When I first registered Dr.Sexon's Lit 285 Mythology class and started telling people about it, more than two people said the same thing to me, "You're lucky." One of these guys was from the writing center, and one was my college writing teacher. Yes, we are lucky. I am very glad I got to take this class with a knowledgeable professor, and I regret the classes I have skipped. This class has really opened my eyes to the mythology world, moreover, it led me into a brand new literature world. I never knew too much depths about the English literature, and as much as I want to be fluent at English, there are still many common things even elementary school students know and I don't. My English writing is still a weak point, and I constantly struggle with public speaking. This class required it all. Reading, writing, and public speaking. I don't think I have ever done so much public speech in my entire life, and I was amazed to see how great our classmates could writ. But I am thankful because now I at least know SOME stories I can cite in my other writings assignments, and most importantly, now I am more interested in reading mythologies
Anyways, this class is coming to an end, but mythology is international and everlasting. Thank you Dr.Sexon.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
My favorite Mythology, a story about revenge
Revenge is the eternal topic in both the mythology and reality world. Hamlet and The Count of Monte Cristo are two of the greatest revenge stories in history. In my childhood, I was once startled by this story I am about to tell, but as I read it today I find it rather fascinating.
In ancient times, there was a child whose face was considered peculiar because his eye brows were as far apart as a foot wide. People in town called him Meijianchi, which is a translation of "One foot wide between eye brows."
Meijianchi was the son of a famous swordsmith named Ganjiang. Due to the King's demand, Ganjiang spent three years to make a sword that was so sharp that it could cut steel into pieces. Ganjiang knew the ruthless King would kill him after to avoid such powerful weapon fall into the hands of his enemies. Thus Ganjiang secretly made another strong sword, and told his wife to leave it to his unborn child. As expected, the King executed Ganjiang after he has minted the matchless sword.
After Ganjiang died, Meijianchi was born and raised to be a young adult. He was filled with rage and hate when his mother told him about the truth about his father's death, he wanted to revenge. He took the powerful sword his father left for him, and said farewell to his mother because he must travel to the capital to chase after his foe.
On the other hand, with a guilty conscience, the King had a dream about Meijianchi coming to kill him. To avoid this dream becoming true, he quickly drew a picture of Meijianchi and offered a reward for whoever could catch him. To keep this assassin away, he ordered the soldiers to post this picture everywhere in the capital city.
Meijianchi immediately escape to hide in the woods after he heard about the situation in town. He was extremely sadden by just thinking about he couldn't complete his reprisal. Suddenly, a man showed up. This mysterious man was covered in black clothes, and his face was not revealed. "Give me your head and your sword and I will revenge for you." Even though Meijianchi was scared, he thought this was the only way to accomplish his avenge. He quickly drew his sword and cut off his own head. Standing with his head on both of his hands, Meijianchi handed his cranial to this man. The mysterious person said, "Don't worry, I won't disappoint you." Maybe comforted by his words, Meijianchi's dead body finally fell down.
The man brought Meijianchi's head to see the King. While the King was pleased and wanted to celebrate, this man spoke, "My dear King, you may want to place this cranial into a hot soup pot until it's completely rotten, otherwise the bad spirit might still cause trouble." The King agreed. He mandated his guards to bring him a pot with boiling water, then put the head in it. Three days have past, although the pot has been boiling, the cranial still hasn't showed a sign of rotting. The mysterious man suggested the King to take a closer look, so that his prestige can scare the bad spirit away. But as the King turned and walked closer to the big pot, the man in black pulled out his sword and cut down the King's head.
Meijianchi's head bit the King's ear right away, all of a sudden, the two heads started bashing and biting each other, it was difficult to determine which one would win. The man in black was so worried that he eagerly cut off his own head to help Meijianchi with the fight. Seven days later, Meijianchi and his help finally won. But at this time, the three skulls were already cooked pulpy, and no one could tell which one was who. Later, people separated what was left into three sets, and buried them in the same place. Today, it became a well-known tourist attraction called "The Three King Mausoleums."
In ancient times, there was a child whose face was considered peculiar because his eye brows were as far apart as a foot wide. People in town called him Meijianchi, which is a translation of "One foot wide between eye brows."
Meijianchi was the son of a famous swordsmith named Ganjiang. Due to the King's demand, Ganjiang spent three years to make a sword that was so sharp that it could cut steel into pieces. Ganjiang knew the ruthless King would kill him after to avoid such powerful weapon fall into the hands of his enemies. Thus Ganjiang secretly made another strong sword, and told his wife to leave it to his unborn child. As expected, the King executed Ganjiang after he has minted the matchless sword.
After Ganjiang died, Meijianchi was born and raised to be a young adult. He was filled with rage and hate when his mother told him about the truth about his father's death, he wanted to revenge. He took the powerful sword his father left for him, and said farewell to his mother because he must travel to the capital to chase after his foe.
On the other hand, with a guilty conscience, the King had a dream about Meijianchi coming to kill him. To avoid this dream becoming true, he quickly drew a picture of Meijianchi and offered a reward for whoever could catch him. To keep this assassin away, he ordered the soldiers to post this picture everywhere in the capital city.
Meijianchi immediately escape to hide in the woods after he heard about the situation in town. He was extremely sadden by just thinking about he couldn't complete his reprisal. Suddenly, a man showed up. This mysterious man was covered in black clothes, and his face was not revealed. "Give me your head and your sword and I will revenge for you." Even though Meijianchi was scared, he thought this was the only way to accomplish his avenge. He quickly drew his sword and cut off his own head. Standing with his head on both of his hands, Meijianchi handed his cranial to this man. The mysterious person said, "Don't worry, I won't disappoint you." Maybe comforted by his words, Meijianchi's dead body finally fell down.
The man brought Meijianchi's head to see the King. While the King was pleased and wanted to celebrate, this man spoke, "My dear King, you may want to place this cranial into a hot soup pot until it's completely rotten, otherwise the bad spirit might still cause trouble." The King agreed. He mandated his guards to bring him a pot with boiling water, then put the head in it. Three days have past, although the pot has been boiling, the cranial still hasn't showed a sign of rotting. The mysterious man suggested the King to take a closer look, so that his prestige can scare the bad spirit away. But as the King turned and walked closer to the big pot, the man in black pulled out his sword and cut down the King's head.
Meijianchi's head bit the King's ear right away, all of a sudden, the two heads started bashing and biting each other, it was difficult to determine which one would win. The man in black was so worried that he eagerly cut off his own head to help Meijianchi with the fight. Seven days later, Meijianchi and his help finally won. But at this time, the three skulls were already cooked pulpy, and no one could tell which one was who. Later, people separated what was left into three sets, and buried them in the same place. Today, it became a well-known tourist attraction called "The Three King Mausoleums."
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