lighthouse. Sadly, the lighthouse was closed but we could walk around it and there were lots of tide pools to explore. The kids had so much fun and it was all the better with their friends there too!
It's started to rain, not too much for now though. The kids have been trying to get out to play with friends this weekend in between the rain. I started putting some of the books I wrote on Etsy for PDF downloads. If you're interested in taking a look at them, they are all $3.50; look for LearningThruStories. Here are some of the PDF downloads you can find there:
Birds of Asia
A cat who's interested in birds to learn about them travels through a few countries in Asia and keeps a journal of the birds he comes across. He writes about 36 different birds that he comes across. Included are drawings of each of the birds and a list of resources for further reading. This book is meant to introduce children at the elementary school age to birds of Asia through stories about these birds. Included are the magpie, the tree sparrow, the Indian paradise flycatcher, the red crowned crane, the hoopoe, the grebe, and many other birds.
Animals of Asia for Kids
Follow a veterinarian (fictional) who travels throughout Asia to visit friends, help out in zoos, and learn about some of Asia’s fascinating and unique animals. Sadly, the majority of the animals in this book are endangered. It’s a great opportunity for children and families to learn about some of these great animals. Included are 24 animals, drawings of the animals, and maps of where they live in Asia.
Storybook of China
This book goes through China’s history by telling stories as it goes through the dynasties. It’s called “Storybook of China’s History” because it’s a book of stories. The most famous rulers, inventors, and people of China’s history are mentioned. Although older kids might enjoy it, it’s especially meant for the primary grades as an introduction of China’s history. Each chapter is short (one page) with a full page illustration so it’s meant to be read one chapter at a time, in short lessons. It’s my hope that this book inspires children to want to read more about Chinese history.
Kublai Khan’s Gardener
Kublai Khan is one of history’s most famous kings. He had a huge palace built in Beijing, built the city walls, had a forest of trees on one of the hills, and did lots of other building projects. Sadly, the majority of his building projects aren’t around today. This story is about the head gardener who was in charge of the forest of trees on one of the hills. Kublai Khan had trees from all over brought over and this man had to make sure that they all did well. It was a hard job and this gardener had to travel sometimes to pick up new trees. By reading this book, you’ll not only see how life was like in China during this time period, but also learn a little about a variety of trees.
An Introduction to Birds in America for Kids
This is a story about a grandfather who writes a book for his grandchildren to introduce them to some of his favorite birds of America. He was a truck driver for many years and had been to most of the continental states (although he also includes a few birds from Alaska and Hawaii). Included are 22 birds that he describes to his grandchildren to try and get them interested in bird watching. This is not a bird watcher’s guide or spotter’s guide- it’s meant to encourage kids to learn about birds. It’s geared for primary school age kids.
Animals of South America for Kids
Follow Pedro (a fictional character) as he learns about 15 different animals and tries to choose one to write his report about. As he talks about each animal, he gives clues so you can try and figure out which animal he chooses. His school report is included at the end. Some animals that are talked about are: parrots, the black-footed booby, alpacas, Galapagos tortoises, sloths, and the Amazon river dolphin.
Birds of Africa For Kids
Follow a hoopoe bird as he travels to visit his cousin to see the birds in South Africa and then as his cousin visits him to see the birds in the middle part of Africa. Later he goes to Egypt and his cousin goes to Madagascar to see the birds that live there. Included are stories about 20 birds that live in Africa including the ostrich, the grey crowned crane, the go-away bird, the African penguin, the flamingo, the shoebill, and many more. There’s also a resource section at the back.
Big Lessons From Animals
This book tells stories of animals who have learned some of the lessons from Proverbs. Each story is based on a proverb from the Bible. Jeremiah the Rabbit learns about working with others to pull out a big carrot. Suzy the Spider tests out how strong her web is and Bob the Beetles builds his house in the wrong place. There are over 25 short stories with illustrations.
North American Animals for Kids
Follow Samantha (fictional character), a young girl who has to write a report about a North American animal for school. She looks at 15 different animals. As you read about these 15 animals, look for clues and try to guess which animal she decides to write her report on. At the end of the book is her animal report, a poem about North American animals, and a list of books for further reading.
The last few days it's been minus tides (super low tide) so we've been able to go to the beaches. We saw starfish, and lots of other cool things. It's supposed to rain this weekend so we're trying to get out and enjoy the good weather before the rain.
I haven't posted one of the stories of kids in Ancient China. There are 10 stories altogether. The last story was long as was posted in a few parts. The next one will also be posted in a few parts. On rainy days in teh fall and winter I hope to re-work some of my Chinese biography books. I want to make the drawings better and re-work them so they read better. Meanwhile, here's story #7.
The Big Parade
Oh, hello there! I didn’t know you were watching me. I’m getting ready for a big parade. They say that Xuanzang came back, after all of these years. What did you say? “Who’s Zuanzang?” Oh, you don’t know him? Everyone in town is talking about him. By the way, this town is called Chang’an (later I’m told it was renamed Xi’an). It’s the capital of our country, China, and one of the largest cities in the world at the moment. Well, that’s what they say anyway. It is a huge city. From where we live (which is close to Qujiang Lake in the Southeast part of the town), we would have to walk a good three hours or more to get from our part of town to the very North part of town.
Right now everyone in town is talking about Xuanzang and are getting ready for a big parade about him. Many shops have special food or special things they are making to remember this day. My favorite steamed bun place at the market is making a new kind of steamed bun and naming it “Xuanzang” for the special day. I like it- it has nuts and raisins and sugar inside. Usually steamed buns have meat, sweet bean paste, veggies, or eggs and veggies. This one is completely different and my favorite so far! They started selling them yesterday and I hope they keep selling them after the parade is over tomorrow.
My dad has a special tea shop and he’s trying to make a blend of teas to sell, especially for tomorrow. This afternoon I’m going to his tea shop to help try some of his teas. I don’t usually get to do this, but when I do, it’s one of my favorite things. I get to hang out with my dad and drink one of my favorite drinks: tea.
The Emperor, Emperor Taizong (from the Tang Dynasty), wants to have a big party because it’s such a big thing that Xuanzang has come back to town. Xuanzang left this city sixteen years ago! That was before I was even born! When he left, he had to quietly sneak out of the city because the emperor (the same emperor that’s welcoming him back now) didn’t want anyone to leave the country. At the time China and another country were fighting. However, Xuanzang was determined to go and so he went. It took him three years to get to Turpan [which I’m told that if you took a train from Xi’an to Turpan nowadays, it might take you a day or two but then it took him three years because he had to walk most of the way!].
Whenever I hear people talking about all of his travels, it excites me because he had some close calls and lots of adventure. A few times he was almost stopped by robbers and bad guys, but somehow he made it through. He kept going West, around the desert and up into and over the mountains. I’m told that these mountains are beautiful with beautiful lakes and that it can get really cold at night there. Along the way, Xuanzang stayed in Buddhist monasteries where he could and he tried to meet with and learn from as many Buddhist monks as he could. Before he went on this big trip of a lifetime, Xuanzang was a Buddhist monk. He moved to Chang’an to study languages and learn more about Buddhism. He had a dream that he was supposed to go West to India to learn more about Buddhism.
After many years he finally made it to India. I’ve been told that India has a lot of Buddhist monasteries and people who teach about it. Xuanzang talked with many of the Buddhist teachers and tried to get as many scrolls as he could of Buddhist writings. Many of them he brought back with him and spent the rest of his life translating them. His trip back from India was probably shorter because he took a different route. There’s a big desert out West (the Tamalakhan Desert) and people usually either go up and around it or down and around it. It’s too big and hard to go through it. On the way to India I”m told that he went up and around it over some mountains and on the way back he went down and around it.
Now he’s finally back and the Emperor wants to have a big party to welcome him back. It’s more of a parade than a party because they’re closing some of the big streets of the city so that Xuanzang, the Emperor himself, and some other famous people can walk through while everyone shouts and claps at them. I know where I’m going to be: my dad’s tea shop. I’m actually going to try and climb to the to part of the roof so I can have a good view, if my dad lets me.
Epilogue:
Xuanzang (602-664) was as Buddhist monk who was famous for his trip to India and back. He brought with him many Buddhist teachings on scrolls that he spent the rest of his life translating into the common Chinese language of the day. In 646 he also wrote a book for the Emperor about his travels and the countries and people that live out West and in India (“Great Tang Records on the Western Regions” 大唐西城配）. Actually, a big tower called the Big Goose Pagoda in Xi’an was made in 652 AD to hold all of the scrolls that Xuanzang brought back and wrote. It’s part of a Buddhist temple there. Today, you can see the Big Goose Pagoda and there are statues of Xuanzang in quite a few of the cities he traveled to.
There's a new edition of the Chinese/English magazine I've been putting together: Keep Learning Chinese in America. You can find it on www.lulu.com. Look for "Keep Learning Chinese in America" and it shoudl come up; it's $10 printed. Here's the description:
This is our third issue of the year: Fall 2025. This magazine is meant to help families who are learning or trying to keep up their Chinese while they live in America. In this issue we’ll learn continue learning about ancient Chinese history, a famous Chinese poem about listening to music, and finish a famous story (Cao Chong weighs an elephant, part 1). There are also several Chinese characters to learn, a story entirely in Chinese characters, and an interview about someone who lived in Gansu, China. The animal we’re talking about this time is squirrels and the food we’re looking at is potatoes and eggs and tomatoes.
We went on a short trip to the San Fransisco Bay Area, where I grew up. We were there to meet up with family and do a memorial service for my great aunt, who passed away back in January. On the way back we took a day trip to San Fransisco and saw Alcatraz. The kids LOVED it! We also visited a lighthouse on the way there.
I haven't posted in a while because life has been busy. We went on a cruise to Mexico for a week and came back sick. We've been home 6 days now and my oldest and I are still sick with a cold and sore throat. During the cruise we ran into a tropical storm; the wind came by and blew the ship a lot. The ship was tilting; glasses and plates and things came crashing to the floor...it was a bit scary. The kids were really scared. It was crazy to think of the wind being so strong to blow a huge ship like that. People who had been on lots of cruises before said something like it had never happened before. There was a ropes course and waterslides that the kids loved.
I tried out two more recipes from the old cookbook. This might be my last post about this old cookbook for a while. I've worked through the recipes I really wanted to work through. It was a really great summer project and something I might do again next summer. Actually, I found a cookbook that has recipes from the Oregon Trail from the 1850s to 1900s...I might try some of them. We'll see. My favorite recipe from this old cookbook: County Recipes of Old England, was Chelsea Buns. I've made them two times already and plan to make them again on Friday. I like them because they aren't as sweet as cinnamon rolls and have more flavor. The kids like them too. The kids' favorite was probably cheese pasties...something I'll try to make again for them sometime.
be great with some kind of sauce or gravy on them.
A few weeks ago we went to the mountains to pick out and cut a Christmas tree. It was our first real tree and the first time I ever went to...
