Ku

“ I committed the unpardonable sin, and now the hour of my atonement has come. Ku spared my life. Kneeling under the rainbow, beside my new-born babe, I confessed my sin to him, and bound myself by an irrevocable vow that, if he would let me train the boy to lead the chiefs in battle for his throne, I, Hiwa, goddess-queen, with my own royal hand, would shed my sacred blood upon his [Pg 97] altar. Ku heard the vow, and answered me with thunder from the mountains. He has kept faith with me. Now I must keep faith with him, or else his heavy wrath will fall on all I love, on all who follow me. ”

“ Ku got a light, and ran to see what it was; and lo! there lay a white fox, head in one place and body in another. “There is your friend,” cried the girl; “I knew he would cause me to destroy him sooner or later.” Ku dragged it into the house, and said, “Let us wait till to-morrow to talk it over; we shall then be more calm.” Next day the young lady arrived, and Ku inquired about her knowledge of the black art ”

“ The Spirit of Hiwa bids you save your lives. Why should you die? Behold, the rightful moi kane, Aelani, The Pledge from Heaven, The Chosen of the Gods, cometh to his own! Ku thundered at his birth, and the rainbow covered him; therefore none shall be able to stand before him. Yet he is just and merciful. He will slay those who are taken with arms in their hands, fighting against him. ”

“ She doesn’t speak or laugh, is very nice-looking, and as pure as snow; truly no ordinary girl.” There ended that; until one day, as Ku was sitting in his study, up came a very agreeable young fellow, who said he was from a neighbouring village, and engaged Ku to draw a picture for him. The two youths soon struck up a firm friendship and met constantly, when it happened that the stranger chanced to see the young lady of over the way. ”

“ Kane, Ku, and Lono. Kane is greatest of the gods, the almighty father and creator of heaven and earth; but he sleeps through the ages, and gives no heed to what is done among gods and men, and, therefore, they do not heed him. Lono is so gentle and kind that men are not afraid of him, and so they forget him. Ku is active, masterful, fierce, and cruel, and delights in wars and human sacrifices, and bends all things to his will, and rules alike among gods and men; so we worship Ku. Wakea, our ancestor, is a great god, and, next to Ku, bears sway over heaven and earth ”

“ And it is possible that the legend was preserved in after times by the priesthood, as offering a rational explanation of the institution of the kapu days of Ku. Another feature attests the genuine antiquity of the legend, viz. that no other gods are referred to than those primordial ones of Hawaiian theogony; Kane, Ku and Lono, the latter of whom is clearly recognized as the god of the atmosphere, of air and water, the Lono-noho-i-ka-wai of the creation chants. ”

“ That other gods, Kane, Ku, Kanaloa, 26 with Lono, Ku-pulupulu, 27 and the whole swarm of godlings that peopled the wildwood, were also invited to favor the performances with their presence can be satisfactorily explained on the ground, first, that all the gods were in a sense members of one family, related to each other by intermarriage, if not by the ties of kinship; and, second, by the patent fact of that great underlying cause of bitterness and strife among immortals as well as mortals, jealousy. ”

“ One great disadvantage that one labours under is that the native teachers, and there are no others, of course don’t speak a word of any language but their own. At first, therefore, Ku, that’s my man’s name, and I used to sit and look at one another in a hopeless state of unintelligibility, until either he got bored, made signs of having a stomach-ache, and took his leave, or I could stand him no longer and dismissed him. ”

“ Their creation commenced on the 26th day of the month, on the day called Kane and was continued during the days called Lono, Mauli, Muku, Hilo and Hoaka.
“In six days the creation was done and the seventh day, the day called Ku, became the first kapu day (la kapu) , day of rest. ”

“ At intervals I paused to listen for a moment; and presently I heard a pattering sound as of footsteps coming swiftly after me. I instantly concluded that Kua-kó had been awake all the time watching my movements, and that he was now following me. I now put forth my whole speed, and while thus running could distinguish no sound. That he would miss me, for it was very dark, although with a starry sky above, was my only hope; for with no weapon except my knife my chances would be small indeed should he overtake me. ”

“ Sun Wu Kung shouted at him: "Accursed devil, where are your eyes, that you cannot see the venerable Sun?" Then the devil looked to the ground and saw a stone ape standing before him, bare-headed, dressed in red, with a yellow girdle and black boots. So the Devil-King laughed and said: "You are not even four feet high, less than thirty years of age, and weaponless, and yet you venture to make such a commotion." Said Sun Wu Kung: "I am not too small for you; and I can make myself large at will. You scorn me because I am without a weapon, but my two fists can thresh to the very skies." ”

“ This practice excited some interest in Kua-kó, who had a little more of curiosity and geniality and less of the put-on dignity of the others, and with him I became most intimate. Fencing with Kua-kó was highly amusing: no sooner was he in position, foil in hand, than all my instructions were thrown to the winds, and he would charge and attack me in his own barbarous manner, with the result that I would send his foil spinning a dozen yards away, while he, struck motionless, would gaze after it in open-mouthed astonishment. ”

“ John’s College, Shanghai, and spoke English well. He was essentially a scholar, of gentle and amiable manners, honourable and guileless. During our five months together we never found him lacking in tact or discretion, and we were able without hesitation to place our affairs entirely in his hands. Fortunate is the traveller who likes his companions better at the end of such a journey than at the beginning!
BOXER KACHIN WOMAN
Mr. Ku’s father had a narrow escape for his life,105 like many other Chinese officials, during the troubles of 1900. ”

“ VIII Kuang Hsu—His Self-Development The Emperor Kuang Hsu is slight and delicate, almost childish in appearance, of pale olive complexion, and with great, melancholy eyes. There is a gentleness in his expression that speaks rather of dreaming than of the power to turn dreams into acts. It is strange to find a personality so etherial among the descendants of the Mongol hordes; yet the Emperor Kuaug Hsu might sit as a model for some Oriental saint on the threshold of the highest beatitude.—Charles Johnston in "The Crisis in China." ”

“ It rose in a vast sweep of opalescent color, like a translucent thundercloud hanging over the whole land. Knowing it for a mountain, the mind felt vertiginous at the thought of such tremendous bulk towering overhead.
“It looks clear,” Kua said. “All the way through. I can’t tell what’s beyond it. Just an enormous mountain made out of—of plastic? I wonder.”
Kern was aware of a tugging at his wing-surfaces, and glanced around in quick recognition of the strengthening breeze. He was the first to notice it.
“It’s beginning to blow. And listen—do you hear?” ”

“ You must confess that the State has rewarded you liberally. True, Kuo has seized the officers of State, but you have done the same to “The Most Revered.” Who is worse than the other?”
Li angrily drew his sword and shouted, “Did the Son of Heaven send you to mock and shame me?”
But Yang Fêng checked him. “Kuo Ssŭ is still alive,” said he, “and to slay the imperial messenger would be giving him a popular excuse to raise an army against you. And all the nobles would join him.” ”

“ There was a sudden harshness to her thought.
“Kern, you’re a soft fool!” Kua said. “Did you think you could reach Paradise without earning it? Whether you help us or not, you’ve got to face danger before you’ll find your place in this world, or any other. I don’t think you can manage without us. And we need your help, too. Together, we may still lose the battle. Separately, there’s no hope for any of us. We know! The Mountain may be a mutation as far beyond us as we are beyond the animals. But we’ve got to fight.” ”

“ The San Kuo is distinctly eastern, a book adapted for the story-teller; one can almost hear him. It abounds in names and genealogies, which seem never to tire the eastern reader or listener. Happily, English admits pronouns in place of so many strangely-spelt names which ought to appear, and they have been used; and as most persons have at least a tzŭ in addition to the hsing and ming I have tried to lighten the burden on the foreign reader’s memory by using only the hsing or hsing and ming of a man, suppressing his tzŭ except in the case of very well-known characters. ”

“ If you had stood with us atop one of the mountains, and with us had looked abroad on the countless leagues of rolling brush-clothed land, undulating away in all directions over a far horizon, you must with us have estimated as very slight the chances of happening on the exact pin point where the kudu at that moment happened to be feeding. For the beast is shy, it inhabits the densest, closest mountain cover, it possesses the keen eyesight and sense of smell of the bush-dwelling deer and antelope, and more than the average sense of hearing. ”

“ Elje turned too, and from the corner of his eye, he saw her recoil involuntarily from the strangeness of Kua’s face.
Kua’s wide blue eye, with depth upon depth shining in it, was staring at the rock wall above the fireplace. Her face had a look of concentration and withdrawal upon it, as if in all but body she were miles away.
“Kern!” she said again. “There are men coming. Many men. I think they are the same ones who were following us outside.” She hesitated, glancing quickly at Elje’s face, her eye refocusing swiftly and then going back to the solid wall. ”

“ With a cry that made the king and all his followers shiver as with cold, he sprang past Kuala's javelin and fastened his teeth within the flesh and his face was like a demon as he tore the warrior's throat, and Kuala fell slowly back upon the sand, writhing in quick death. Then the Hulumanu, standing by the King, threw his spear and pierced the great chief who fell face downward on the sand. From the hills the warriors came with a mighty rush as slides the land from the steep mountain sides, while the red men awaited their coming with faces lean and fierce. ”

“ The thought-voice of Kua faltered. “Dangerous. We may learn more of it, if we live. This much we’ve seen, though, through Byrna’s vision, and mine. We’ve sensed forces reaching out from the Mountain, into the minds of men. The minds of the winged townspeople. Assembling them for war.” She hesitated. “Kern, do you know they’re on their way now, to your town, where the outlaws are?” ”

“ Then he turned to Mukuli and said to him: “When we were at Hórho Nachubur at the thick spreading tree under which Khan Kutula made merry and was dancing, Heaven bestowed wisdom and tidings which became clear to thee. I remember the words given then by thy keen father, Gunua, and I make thee prince now because of those words, and thy conduct ever after. Sit thou above other men in society, be a commander of ten thousand on the left wing, and govern on the east to the Haraun mountains. Thy descendants will inherit thy dignity.” ”

“ Then masons built the stone pillars and hung the great bell, and on a day came Kublai-Chan to ring it for the first time, and with him, at his right hand, Kuang Sai, whom he delighted to honor.
“And when all things were prepared, Kublai-Chan, the great king, drew back the striking-beam with all force, and rang the great bell, and sound came forth, deep, sweet, and full as the voices of the gods.
“Far, far away spread the circles of sound, even to the edge of the kingdom. The multitudes gathered around and fell down before that voice in rows, as corn before the reaper. ”

“ Again she turned to stare with her fathomless gaze into distances no human eye ever pierced before, unaided.
“They’re coming,” she said. “Through the mists, the way we came.”
Swiftly Kern told Elje what she had said. Elje leaned forward abruptly.
“Through the labyrinth?” she cried. “But they can’t! No one can come that way without a guide. They won’t get far before they’re overcome by the gasses.”
“They have a guide,” Kua said in a strangely gentle voice, turning her gaze upon Elje. “Your friend. Gerd.” ”

“ By the loss of two generals, one after the other, Ts‘ao Ts‘ao [1] was greatly depressed. “Allow me,” said one of his staff, “to recommend the very man you want;” and on being asked by Ts‘ao Ts‘ao for the name, he replied, “The only man for this job is Kuan Yü.” Ts‘ao Ts‘ao was soon convinced, and gladly dispatched a messenger to summon him. After taking leave of his two sisters-in-law, who begged him to enquire for news of their Imperial uncle, Kuan Yü set out to obey the summons. ”

“ The kuni, which was the unit of currency in olden days, and was used by royalty, is the next in value, and is costly if dark, and with a tough, light-weight skin, which is an essential item of consideration for the necessary large cloaks. Sables, rich and dark, are worn, like the kuni, by any one who can afford them,--court dames, cavaliers, archbishops, and merchants, or their wives and daughters,--while the climax of beauty and luxury is attained in the black fox fur, soft and delicate as feathers, warm as a July day. ”

“ And when Sun Wu Kung sadly bade him farewell, he threatened him: "Your savage nature is sure to bring down evil upon you some time. You must tell no one that you are my pupil. If you so much as breathe a word about it, I will fetch your soul and lock it up in the nethermost hell, so that you cannot escape for a thousand eternities."
Sun Wu Kung replied: "I will not say a word! I will not say a word!"
Then he once more thanked him for all the kindness shown him, turned a somersault and climbed up to the clouds. ”