STH Chapter 06 The Land of Sacrifices

In the space where silence and darkness coexisted, nine huge dragon corpses were standing still. The giant bronze coffin was unsophisticated but imposing, as if it was as immortal as the universe.

 

Several days later, experts were still unable to decipher mysterious signals sent by the bronze patterns of the coffin, and there wasn’t any practical way for them to pull it back to earth for research.

 

“It’s moving!”

 

“It stops orbiting and starts landing.”

 

At this moment, several elite astronauts in the space station were shocked, with pupils shrinking rapidly. Nine dragon corpses and the bronze coffin deviated from their orbits and fell down to the ground slowly.

 

Mount Tai, one of the most towering and majestic mountains in China, was known as the head of Five Mountains.

 

It was located in the eastern part of the Ancient Central Plains, surrounded by the Yellow River and the Wenhe River. Since ancient times, Mount Tai has been regarded as the place where everything was born and nurtured.

 

As the old saying goes, “No mountain was bigger than Mount Tai, no history was older than Mount Tai!”

 

Mount Tai was majestic and magnificent, with a heavy historical deposition. Its legend could be traced back to the era of Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, when it was considered as the place closest to gods.

 

“The heaven was unreachable, so I set up an alter for sacrifices, hoping to get close to the gods.”

 

The first emperor of Qin who swept away six other kingdoms and the ambitious Emperor Wu of Han both held unprecedented sacrifices at Mount Tai.

 

Prior to them, there had been 72 ancient emperors sacrificing to the gods at Mount Tai.

 

One chapter of Guan Zi (An ancient book written before Qin dynasty) records names of many glorious ancient emperors sacrificing at Mount Tai, such as Wu Huai, Fu Xi, Shen Nong, Huang Di, Yao, Yu, etc.

 

It was no doubt that all ancient sovereigns and emperors had chosen Mount Tai as the land of sacrifices without any exception. Their legends added to the mist-like mystery surrounding Mount Tai.

 

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius had traveled to Mount Tai for several times in search of the relics of ancient sacrifices, but failed to find out any clue. His students once asked about his journey to Mount Tai, and Confucius didn’t say any word about it.

 

Some dwascoveries were made after thousands of years.

 

In the 20th year of the Republic of China, General Ma Hongkui led his troops stationed at the foot of Mount Tai. He accidentally discovered a five-colored earthen altar with two sets of jade books hidden underground, sealed by stone, clay and gold ropes.

 

It remained to be a secret that why all ancient sovereigns and emperors chose Mount Tai as the land of sacrifices.

 

Ye Fan and his classmates rested in the hotel for the night, and the next day they began to climb Mount Tai.

 

It was the first time for many of them to visit Mount Tai. Only when they be here could they feel its magnificence and majesty.

 

The mountain roads were stepped structure split into three tiers, ascending to the sky, with north-to-south orientation. The whole mountain was clearly visible. A path of more than ten kilometers extended from its foot to the summit.

 

No matter viewing it at a distance or having a closer look, they were all amazed at the grandness of the mountain, which stroke upon their minds.

 

Comparing themselves with Mount Tai, people would have a strange feeling that they were all like tiny ants. Even the sun, the moon and stars in the sky appeared to be insignificant.

 

When the tour guide talked about anecdotes of ancient sacrifices, these interesting stories made them imagine how unprecedented these ceremonies could be in the past. Human beings were always yearning for the unknown and mystery.

 

Li Xiaoman walked side by side with Cade, constantly translating and explaining for him. Her words made the young American more and more surprised at Mount Tai and kept asking questions.

 

Liu Yunzhi looked playfully at Ye Fan at first, and then looked at Li Xiaoman and Cade. His bad intention for provocation was ignored by Ye Fan, which disappointed him a lot.

 

In fact, Ye Fan never noticed him at all.

 

Ye Fan had finished reading the Medical Classic and suddenly had a fantastic association between ancient sacrifices and Mount Tai. He guessed that there could be a vanished ancient civilization in history. If that was the case, Mount Tai would undoubtedly be the holy place during that period.

 

But he immediately shook his head, thinking that he had been too bored lately to reach such a ridiculous conclusion.

 

Mount Tai was lush with ancient pines, waterfalls and flowing springs. It was a majestic and sacred place, coupled with misty clouds, which adds its mystery and profundity.

 

Along the way, there were countless scenic spots and historical sites, along with amazing stone tablets and cliff inscriptions.

 

A ten-kilometer path was built from the sacrifices altar, passed Dai Temple halfway, and finally came to Jade Emperor Peak. It seemed to be a long axis starting from the underworld, then coming to the man’s realm, finally reaching the heaven.

 

(Note: In the real world, Jade Emperor Peak was the summit of Mount Tai, while Dai Temple was located at the foot of Mount Tai. The path was built from the foot of Mount Tai to Jade Emperor Peak, and Dai Temple was used as the place for sacrificing. The author introduced an imaginative sacrifice altar here for the development of plot.)

 

In the evening, the crowd finally climbed to the summit of Mount Tai - the Jade Emperor Peak. Confucius once said that the world becomes smaller when you reach the top of Mount Tai. Looking down on the Yellow River and other mountains below, they suddenly understand the true meaning of Confucius.

 

“Reach the mountain top and you’ll see all hills small.” It was a line from the poem written by Du Fu, the Saint of Poetry.

 

At the moment, the sun was setting. Mountains surrounded by clouds were given a gilt edge made up of yellow sunset. All of them were buried into such a beautiful scene.

 

Suddenly, a few black dots appeared in the sky, then gradually grew larger,with a burst of wind and thunder.

 

Nine gigantic things fell from the sky, like nine black rivers falling from the heaven. At that moment, everyone on Mount Tai was frozen and looked at each other in dismay.

 

It turned out to be nine huge dragon corpse, pulling an ancient bronze coffin, landing toward the top of Mount Tai.

 

Dragon, the legendary creature supposed to stand side by side with God, was superior to the laws of nature. However, in the modern world, who would believe that the dragon really existed?

 

The tourists on the mountain were shocked. They held their breath and even forgot to shout.

 

After a brief silence, Mount Tai became a tremendously noisy place, as everyone fled in panic and rushed in all directions to avoid the huge dragon corpses.

 

In the blood-like sunset, nine dragons pulled the coffin, descending to Mount Tai.

 

The crowd tried to get away from Mount Tai, shouting and crying helplessly.

 

Dragons and the coffin didn’t make a swift land, instead they smoothly fell down to the ground, but still heavily shook the mountain top.

 

"Boom!"

 

Nine mountain-like giants fell down and shattered the Jade Emperor Peak into cracks, splashing lots of rocks and dust.

 

The ancient bronze coffin also fell to the ground with a thud. The mountain went shaken again as if an earthquake had occurred. Many rocks tumbled down from the mountain, making a rumbling sound, like galloping cavalry.

 

Many people were affected by the impact. They were hit by the rocks and fell down form the mountain. The cries of the injured and dying filled the air.

 

Mount Tai stopped shaking.

 

Nine huge dragon corpses silently sprawled across the mountain top, with part of their bodies hanging down from the cliff, like black iron-made Great Wall with formidable strength.

 

Jade Emperor Peak was shattered and the ground was covered with terrible cracks.

 

The twenty-meter-long bronze coffin was ancient and unpretentious, with vague ancient patterns on its surface. The vicissitudes of time put a veil on the ancient coffin, lending it a sense of mystery.

 

Background Knowledge:

 

Mount Tai is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai’an, in Shandong province, China. The tallest peak is the Jade Emperor Peak, which is commonly reported as 1,545 metres (5,069 ft) tall, but is described by the PRC government as 1,532.7 metres (5,029 ft).

 

Mount Tai is known as the eastern mountain of the Five Great Mountains of China. It is associated with sunrise, birth, and renewal, and is often regarded the foremost of the five. Mount Tai has been a place of worship for at least 3,000 years and served as one of the most important ceremonial centers of China during large portions of this period.

 

According to historical records, Mount Tai became a sacred place haunted by emperors to offer sacrifices and meditate in the Zhou Dynasty before 1,000 BC. A total of 72 emperors were recorded as visiting it. Men of letters also came to acquire inspiration, to compose poems, write essays, paint and take pictures. Hence, a great many cultural relics were left on the mountain.

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