OLD CHINESE ACCOUNT OF UFO
Sun, 10 Nov 1996 23:33:27 -0500 (EST)
Source: David Murphy
The following was found in The Columbia Anthology of Traditional
Chinese Literature (Columbia University Press)
Brush Talks from Dream Brook by Shen Kua (1030-1094AD)
Shen Kua served in a number of governmental positions in the capital
and in the provinces. His duties concerned river control, compilation of
the imperial diary, border fortifications against the Tanguts (Hsi-hsia),
and diplomatic missions to the Khitans(Liao). Wherever he went , he was
always a keen observer and wrote voluminously about all manner of things
that he encountered. Possessed of a polymathic mind, Shen jotted down his
diverse data and thoughts in the form of random notes--pi-chi, "brush
talks." His extremely broad interests in science, technology, language,
and literature are evident in the celebrated collection known as Sketches
from Dream Brook (Meng hsi pi-t'an, named after the place where his estate
was located), from which the present selection has been taken.
[On a UFO](1)
In the Chia-yu period,(2) a "pearl"(3) appeared in Yang-chou. It was very
large and frequently appeared at night. At first it emerged from the
swamps of T'ien ch'ang county; later it moved to Pi-she Lake; and finally
it was at Hsin-k'ai Lake. For more than ten years, residents and
travelers would constantly see it.
My friend had a study by the lakeside and one night saw that the
"pearl" was very near. At first it opened its door very slightly, and
light shot out from the crack like a golden ray. After a moment, it
opened wider to the space of half a mat; within there was white light like
silver. The "pearl" was as big as a fist and so bright you couldn't look
at it directly. For over ten tricents, the trees cast shadows, exactly as
when the sun has just come up. In the distance you saw only a sky
reddened as if by a forest fire. All of a sudden it went far off, moving
as if in flight, floating over the waves, shining like the sun.
In the past there was a "moongem," but its color was unlike the
moon; shimmering with sharp flames, it rather resembled the sun. Ts'ui
Po-yi once wrote a "Rhapsody on the Bright Gem." Ts'ui was from Kao-yin(4)
and so must have seen it often.
In recent years, it hasn't appeared again; no one knows where it
has gone. Fan- liang-chen is where the "pearl" used to appear, and when
travelers reach there, they usually tie up their boats for a few nights to
watch for its appearance. The pavilion there is called "The Playful
Pearl."
Translated by Richard W. Bodman
1 . Section title provided by the translator.
2. 1056-1063.
3. In Chinese folklore, pearls are endowed with the magic power to
give off their own light, to protect their owner from sickness, and to
repel water (when their owner is swimming).
4. Kao-yin is in Kiangsu province near Yang-chou.
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