Story: Defeating the Ill-Luck Destiny

Opening my eyes, the shabby and dusty wall appeared in front of me. The bitter tear strolls down my cheeks. Their prayers worked. I returned to the time when he just left. I am crying, crying out for happiness and for anger. The last scene I saw before I die was husband holding his new empress and their children laughing at my stupidity.

Me: “Pingqui, why, why did you kill me?”

Xue Pingqui: “Why? How can you ask such stupid question? I am an emperor now. I can’t have you, an old and ugly woman, to be my empress. If you were not the princess of this land, I would even look at you and bring to back as the empress to ease the citizen. Honestly, they were very stubborn in resisting my ruling. You are useful at last. Does it sound great ‘the new emperor came from a humble background, but when he ascended to power, he did not forget his old wife’? Now, your duty is done. You need to ‘move on’ so my beloved Dai Zhan can become the new empress.”

Me: “The citizens will know your evil intention.”

Xue Pingqui: “No worry. I will tell them ‘The empress was sick during her time in poverty, and so, she passed away happily after reunited with her husband, leaving with grief. However, the rule states that the emperor cannot stay single. He married the neighboring princess, who will be kind to his citizen.’ Don’t be afraid, you won’t be lonely. I will send your family to go with you shortly. Haha”

I couldn’t say another word because the fiery poison had choked my throat and battered my body with pain. Bloody tear streamed down my face. Because of him, I angered my parents and left them. Because of him, I waited 18 years in hunger and poverty. Now, this is my reward, the consequences for disobey my parents. Finally, I choked out blood and closed my eyes.

My soul lingered in the palace, seeing how he lived happily with his new empress and their children while my family suffered the imprisonment and humiliation. Yet, my parents were not angered at me for bringing this destruction to the family. They cried for my death and prayed for the ease of my soul, hoping that I will have a better life in the next reincarnation. Regrets ate me slowly when I witness their love to me. I vowed that if heaven gives me chance to relive my life again, I will spend my whole life being filial to my parents and protect my people. At this moment, my soul was swallowed up my parents’ prayers.

Now, I have a chance to start all over again. This time I won’t be naïve girl that abandoned her family for a man who would trade her for wealth and power. I swore with my family name. I, Wang Baochuan, will defeat Xue Pingqui and protect my family and my people.

This is the first year when Xue Pingqui left after our marriage. As he left, he took all the valuable belongings, claiming that he will return with great fortune and gives me a better life. Yes, he did return, and his reward for my 18 years of suffering is the 18 days of being an empress. What stupid deal that I made! This time I will not wait for him.

I quickly gathered all my belongings and headed back to my family’s castle. I kneeled in front of the castle for days to apologize my father for defying him. I know he still loves me. On the fourth day, the castle’s door opened, and I finally returned to my family. Upon my return, I told my parents that I decided to divorce Xue Pingqui after he left. I asked my parents to let me disguise as a man to join the army. My parents quickly denied. I convinced them if I don’t have the ability to control the army, the citizens will not trust a female ruler. After days of persuasion, my parents agreed. I cut off my long hair and bound my breasts to become a man. After joining the army, I trained days and nights, learning how to wield a sword to how to command the army. Every time failures and hardships beat me down. The memories of 18 years of poverty, my death, and the suffering of my family helped me stand up again. Time flied. During my 16th year, the war between my land and the neighboring country broke out. I know the army general was Xue Pingqui, who now became the princess’s husband. Knowing that by winning this war, Xue Pingqui’s father-in-law will make Xue Pingqui as his heir. I am determined to defeat him.

After two years of war, I finally succeeded in defeat Xue Pingqui and injured his leg, causing him to be incapable to attend battle. Return to my homeland in glory of great general that protect his citizens from invaders, I revealed to my people my true identity. My people were surprised, but they were happy that their next ruler is capable to protect them in battlefield. My parents were in tears.

My father: “I am so proud you, my daughter. You have proven to have the ability of a ruler.”

Me: “Thank you Father for giving a chance to start over again and thank you for not giving up on me.”

Since then, I became a new ruler, and under my rule, all the ill-fated children have a chance to live out of the ill-fated destiny. As for Xue Pingqui, losing his ability to go to battle eliminated him from the selection for the heir. He spent the rest of his life overshadowed by his wife.


Author’s Notes:

I retell the story of the Child of Ill Luck in Chinese Fairy Tales, where the ill-luck princess who married a beggar who left her for 18 years to pursuing his fortune. He came back after 18 years as the emperor and made the ill-luck princess, who waited in poverty for him, his empress. However, she’s only live 18 days after becoming an empress. . I suspected why she only live for 18 days after surviving 18 years of poverty. So, the murdering scene is the biggest twist of my version. I want to create a version where the ill-luck princess lives happily without her husband and became a ruler herself.

Wu ZeTian. Link

Bibliography: Wilhem. Chinese Fairy Tales Book. Link

Reading Notes: Chinese Fairy Tales Book - Part A

I know the story of The Child of Ill Luck. This version is not complete. The original version talked about how the beggar husband went off and became a successful army general and then married the neighboring princess, whose father gives his throne to the beggar husband. The husband can return to his first wife, but he stayed with the new wife for the wealthy life. He came back to his first wife after invading her kingdom, and he brought her to be the new empress to ease the kingdom’s citizen. Otherwise, why didn’t she die during the 18 years of poverty but dies right after becoming an empress? I want to write a story where the ill-lucked princess finds out her husband’s selfishness and punishes him instead of waiting for him for 18 years. I can retell the story where the ill-lucked princess was murdered by the beggar husband’s new wife and her husband and died with anger and hatred. However, her parents knew of her story and spent years of doing charity, praying their daughter to have second chance in life to change her ill fate. Now, the ill-fated princess resurrected in the earlier years when her husband just left and started to change her destiny. I want to write how she returns to her parent’s house and plans her revenge on her once- loved husband. She wants to defeat him in his expertise. She becomes a talented warrior and defender of her land. With her talent she overshadows her husband, preventing him from becoming an emperor, and divorces him. With all her honors and victories, she becomes the next ruler of the land. She spends her life defending her kingdom and adopting all the children who were ill-fated like her, and she helps them to live out of their ill-fated destiny.

Bibliography. Wilhem. Chinese Fairy Tales Book. Link

Love Amongst War. Link

 

Famous Last Words - Summary of My Week Being Sick

I really enjoyed the reading this week about Arabian Nights. I chose to read only part A of the reading because I am very familiar with the story about Aladdin and the Magical Lamp. I wish other stories in Arabian Nights are used for reading part B instead of Aladdin and the Magical Lamp. I love the character Scheherazade because of her courage and quick wit. After reading the stories, I ended up watching the Arabian Nights on Youtube channel. It was nice, but it didn’t have all the stories in there. For this week, I chose to write about Scheherazade for my storytelling.

I am very excited for the upcoming week’s readings about Asia and Africa Unit. I have reading many Chinese stories. I am wondering if there are any new stories that I have not read. I hope I can get on track on my assignments this week. If I have enough time, I hope to get ahead of the assignments and do more extra credits this week. However, I am a bit worried for my project’s assignment. It was hard for me to write the introduction that captivates reader’s attention for this week. I don’t know if I can make it better. I hope to receive good feedback from my fellow classmates to make it better.

In the beginning of this week, I got very sick that I can’t go to work, but I have to attend class for a midterm exam. I think I did really badly because I have a very bad headache that morning. Because of this, I was behind in many of assignments for my classes. Luckily, I got well now. I hope everybody be extra careful during this season. I am looking forward to next week to pass quickly because I have to write a difficult lab report that worth a lot of point for my lab. I hope I will do well.

Sick Emoticon. Link

Tech Tip - Adding New Page to the Site

This week I learned how to add a new page to my Google site.  The instruction was simple and easy to follow.  Some cautions that I have pay attention on was to keep the default setting in adding a new page so I don't mess up the navigation through the page and to remove the comment box.  I thought I can figure out how to remove the comment box without the instruction, but I couldn't figure.  So glad that there are detailed instructions on everything.

Story: Origin of 1001 Nights

“Once upon a time…” was the magical phrase that marks the beginning of the 1001 Nights of stories told by my sister Scheherazade. Through time, people only remember the interesting stories and fantastic adventures, but only few remember the back story of these Arabian Nights. My name is Dinarzade, and I am here to tell the story about Arabian Nights storyteller, Scheherazade.

Scheherazade. Link

I was the grand-vizir’s youngest daughter and beloved by all family members especially my three-years-older sister, Scheherazade. She has always be my ideal in life. Beautiful, talented, intelligent, and charming, my father said she was his proudest child. I was never jealous of my sister because I know because of my sister I was able to live my life the way I want while she carried the family’s honor. Yet, things start to change when my sister turned 14.

During at warm afternoon, while I was playing in my house’s garden, I saw my sister ran back from the outside into her room, and tears fell from her beautiful face. Worried for my sister, I followed right behind her.

“Sister, what’s happened? Why are you crying?”

“Dear Dina, I am in so much pain. Why does fate playing with me?” sobbed Scheherazade.

“Tell me, sister, what has caused you so much misery?”

“I found out the young man who told me the marvelous story years ago. Oh, I was longing to meet him again. Today, I met him again, but destiny toys with my love. He is the great Sultan, and he is going to get marry four days later. Why fate let me see him before he gets marry?” Scheherazade replied in agony.

Now, I knew why my sister acting so strange in recent years. I remember about four years ago my sister a smiling face. I have never seen such expression on her face, and now, I knew she was in love with the young prince, who now became the young Sultan. Since that day, she read many books on adventures and visited many storytellers to learn about interesting stories. So, all her action was for the Sultan because the Sultan loved listen to story. As the grand-vizir’s daughter, Scheherazade would be the best candidate for the Sultana, but she was still young to marry. In addition, I heard the Sultan chose his own bride because he loved her. Scheherazade could not be a consort, meaning she could not be with the Sultan.

Three years passed. Scheherazade stopped talking about the Sultan, but she still indulged in all the stories and adventures. I told her to let go and try to think of the candidates for her future husband. At 17-years-old, Scheherazade became more beautiful. Many fine suitors came ask her hand, but she refused. My father became so worried and asked me if I know why she was doing so, but I didn’t want to tell him about her secret love to the Sultan. Until one day, it changed my sister’s life and the lives of my family.

The atmosphere was so tensed because the Sultan just killed his beloved wife, who cheated on him with another man. Amidst of his anger, the Sultan ordered my father to find him a wife every day. So, he can kill her in the next morning. Discontented with the Sultan’s order, as a loyal subject, my father carried out the order.

Every morning, I can hear the crying of the family whose daughter was killed and those whose daughter was chosen as the next bride. Agony and fear filled the whole city. Every day, my father came back with weary and burden due to the innocent life that he had taken that day.

“Father, are you okay?”

“My dear Dina, I’m okay, but I don’t know how long I can do this. My mind is filled with the painful faces of all the young maidens who died under the Sultan’s command. I tried to persuade him, but his mind is full of mistrust, and his heart is hardened. If this continues, this will drives the Sultan into insanity and the kingdom into destruction. I feel so helpless. As a grand vizir, I can’t help my master, and I can’t protect my people.” Father finally broke into tears.

At this moment, Scheherazade entered the room and requested to be the next bride. Although my father objected strongly, Scheherazade persisted. After many arguments, my father gave in to my sister. Afterward, I followed Scheherazade to her room.

“Sister, why did you do that? Do you know what you ask will hurt father? How can he bear the pain of losing you at his old age? Did you do this just to be with the Sultan? He is not the kind and generous man you met before. Betrayal has driven him into insanity, and revenge has turn into a monster. Listen to me and change your decision.”

Scheherazade took me into her arm. “Sshh, Dina, calm down. I know what I am doing. I am not doing this just to be with him although this is one of the intentions. I did this because I don’t want any more innocent life killed. I don’t want to see our father worried. And… I want to help the Sultan to return to his old self. I have confidence to survive after every morning. You believe me right? Will you help me?”

Holding Scheherazade tightly, I replied, “I will.”

Starting then, I was requested to stay at the Sultan’s bedroom with my sister, and my only duty was to wake up my sister so she can tell the stories that saved her life. For 1001 nights, I dare not to sleep because I was afraid if I overslept my sister could be killed. After the 100th night, I noticed the Sultan did not wait for me to wake up my sister to tell the story. He did it himself. While Scheherazade was telling the story, I saw the Sultan’s look at her differently. After 756th night, the Sultan stopped mentioning the morning killing. My father said the Sultan was calmer and more sympathetic in his ruling. This was a good sign, but the danger did not end if he did not remove his killing command. In the 1001th night, Scheherazade finished her last story before the dawn and told the Sultan that she had no more stories to tell.

One Thousand and One Nights. Link

Sultan: “Aren’t you afraid that I will kill when the dawn comes?”

Scheherazade: “I spent 1001 nights telling the stories that I weaved from my love to you for the last seven years. If these stories have not touch your soul, and my love has not warm up your heart. I don’t think there is any story in the world that can change my fate.”

I ran to Scheherazade’s side and plead. “Please, Sultan, please spare my sister.”

The Sultan looked at us and headed to his sword while I cried helplessly. He returned with his word and wielded at us. I closed my eyes while holding Scheherazade’s hand. Then, I heard the sword fell on the ground and felt Scheherazade pulled away from me. I quickly opened my eyes and saw the Sultan was holding Scheherazade and the sword dropped at his feet.

Sultan: “Thank you Scheherazade for teaching me to trust and to love again. I would become a monster if it was not you who stopped me.”

Scheherazade hold him tightly and joyful tears fallen down from her cheeks.

Looking at this, I knew my sister had succeeded and received a greatest reward for her courage and wisdom.

Arabian Nights. Link

Bibliography. Andrew Lang.  The Arabian Nights' Entertainments. Link
Author’s Notes

I want to tell the back story behind the famous Arabian Nights. In Arabian Nights, the Sultan was cheated by his wife, and so, he distrusts all women and wants to take revenge on them. He married new bride each day and killed at the upcoming dawn. Finally, he married the grand-vizir’s daughter, Scheherazade, who volunteered to be his bride. She used her intelligence and talent in storytelling to postpone her death every morning by pause the story at its climax. After 1001 nights, the Sultan fell in love with her and learned to trust again. In my version, I want to focus on Scheherazade and tell the story in different perspective.

Reading Notes: Arabian Nights Part A

I didn’t know Scheherazade has a sister. I think it will be interesting to tell Arabian Nights in her perspective, a listener. I want to tell the story why Scheherazade chose to be a bride of the sultan, not only because to stop the sultan’s killing act, but with her own intention, I plan to create a back story where Scheherazade has secretly love the sultan, but she was too young when the sultan got married.

I want to talk about how Scheherazade’s sister, Dinarzade, witnesses her beloved sister risks her life for love and to save the sanity of her loved one and the innocent people. I also want to talk about Scheherazade’s intelligence and how she comes up with the story to tell the sultan and stop at the story’s climax. I also want to focus on how sultan realizes his love to Scheherazade and stop his insane killing. I feel like all Scheherazade’s stories seem to have a theme behind, would it is a reflection of the sultan in the stories?

Bibliography: Andrew Lang's Arabian Nights

 Arabian Nights. Link

Famous Last Words - Survived the Career Fairt and First Interview

I went to the Engineering Career Fair last Thursday. Regardless of how many times I attended the event, it was always nerve-wracking. This year is the worst because I am graduating this May. Before I went to the Career Fair, I spent weeks on polishing my resume, looking up attending employers, and prioritizing the employers. Although the Career Fair lasted four hours, it was not enough to visit all the booths, and so, determining which booth I should visit is very crucial. Then, I have to present myself to the company’s representative, trying to impress them to get an interview. After four hours of waiting in line, smile, shaking hand, introducing myself, I can’t feel my feet because of the killing close-toe shoes.

You thought I would be relieved after the Career Fair ended at 4:30pm. Oh, I wish. The next part is the killer: waiting for call for interview. Luckily, I got one interview in the Friday. Of course, I got extremely nervous too, but I think I did okay (I am crossing my fingers.).

The Career Fair did not end there. I have to go online to Handshake app and apply to any jobs I am qualified, hoping I get more interviews and job offers. To me, the new program, Handshake, is inefficient, or maybe I just not knowing how to use it. I followed many employers in Handshake, but I can’t find a way to have Handshake shows a list of all employers I followed. Next, I will spend the next few weeks filling out online applications and writing cover letters to different companies. Hopefully, I don’t mess anything up during this process.

Now, I am waiting for more phone calls, emails, and any form of contacts informing me with interviews, rejections, job offers. To conclude, this week was stressful, but it was just the beginning. (>.<)

 Career Fair. Link

Tech Tip - Creating a Google Site

I created a Google site for my Storybook project this week.  It wasn't bad as I thought.  The process was easy.  I think the hardest part is to come up with an unique name for the site.  You guys are welcome to check out my Google Site.  There is not much stuff in there, but if any of you are expert of Google site feel free to give advice to make it nicer. 

 

Google Sites. Link

Feedback Focus

I think reading out is the best method, and then use a timer, and then copy-and-delete. I am not very surprised because I expected that every focusing technique has its own effect. For reading out loud, its advantage is the involvement with the story and its progress, and its disadvantage is that it will be difficult for reading long story. For copy-and-delete, it is useful in reading long story, but it ruins the enjoyment in reading. As for use a timer method, it is good when one has limited time and need to get things done, but using that method could cause the reader miss out many details because of rushing in reading. I would definitely try out the reading out loud for the whole story. Right now, I only read out loud on the part where I confused by the author’s writing. Honestly, I don’t have any special reading techniques. I tried to find the story that keeps my interest, and when the story does not catch my attention in the first few paragraphs, I will look for a different one. Among the three stories, I really like “What the Heart Desires”.

Focus. Link

Story: The Origin of Nile Flooding

In the land fertilized by the Nile, the people were ruled by their God, Ra, in the human form. Ra was born by Nun, God of Primordial Water, and given a divine name that he became more powerful than his creator. Besides being the God of Sun, Ra was also the creator of heaven and earth and all the living deities between these two realms. Ra granted his people the fruitful soil that he named Egypt and protected his people from the evil demons at night. Although he was loved by his people, things changed when his body showed the signs of aging.

His decreasing health led to the grow doubt among his people and sparked the greedy fire in the mind of his descendant, Isis. She was born as the Goddess of Magic by the gods of heaven and earth. Her magical power fulfilled many wishes of the people, giving her a high reputation among the people. As Ra aging over time, Isis’s yearning for the same power as Ra. One day, she succumbed to her greed.

Isis and Ra. Link

She took Ra’s saliva and mixed it with soil with her enchanting magic to create the serpent that invisible to the gods. Her intention was to have the serpent bites Ra, giving him the agonizing pain, and at this moment, Ra would ask her to perform magic on him to heal him. Then, she would persuade him to tell her his divine name in order for her magic to help him. Everything occurred as she planned, but she did not know that the full power of divine name cannot be transfer unless the previous was dead. Yet, she healed Ra. During this process, the people of Egypt were looking for a new ruler, a new pharaoh. After Isis healed Ra, her reputation grew tremendously among the people.

Unknown to both Isis and Egyptian people, Nun told Ra who created the scheme to hurt him. Angered and disappointed by his descendant and people, Ra decided to strip off his human form and ascend to heaven, claiming that he would forever residing over the people who betrayed him. In his anger, he burned the land of Egypt with the sun, turning the fertile soil into grainy sand. As for his descendant, Isis, he cursed her with the emotional pain and struggles in return to the physical pain he had endured.

God Ra. Link

 After Ra ascended to the heaven, Osiris, Isis’s husband, became the new ruler of sandy Egypt. According to his avenging plan, Ra seeded Set, brother of Osiris and God of Destruction, with jealousy. As his jealousy grew, Set ended up murder Osiris, scattered his body, and stole his throne. Pained by the death of her loving husband and worn out from running from Set’s murderous search, Isis traveled throughout the land of Egypt to search for Osiris’s body. Seeing Isis’s painful struggles and the starvation and famine roaming on Egypt, Ra ended his punishment. Ra sent Anubis, the god who guides the souls, down to helped Isis find Osiris’s body parts and his soul.

Isis and Osiris. Link

 After finding and mending Osiris’s body, Ra told Isis that in order to resurrect Osiris she must cry enough bloody tear to flood the Nile and immersed Osiris’s body in this flood. After doing so, Isis’s magical power weakened, but she was satisfied that her husband Osiris resurrected. However, after being resurrected from the death, Osiris lost the right the rule the land of the living, and so, Osiris became the ruler and the judge of the death while his son, Horus, ascended the throne. Anubis also stayed on earth and helped Osiris in the world of afterlife. As for Isis, she moved between the two realms living and death to help both her son and her husband. After all the works to have the same power as Ra, she was never a ruler.

Since Ra’s curse was too strong, Osiris died once every year and Isis had to flood the Nile with her tear to resurrect him. With Isis’s tear, the people of Egypt waited for that flood that heal and fertilize the sandy soil of Egypt, saving the Egyptian from starvation and death.

Bibliography: Donald Mackenzie, Egyptian Myth and Legend, Link

Author’s Notes:

I retell the story of Ra and the story about the resurrection of Osiris. All the main details are extracted from the main stories, but I added some background details like Ra found out who hurt him and linked Osiris’s death to Ra’s punishment for Isis. In the main stories, Isis did create a serpent to bite Ra in order to get his divine name and succeeded in knowing the divine name and gave it to her son, Horus. However, the story didn’t clearly say what power Horus received. As for Osiris’s death, the story stated that Set was jealous that Osiris had the power to rule the land and over him, and so, Set killed Osiris to seized the power. The story also emphasized the hardships that Isis went through to recover Osiris’s body, but the Nile flooding was not caused by her tear. The Nile was flooded to satisfy Hathor, who Ra commanded to kill the people of Egypt when he found out they were disloyal to him. After many killings, Ra tried to stop Hathor from destroy all human kind, and so, he flooded the Nile, causing Hathor to think the human is drowning. I changed the detail on Nile flood caused by Isis just for the flow of the story.