In determining whose path we most admire, we may rediscover our own bearings and reconnect with our own journey’s purpose. Take a walk in the lotus-sized shoes of women from ancient Chinese folklore and experience their voyages.
Space Exploration
When the Shenzhou 5 successfully entered orbit 343 km above Earth, astronaut Yang Liwei took a great step for China’s space program, but the greatest leap of mankind should perhaps instead be awarded to Chang E who has successfully lived on the moon for thousands of years. According to legend, Chang E ate her husband’s potion of immortality and consequently floated up to her “Palace of the Far Reaching Cold” where she lingers on with only a pet rabbit to keep her company. Although most celebrated during the Mid-Autumn festival when crowds gather to gorge themselves on mooncakes and to try to make out her figure on the fullest moon of the year, she plays every night to audiences around the world. While you wait for nightfall, stop by the Ancient Beijing Observatory and pay your respects to all things astrological. With gadgets dating back 500 years, you’re sure to be star-struck.
Seaside Escapes
It was a dark and stormy night during the Song Dynasty. Not your typical dark and stormy night. We’re talking a regular typhoon here. Fifteen-year-old Lin Muoniang dreamt that her two brothers and her father, all fishermen, were drowning. In her dream, she reached out two hands to grab her brothers from the brink. In a feat of Chinese acrobatics, she grabbed her father with her mouth. Her mother, fearing Muoniang dead, shook her awake. Distracted, the girl opened her mouth and cried out, releasing her father into the shadowy depths. Though the father had perished, Muoniang’s brothers returned to tell the tale of how a miraculous force had pulled them from the water. The story spread, and she was quickly deified as Mazu, a Taoist goddess of the sea. The Qing Dynasty later called her “Heavenly Empress.” There are more than 1,500 temples in 26 countries devoted to her. Macau’s colorful, sandalwood-scented A-Ma Temple perched atop a hill overlooking the sea is a good place to start.
Romantic Gardens
In China’s own Romeo and Juliet, Zhu Ying Tai, disguised in a man’s clothes, on the road to Hangzhou where she will attend school, meets the dashing (and some would also say dense) Liang Shanbo. The two become classmates and the best of friends, but during the course of their three years together, Shanbo never gets the hint that not only is Yingtai a girl but that she is a girl in love with him. Yingtai’s parents abjure her to come home and marry a wealthy man, despite her objections. Shanbo finds out she was a girl all along and dies in his grief. Yingtai commits suicide by jumping into his tomb, which closes in on her. Two butterflies rise from the grave, freely dancing in the breeze. Return to the town of their love and visit the Hangzhou Botanical Garden. Just northwest of the West Lake Scenic Retreat, the garden covers 230 hectacres and boasts more than 4,000 plants, many of which are butterfly friendly.
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