Adventures of Xio Xiu
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his is the story of Xio Xiu (read Zou Zoo), a young boy of 14 years who lived with his parents and a little brother Lin, five years his junior, in a hamlet of about 80 odd families (total population 433) close in the mountain ranges to the north of the Xi'an province of China almost touching the present Mongolia border. This is the story of a time when the geographical boundaries were not drawn and occurred about 480 years BC. That was the time when the Zhou dynasty ruled the region with the capital city located at Hao. They called their village Xiang, a place that was beautiful in looks and bountiful in food. It was a small valley surrounded by multiple mountain ranges all around except for a gorge that allowed “Huang He”, the Yellow River, to flow through the low lying area of the valley. A huge waterfall cascaded down the eastern side of the mountain and the waters at the base accumulated into a big lake that eventually ran down towards Beijing to the east and finally into the Pacific ocean. This was a time when almost the entire region of China was ruled by small individual dynasties who had their own set of rules and governed people in as many different ways depending upon the fancy of the ruler. Two major dynasties Chou and Chen ruled the country for many many years even though they had their own differences and maintained a hostile attitude towards each other. No laws were obeyed and there was no control over the movement of people who kept fighting with each other. The people of different regions were almost always at war for the control of land and the right of access to women who were comparatively less in number than men. It was in fact around this time in 480 BC that the ideals set forth by the Chinese scholar Confucius were steadily being inducted into the Chinese way of life and it would be another 250 years when the first Emperor would have taken over the task of governing the whole country. In this age of trial and tribulation Xio Xiu had a dream to bring an element of order in the warring tribes. He was too young to know how and where to start. He had an ambition to be a leader of his people and let them prosper as individuals of a free state. He may have been naive but was very lucky in one way for he was the only young man in the village who owned a horse. It was his father who had given him the horse, a chestnut colored beauty standing almost 6 feet tall, a year ago on his attaining adulthood. The age of 13 was considered as the time when boys became men. His father had got the horse from the neighboring Mongolia during one of his many trips to other lands. He was a trader who traded in silk which was produced in abundance in the area. He often used to be out of the village for most of the summer time and returned with lots of good things like salt and sugar and green tea and spices that he traded with the silk produced at home. It would, however, be much later when the so called “silk route” would be established as the appropriate trading route for silk, a commodity that was mass produced in the country. So much silk was produced that the trading route reached as far as Iran and Afghanistan in the west and Japan in the east. Xio Xiu was contended , though, and he used to take his little brother Li on the horseback for rides into the nearby jungles where they collected firewood and other things of use in the house. The mother was the one who did the farming in the little piece of land they owned and also managed the house. She was a god fearing woman and loved her children and took great care in their upbringing. The hard times would come twice a year during the rains and during winter when the place turned inaccessible. The mountain passes would close during winter with snow and the Yellow River flowing right through the mountain range used to get flooded during rains cutting out access with the rest of the country. The people could not grow any crops other than some seasonal vegetables sustainable during the rainy season. For winter they used to store dried meat and fish and also grains for consumption. The heavy snowfall would prevent their movement and restrict them to their hearth and homes. There was almost no activity that required them to use their limbs and legs making them feel lethargic. Any activity that would keep them outdoors would have been welcome and everyone kept looking out for a chance to get involved in doing something that would take them out of their rusting frames of mind. It was during one winter day when the incessant snowfall ceased over a couple of days and the sun shone brightly in the sky that Xio Xiu decided to go out into the jungle to find some game that he would kill for fresh meat. The jungles were abundant with wild boars and some small animals like pheasants and rabbits that he planned to hunt. He carried his Axe and a long bamboo spear with a sharp wrought iron tip to hunt. He knew about the existence of the grizzly bear but he had learnt how to avoid confronting the creature. He was only sad that he could not carry his little brother with him as he was too small to join him in his pursuit of adventure. He went into the jungle, tethered the horse to a tree stump outside the periphery before starting his hunt so that the game was not alerted as the horse grunted and wimped when left for grazing. It was a long wait when he finally sighted a white rabbit nibbling at some vegetation that it had uncovered under the snow. Xio Xiu did not want to scare the animal and was stealthily approaching it when a crunch of his feet on the fresh snow alerted the rabbit and it scampered away. Xio Xiu was bent upon his hunt and started running after his prey, now that it had already taken notice of him. The chase took him deeper into the jungle and at one point he lost sight of the rabbit. The white rabbit had the advantage to merge with the white background of the snow and remain untraceable. It was soon after this that Xio Xiu noticed the sky turning dark and then suddenly the snow started to fall, first lightly and then in dense sheets lowering the visibility to almost zero. He lost his sense of direction and tried to call his horse for comfort. Either the horse did not hear him or he was out of range to hear any response from the animal. Xio Xiu could not assess the passage of time since he could not see the sky and everything around looked dark and scary. He kept talking to himself loudly thinking that way the horse may hear him eventually and he could ride it back home. He walked for hours on end without taking rest. He knew how to evade a bear but that was possible only when he was able to see it. In this darkness he realized he could not even hear its footfalls as the snow would dampen the sound, unless it announced itself by its usual heavy grunts. A little while later he found he had a wall like obstacle right in front of him and he stretched his hands to get a feel of the object impeding his progress. With a great shock he learnt that it was the mountain face ahead that stopped him in his tracks. He felt his way ahead by feeling around the face of the mountain and sometime later his hands met no resistance. He ascertained his position with respect to the terrain. Then it dawned on him that he was face to face with a cave ahead which he knew existed but had not ever seen. He entered it with no other option. At least this way he thought he could escape the falling snow and save himself from the cold that was overpowering. Xio Xiu kept waiting as time passed and the sky remained dark and the snow kept falling and there seemed no end in sight to his unease. Besides being cold he was now feeling hungry and did not know how he could get back to the warmth of his home. He remembered his mother and the little brother and called out to them in despair. All of a sudden he felt a strong gripping hand on his shoulder and he was startled. He could hardly see the object that held him as it was still dark in the cave. He tried to speak but words failed him as he did not know if it was a human holding him or the grizzly bear he knew was around. His mind was working hard to learn what it could be but he felt he could not muster the courage to speak. A shrill squeak escaped his lips and he fainted in the arms of the creature holding him. It seemed to be an eternity when finally Xio Xiu came back to consciousness and he opened his eyes to discern a streak of light filtering through the open mouth of the cave where he was holed up. He looked around to see where he was and what had become of him in the last few moments, but could see nothing as a response. He sat motionless fearing an attack from the bear thinking that it was the only reason that he had felt the grab a while ago. Then it dawned on him that there was no injury to his body and no blood was coming out from anywhere. From what he had learnt from his father he suddenly recalled that winter was a time when the bears are in a state of hibernation and they would not wake up until the Spring unless there was some real reason to do so. But a hungry bear had a very strong sense of smell and could have smelt him as he entered the cave. Xio Xiu kept waiting until it seemed an eternity and then he decided to move towards the source of light filtering in to the cave. It was a man's voice he clearly heard the second time around and he stopped in his tracks. Looking back into the cave, from where the voice came from, he found it difficult to focus as looking in was looking into darkness. So he called back and softly asked the man to identify himself. A mild incantation emanated from within that he did not understand but he still could see no man. He focused his sight once again and this time he saw a shadow like thing moving towards him. He stepped back in fear but a reprimand like voice from within stopped him. He had now reached the threshold to the entrance of the cave but had no courage to either exit or re-enter. He was still in mortal fear of the unknown when he finally saw a long bearded man looking like a monk wearing black robes and holding a staff longer than his own height in his right hand. His eyes were red and the skin a perfect yellow as if he had not been in the sun for many a year. But there was an aura around him that appeared mystical and magical. Xio Xiu kept staring with awe at the man standing before him. “ I am here seeking you for you have been chosen to carry out an important mission. You have to free this nation of all the rouges and the rebels and the warlords, who have brought pain and suffering to the people. It is ordained to establish an empire of peace and tranquility and I want you to lead the movement”. The monk said with a calm voice and Xio Xiu heard him clearly. “It is your responsibility to take my command to the people of this country and tell everyone what I say to you now so that you establish a rule of law”, he added. Xio Xiu was astonished at the amount of responsibility that was being thrust on his young shoulders by a man who had no antecedents that could be verified in order that his command could be recognized even by the people of a small village leave aside the whole country to which he was referring to. He was left speechless and had no idea as to how he should respond. The monk read his mind and soon with a sign of his finger he commanded him to follow. The monk moved deep inside the labyrinth of the cave and Xio Xiu meekly followed behind. It must have been an eternity as they walked deeper inside with no sign of stopping anywhere. Surprisingly Xio Xiu felt no hunger and was not even thirsty as he followed the monk into the deeper recesses of the cave. There was a sudden flash of light that was as strong as the rays of the sun and Xio Xiu saw human forms appearing ahead of him. A kind of warmth spread through his body raising his body temperature and his feeling of cold disappeared. As he walked forward the shadows of human forms kept growing steadily in number and they moved ahead of him all the time. There was still no word from the monk as to when he should stop. All he could see was the monk walking ahead of him with his staff rising up and down in a rhythmic motion keeping with the beat of his steps. Soon he saw a fork like diversion in the road ahead. The monk halted here and it appeared he was thinking which way to go. The wait lasted a long time. When the march continued the monk had taken a right turn at the fork. After walking some distance he stopped and retraced his steps and went the other way as he must have figured the earlier turn to the right was perhaps wrong. The shadow of people following suddenly disappeared and it was only the monk who was seen walking ahead with Xio Xiu following meekly behind. There seemed no end to this exercise and Xio Xiu did not know how to react. He was kind of scared and did not want to confront the monk at a time when he knew not what is in store for him. Suddenly, from nowhere, a noise of bird wings flapping could be heard and a large contingent of bats flew out upon them and he dived under for fear of being hit. Xio Xiu took a defensive position with his arms shielding his face so that the bats don't hit him in the eyes. After a long time when the bird flapping ceased Xio Xiu opened his eyes and saw a strange sight ahead of him. It was a huge open area with green foliage all around. There were tall trees and colorful flower shrubs spread every where. The sun shone bright and the bright day appeared to have a calming effect on his nerves. As if on a cue he felt hungry and wanted to eat a lot of food. He looked sideways and to his surprise he did not find the monk anywhere near him. He appeared to have melted away and vanished with the escaping bats from the cave that he had just left behind. A floral footpath led him to a table that was laid with food and some drink in a jar kept alongside. As he neared the table and seated himself at the bench positioned in front he discerned a beautiful maiden who kind of glided towards him and entreated him to eat. Xio Xiu did not understand one bit of what was happening and he calmly sat down and began to eat the most delicious food he had ever eaten. He soon realized he was eating alone at the table. No one would tell him yet that there were forces working behind to ensure that this would be the last meal of his life and they wanted him to enjoy it to his full capability. To be continued: |
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At present residing at Delhi with frequent visits to the US and Europe where his kith and kin reside. Has interest in writing. |
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B. L. Dhar was born and educated at Srinagar. Did Master's degree in Mathematics. Took up appointment with the Civil Aviation Sector of the G.O.I. as a gazzetted officer and later joined the PSU, Airports Authority of India (AAI) from where he retired as General Manager in 2000.