Laurie Dennis's Blog, page 3
January 18, 2020
February 1 and counting...
The moment felt close when Earnshaw Books acquired my ISBN number - that makes it a real book, right? Then came the first Google moment, when "Lacquered Talisman" brought up a book by me in my search list - along with lacquered tables, which at this point are the more popular item, and L'Absolu Lacquer Longwear Lip Gloss, which is pricey compared to my novel.
Bookseller sites listed a February 1 release day, but my publisher is in Hong Kong, and the Chinese New Year starts January 25. Everything stops - or gets delayed - during the lunar new year, so I felt skeptical about my book arriving at my doorstep in Wisconsin prior to the start of the Year of the Rat.
Now IndieBound is predicting an estimated ship date of Feb. 20. That seems reasonable.
The clock is ticking!
https://www.indiebound.org/search/boo...
January 12, 2020
Now available: Debut novel on Zhu Yuanzhang
The Lacquered Talisman (300 pages, $19.99), a novel based on the life of Ming Dynasty founder Zhu Yuanzhang, is now available as a paperback or e-book wherever books are sold. Try your local bookstore! https://www.indiebound.org/book/9789888552467
The Hong Kong-based Earnshaw Books has published this work of historical fiction, which is intended as the first in a series about the Ming founding.
A sweeping coming-of-age epic, The Lacquered Talisman launches the story of one of the most influential figures in Chinese history. He is the son of a beancurd seller and he will found the Ming Dynasty, which ruled China from 1368-1644. Known as “Fortune” as a boy, Zhu Yuanzhang has a large and doting family who shepherd him through hardship until drought ravages the countryside and heralds a plague. Left with nothing but a lacquered necklace from his grandfather, Chen the Diviner, Fortune is deposited in the village temple and is soon wandering the countryside as a begging monk. He encounters pockets of resistance to the ruling Mongol dynasty, studies the stars, and tangles with Taoists as he seeks to understand his destiny. Signs and dreams leave him convinced that he has a special fate. Is he to be the abbot of a monastery? A general? What matters most is that he prove himself to be a filial son.
Novel on Zhu Yuanzhang to be released Feb 1
The Lacquered Talisman, a novel based on the life of Ming Dynasty founder Zhu Yuanzhang, is now available for pre-order wherever books are sold. Try your local bookstore! https://www.indiebound.org/book/9789888552467
[image error]300 pages, list price of $19.99
The Hong Kong-based Earnshaw Books is publishing this work of historical fiction, which is intended as the first in a series about the Ming founding.
A sweeping coming-of-age epic, The Lacquered Talisman launches the story of one of the most influential figures in Chinese history. He is the son of a beancurd seller and he will found the Ming Dynasty, which ruled China from 1368-1644. Known as “Fortune” as a boy, Zhu Yuanzhang has a large and doting family who shepherd him through hardship until drought ravages the countryside and heralds a plague. Left with nothing but a lacquered necklace from his grandfather, Chen the Diviner, Fortune is deposited in the village temple and is soon wandering the countryside as a begging monk. He encounters pockets of resistance to the ruling Mongol dynasty, studies the stars, and tangles with Taoists as he seeks to understand his destiny. Signs and dreams leave him convinced that he has a special fate. Is he to be the abbot of a monastery? A general? What matters most is that he prove himself to be a filial son.
October 21, 2019
Oct 21 marks 691 years since birth of Ming founder
[image error]October 21 marks the 691st birthday of Zhu Yuanzhang, founder of China’s Ming Dynasty.
He was born (on what corresponds to Oct. 21 on our modern calendar) in 1328, founded the Ming Dynasty in 1368, and died in 1398.
To be more specific, he was born in an Earth Dragon year on the 18th day of the 9th month of the 1st year of the Tianli 天曆 reign of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty’s Wenzong 元文宗 Emperor Tugh Temur.
The youngest son in a large family, the Ming founder grew up in northern Anhui Province. His own writings describe his parents as hard-working peasants who “endured the hardships of agriculture, working day and night, always worrying.”
His family background and unlikely rise from goat herder to Buddhist monk to Red Turban rebel is the subject of the first volume in my historical fiction series on the Ming founding. “The Lacquered Talisman” is currently in final production with the Hong Kong-based Earnshaw Books publishing house.
August 9, 2019
Happy Birthday Empress Ma!
Happy 687th birthday to Empress Ma!
She was born (on what corresponds to August 9 on our modern calendar) in 1332, married in 1352, and died in 1382. To be more specific, she was born in a Water Monkey year on the 18th day of the 7th month of the 3rd year in the Zhishun 至順 reign of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty’s Wenzong 元文宗 Emperor Tugh Temur.
The historical records do not reveal her given name, but Empress Ma was known for her unbound feet and her calming influence over her husband – the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
She is the subject of the next volume in my historical fiction series on the Ming founding. Volume 1, titled “The Lacquered Talisman,” launches the story of Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming founder, and is currently in the production stages with Earnshaw Books.
July 1, 2019
From the beginning…
The 600-year-old stone tablet inscribed with the life story of the founding Ming Dynasty emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, known as the Imperial Tomb Tablet of the Great Ming 大明皇陵之碑, or the Huangling Bei, stands over 7 meters high and is borne on the back of a stone turtle. I was able to visit the remote cemetery in northern Anhui Province where this tablet stands, but was surprised to discover that the complete text had never been translated into English. I started this blog to amend this discrepancy and launch the first full English translation of this important document. Click here to start from the beginning of the Huangling Bei 皇陵碑 text and scroll through the translation in 10-line increments. Please feel free to disagree with my word choices and interpretations! You can use the “Huangling Bei texts” tab in the “Categories” sidebar at right for commentary and other categories.
Here is a PDF of the translation: Huangling Bei Monograph
And click here for some basic background on this text.
I am working on plans to start a new translation of another text important to the Ming founding. Stay tuned! But first, I want to prepare my historical novel, based on the first section of the Huangling Bei, for publication by Earnshaw Books in 2019.
March 19, 2018
Why does this text matter? (Part 3 – The Filial Founder)
It is interesting that the only time the word 明 is used in the Imperial Tomb Tablet of the Great Ming (大明皇陵之碑) is in the introduction, when Zhu Yuanzhang writes that his essay is meant to “describe the hardships and difficulties, while clarifying the advances and good fortune 述艱難，明昌運.” He does not mention that 明, which means “bright” and “clear,” is also the Chinese character Zhu selected as the name for his dynasty, the Ming.
Nor does Zhu say that he was a Red Turban – the only hint of his allegiance to this famous rebellion is his description of his banners as red in Line 62. He clearly did not see himself – or did not wish to be remembered – as a rebel. Rather, Zhu carefully portrays his rise to power as part of the natural progression of China’s great dynastic and military tradition. This last third of the Imperial Tomb Tablet text is larded with references to ancient China – using the grand old names of former dynastic capitals, quoting the military strategist Zhuge Liang (Line 89), citing the old mountain passes (scenes of heroic battles of yore), deriding the Mongols as northern barbarians (Line 85) and professing hope that his own dynasty will last as long as the ancient era of Yin-Shang. He observes proper rituals (Line 74), does not tolerate chaos (Line 85), and thus wins the people’s respect (line 86). He professes admiration for the laws set down by Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty (Line 78), but scorns the Yuan line for neglecting their “guiding principles.” Zhu is no rebel. In this text, he is the only one capable of restoring righteous rule to the Middle Kingdom.
However, while this last third has the most to say about Zhu’s military ascent to the Dragon Throne, it also lingers over his family. The longest single image of these last 36 lines is the poignant description of how his growing fame allowed his scattered family to learn of his whereabouts. He spends a full eight lines describing his continuing grief for the sisters and brothers he lost to the plague, and his soaring joy at being reunited with two nephews and a niece. His elder sister may have died, but her son could look at the face of Zhu Yuanzhang, and “it was as if he was looking at his mother.” Zhu sets family unity on par here with bringing peace to the land.
And he concludes exactly as he began: focused on the hardships that his parents had to endure and his debt to them as a filial son. Zhu wrote the Imperial Tomb Tablet text “in order to describe the hardships and difficulties,” and he ends it on his knees and wiping away tears as “I write out my difficulties and instruct my heirs to nurture prosperity.”
—–
This remarkable essay is difficult to translate into English. Classical Chinese is often highly ambiguous and laden with allusions. Modern English is neither. I am sure there is much to contest in my translation. However, as time went on and I kept making changes, I started to worry that I would never feel finished this project. I resolved to pick the English words that made sense to me and set them down – and resist the temptation to parenthesize and prevaricate because the original author was making a bold statement and wanted to be heard.
Thus, it is my fervent hope that this remarkable story of how Zhu Yuanzhang rose to power and founded the Ming Dynasty becomes better known outside of China. My friends in Fengyang who took me to stand before the Imperial Tomb Tablet stress that Zhu Yuanzhang became such an important emperor because he suffered so much tragedy and loss in his youth. This experience tempered him and drove him forward. He certainly portrays his story along such lines. If you find in this text words to contemplate, and if it makes you think about the role of a family, the repercussions of suffering tragic losses, and the best way to unite a divided land, then this text will have mattered. And that is all that Zhu Yuanzhang wanted.
Why does this text matter? (Part 1 – The Grieving Son)
March 18, 2018
Lines 91-end
[image error]Map of Fengyang, with the imperial tombs located below the city walls
Line 91: 欲厚陵之微葬，卜者乃曰:不可，而地且臧。I desired a more lavish tomb for the modest graves, but the one who divined said that this could not happen, because the burial location was auspicious.
Line 92: 於是祀事之禮已定，每精潔乎蒸嘗。Therefore the sacrificial duties of performing rituals were established, and each spirit was kept pure through the seasonal offerings.
Line 93: 惟劬勞罔極之恩難報，勒石銘於皇堂。Thinking of my parents’ toil and suffering, I know I can never repay their limitless kindness, I can only carve into stone the inscription for this imperial hall.
Line 94: 世世承運而務德，必仿佛於殷商。If we rule with virtue, then generation after generation, this dynasty will last as long as the Yin-Shang era.
Line 95: 淚筆以述難，諭嗣以撫昌。With tears and a brush I write out my difficulties and instruct my heirs to nurture prosperity.
Line 96: 稽首再拜，願時時而來饗。I bow down, and bow down again, desiring to offer up this text for time everlasting.
Dateline: 洪武十一年，歲次戊午，七月吉日建。Erected on an auspicious day in the seventh month in the 11th year of the Hongwu Era.
To learn more about this text click on 大明皇陵之碑 The Imperial Tomb Tablet of the Great Ming.
Read commentary on this text by clicking on the “Commentary” link under the “Categories” tab in the sidebar at right.
To start the text from the beginning, click here.
Annotations to Lines 91-end
Line 91: The text concludes with a discussion of the gravesite in Fengyang, Anhui Province. As explained above in the note for Line 10, Zhu’s parents were buried during a rainstorm, when his family was in desperate circumstances. Naturally, once he rose to power, Zhu wanted a fancier tomb. “厚” means “thick” or “lavish” and is the opposite of “微” which can mean “tiny” or “imperceptible,” but also has the meaning I use here of “modest” or even “hidden.” (See Kroll’s dictionary for more on these terms.) Zhu used the same verb for “divined” as in Lines 49 and 51, so perhaps he (or his designate) is once again tossing shells. In any case, the burial site was to remain undisturbed, though an elaborate complex was then built around this royal cemetery, and it can still be visited today.
Line 92: Zhu designated 20 families as hereditary custodians of the Fengyang imperial tomb site. He also specified various stone statues to form an ornate Spirit Way. “蒸”is the winter and “嘗” the autumn sacrifice to the ancestors. Wang Jianying says the former consists of an animal sacrifice, and the latter millet. The two terms together refer to the seasonal offerings.
Line 93: The first half of this line is a rephrasing of stanzas in the ancient Book of Odes (“Liao E蓼莪” from the Decade of Xiao Min in the Minor Odes section). Here is the translation by James Legge (1815-1897):
哀哀父母、生我劬勞。Alas! alas! my parents,
With what toil and suffering ye gave me birth! …
欲報之德、昊天罔極。If I would return your kindness,
It is like great Heaven, illimitable.
Line 94: The Yin-Shang era is said to have been established in 1600 BCE, and to have been ended by the Zhou conquest in 1046, and thus lasted over 500 years. Zhu is hoping that his own dynasty will have this kind of longevity, and be known for its morality. This line translates directly as something like: “generation and generation/ pass/one after another/and then/rule/virtue, must/as if/to/Yin-Shang.”
Line 95: The first two characters used in this line, “tears” and “brush,” could mean that tears were falling onto his calligraphy brush, or that his brush was dripping tears onto the paper. In any case, Zhu is writing with great emotion and hoping that his biography contains instructive lessons for posterity.
Line 96: Turning from his hopes for the future, Zhu ends this text as a filial son, bowing in gratitude to the sacrifice of his parents.
Dateline: According to the Gregorian calendar, the stele was erected in August 1378.
NOTE: Text highlighted in blue is quoted from the post “Lines 91-end,” which has the full Chinese text and English translation for this final section of the Huangling Bei.
March 6, 2018
Lines 81-90
[image error]Chang Yuchun, one of Zhu Yuanzhang’s “brave generals.”
Line 81: 親征荊楚，將平湖湘。I led a campaign into Jingchu and with my generals pacified the Huxiang region;
Line 82: 三苗盡服，廣海入疆。To the south the three tribes of the Miao obeyed and the coastal region became part of our territory.
Line 83: 命大將軍東平乎吳越，齊魯耀乎旌幢。I sent my leading general to pacify the regions of Wu and Yue, while the lands of Qi and Lu were decorated with my banners and streamers.
Line 84: 西有乎伊洛崤函，地險河湟。To the west we claimed the strategic Henan region from the Yiluo River to the Xiaohan range.
Line 85: 入胡都而市不易肆，虎臣露鋒刃而燦若星鋩。My armies entered the Mongol capital and the markets did not fall into chaos, while the brave officials came forward to reveal their sharp skills and shining qualities.
Line 86: 已而長驅乎井陘，河山之內外，民庶成仰。My forces then pushed on through the Jingxing Pass; within and beyond the rivers and mountains the multitudes were respectful.
Line 87: 關中即定，市巷笙簧。Within the Hangu Pass, the central plain was stable, so that joyful music could be heard in the markets and lanes.
Line 88: 玄菟樂浪以歸版籍，南藩十有三國而來王。The Xuandu and Lelang Commanderies returned to our domain, while 13 vassal states of the south sent tributaries to court.
Line 89: 倚金陵而定鼎，托虎踞而儀鳳凰。I settled on Jinling as the dynastic capital, trusting its crouching tiger and performing rites to my phoenix.
Line 90: 天塹星高而月輝滄海，鐘山鎮岳而巒接乎銀潢。The stars are high above the Yangzi and the moon shines bright over the blue sea, while the peaks in the Purple Mountain range reach to the Milky Way.
Click here to read the last lines of this text…
Click here to see detailed annotations of each line, including translation concerns, geographical notes, and a discussion of Zhu Yuanzhang’s rivals.
欢迎您的批评！！
To learn more about this text click on 大明皇陵之碑 The Imperial Tomb Tablet of the Great Ming.
Read commentary on this text by clicking on the “Commentary” link under the “Categories” tab in the sidebar at right.
To start the text from the beginning, click here.
