Chapter 235: Appendix
Appendix: An actual incident
The Sichuan-Tibet Highway crosses the Kunlun Mountains and passes through the four major river systems of the Jinsha, Lancang, Nujiang and Yarlung Zangbo rivers. It is one of the most dangerous highways in the world.
Soldiers A and B of the People’s Liberation Army were driving a military truck to deliver emergency supplies to the troops.
It was late at night, and snowing heavily. To ensure safety, they drove very slowly on the dark and slippery winding mountain road.
They were relieved to think that they would reach their destination in another hour. Driving on the Sichuan-Tibet Highway in the snow was really dangerous, but fortunately nothing had happened.
The two men were relieved when suddenly a blue fireball hit the window. The soldier driving the truck, Soldier A, subconsciously stepped on the brake. Although the wheels were fitted with large iron chains to prevent slipping, the truck still slid out at an angle, slamming into the side of the road.
Below is a precipice, and without the traction of other vehicles, the truck could not be pulled up. The important supplies on the truck were also scattered on the ground due to the tilt.
Fortunately, the two soldiers were not injured. They got out of the truck to check, and found a blue fireball on the ground that was gradually going out. They got closer and saw that it was a small red transparent bug. How could there be an active bug in the snow and ice?
One of the soldiers took out an empty water bottle and put the bug in it, ready to show it to his comrades.
After some discussion, they decided that one of them would walk to the military base for help, while the other would stay behind to guard the supplies.
When dawn came, someone came to help, and they found that the truck was still leaning on the cliff, and there was no sign that the military supplies on the ground had been touched by anyone. However, someone had died in the driver’s seat. His body had been burned to ashes, but there was no sign of fire damage on the items around him. The water bottle he had used to carry the bug was empty, and the strange bug was nowhere to be found.
Appendix 2: Explanation of some related terms
Two don’t take
Tomb robbers must always uphold the “two-not-one” code of conduct, which means that they must not destroy the bones of the tomb owner, not damage the structure of the tomb, only take the most valuable artifacts, and not take them all, and finally leave two behind. As the saying goes, “thieves also have a code of conduct.” This seemingly strange code of conduct for tomb robbers is probably to preserve the last precious self-comfort for their immoral behavior.
Appendix: Some related content about the blue and white porcelain of the Northern Song Dynasty
Some people have repeatedly posted comments emphasizing that the Northern Song Dynasty did not have blue and white porcelain.
In fact, this is a topic that has been debated in the archaeological community.
One school of thought is that blue and white porcelain appeared during the Tang Dynasty, and the “Tang blue and white” from the Gongxian kilns is the ancestor of blue and white porcelain. Another school of thought is that blue and white porcelain was invented in the middle of the Yuan Dynasty, and the “Tang blue and white” from the Gongxian kilns is a type of blue and white porcelain with two different firing temperatures, rather than true blue and white porcelain. Jingdezhen is the birthplace of blue and white porcelain.
With the excavation of the Wushan tomb, the final conclusion has almost been reached. It is reported that the blue and white porcelain discovered in Wushan County this time was found in a tomb from the late Northern Song Dynasty. The porcelain bowl is 5.2 cm high, 13.2 cm in diameter, and 5.5 cm in diameter at the bottom. It has a wide mouth, a rounded lip, and a flat bottom with a short ring foot. The inner wall has three circles of blue and white circles, and the bottom has a character. The outer wall is decorated with flowers and plants, and the brushwork is casual. The blue and white glaze is slightly grayish black in the blue.
Since the blue and white porcelain has a blackish blue color, it is similar to the blue and white porcelain produced in Jingdezhen. If it can be confirmed that it is blue and white porcelain from the Song Dynasty or earlier, and that it was produced in Jingdezhen, it will undoubtedly bring a major breakthrough in academic research.
The firing of Jingdezhen blue and white porcelain began in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127 AD). During the Yuan and Ming Dynasties (13th-17th centuries AD), the gradual popularity of blue and white porcelain and the expansion of foreign trade led to further improvements in the production technology and scale of Jingdezhen blue and white porcelain. The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD) was the heyday of blue and white porcelain, and Jingdezhen blue and white porcelain, with its exquisite firing, took the lead and became the representative of modern blue and white porcelain in China.
Blue and white porcelain is a type of porcelain decorated with blue and white patterns. It is made by applying a layer of transparent white glaze to a porcelain blank, which has been decorated with a pattern of blue and white. The porcelain is then fired in a kiln at a temperature of around 1300°C. Although blue and white porcelain is only decorated with a single color, it is more elegant and delicate than porcelain decorated with five colors, and is therefore widely loved by many people. Jingdezhen blue and white porcelain is one of the four traditional famous porcelains of Jingdezhen. It is lead-free and non-toxic, acid and wear resistant, and the color does not fade over time. It is known as the “blue and white porcelain that never fades.”
Although the story of “Ghost Blows Out the Light” belongs to the category of fiction, we will provide some real information here for your reference. In the future, we will continue to provide the prototypes of real events in the story. Thank you for your support. Above
The real-world ghost flower
The Titan Arum, also known as the “corpse flower,” has an even more vivid name: “corpse stink arum.” This flower grows in the Sumatran Islands, and it takes about 150 years to mature. When the corolla opens, the reddish-purple flowers will continue to bloom for several days, and the stench of the corpse will increase dramatically. When the flower withers, the plant goes into hibernation again. The smell of rotten socks or a corpse is meant to attract flies and dung beetles that feed on carrion. It is very beautiful, more beautiful than you can imagine, but this strange flower is indeed growing on our planet and still exists in the world.
Its distant ancestor, the “corpse-scented devil’s flower,” has been extinct for thousands of years. This devil’s flower, with its enchanting colors and strange fragrance, creates one trap after another composed of illusions, luring people to their deaths. According to legend, the “corpse-scented devil’s flower” is the evil spirit that guards King Solomon’s treasure.
For an explanation of the inverted bucket lip dictionary, those who are interested can take a look
In the story, Hu Bayi and Shirley Yang had a conversation like this:
Shirley Yang: “The plate is hanging with a thousand gold pieces, the sea is rippling. The hook is grasping the pole, the bucket is pouring, Yuanliang is pouring, and the moon is calling, but the color is not on the bag.”
Hu Bayi: “There is no Yuanliang. He moves firewood on the mountain and burns it at the foot of the mountain. May I ask this Yuanliang on top of the mountain where he has divided the mountain and dismantled the gate?”
Shirley Yang: “There are two sides to every story. Both are about people carrying firewood up the mountain and burning it down below. Partridges divide the mountain, and hawks open the gate. They have been to the palace of treasures, but nowhere can they find the dragon tower.”
A small part of these “secret words” are basically the same as the slang of the underworld, but they are also unique and very characteristic.
I will explain the specific meanings of these slang terms in detail below, because these words will often appear in the story later, so they can be used as a reference.
Shirley Yang: “The heart is set on a plate (crooked), the mouth is talking nonsense (talking nonsense), and the feet are quick (nimble). Gou zhua tiao gangzi (nimble hands and feet), dao dou (grave robbing), guan da ding (high professional skills), yuan liang (honorific, used to address peers, can be used to express a variety of meanings, such as old master, old gentleman, old senior, brother, your excellency, etc., in short, it is a very respectful title), yue (two, two, two) zhao zi (eyes), yuan cai (see clearly, good eyesight), bao shang (not be deceived).
Hu Bayi: “I don’t deserve it, Yuanliang. I’m just a woodcutter who moves wood from the mountains and burns it in the valley. May I ask where you have been digging up tombs? Where do you operate? How many tombs have you disassembled?
Shirley Yang: “There are two sides to every story (a pun on the Chinese characters for “two sides” and “story”), and although we are far apart, we are still in the same business (the same trade). We both move wood from the mountains and burn it in the mountains (both trades are passed down from our ancestors), and we both go everywhere (we do business in all directions). the hawk (from ancient times to the present, also from top to bottom, from the past to the present) opens the gate, has been to many palaces, and can’t find the dragon tower anywhere (a pun, meaning that if you don’t know feng shui, you can’t find the dragon tower or the palace, and even if you pass by an ancient tomb, you may not be able to find it. You can only do needlework, and you must know the exact target to pour it. Dragon tower, towering into the clouds, is the dragon tower, the treasure hall, the majestic and flat mountain ridge is the treasure hall, the dragon tower and the treasure hall together, is specifically referring to the super-large tomb with extravagant burial goods.)