The Romance of Shaolin (4) - Righteously Accepting Tanzong

This picture-story book, "The Romance of Shaolin," is based on historical records. It chronicles the development of the Shaolin Temple and its martial arts over a period of more than 130 years, from the third year of Xiaochang in the Northern Wei Dynasty (527 AD) through the Sui Dynasty to the fourth year of Xianqing in the Tang Dynasty (659 AD). The story unfolds through seven chapters: "Huike Seeks the Dharma," "Zhineng Receives the Precepts," "Wuxing Enters the Monastery," "Righteously Accepting Tanzong," "Huiyang's Tonsure," "Tanzong Commands the Troops," and "Returning to Shaolin." Through the joys and sorrows of monks like Huida, Zhineng, Wuxing, Tanzong, and Huiyang, both before and after they entered monastic life, the book reflects the historical landscape of a time when frequent warfare plunged the common people into deep suffering.

Righteously Accepting Tanzong

The reign of the tyrannical Emperor Yang of Sui continues to plunge the empire into chaos. One of his most notorious and resource-draining projects was the construction of a new, lavish eastern capital at Luoyang. This massive undertaking required an immense workforce, which was filled by conscripting peasants and laborers from all over the region. This chapter opens in one such labor camp, showcasing the brutal conditions that served as a breeding ground for rebellion and despair, and which will forge the path of a future Shaolin hero.

Emperor Yang of Sui undertook the construction of the eastern capital, Luoyang, and within it, the magnificent Xianren Palace. The palace was on a grand scale, ingeniously designed, with halls and pavilions of the utmost splendor. To fund this, the common people were taxed to their limits and forced into unpaid labor, their suffering beyond words.

2. Wang Shichong, a powerful Sui official based in Luoyang, held significant local power. Seeing the construction of the palace as a highly profitable venture, he recommended his nephew, Wang Renzé, to be in charge of procuring materials and conscripting laborers.

3. The laborers went into the mountains and felled giant trees. But the mountain paths were rugged and crisscrossed with ravines, making it incredibly difficult to transport the timber out.

4. The massive logs, five to six feet in diameter, weighed thousands of pounds. They were difficult to control while rolling, and the slightest mistake could lead to injury or death for the workers. Sometimes, dozens of men would fall in a single day.

5. The food was even worse. The rations and money allocated were meager to begin with, and after layers of skimming by the camp officials, the laborers' three daily meals consisted of nothing more than a few bowls of watery gruel.

6. To gain favor and meet deadlines, Wang Renzé cared only about speed, not the lives of the workers. He ordered the camp's soldiers and foremen to wield leather whips to supervise the labor, and beatings were handed out for the slightest reason.

7. Wang Renzé had a trusted confidant named Hou Qi. This man was skilled at reading his master's expressions and was an expert at aiding in his master's tyranny. Full of malicious schemes, he was especially cruel to the laborers.

8. Among the laborers were a father and son who had been conscripted together. The father was over fifty, and the son was not yet twenty. Old and young, frail and weak, their suffering was unbearable.