I'm Calling for a Do-Over (Or, 在来一次)
In the august days of China past, when carp passed through a gate to become dragons and mischievous fox spirits roamed the land, there was a young man called Zai Kan.
Kan was an obedient boy who respected his elders and paid tribute to his ancestors. The ghosts of the Zai family watched in delight as he burned money for them to have in the next life and applauded the way he obeyed his parents' every command - even when they told him that he had to scrub the floor until it was as bright as the sun, as the floors of the Forbidden City itself did. He did not question how floors could produce their light; he simply set about scrubbing until it did indeed shine with even the tiniest slivers of the moon shining upon it.
As a young man, he was quiet and did not ask for much. He finished every grain of rice in his bowl and was not greedy enough to ask for more; he seemed perfectly content with the hand-me-downs from his cousins, telling his parents it was a good thing to save money. He bowed to them and he called them by their titles and he never disrespected his elders.
"This is a good boy," his grandmother's ghost said to his grandfather's ghost, looking over the boy's respectful actions. "Perhaps we should reward him, somehow."
His grandfather's younger brothers and older sisters and his grandmother's older brothers and younger sisters (which all, by the way, have different titles) all approved - as they should, for they were also profiting from the money being sacrificed - and went to the head of the family - The Old Zai, or 'Lao' Zai.
No one really knew what relation Lao Zai was to the rest of the ancestors, but they all knew that he was old - very old - and stayed around even when the other ghosts moved on, their vengeances or guardianships complete. And so they had a family council and asked him: "What, Most August of us all, Ancestor of Ancestors, can we do to reward this especially considerate young man, who brings honor to our family name?"
And the old man, standing tall and proud, stroked his long white beard around his fingers and nodded.
"Yes," he said. "I will pay a visit to Shen Long and see what gift he may grant our cherished son."
In the august days of China past, even revered ancestors are not able to travel without encountering yao guais - evil spirits - and other spirits of chaos and trickery. But the story of his journey to the west is another one, for another night. Suffice to say that he made it there, and he pled his family's case to the Dragon of Dragons, who was translucent and opaque at the same time, whose displeased rolls in the air created tremendous storms and whose gentle breath brought forth the rain.
Shen Long listened to Lao Zai's words and a whirling storm suddenly disappeared as the dragon stopped focusing on it to consider this request, one that it had never gotten before. The dragon understood humans, he thought - but then again, perhaps not.
With an simple, opening gesture of the Dragon's claw, Lao Zai found himself back in his ancestral graveyard, unsure if his request was granted and his journey eased... or his request denied and his banishment just that.
Such is the way of dragons.
#
Zai Kan first understood that something was different when he was taking his civil service exam, the one single test that would determine his future. Like a good son and a good student, he had studied for the majority of his academic career for this, and had remembered to give thanks to every ancestor and pray to all the benevolent spirits that might be listening to give him luck.
That day, though, it seemed that only evil spirits were listening, for he knew he had failed the exam. Question after question was on a topic of civil service that he had forgotten, even though he knew he studied everything there was. At first, he had hope that he would still secure a job as a clerk in a less central province; in the end, he knew that he would never be accepted into the government at all.
And in his disappointment - not at his parents, or the exam, of course, but at himself - he thought, if only I could do it again.
And in an instant, he was staring at the blank, unopened first page of the test booklet, with his ink brush neatly by his side, as the rows and rows of other students opened their booklets and started reading the test questions.
Zai Kan was a bright boy - he quickly realized that he still didn't know the answers to the questions in that booklet. And then he thought, if only I could go back-
And in an instant, he was kneeling in his family's ancestral temple, giving them thanks and asking them for blessing for tomorrow. He took twice as long as he had before, asking for guidance and praying for protection from the evil spirits that would distort men's perceptions, and then took himself back to redo the last week.
When the it became time to take the test again, he graduated second in his province, and was very quickly taken to the Forbidden City for training as an official. One of the best they had ever seen, his instructors commented, someone that was prepared for everything.
It was there that he fell in love with a beautiful maiden from the Li family, who was becoming a powerful woman in imperial politics. She was not an official, of course, but she didn't need to be. Word had spread - in whispers, always - that she was a force to be respected; she had removed in power, apparently, two officials who had been known to abuse their power, simply by whispering the right things in the right ears.
It was a perfect courtship.
They were married a year later, in a grand and excellent celebration that was held in the Forbidden City, in front of the Emperor himself. Everything was perfect, people said, and every detail accounted for - except, perhaps, a small storm in his home province, though it really only lasted only a few minutes.
If he could control the weather, people joked, Zai Kan would be able to do everything.
Dragons have long memories, and long lifespans. They are patient, and they are curious.
#
It was only in his elder years that people noticed that Kan was not always cheerful, goodhearted, and prepared for any eventuality. Perhaps it was the death of his loving wife, the one person who he had never, ever disappointed. Perhaps it was watching his eldest child disgrace his family by being caught with a terrible gambling habit, one that cost his family much money, but much more honor.
But only one voice heard Kan mutter to himself about the pointlessness of his achievements compared to others', who only had one chance; only one eye saw the time he had devoted to studying his personal past, every day, searching for every possibility he could improve and knowing, with despair, he had truly achieved his potential. Only one being heard his last thought, as he passed into the spirit world - if only I could go - back to the beginning of it all, and reject this.
And thus, Shen Long learned something about humanity, and he did not interfere again.
Such is the way of dragons.
Kan was an obedient boy who respected his elders and paid tribute to his ancestors. The ghosts of the Zai family watched in delight as he burned money for them to have in the next life and applauded the way he obeyed his parents' every command - even when they told him that he had to scrub the floor until it was as bright as the sun, as the floors of the Forbidden City itself did. He did not question how floors could produce their light; he simply set about scrubbing until it did indeed shine with even the tiniest slivers of the moon shining upon it.
As a young man, he was quiet and did not ask for much. He finished every grain of rice in his bowl and was not greedy enough to ask for more; he seemed perfectly content with the hand-me-downs from his cousins, telling his parents it was a good thing to save money. He bowed to them and he called them by their titles and he never disrespected his elders.
"This is a good boy," his grandmother's ghost said to his grandfather's ghost, looking over the boy's respectful actions. "Perhaps we should reward him, somehow."
His grandfather's younger brothers and older sisters and his grandmother's older brothers and younger sisters (which all, by the way, have different titles) all approved - as they should, for they were also profiting from the money being sacrificed - and went to the head of the family - The Old Zai, or 'Lao' Zai.
No one really knew what relation Lao Zai was to the rest of the ancestors, but they all knew that he was old - very old - and stayed around even when the other ghosts moved on, their vengeances or guardianships complete. And so they had a family council and asked him: "What, Most August of us all, Ancestor of Ancestors, can we do to reward this especially considerate young man, who brings honor to our family name?"
And the old man, standing tall and proud, stroked his long white beard around his fingers and nodded.
"Yes," he said. "I will pay a visit to Shen Long and see what gift he may grant our cherished son."
In the august days of China past, even revered ancestors are not able to travel without encountering yao guais - evil spirits - and other spirits of chaos and trickery. But the story of his journey to the west is another one, for another night. Suffice to say that he made it there, and he pled his family's case to the Dragon of Dragons, who was translucent and opaque at the same time, whose displeased rolls in the air created tremendous storms and whose gentle breath brought forth the rain.
Shen Long listened to Lao Zai's words and a whirling storm suddenly disappeared as the dragon stopped focusing on it to consider this request, one that it had never gotten before. The dragon understood humans, he thought - but then again, perhaps not.
With an simple, opening gesture of the Dragon's claw, Lao Zai found himself back in his ancestral graveyard, unsure if his request was granted and his journey eased... or his request denied and his banishment just that.
Such is the way of dragons.
#
Zai Kan first understood that something was different when he was taking his civil service exam, the one single test that would determine his future. Like a good son and a good student, he had studied for the majority of his academic career for this, and had remembered to give thanks to every ancestor and pray to all the benevolent spirits that might be listening to give him luck.
That day, though, it seemed that only evil spirits were listening, for he knew he had failed the exam. Question after question was on a topic of civil service that he had forgotten, even though he knew he studied everything there was. At first, he had hope that he would still secure a job as a clerk in a less central province; in the end, he knew that he would never be accepted into the government at all.
And in his disappointment - not at his parents, or the exam, of course, but at himself - he thought, if only I could do it again.
And in an instant, he was staring at the blank, unopened first page of the test booklet, with his ink brush neatly by his side, as the rows and rows of other students opened their booklets and started reading the test questions.
Zai Kan was a bright boy - he quickly realized that he still didn't know the answers to the questions in that booklet. And then he thought, if only I could go back-
And in an instant, he was kneeling in his family's ancestral temple, giving them thanks and asking them for blessing for tomorrow. He took twice as long as he had before, asking for guidance and praying for protection from the evil spirits that would distort men's perceptions, and then took himself back to redo the last week.
When the it became time to take the test again, he graduated second in his province, and was very quickly taken to the Forbidden City for training as an official. One of the best they had ever seen, his instructors commented, someone that was prepared for everything.
It was there that he fell in love with a beautiful maiden from the Li family, who was becoming a powerful woman in imperial politics. She was not an official, of course, but she didn't need to be. Word had spread - in whispers, always - that she was a force to be respected; she had removed in power, apparently, two officials who had been known to abuse their power, simply by whispering the right things in the right ears.
It was a perfect courtship.
They were married a year later, in a grand and excellent celebration that was held in the Forbidden City, in front of the Emperor himself. Everything was perfect, people said, and every detail accounted for - except, perhaps, a small storm in his home province, though it really only lasted only a few minutes.
If he could control the weather, people joked, Zai Kan would be able to do everything.
Dragons have long memories, and long lifespans. They are patient, and they are curious.
#
It was only in his elder years that people noticed that Kan was not always cheerful, goodhearted, and prepared for any eventuality. Perhaps it was the death of his loving wife, the one person who he had never, ever disappointed. Perhaps it was watching his eldest child disgrace his family by being caught with a terrible gambling habit, one that cost his family much money, but much more honor.
But only one voice heard Kan mutter to himself about the pointlessness of his achievements compared to others', who only had one chance; only one eye saw the time he had devoted to studying his personal past, every day, searching for every possibility he could improve and knowing, with despair, he had truly achieved his potential. Only one being heard his last thought, as he passed into the spirit world - if only I could go - back to the beginning of it all, and reject this.
And thus, Shen Long learned something about humanity, and he did not interfere again.
Such is the way of dragons.