China's Neighbor's Histories

Recently I've gotten into Korean history. A few years ago I thought it would be good to look into both Korean and Japanese history since their histories interact with China's history. I didn't get around to it until a few months ago. As I've been reading about Korean history, it's been much easier because of my understanding of China's history. I think about the time in Korean history and then what dynasty it was in China and it makes more sense. In some ways looking at the country's histories together gives a bigger picture of that time period and of Asia in general. I hope some day to read up on Japanese history as well. Until then, I've put together a basic reader of stories from Korea's history (available on my patreon account here). There seems to be perhaps more books available in English about Korean history and language. That was one of the hardest things about Chinese history: finding good books for it (it still is a bit hard!). I'll probably make a separate page for this on this blog as well. 

Walk by the river

 We were going to go for a short hike yesterday but couldn't find the right hiking trail, so we ended up going on a road that led to a bike route by the river. It was beautiful with the sunset and was a pleasant surprise. 

Rice that was recently harvested in a field.

There were lots of marigolds growing in the grass and weeds by the path.

Shao Kang: The Returning King (Part 4)

 This is the next part in our series about Shao Kang. Enjoy!

    “Do you need a break, your Majesty?” the servant asked. They had been on the road a good two hours. Thankfully, they had good weather for their journey.

“I think I’m ok for now. How about we do a bit more and then take a break. We can have a small snack,” the Queen said.

They were thankful for all the food they brought with them. It wasn’t much, but by eating only a little at a time, it was enough to last until they made it to the Queen’s family’s home. When they got close enough, the Queen sat down to rest while the servant went on ahead. The Queen was desperately in need of rest. 

Following the queen’s directions, the servant found the Queen’s family’s home and knocked on the door. 

“Hello, I am the Queen’s servant. The Queen is coming and is almost here. She is tired from the journey. Can you give me some food to bring her?” the servant asked.

“She’s here? I am her mom. How far off is she? She hasn’t been here in a long time. Give me a moment and I’ll get some food and go with you,” the lady said. It was the Queen’s mom.

The two ladies quickly went back to where the Queen was sitting. She was overjoyed to see her mom again and soon they were happily chatting away and catching up. The mother was also happy to hear that she would soon be a grandmother.

“What are we doing here, chatting? We need to get you back home and tell your father about all of this. Oh, he’ll be so happy to see you again…and to think that we’re going to be grandparents soon! How far along do you think you are?” her mom asked.

“My guess is another five months,” the Queen answered.

“Great, that means I’ll have enough time to make the little one a baby blanket and some clothes,” the Queen’s mother suggested. “We should get back to the house. I’ll carry your bags.”

“Your Majesty, I can carry the bags,” the servant said, grabbing the bags and walking with them back to their house.

The Queen’s father was so happy to see her. He soon started adding an extra part to their home so there would be room for both the Queen, the servant, and the coming baby. Until then, they slept on hay and blankets in the big room. It was crowded, but it worked and they were thankful for a safe place to stay.

The Queen was right: five months later the baby was born: a baby boy. They named him Shao Kang (pronounced “Shaow Kong”). The Queen’s mom was able to make a few blankets for the baby and the servant also made a blanket for him. The Queen was thankful to be back home again and to enjoy her mom’s good cooking. 

The Queen’s dad finished adding on to the house before the baby was born. One day he said, “Now that your little one is a boy, we’ve got to train to be the next King.”

“ ‘The next King?’ I’m not the Queen anymore; someone else took over the country. How can he be the next King?” the Queen asked.

“His dad was the King, right? In my eyes, this little one is the next King. As such, we’ll have to train him as best as we can to be the best king this country has ever had. He’ll be better than the kings before him and rule the people well. He’ll be humble, a good leader, generous, and someone who’ll fight for his people,” the Queen’s father said.

“Thank you,” the Queen said, overwhelmed and thankful.

“And you, my dear, you are still the Queen. In my eyes and around here, you are the Queen of this country, the mother Queen,” the Queen’s father said and gave her a hug. 

A few months after the baby was born the Queen talked with her servant about plans for the future.

“I wanted to thank you for all your help these past few months: in leaving the palace and going to my parents’ home, your help around the house and yard, and helping with Shao Kang. You have been such a big help. I wanted to let you know that if you wished to go back to your home town and your own family, feel free to go. You don’t have to be my servant anymore,” the Queen said.

“I want to stay, your Majesty,” the servant answered. I love working in the garden; it reminds me of growing up and helping around the yard. I’ve always loved gardening and have missed it these last few years working in the palace.”

“If you’re sure of it. I’m sure my parents would love another set of hands to work in the vegetable garden and orchards. There’s always lots to get done around here,” the Queen smiled.

Shao Kang: The Returning King (Part 4)

This is the next part in the story of Shao Kang (I've posted the whole story of Shao Kang in my Patreon account. Look for "Stories From China For Kids" on Patreon):

    “Do you need a break, your Majesty?” the servant asked. They had been on the road a good two hours. Thankfully, they had good weather for their journey.

“I think I’m ok for now. How about we do a bit more and then take a break. We can have a small snack,” the Queen said.

They were thankful for all the food they brought with them. It wasn’t much, but by eating only a little at a time, it was enough to last until they made it to the Queen’s family’s home. When they got close enough, the Queen sat down to rest while the servant went on ahead. The Queen was desperately in need of rest. 

Following the queen’s directions, the servant found the Queen’s family’s home and knocked on the door. 

“Hello, I am the Queen’s servant. The Queen is coming and is almost here. She is tired from the journey. Can you give me some food to bring her?” the servant asked.

“She’s here? I am her mom. How far off is she? She hasn’t been here in a long time. Give me a moment and I’ll get some food and go with you,” the lady said. It was the Queen’s mom.

The two ladies quickly went back to where the Queen was sitting. She was overjoyed to see her mom again and soon they were happily chatting away and catching up. The mother was also happy to hear that she would soon be a grandmother.

“What are we doing here, chatting? We need to get you back home and tell your father about all of this. Oh, he’ll be so happy to see you again…and to think that we’re going to be grandparents soon! How far along do you think you are?” her mom asked.

“My guess is another five months,” the Queen answered.

“Great, that means I’ll have enough time to make the little one a baby blanket and some clothes,” the Queen’s mother suggested. “We should get back to the house. I’ll carry your bags.”

“Your Majesty, I can carry the bags,” the servant said, grabbing the bags and walking with them back to their house.

The Queen’s father was so happy to see her. He soon started adding an extra part to their home so there would be room for both the Queen, the servant, and the coming baby. Until then, they slept on hay and blankets in the big room. It was crowded, but it worked and they were thankful for a safe place to stay.

The Queen was right: five months later the baby was born: a baby boy. They named him Shao Kang (pronounced “Shaow Kong”). The Queen’s mom was able to make a few blankets for the baby and the servant also made a blanket for him. The Queen was thankful to be back home again and to enjoy her mom’s good cooking. 

The Queen’s dad finished adding on to the house before the baby was born. One day he said, “Now that your little one is a boy, we’ve got to train to be the next King.”

“ ‘The next King?’ I’m not the Queen anymore; someone else took over the country. How can he be the next King?” the Queen asked.

“His dad was the King, right? In my eyes, this little one is the next King. As such, we’ll have to train him as best as we can to be the best king this country has ever had. He’ll be better than the kings before him and rule the people well. He’ll be humble, a good leader, generous, and someone who’ll fight for his people,” the Queen’s father said.

“Thank you,” the Queen said, overwhelmed and thankful.

“And you, my dear, you are still the Queen. In my eyes and around here, you are the Queen of this country, the mother Queen,” the Queen’s father said and gave her a hug. 

A few months after the baby was born the Queen talked with her servant about plans for the future.

“I wanted to thank you for all your help these past few months: in leaving the palace and going to my parents’ home, your help around the house and yard, and helping with Shao Kang. You have been such a big help. I wanted to let you know that if you wished to go back to your home town and your own family, feel free to go. You don’t have to be my servant anymore,” the Queen said.

“I want to stay, your Majesty,” the servant answered. I love working in the garden; it reminds me of growing up and helping around the yard. I’ve always loved gardening and have missed it these last few years working in the palace.”

“If you’re sure of it. I’m sure my parents would love another set of hands to work in the vegetable garden and orchards. There’s always lots to get done around here,” the Queen smiled.

An Old Fortress (reconstructed)

 I went with the kids on an organized outing with other people to a place about an hour drive away to a city with an old fortress. It reminded me a lot of Xi'an with the city walls. The city we went to had fortress walls that have been rebuilt recently. The original ones were built in the 1300-1400s (?) but largely destroyed recently because of recent wars. The outing was specifically in the evening to get the sunset and to see it all lit up at night. There was a big festival going on at the time. I'm not sure if it's regularly all lit up at night but they had special dance and cultural performances for the festival. There were lots of people; it doesn't look like it in the pictures because I waited until it was relatively not crowded to take the pictures (or between the crowds).

Hiking and the views (and cicada shells)

 We went hiking a few days ago. The trail was a bit tough in some places so they had ropes you could hold onto while you climbed up or down...the views were really good. It was so refreshing to be out in nature again. The kids had fun finding cicada shells along the way and we saw a few big praying mantises. 

Rice growing in a field close by

Cicada Shell

Ladybug Caterpillars and the riverside

 We went to a small park along the river close by. There's a long biking/walking trail that we went on. There were so many ladybug caterpillars and cocoons and some spiky caterpillars. 

Usually they make cocoons on leaves but we found some on a post!

This was a place for taking pictures by the river.