Daomu Biji: Wu Xie’s Private Notes

007 Dongxia

Information:

Books seldom mention the existence of Dongxia (1), which was under Jurchen (2) rule. At the time of the decline and fall of the Jin Dynasty (3), this national entity had existed for more than seventy years in order to rejuvenate Jurchens and get them to stand on their own.

The territory was comprised of Jilin and the majority of the two Heilongjiang provinces. Along with Mongolia, it once received tributes from Goryeo (4). It ruled the eastern Liaoning region. The country was originally called Dazhen, and then Dongxia, and it was even called Dongzhen in Korean historical records.

1. Puxian Wannu

First of all, it’s necessary to introduce its founder, Puxian Wannu. He was a prominent figure in Northeastern China’s history, but neither “History of Jin” (5) nor “History of Yuan” (6) mention much about him. Some of his sporadic deeds could be found in “Ji” and “Zhuan” (7), but that may be related to historians’ prejudice against him since they saw him as a “rebel” and a “traitor”.

It could also be a result of there not being enough materials for them to compile his history, so it wasn’t until hundreds of years later that a special independent biography was written in “New History of Yuan”, “the Book of Yuan”, and so on.

Note: It still doesn’t make sense. Since there weren’t enough materials when they were writing “History of Jin” and “History of Yuan”, how were they able to write an independent biography for him hundreds of years later? Was the supplementary biography mostly fictitious? It wasn’t as rigorous as the previous sporadic records.

In addition, blaming it on the prejudices of historians didn’t make sense, either, because history is all about recording the positive and negative. There could only be one reason why there was no record of someone— they were irrelevant. If this man was truly so despicable, people should have been writing of his misdeeds and smearing his name for thousands of years.

This part of history was either deemed irrelevant by historians, or there was no information at all, making it impossible to even fabricate it.

Puxian Wannu was a descendent of Liao people. Throughout history, two things have always been said about him. One was negative and said that he should be criticized because he was a careerist who engaged in rebellion, divided the Jin Dynasty, and weakened the resistance to Mongolia. The other was positive and praised him as a “strange hero of Liaodong”, even going as far as to say he was almost as good as Aguda (8).

Due to the lack of historical records, there was even a debate about his name. Some recorded him as Wanyan Wannu, Fuhe Na, Fuxian Wannu, Buxi Wannu, Tuzhu Dashi, Wan Jianu, Yenu, Xiao Wannu, Wan Sunu, etc.

“Fuhe”, “Fuxian”, and "Buxi” were alternative names of “Puxian”, and “Ne” was shorthand for “Wannu”. It’s possible “Wan Yan” is his given surname.

Note: In other words, the recorded history may be a collection of countless names that were mixed together because of similar pronunciations. This is a typical historical fallacy, which mistakes two people with similar names for one person.

He first appeared in the historical records as a deputy minister of Shangjiu Bureau (Shangjiu Bureau was an institution in charge of training horses) in the sixth year of Emperor Zhangzong of Jin's reign (1206). He was also the lieutenant of right-wing general Wanyan Saibu, and fought against the Song army (from “History of Jin”, Volume 12, chapter “Zhangzong Ji (9) Four”).

According to Volume 113 of “Wanyan Saibu Zhuan" (10), Wannu launched a sneak attack in conjunction with Wanyan Saibu's frontal assault, and achieved a huge victory over tens of thousands of horsemen from the Song Army's main force that was led by Huang Fubin.

In Wanyan Yongji’s third year of rule during the Jin dynasty (1211), Wannu was appointed as supervisor of the senior officers and stationed in Yehuling. Due to the general’s incompetence, they were defeated by the Mongolian army and the soldiers completely lost morale. In the same year, Yelü Liuge raised troops to rebel against Jin, and the Khitan people also responded and stood with them.

In 1213, he was appointed as a senior officer at Xianping Road (Kaiyuan, Liaoning) and stationed there to suppress the rebellion. He was defeated in a battle that took place in Diji Naoer (near Changtu, Liaoning). Wanyan Yongil forgave him again and appointed him as a senior officer in Liaodong, where he became the highest military officer in the region. He fought against Liuge again, but underestimated the enemy and ended up losing. As a result, they retreated to Dongjing.

2. Founding his country and establishing himself as a king

In 1214, Emperor Xuanzong of Jin fled to Nanjing (Kaifeng). The central capital (Beijing) was occupied, and the fall of the Jin Dynasty was a foregone conclusion. Since land transportation had been disrupted, Liaodong had become a lonely enclave overseas, and the situation became even more difficult.

“At that time, the new emperor of Jin was very strict. Wannu felt insecure because he had failed, but when he heard that the emperor had moved to Kaifeng and was too busy to mind what happened in the east, he thought about taking the eastern lands as his own.” (From “History of Mughal Empire/Puxian Wannu Biography")

Losing to Liuge twice made him realize that there was no possibility of the Jin dynasty coming back from this. The only alternative was to change plans and start a new country, which may inspire the people and free him from the constraints of Jin.

In the spring of Emperor Xuanzong of Jin’s third year of rule (1215), Wannu staged a mutiny. He divided the troops into two divisions: one went all the way south as a partial division, while the other went all the way north as the main force with the strategic goal of controlling Shangjing. His troops quickly occupied Xianping, Dongjing, Shen, Cheng, and other prefectures, and then attacked Posufu Road and took over Shangjing and other places.

Liuge took the opportunity to attack Kaifeng and started his own country, which he named “Liao”. Wannu's wife, Li Xian-Er, was forced to marry Ketege, but Liuge had no intention of staying there for long, so he left soon after looting it. That was how Wannu was able to regain Dongjin.

Note: Poor Li Xian-Er. “Forced marriage” is an ambiguous term. Everyone knows exactly what happened.

Even though he gained “Shen, Cheng, and other prefectures, and people also abided by the Meng'an Mouke system” (11), he soon encountered many difficulties.

Eleven meng’ans who had already followed Wannu— including Bin Ge, Chutai, and Anchi— turned to follow Geshilie Huanduan, whose position was much lower than Wannu’s.

The more serious matter was the loss of his base, Dongjin. After several months of experiences and lessons, Wannu realized that the name of the highest military officer in Liaodong was no longer useful and things had to change. He decided to start a new country and make himself king in order to lift the spirits of the Jurchen people. That way, he could recruit more Liaodong soldiers and win the hearts of the people.

In October, 1215, (the third year of Emperor Xuanzong of Jin’s rule), he made himself king and appointed Dongjin as the capital. He called his country “Dazhen”, and named the era of his reign “Tian Tai”. He sought the prosperity of the Jurchen people.

Note: Based on these paragraphs, he didn’t have much military talent. Instead, he seemed like the kind of despicable person who took advantage of the chaos to make small gains. After taking advantage of things, he had no ability to keep what he had, so he had to give up all the previous principles he possessed. He belonged to the type of careerist whose ambition was greater than their ability. He was naturally a hero to me, but in that era at that time, his brilliance only showed how great others were.

3. Surrendering to Mongolia

When Dazhen was first established, it was in a difficult situation. It was surrounded by Mongolia, Jin, and Liao, so the land access to the outside world was blocked.

The Jin Dynasty in the southern and eastern parts of Liaodong became its nearest enemy and most imminent threat. The Jin dynasty used the strategy of pardoning high officials at Liaodong Road in an attempt to win over senior officers and disintegrate its army, hoping that it would collapse from within. Jin even went and adjusted soldiers' deployments in Liaodong and issued an edict that ordered generals in Liaodong to “try and take over Dazhen together.”

As for Liao, the internal conflicts, the move to Liaoxi, and Liuge surrendering to Mongolia meant that they had become Mongolia’s vassal state. Even though it still posed a threat to Dazhen, it wasn’t as important.

Therefore, the biggest and most dangerous enemy for Dazhen was Mongolia, which was on the upswing. If Wannu fought against Mongolia, he would definitely be defeated, but if he pretended to surrender, he could save strength and bide his time.

As a result, in October 1216, Wannu handed out a surrender statement and sent his son Tiege to Mongolia’s imperial camp as a hostage.

Note: I wasn’t surprised.

4. The eastward journey and starting Xia country

Since Puxian Wannu had surrendered, Mongolia let their guard down.

Not long after his surrender, he seized the opportunity and “led a crowd of more than a hundred thousand people and escaped to the island” (From “History of Yuan”, chapter “Mu Huali Zhuan”). He pretended to be cornered and weak with no intention of making a comeback when he was actually carrying out a major military transfer. This way, his subordinates were preserved and well rested.

In February 1217, the commander of the Liaodong Mongolian Army, Mu Huali, turned to the southern expedition and tried to enter the central plain, leaving no corresponding troops to defend.

Wannu thought that the opportunity had arrived, so he sent his troops to kill Yelu Nie'er Ge, an army supervisor. He then embarked on the eastward journey, roughly proceeding from both the north and the south at the same time.

He first attacked the areas around the lower reaches of the Yalu River and then broke through the Dafu encampment in April. He led the main force north to attack Long'an Mansion (Jilin Nong'an). Pucha Yila, who was a local senior officer and deputy marshal of Jin Liaodong, Shangjing, and other places, abandoned the city and fled to Bianjing.

Wannu then marched to Shangjing and conspired with Tai Ping, an official in Shangjing. He burned temples and took down the marshal named Chen Chong before occupying Shangjing. Wen Dihan Lao’er—who stayed behind and guarded Shangjin—was killed.

But Chen Chong’s daughter stood firm on behalf of her father, and ended up gaining reinforcements. As a result, Wannu didn’t succeed and had to withdraw to the east, going to the area at the junction of Helan Road and Supin Road.

The main force basically finished their eastward journey in December 1218, but other forces continued to be active in the southern part of Liaodong for a period of time.

In June and July of 1217, Wannu again started a new country. He changed the name to Dongxia, but still used Tian Tai as the name of his reign. The capital was Kaiyuan City (there are various opinions as to where the site is in today’s time).

It was also said that the country’s name was originally Daxia, but since it was located in the east and its name didn’t match Xixia (Western Xia), he decided to name it Dongxia (Eastern Xia). Korean historical records called it Dongzhen.

Note: He bided his time during this period, which was a very good plan. Puxian Wannu apparently had the ability to get things done. If he played his cards right, he could use this chance to rest and get better resources to quickly strengthen his country’s defenses and expand the army. By the time the other countries realized what he had done and reacted, a formidable opponent would have already appeared.

5. Deterring Liaodong

Once Dongxia was established, the Jin Dynasty ordered Pucha Wujin—who originally worked in Liaodong’s state affairs department—to transfer to Shangjin. At the same time, they captured the family members of those officials who had conspired with Wannu, and ruthlessly killed them all.

If the Jin army failed, they only had one place to retreat to—Posu Road. As a result, they were trying to get through the crisis with a lot of difficulties. How could they have the proper strength to fight Dongxia toe to toe?

Meanwhile, Mongolia had armies in Xixia and was also fighting against Jin for the Central Plains, so they had no time to focus on Liaodong, which gave Dongxia time to develop and become strong.

After just a few years of constantly deploying troops, Wannu had finally reached Jin’s Helan Road, Suping Road, and Huligai Road.

Their territory roughly included the Bohai Sea in the east, Huligai City in the northwest (Yilan in Heilongjiang), Zhang Guangcailing in the west, Posu Mansion in the south, and Qingzhou in Korea (North Hamgyong Province in North Korea).

At its peak, the southern part of its territory reached the eastern section of the ancient Great Wall of Korea, which started from Dalin in the west, covered Dingping, and ended at Dulianpu in the east.

The northern part of its territory stretched from north of today’s Bayan and Yilan in Heilongjiang to the lower reaches of Heilongjiang.

The western part of its territory started from the west side of central Jilin to the south of Heilongjiang area (including Jin Shangjing City in the later period). The eastern part reached the Sea of Japan.

After Yelü Liuge rebelled against Jin, his people persuaded him to start his own country, but he ended up surrendering to Mongolia. Many of his subordinates revolted, and some of them even entered Goryeo's territory and threatened the royal capital multiple times. Goryeo hoped that Mongolia and Dongxia would “lead troops to rescue them and sweep them away” (From “History of Korea”).

In 1218, Genghis Khan sent marshals Hazhen and Zala to help Goryeo. Both of them led ten thousand troops and met with Liuge’s remaining soldiers before marching to Goryeo. Puxian Wannu also had marshal Hutu lead twenty thousand troops, which brought the total up to a hundred thousand people. Goryeo sent four hundred thousand troops, and they went after Jiangdong City together.

It was the first month of spring in 1219 when the leader of the rebels, Hanshe, killed himself. The rest of his followers surrendered.

As a gesture of gratitude, Goryeo presented their annual tribute to the two countries and also agreed that both countries would send envoys to receive the tribute. Since then, all the envoys Mongolia sent to Goryeo to receive the tribute would travel through the borders of Dongxia. They would often travel with Dongxia’s envoys, so they became as close as a family.

The Mongolian army marshal Hazhen once said to Goryeo: “If you want to have a good relationship with my country, you should first pay respect to the Mongolian emperor, and then pay respect to the emperor Wannu.” (From “History of Goryeo”). This shows that Mongolia recognized Puxian Wannu as an emperor at that time.

Dongxia displayed a lot of etiquette by sending envoys thousands of miles to the place where Genghis Khan was stationed in the west. This friendly relationship only lasted for six years, when it ended in 1224.

Note: Unfortunately, Wannu was deceived by Mongolia’s soft policy. At that time, he probably couldn’t dare imagine what would happen if he fought against them, so he focused all his efforts on maintaining this kind of balance. But Goryeo at that time wasn’t reliable. In the face of Mongolia's toughness, Goryeo was indecisive about its position, so it also caused a dilemma for Wannu.

6. Dongxia ceased to exist

But this friendly relationship between Dongxia and Mongolia was only superficial, and was actually just a temporary political truce. In fact, they were both cheating and plotting against each other. Both of them were trying to attract and oppress Goryeo in an attempt to isolate or attack each other.

Faced with Mongolia’s might, Dongxia didn’t dare join forces with Goryeo to fight them. Instead, Wannu kept sending troops to invade and loot Goryeo’s borders, causing the two countries to often be engaged in small-scale wars that consumed national power without any gains.

In 1223, Mu Huali’s invasion of the Central Plains was unsuccessful, and he ended up dying in Shanxi.

In 1224, there was a new development between Dongxia and Mongolia. In January, Dongxia wrote two notices to Goryeo. One stated, “Mongolian Genghis doesn’t have any teachers or elders to teach him manners, and doesn’t know what he’s doing. In addition, Echixin is greedy, violent, and inhumane. Dongxia no longer has any good relationships with Mongolia.” The other one stated, “My country is in Qingzhou, and your country is in Dingzhou. They have their own markets and trade according to what we have done previously.” (From “History of Korea”).

From then on, Mongolian envoys no longer passed through Dongxia’s border, but went through Posu Road instead. The relationship between the two parties worsened, mainly because Dongxia judged the situation incorrectly. But the greedy and violent behaviors of Genghis Khan’s brother, Wochjin (Echixin), were also one of the reasons. The relationship between the two countries broke down, but didn’t intensify.

In 1227, Genghis Khan passed away and Ögedei Khan ascended the throne. After the battle of Sanfengshan, Jin country’s main force perished.

Mongolia changed its foreign expansion policy and started using troops in the northwest, which caused the relationship between the two countries to become tense again.

In February 1233, Ögedei Khan “ordered many dukes to attack Wannu’s territory. He then commanded the prince (Güyük Khan) and Duke Alchidai to lead the army from the left wing.” (From “History of Yuan”)

There were also many people participating, and their affiliations are as follows:

(1) Prince Güyük

(1-1) King Tarsi

A. Shimo Chala

B. Shimo Beidier

(1-2) Uriyangkhadai

(2) Duke Alchidai (Alchitai)

Yila Mainu (From the Left-wing army)

(3) Wang Rongzu (He attacked “Goryeo” first, and then “went on to attack Dongxia and capture Wannu")

The Mongolian army took the route through Goryeo and headed north into Dongxia’s territory. In September 1233, Nanjing was surrounded. Although “the city was as strong as steel” (from “History of Yuan”), it was outnumbered and fell.

Puxian Wannu was captured (some believed he was killed). The Mongolian army continued to advance and ended up attacking “Kaiyuan (Eastern part of Mudanjiang in Heilongjiang Province), Xiepin (Middle and lower Suifen River Basin), and Xiping in the east” (from “History of Yuan”).

After nineteen years, Dongxia ceased to exist.

Note: This was the last battle depicted on the murals of the Heavenly Palace. For a small country like Dongxia, the fight at that time carried the final dignity of the entire nation, and was bound to be a deadly battle across the whole country.

It was conceivable how fierce the confrontation would be between Mongolians, who were in their strongest form, and the Jurchens, who wouldn’t leave any opponents alive. This bloody memory must have dwelled deep in the hearts of those Jurchen people who were fortunate enough to survive.

7. Regime still existed

In the past, it was thought that Dongxia had perished with the capture of Wannu. But when the official seal engraved with “Datong” (12) was discovered in the twenty-fifth year of Kangxi (1686), new ideas about Dongxia’s survival emerged.

According to Wang Guowei’s (13) textual research: “There are many references in ‘The History of Korea’ about Dongzhen (Dazhen) and the negotiations between Dongzhen and Goryeo. There were more than twenty references of Dongzhen from Ögedei Khan’s regime (1233), up until Kublai Khan’s regime at the end of the Yuan Dynasty (1294).

This meant that Mongolia still used the seal even after Wannu was captured in order to placate the people of the land. Future descendants of the Mongolia emperor inherited the land, making it clear that it had become a vassal state that was still known as Dongzhen. (From “Mongolian Affairs”)

In addition, it was recorded in “History of Goryeo” and “History of Yuan Dynasty” that the titles “Distinguished Country” and “Dongxia Wannu Country” were still used many years after 1233.

In February 1234, “Mongolia left more than a hundred soldiers in Dongzhen, while the rest returned to Mongolia. (From “History of Goryeo”)

In 1235, twenty thousand households were established in Kaiyuan and Nanjing. The latter may have been under the supervision of the king that had been placed in Dongxia.

Those who used to be officials in Dongxia continued to manage the government affairs of the area, and the reigning era was called “Datong”.

Various official seals of this Datong reigning era had been unearthed, which was enough to prove that Dongxia had been obedient to Mongolia ever since it became a vassal state. It also appeared to have assisted the Mongolian army in suppressing Goryeo’s rebellion.

Note: Wang Zanghai lived in the late Ming Dynasty. This obviously meant that the regime didn’t disappear overnight, but gradually reduced from a country to a city-state, and from a city-state to a tribe.

In 1235, the Mongolian army attacked Goryeo three times. The Dongxia army took the lead and occupied Longjin Town, Zhenming City, and other places. (From “History of Goryeo”)

In 1236, the Mongolian army re-entered Goryeo and sent more than a hundred troops to invade Goryeo’s northeastern territory. They moved from Yaode and Jingbian to Yongxing Cang. (From “History of Goryeo”)

During Möngke Khan’s reign, Mongolia once again sent a large-scale force to Goryeo, and used Dongxia as a channel for their troops to advance.

According to “History of Goryeo”, from 1249 to 1259, soldiers from Dongxia entered Goryeo’s territory and caused disturbances every year. By 1257, there were as many as three thousand soldiers in Dengzhou. In 1258, Dongxia sent soldiers on boats to besiege Songdao in Gaocheng County, and didn’t stop until Mongolia intervened. After Kublai Khan ascended the throne, he started to gradually strengthen his control over Dongxia.

By February 1266, the military divisions of Dongjin, Kaiyuan, Xupin, Helan, Posu, and other places were established. In May 1283, a Punishment and Judgment Division was added in Haixi Liaodong.

Xupin and Helan were territories of Dongxia, and Haixi was naturally thought to be in Dongxia, which showed that they were all under Mongolia’s domestic regional rule. After 1287, it seemed that there were no mentions of “Dongzhen” or “Dongxia”, which raises the suspicion that its status as a vassal state was withdrawn.

Note: Poor Goryeo. At this time the remnant forces of Dongxia must have retreated into Changbai Mountain and lived a hidden life.

8. Historical sites

(1) Chengzis Mountain City

In order to prevent Mongolia’s eastward invasion and because of the nature of the region, most of the cities in Dongxia were built in the mountains and became mountain cities.

They were located at the junction of Yanji City and Tumen City in the eastern suburbs of Yanji City. There were a few relics of Bohai Kingdom and a large number of relics of Dongxia Kingdom in the city.

The city wall was built with stones along the mountainous terrain, and had an irregular oval shape with a circumference of 4,454 meters. There were four gates, three of which had barbicans (14). The city had an open terrain with a palace in the center. There were nine flights of stairs, with each step as wide as ten meters and as long as seventeen meters. The foundation stones were arranged in an orderly fashion.

There was also a large number of building tiles scattered around the palace. Jade belt ornaments, jade mandarin duck ornaments, agate ornaments, official seals of Dongxia Kingdom, bronze mirrors, divination devices, small bronze statues of mother and child, and hundreds of Tang, Song, and Jin coins were unearthed in the city.

This Dongxia city was called Nanjing, and it was where the King of Dongxia, Puxian Wannu, once lived. In 1233, Mongolian soldiers captured Puxian Wannu in the city, and Dongxia was destroyed.

When it comes to studying the politics, economy, and culture of Dongxia, this city is the most important cultural relic and has a uniquely strong historical and scientific value.

(2) Bath Mountain

It is located about ten kilometers east of Yanji City, and faces Chengzi Mountain across a valley. There is a circular pool on top of the mountain where a tower was placed. The pool is rumored to have been Puxian Wannu’s bathing place.

(3) Krasnoyar Mountain City

It is located on the Krasnoyar Mountain near Ussuriysk, Russia, on the southern bank of the Suifen River. It has a circumference of sixteen li, and was built on a hill in the shape of a ring. There are three layers of five-meter high city walls from the base of the mountain to the top. There are even auxiliary facilities such as trenches near the walls. The highest point is a “forbidden city”, which is surrounded by an inner wall. There are also many relics of luxurious palace-style buildings in the city.

(4) Ancient Great Wall of Yanbian

The Ancient Great Wall of Yanbian is located on Shuangfeng Mountain in Badaogou, near the ridge of Pingfeng Mountain in the north of Yanji City.

It starts west from the slope of Erdaogou, Dongshan Village, Tushan Township, Helong County and winds through Xicheng in Helong City, Longmen Township, the Xilin River in Longjing City, Taoyuan, Tongfo, Badao in Yanji City, and the lofty mountains of Chang'an Township. It disappears fifteen kilometers east of Yanji City near Mopan Mountain.

The great wall was mostly constructed using earth, but it was also built with stones. It has a total length of about a hundred and fifty kilometers, and seventeen towers have been discovered. The longest section is about ten kilometers long, and stretches between the Xilin River and Laotugou Town. The most preserved section is in Guanchuan Village in Laotugou, and is about three meters high.

There is no documentation of the ancient great wall, but according to research, it is believed to be Dongxia's border along the river. It is also believed that it was built in the Bohai Sea, and together with Hunchun's “frontier trench”, it was the defensive wall surrounding Zhongjing and Dongjin in Bohai.

It was later used by the Dongxia Kingdom and converted into a defense project. Some also believed it to be the Great Wall of the Jin Dynasty, or the Great Wall of the Goguryeo Period.

5. Jingpo side wall

It is located on the east bank of the south-central section of Jingbo Lake, and is in the construction area of Jiangshan Jiao Forest Farm. The earth-rock structure winds along the mountain to the southeast for four and a half kilometers.

There are rock piles in the western section of the lakeshore area, but the rest is mostly a mixture of earth and rock. The stone section is well preserved, as evidenced by the protruding walls every fifty to eighty meters that are about two meters high, one and a half meters wide at the base, and 0.8 meters wide at the top.

The masses reported that this side wall could reach Jilin.

The preliminary investigation identified that it was the remains of Dongxia Kingdom at the end of the Jin Dynasty, and should be the small Great Wall of the Jin Dynasty. It was a military project to prevent the Mongolian army from going south.

It was approved as a provincial cultural relic protection item in 1990.

(6) Feiyou City

It is located on the left bank of the beautiful Tumen River, in Dongcheng where the ancient city village of Sanjiazi Manchu Township is located. North Korea’s Sebel County is across the river.

The city has a circumference of 2023 meters, a wall height of three to four meters, and a base width of nine meters. There’s a gate in the north, south, east, and west, and it has the typical characteristics of the ancient Liao and Jin cities, such as turrets and protruding walls. Among the ancient Liao and Jin cities that have been discovered, it’s one of the more intact ones.

Ten bronze seals were unearthed in the city. One was from the late Jin Dynasty, one didn’t have a year engraved on it, and two of them were small bronze seals. The rest were Puxian Wannu’s bronze seals from when he founded Dongxia.

There were two types of bronze seals: one was the bronze seal of Dongxia’s “Tian Tai” reign; the other was the bronze seal of Dongxia’s “Datong” reign. As a result, it was believed that the city was the site of the late Jin Dynasty and Dongxia Kingdom. Some people have even verified that the city is the “Dongjin” of Dongxia Kingdom.

── From “Historical Materials of Dongxia”

*

Endless Journey

In the basement of Golmud, it can be said that I learned a lot of secrets for the first time since I got involved in this huge puzzle.

(Attached are some illustrations and floor plans of the corridors, rooms, and basement of the sanatorium.)

Corridor

Room

Floor Plan

I always wanted to write something, but I never dared to.

I don’t know if what I’m doing now is right, or if it should be known by others.

If someone enters this vortex through these words of mine, it would mean an unexpected disaster for them. And as the author of these words, I’m afraid I can’t escape the notoriety of initiating it.

I find myself both inside and outside of these various convoluted mysteries, and can't even determine whether I’m an insider or an outsider at this point.

Everything is like this. Behind the layers of lotus petals, I always see everything lying there as before. I may have taken a step further, but I haven’t made much progress after all. It all seems endless, as if it were reincarnating.

No one knows what will happen in the future, so I can only keep going.

Wu Xie ── 2005 in Golmud

Note: This is the last chapter I wrote. Next, I’ll be setting off to the depths of Qaidam. I don’t know if I can make it back. If I can’t, then this book will let others know what happened to me.

Remember, if you can’t understand what I’ve written down, please don’t think too hard about it. There’s a huge abyss after it anyways.

＜The End＞

****

TN Notes:

(1) Dongxia. “Dong” means “east” in Chinese, so it was also called Eastern Xia in English. Also known as Dongzhen. It was a short-lived kingdom established in Manchuria (today's Northeast China) by Jurchen warlord Puxian Wannu in 1215 during the Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty. Wiki link

(2) The Jurchen is a term used to collectively describe a number of East Asian Tungusic-speaking peoples who lived in the northeast of China, later known as Manchuria, before the 18th century. Wiki link

(3) The Jin dynasty, officially known as the Great Jin, lasted from 1115 to 1234 as one of the last dynasties in Chinese history to predate the Mongol conquest of China.

(4) Goryeo was a Korean kingdom founded in 918. Wiki link

(5) “History of Jin” (Jin Shi) is a Chinese historical text. It’s one of the “Twenty-Four Histories”, which details the history of the Jin dynasty founded by the Jurchens in northern China. Wiki link

(6) “History of Yuan” is the compilation formalizing the official history of the preceding Yuan dynasty. Wiki link

(7) “Jizhuan”, a literary form in East Asian history books, is basically biographies of prominent figures. Those about emperors are called “Ji”, and those about royal families, relatives, and ordinary people are called “Zhuan”.

(8) Emperor Taizu of Jin, personal name Aguda, was the founder and first emperor of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty. Wiki link

(9) Ji refers to what note 7 mentioned—biographies of emperors.

(10) Zhuan refers to what note 7 mentioned— biographies of royal families, relatives, and ordinary people.

(11) “Meng'an” was a tribal unit, and “Mouke” was a clan unit. One meng'an consisted of seven to ten mouke. Theoretically, each mouke commanded three hundred households, but it was actually less than that in reality. This kind of organization hunted with guns in peacetime, but fought in war when the situation required. It gradually developed into a military organization. It later became an organizational structure that had dual nature of military and local administration.

(12) Datong (1224-1233) was the era name of Dongxia’s regime.

(13) Wang Guowei was a Chinese historian and poet. He made important contributions to the studies of ancient history. Wiki link

(14) Fortified outpost or gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes.

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Merebear note: I'm going to be a total creeper but I'm just saying it for all of us… WE LOVE YOU TIFFANY!!!!! She worked super hard and slaved over this beast of a chapter for you guys so she gets all the invisible hugs and covid-free kisses~~~~~ I also found more/better pictures on the other "Wu Xie's Private Notes" chapters if any of you are interested and wanted to skim through them. A beautiful soul uploaded them on baidu like 9 years ago and I somehow just now magically found them. (The Forbidden Woman one is WAY better/scarier than the one I had lol)