Life of Bāo - Chapter 17
June 21, 2023 (Before Dawn)
Chapter 17: A puzzle in haiku. Enjoy.
Chapter 17
June 21, 2023 (Before Dawn)
Master Zhao woke before dawn. He removed a wooden box tucked away in a knapsack under his bed. His teacher, Lou Song Jian’ Guo, had given him his most prized possession. He opened the wooden box to reveal a 6-inch cylindrical tube made of gold, similar to a lab test tube. His teacher gave this to him the last time the two spoke and warned him, “China is not ready yet for this discovery, but one day, the time will be right. The mystery will be revealed to you and then to China.” He did not understand his teacher’s next words but remembered them clearly. “A dragon will try to stop you. Your journey will be difficult, but the I Ching will reveal your path. Do not delay. The path is made clear.”
He opened the gold cylinder, removed the papyrus scroll, and read a group of five haiku.
The middle kingdom
West of the Whitehorse Temple
Fragrance of peonies
-----
Here begins Silk Road
Opposed to Yin Capital
Heluo confluence
-----
Papyrus makes one
Behind Text Stone makes two
Both encased in gold
-----
Youthful rare Jewel
Reborn in earthquake Rat Year
Is both left and right
-----
Strawberry moon rise
Clavis yellow moon pendant
Water Rabbit Year
-----
Master Zhao understood that the first two haiku referenced Luoyang considered the cradle of Chinese civilization. The Middle Kingdom referred to China itself. Whitehorse Temple, east of Luoyang, was long recognized for its beautiful peonies.
Historically, Luoyang was the starting point of the Silk Road to the Eastern Mediterranean coast. Yin and Yang symbolize the complementary principles of Chinese philosophy. The opposite of Yin was Yang, which again alluded to the city of Luoyang. Many dynasties after the Xia Dynasty (2070-1600 BC) established their capitals in Luoyang.
‘Heluo culture’ also pointed to Luoyang, which sits at the Yellow River and Luo River confluence. ‘He’ refers to the Yellow River, which many consider the mother of Chinese civilization, and ‘Luo’ refers to the Luo River.
Deep in thought, Master Zhao set the papyrus on his lap. This papyrus makes one. Based on the next line, another papyrus must be behind a second, ‘Text Stone.’ I need to do more research. But what about my responsibility to Bāo? Feeling conflicted, he returned the papyrus to the gold cylinder and placed the cylinder back in the knapsack. My responsibility for Bāo must not prevent me from investigating my teacher’s desire to unravel a mystery. He resolved to do both. I will go to the library to do more research and to the orphanage to find out more about Bāo.