Wet weekend and the Water Temple

[heliopausa]

We have been having very heavy rains of later, in short bursts - so heavy that it seems amazing that so much could have been up there to start with.  Of course, this means floods and landslides and much loss and sadness in the mountain areas, but here in the city there's very little flooding, and blessedly no buildings collapsing that I've heard

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[flemmings]

Magnificent!

Are those real snakes winding about the rafters?

Who is Princess Steadfast Jade? Googling gets me only various kinds of millet.

[heliopausa]

Not real snakes, no. But temples of this kind always do have snakes, winding in and out of the rafters; this one had snakes with flattened heads, like cobras.

It was me who translated her name as Steadfast Jade - she is actually Ngọc Nương, or sometimes Bạch Ngọc Nương. Ngọc is variously translated as Jade or Pearl, Nương carries the sense of 'can be relied on', and as I read it, meaning the kind of protector you can always turn to, rather than the kind of subordinate you can depend on. I couldn't think, in a hurry, of a good English adjective that would suggest a protector or patron, and so lobbed on Steadfast. (Other suggestions welcome!)

Here is an article, google-translated, about the temple. The translation is appalling, but it does clearly show her as linked to the temple. (Where it says August 17th, it means lunar month; since we had two Lunar Sixth Months this year, we are still in Lunar Eighth Month now, so that was less than two weeks ago. A really wet month, which suits her.)

And here's another version of what

[flemmings]

That was informative and amusing. Google translate could go into competition with the Hong Kong Subtitle Factory for unlikely interpolations. But I get the idea, as you say. Seduce enemy generals and drown with them: which is one way of doing it. Though it strikes me that Jael's tent peg method had the advantage of leaving Jael alive afterwards.

Mh- why two lunar six months? Did the lunar calendar get one month out of whack and need the extra month?

[heliopausa]

Yes, it seems rather wasteful to lose a princess (or possibly two princesses, but I think the second one is less really historical than the first) when the tent-peg assassin-survival method is an option. But then again, in a boat you can take down several generals at once, which is less easily accomplished via tent-peg.

Yes, the lunar calendar gets out of whack - I wrote something about it here.

[puddleshark]

I love your garden big enough for three toads! The toad should be a standard measurement...

And wonderful images of the temple! Thank you!

[heliopausa]

:D Like a three-dog night, you mean - a three-toad garden.

About the photos, you're very welcome! :) It was a treat to just come upon the festival in the course of a morning walk.