Faithful to Buddha, Faithful to You — Chapter 64

T/N: Any notes at the end of relevant paragraphs that are indicated with an asterisk * are usually my own translation notes, unless I say otherwise in square brackets [  ], and whatever’s written in square brackets are words I added on for clearer meaning.

This chapter is unbeta-ed (I did not want to trouble my friend during the holidays, so I will upload the beta-ed chapter later). Feel free to point out any glaring errors or typos you see.

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Chapter 64: Liang Province in flames

The rise of the Zhang family was considered to be the opening act to the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Zhang Gui, the first ruler (conferred posthumously), was originally the Governor of Liang Province during the reign of Emperor Hui of the Jin Dynasty, the equivalent of a governor of a province [today]¹. Zhang Gui was a talented person who appointed officials based on merits, prioritized the maintenance of peace and security within the territory, and accomplished many great achievements. But it was not until the fourth generation, Zhang Jun, that the Zhang family would use the title of “King”. On the surface, the Zhang were still subjects of the Jin Dynasty; in reality, they had already established a separate regime, which historians will later call Former Liang. The Zhang governed Liang Province for several generations. Although there were battles with Former Zhao and Later Zhao, they were small in scale. Therefore, Liang Province was a relatively stable region compared to the other regions in Northern China during this chaotic era of endless wars.
¹ [T/N: Explanation for the two “Governor”. The first instance is 刺史(cì​shǐ) in Chinese, while the second instance is 省长 (shěng​zhǎng), which is the term for the head of a province in modern China.]

The Zhang’s palace is not very big, but Lü Guang’s concubines, children, and nephews are many, so we are only given a small house in the corner. Rajiva and I do not mind. Looking at the not-so-luxurious Zhang palace, I explain to Rajiva about the history of Former Liang as we unpack.

“However, the rulers of Zhang did not pay attention to cultivating the next generation. The fathers were full of heroes, but the sons were all bastards. The Zhang descendants also often did not live very long. After the fifth generation, Zhang Chonghua, the people within the clan began to slaughter each other. In merely ten years, the king was changed four times. The last generation was Zhang Tianxi who, despite being eloquent, wasted himself in alcohol and sex and did not care about politics. Nine years ago¹, this Zhang king did a foolish thing by shooting Fu Jian’s messengers, giving Fu Jian a reason to send troops to destroy Former Liang. Zhang Tianxi surrendered and was sent off to Chang’an. However, he was lucky. After the Battle of Fei River, Zhang Tianxi took the opportunity to surrender to the Jin and was able to live his final years in Jiangnan.”
¹ 376 CE [T/N: Nine years ago from the year they are currently in.]

While helping me unpack, Rajiva mutters to himself:

“So it was luck that Lü Guang became ruler of Liang Province. By coincidence, when he arrived here, there were no great powers left. Had the Liang of Zhang still remained, it would have been hard for Lü Guang conquer this place.”

I nod in agreement:

“Although Lü Guang was lucky, it is not easy to get this piece of fatty meat. Liang Province has a vast area and consists of eight counties. There are many people who want to get a bowl of this soup¹.”
¹分一杯羹(fēn ​yī ​bēi ​gēng): meaning is similar to the English idiom “a slice of the pie”

With a smile, I grab the messy pile of clothes from Rajiva and re-fold them myself. He really does not know how to do housework.

Liang Province during Lü Guang’s occupation is larger than the entirety of the Gansu Province in the 21^st Century¹, because it includes parts of northeastern Qinghai, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang. With such a large territory, of course people were unwilling to concede.
¹ [T/N: Liang Province was the approximate location of present-day Gansu]

“Will there be wars still?” Rajiva watches me folding clothes with embarrassment, pours a cup of water for me, and takes out a handkerchief to wipe my sweat.

“Yes, and there will be more than one. During the Sixteen Kingdoms period, Liang Province had five kings of five Liang states. The Former Liang of Zhang Gui (Han) was destroyed by Fu Jian (Di). The Later Liang of Lü Guang (Di) was destroyed by Yao Chang of Later Qin (Qiang). The Southern Liang of Tufa Wugu (Xianbei) was destroyed by Western Qin, also of Xianbei ethnicity. Western Liang of Li Gao (Han) was destroyed by Juqu Mengxun (Xiongnu) of Northern Liang. And Northern Liang of Mengxun was destroyed by Northern Wei of Tuoba clan, part of Xianbei ethnicity. The Five Barbarians [五胡 Wu Hu] referred to in the phrase “五胡亂華” [lit. Five Barbarians disrupting China] by later generations consisted of the Xiongnu, Qiang, Di, Xianbei, and Jie. Not counting the Jie and the Qiang, this Liang Province alone had three small kingdoms of San Hu [san = three] and that was already chaotic enough.”
[T/N: In case it wasn’t clear, each of the names in () brackets refers to the ethnicity of the person/family who ruled that state. The Chinese text did not have these ethnicities in brackets, but I decided to do so to make it less confusing as there are lots of names in this paragraph.]

Ten, twenty years of chaos, with various states changing over or existing at the same time, were all staged on the land of Liang Province like a carousel lantern¹. If it was not for Rajiva, I would not have been able to remember the details about this era even if my major is in history. Before crossing over to here, I have spent a lot of efforts to study and memorize all the information, so now my brain is like a complete database on the Sixteen Kingdoms period.
¹ 走马灯 (zǒu ​mǎ​ dēng): lit. lantern [of] walking horses, is a type of lantern. Traditionally, it was made with paper horses attached to a wheel mechanism inside. When the candle is lit, the heat creates an updraft and causes the wheel to rotate, which then makes the horses move like a carousel (merry-go-round), and you can see the silhouettes of these horses through the thin paper frames of the lantern. This lantern has existed since ancient times in China. [T/N: There is no equivalent English name, but I took the liberty to translate it as “carousel lantern” to better capture the mechanics of this lantern.]

I bask in his service and take a sip of water to wet my throat:

“But at the moment, Lü Guang is about to deal with the eldest son of Zhang Tianxi, the King of Former Liang – Zhang Dayu. Zhang Tianxi has submitted himself to Eastern Jin, but his son, Zhang Dayu, did not follow his father, and afraid of Fu Jian attacking him, he fled to the Changshui Colonel¹, Wang Mu. Wang Mu would support him to become the King of Liang. Soon, Zhang Dayu will attack Guzang.”
¹ Changshui Colonel: a military title

Ten days after I said this, in the middle of the ninth month¹, the army of Zhang Dayu and Wang Mu has really arrived outside of Guzang City. Earlier, Lü Guang had dispatched Du Jin to stop them but [Du Jin’s troops] was overwhelmed by Zhang Dayu’s army and had to retreat. Du Jin has outstanding military achievements, is courageous and strategizes well, yet he lost a battle for the very first time under Zhang Dayu’s hands. Unease immediately enveloped Lü Guang’s army. Lü Guang ordered the troops to retreat inside Guzang’s walls and close the city gates tightly. The people all hide in their homes in fear. The only shadows that remain on the streets are those of the patrolling guards. The dark clouds of war obstruct the breath-taking autumn sky of Liang Province.
¹ [T/N: So far, I have usually translated months to Gregorian calendar terms when they are used in Ai Qing’s narration or thoughts, and leaving them as numerical terms in her and other characters’ dialogues. However, I now wonder if using the Gregorian terms have been inaccurate at times, because Ai Qing might have actually used lunar months in certain instances to be in line with the people of this era. It is hard to tell because in Chinese and Vietnamese, months are referred to in numerical order regardless of calendar. The best way to ascertain is to verify against historical records, but that is too much work, so you may see me fluctuating between Gregorian and numerical terms, though I will likely use the latter more.]

“Master! Princess!”

Turning around, we see Du Jin dressed in armour striding towards us. A group follows behind him and of those was someone I was familiar with—Duan Ye.

We greet him, a little surprised to see Du Jin’s presence in this camp full of wounded soldiers. This camp was built under Rajiva’s proposal, and of course my idea was behind it. I also recruited some aunties from poor families as nurses and taught them some basic hygiene knowledge. Although this place is somewhat simple and lacking, it is still better than the tents for the wounded in the army camps of other states in this era.

I have thought carefully about my existence in history and truly believed it to be real. What happened before has proven that my existence and participation have not impacted the original history. Or perhaps, because of me, history is what I see in my era. Therefore, I will act according to my thoughts and will not hesitate any longer. Even if my efforts only amount to a drop of water, I still hope to help my husband complete his life’s mission.

“Du Jin went out to fight the enemies and did not return for a few days. After returning, I heard that the Master has built this camp for the wounded. The Master and Princess are like gods who have descended to help save the people. Please accept this bow from Du Jin.”

Du Jin clasps a hand over a fist, bends on one knee, and bows. Rajiva hurriedly helps him stand up.

Du Jin’s face is a little bit red and swollen; he probably was injured by Zhang Dayu. I give him a bottle of medicine wine. He thanks me as he receives it, then lowers his voice: “Master, Princess, Du Jin has something to discuss.”

Even me? I step into an empty room with them, my heart full of question. Duan Ye also follows, so there are a total of four people in the room.

Du Jin looks around, sighs heavily, and says:

“Tufa Sifujian of Xianbei wanted to aid Zhang Dayu and has sent his son, Tufa Xiyu, to lead 20,000 troops towards Guzang. Wang Mu and 30,000 troops are stationed at the southern point outside the city. Zhang Dayu’s 30,000 troops are stationed in the west. The Governor of Jiankang—Li Xi, Qilian Commandant—Yan Chun, Yan Xi, have all raised troops in response and are on their way to Guzang. Once all the troops are in one place, the number will total over 100,000. General Lü will not be able to defeat them.”

In the era of cold weapons¹, the number of troops is the deciding factor in the outcome of a battle. Killing a thousand enemy troops will cost you about eight hundred of your own. This is why there were not many “using few to defeat many”² victories in history. Du Jin’s concerns are not unfounded. Those people³ used to serve the Zhang family, so it is not surprising that have come to aid Zhang Dayu. After all, the Zhang has governed Liang Province for sixty years, so their family name has permeated people’s hearts. But why is Du Jin telling us these military secrets?
¹ cold weapons: weapons that do not involve fire or explosions
² 以少胜多 (yǐ​ shǎo ​sheng ​duō): chengyu, literal meaning is as above and pretty self-explanatory.
³ [T/N: referring to Wang Mu, Li Xi, etc]

While I was mulling this, Rajiva has already turned my thought into a question: “General Du, Rajiva is a monk and knows nothing about the art of war. Why is General Du telling Rajiva and his wife these things?”

Du Jin glances at Duan Ye and smiles: “The Master’s divine powers, Du-mou has had the privilege to witness. In this situation of crisis, Du-mou is unable to come up with a strategy, so I have come to ask the Master for advice.”

Seeing Duan Ye nodding his head, I suddenly understand. Duan Ye must have told Du Jin that Kumarajiva is well-versed in the Dharma and the balance of yin and yang, which means he can divine. Du Jin therefore hopes that Rajiva would give him some guidance.

Rajiva ponders for a while and says, “General Du should not worry. General Lü has plenty of rations, the walls are strong and so is the army, so he will not be defeated easily.”

“Du-mou is not worried about defending the city. This Guzang City can hold out for half a year to a year without any major issue. This past summer, there was a drought and many grains withered. In the coming tenth month, it is estimated that the autumn harvest will be less than half [compared to usual]. Without provisions, Zhang Dayu’s siege will not last long.”

Du Jin paces slowly in the room as he analyzes the situation. His thick eyebrows furrow as he speaks in worried voice: “Du-mou is afraid that Zhang Dayu will sweep the Lingxi region, sharpen their weapons and store up rations, then head eastward. After all, General Lü has just arrived here and has not found his footing yet, so having a prolonged battle with Zhang Dayu will inevitably be dangerous.”

Inside my head, I praise Du Jin’s analysis for its accuracy. This is exactly the plan that Zhang Dayu’s strategist, Wang Mu, has come up with, but it is a pity that Zhang Dayu is not one that can achieve great things.

I cannot help but speak up: “General Du, Zhang Dayu is merely an aristocratic son and does not understand the art of war. He will undoubtedly be arrogant after achieving the first victory. Tufa Xiyu has just arrived here and does not get along with Wang Mu, so this is General Lü’s chance to carry out a surprise attack.”

He abruptly stops his pacing, turns around and looks at me up and down, his eyes shining brightly. Rajiva soundlessly moves to stand in front of me and quietly says: “General Du, please do not take my clumsy wife seriously. In short, the general does not need to worry, for you have the heaven’s blessings, so there will be a victory soon.”

Du Jin walks out with joy on his face. Before bidding us goodbye, Duan Ye gives me a worshipping look, making my hairs rise. But what scares me the most is not him but the person standing next to me.

“Ai Qing…” he deliberately drags his voice, “You are turning my words into a wind passing by your ears again!”

I stick out my tongue and make a face at him, then quickly run out of the room. The reason why I said that to Du Jin was because I trust this person, but more importantly, I always felt that him seeking us out is heaven’s will, a permit to let me speak. History will continue to follow the predetermined steps; I am merely giving it a push.

At the end of the ninth month, Lü Guang suddenly launches troops to attack Tufa Xiyu’s barracks in the south of the city. Tufa Xiyu is unable to defend in time and loses his life while escaping. Wang Mu’s army also suffers collateral damage and the entire army comes apart. As soon as Zhang Dayu hears word that his allies have lost, he immediately takes a thousand troops and flees. The army that he leaves behind falls apart like a collapsing mountain and soldiers surrender one after another. And that is how the Siege of Guzang comes to an end.

The news of victory arrives at the camp for the wounded at the same time as another piece of shocking news.

“Master, the situation is not good! General Lü is in a rage and has ordered Cheng Xiong¹ to be detained, awaiting execution in accordance with the army’s rules.”
¹ [T/N: Cheng Xiong is the soldier that Rajiva ordained as a lay Buddhist practitioner in the previous chapter.]

“Why?” Rajiva is very shocked and grabs hold of the messenger soldier.

“In the recent battle, Cheng Xiong did not chop off a single enemy’s head. He is usually very brave, yet he was soft-hearted this time and refused to take a life. General Lü wants to kill him in order to set an example for the army.”

Rajiva hurriedly asks where Cheng Xiong is and quickly runs out of the camp. I follow him closely as we run to the battlefield. Cheng Xiong is tied to a wooden pole in the middle of the field and his mouth is gagged with a ball of cloth. When he sees Rajiva, his eyes show a hopeful and pleading look. Rajiva gives him a reassuring nod, then rushes into the tent at the front of the camp.

“General Lü, Cheng Xiong refused to take lives because he had received the Five Precepts. General Lü has won, so is it worth the trouble to punish a soldier?”

Rajiva rushes to stand in front of Lü Guang while panting. I am afraid that he would be too emotional, so I follow closely behind in case I need to stop him.

Lü Guang glances at Rajiva coldly, lets out a harsh breath through his nose, eyebrows curling into a ball: “Master, being a soldier means to kill or be killed. Someone that cannot kill, what use does Lü-mou have for him?”

Rajiva is still panting so his voice rises involuntarily: “Cheng Xiong listened to my words and converted to the way of Buddha. The fault lies with Rajiva. If General Lü wants to kill, then you can kill Rajiva. It has nothing to do with Cheng Xiong!”

“Master, killing you, wouldn’t that incite anger?” Lü Guang sneers, a fierce expression on his face as he takes a bite of meat, then he smiles mirthlessly, “Master, this is not the Western Regions, and soldiers do not need to believe in the way of Buddha. Master should look after himself well and not do things that would be detrimental to the army.”

Rajiva’s eyes darken: “Very well, Rajiva will no longer teach the words of Buddha in the army and will only ask that General Lü releases Cheng Xiong.”

“General Lü, this great victory was the result of the Master’s brilliant scheme, so I ask that General recognizes the Master’s merits and pardons Cheng Xiong from death,” Du Jin steps forward and kneels on one knee, “Furthermore, killing a soldier during an occasion of victory would be harmful to the army’s morale. General, please reconsider.”

Other people in the tent also step forward to speak [for Cheng Xiong]. Lü Guang’s expression is hard to read. He thinks for a moment, then orders: “He can be pardoned from death, but not from punishment. Drag him down and hit him with a hundred sticks.”

Lü Guang stands up and throws a copy of Sutra as Spoken by the Buddha on the Profound Kindness of Parents and the Difficulty in Repaying Them at the soles of his feet: “Also, the Buddhist scriptures taught by the Master cause disturbance to the soldiers’ mind and cannot continue to be spread. Today, they must all be confiscated and burned. The Master must please not teach these scriptures in the future. Otherwise, do not blame Lü-mou for being heartless!”

Each thin copy of the sutra is thrown into the fire. The pages quickly curl up and burn to ashes. The autumn wind raises the sparks of fire into the air, mercilessly blows them past the faces of soldiers who once listened to the lectures, and scatters them across the battlefield. Witnessing our several nights of hard work turn into ashes and smoke, I suddenly realize: This is the scene of “slaughtering a chicken for a monkey to see”¹. He does not know how to use religion to his advantage and can only blindly try to suppress it. He is afraid of Rajiva’s spiritual power, so he used the threat of killing to warn Rajiva to not teach the Dharma.
1杀鸡给猴看 (shā ​jī ​gěi ​hóu ​kàn): an idiom, meaning to punish someone as an example to frighten others. [T/N: According to the Internet, it is believed that the idiom comes from a myth that a monkey is afraid of blood the most, so a monkey trainer would use this method to train a monkey.]

[I] glance to the side and see Rajiva staring at the ashes in a daze, his deep gray eyes full of sadness. The wind picks up a piece of ash and drops on him; he reaches out to catch it. The piece of ash turns into dust the moment it touches his hand. Cheng Xiong has been untied and is standing next to the other soldiers. He does not dare to make a crying sound and only lowers his head as he wipes his tears.

From then on, Rajiva no longer teaches the Dharma and becomes quieter than before.

Guzang finally stops being hot in the tenth month and after a few rains, the weather cools down a lot. Zhang Dayu gets captured at Guangwu and is escorted back to Guzang. Lü Guang beheads him within the walls of Guzang. The death of Zhang Dayu announces the end of Former Liang that was founded by Zhang Gui.

The biggest event in the tenth month is Lü Guang finally receiving news from Chang’an, where he learns that Fu Jian was killed by Yao Chang in the fifth month. He wails in anger and orders all officials and soldiers to wear mourning clothes for three months and the people to cry for three days. He even puts up an altar for Fu Jian at a southern point outside the city, declares Fu Jian’s posthumous title to be Emperor Wen Zhao, and offers sacrifices for three days.

After that, under much painstaking persuasion of all of the civil and military officials, he grants amnesty to the entire region, declares the era name to be Tai’an [Great Peace], calls himself Governor of Liang Province, Colonel Protector of the Qiang, and soon after, Regional Commissioner of Liang Province, effectively becoming a king of a separate regime. Bestowing rewards based on merits, Du Jin is at the top, so he gets promoted to Auxiliary General, Governor of Wuwei, Noble of Military. The others also get promoted. Duan Ye gets promoted to Gentleman of Literature, responsible for all official documents.

Rajiva still gets kept besides Lü Guang as an advisor. He only regards Rajiva as a diviner of diagrams. He would ask for a few sentences when he is in a good mood and casts him aside when he is not. Rajiva’s character is not one who would curry favour of the powerful¹ by smoothing a beard and patting a horse², so he always draws blood on the first prick³ with Lü Guang, and the two of them often get into heated discord. He proposes to stay and practice Buddhism at a temple of any kind inside Guzang’s walls, but this gets rejected Lü Guang.
¹ 趋炎附势 (qū​ yán ​fù ​shì): chengyu, lit. ‘hasten flames near the powerful’, meaning to curry favour.
² 溜须拍马 (liū​ xū​ pāi ​mǎ): chengyu, meaning to use flattery to get what one wants.
³ 一针见血 (yī​ zhēn ​jiàn ​xiě): chengyu, similar to English idiom ‘hit the nail on the head’, which in this instance probably means Rajiva often points out fatal flaws in Lü Guang’s words/plans.

In fact, Lü Guang using this kind of “soft” method to detain Rajiva is because he wants to prevent Rajiva from spreading the words of Buddha and establishing prestige in the army; otherwise, why would he need Rajiva’s opinions? Furthermore, Lü Guang is not a person who is willing to listen to other people’s advice. He is always suspicious of his officials and would rather rule by force. Even though he does not want to get involved in Lü Guang’s path, Rajiva still tries his best to dissuade whenever Lü Guang makes a wrong decision. What the result of these efforts is, you do not need to even guess. Over time, Rajiva’s heart hardens and he stops talking. However, these days of following Lü Guang where nothing makes sense makes Rajiva extremely depressed.

In his free time, Rajiva would wander to all the places in the city that can be considered a temple, and the sights he see would make him shake his head and sigh. In this era, there is no clear distinction between the religions. In the temples, people worship both Shakyamuni Buddha and Taishang Laojun¹, and there is no separation between monks and Daoist priests. I recall a funny story from the Sixteen Kingdoms period: The Lord of Southern Yan, Murong De, was unsure on which city to attack, so he asked a [Buddhist] monk to divine using Zhou yi².
¹ 太上老君(Tàishàng Lǎojūn): lit. “Supreme Old Lord”, is the religious title for Laozi/Lao-Tzu, founder of Daoism/Taoism.
²《周易》or Changes of Zhou is the core of 《易經》 (Yi Jing / I Ching, or Book of Changes), an ancient divination text in the Western Zhou period (about 10^th to 4^th century BCE). This text is the foundational text for Confucianism and Daoism, hence why the story about Murong De is funny (even though Yi Jing also influenced Chinese Buddhism, the level of influence is not the same).

Rajiva only needs to ask a few questions and would know that the “monks” are not really monks, and the “Daoists” and not really Daoists; they merely come here to work for food, and not a single word of the Dharma passes through an opening in their head¹. They even draw blank at the name “Kumarajiva”. I remember that on the way to here [Guzang], every time we arrived at a small kingdom in the Western Regions, a crowd of people would stand on the sides of road for a long time just to see a glimpse of his face. The kings of those kingdoms would also act very respectful when receiving him in hopes of inviting him to teach the Dharma. But after we entered the Hexi Corridor, this kind of grand ceremony ceased. His popularity among ordinary people is far inferior to that of those who make a living by pretending to be in contact with spirits and deliberately mystifying things. The entire Liang Province is like a desert for Buddhism.
¹ 一窍不通 (yī​ qiào ​bù ​tōng): chengyu, lit. ‘doesn’t (even) enter an opening (of one’s head)’, meaning one does not understand a given thing. Similar in meaning to English idiom “It’s all Greek to me”.

I try to comfort him with utmost gentleness and describe wondrous scenes from the future to cheer him up. Even though he does not say it, I know he is very bewildered in front of this “desert”, and is trying his best to endure this psychological gap in belief. Rajiva is forced to lead a secular life and to follow Lü Guang every day like clockwork. But he still insists on keeping his head shaved, still wears a monk’s robes, still wakes up early to chant sutras and reads Han books at night to improve his Han. The majority of the civil and military officials in Liang Province had accompanied Lü Guang on his Western expedition, so they all know the reason behind his [Rajiva’s] marriage. Therefore, there is no objection to or question about our daily life, and we are no longer subjected to pointing fingers like when we were in Subashi City.

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Happy New Year, everyone! May the new year bring you (and yours) warmth, love, good health, and happiness. As always, take care and stay safe!