Small shops cover all the streets, there are also markets and small usinesses all surrounded the busy streets of rich city life of the T''ang. K enters the scene of the lives of the courtesans in Changan. He pauses and enters a building with the characters: mfue Hong Lou" written above the huge front doors. When he walks in, it is as if he has entered a world of "flowers and bees" with music, laughter, and the smell of perfume in the air that filled the whole atmosphere.
Many of the clients seem like officials who immersed into their own world surrounded by the courtesans who they pick out to entertain them with musical skills, conversations, rinking songs and games. l The courtesans each has a name of a flower. K is soon appointed with a beautiful and young courtesan name "Mel". Mei''s face is applied with thick makeup made of powders of white and yellow lead. She has thin plucked eyebrows and yan Zhi (red lip powders) applied. 2 She sings and plays the flute, they sing, dance, chat while drinking alcohol with dishes of the famous foods in Changan.
K realizes that Mei is constantly chewing on cloves to avoid getting drunk. K hears about Mei''s story. He discovers the inner lives of courtesans. Mei''s past is filled with orrow and hardships. Mei discloses that she was sold by her poverished parents who were not able to afford supporting her so she was sold many times by her "owners" who forces her to do larbor. 3 Finally she was sold to be a courtesan. Aside from the hard labor and training, she despises courtesans and resisted, but in the end her pride loses to the reality of facing starvation.
Mei mentions that the courtesan life is like a bird in the cage, with no more freedom of a concubine and even of lower status than any concubines. K spends a few days in mfue Hong Lou" with Mei''s company. K slowly adapts and learns about Chinese culture and accumulates experiences if lifestyles living in Changan. Perhaps the most astonishing experience is K ''s encounter of sex manuals produced by Chinese authors. It seems in this era the restriction for women are lesser. 4 Furthermore, Daoism provided a way to explain that sex of necessary for health and long life.
As a result the chastity of women is not viewed as serious compared to the later dynasties. It''s the autumn of 821 when K leaves Changan and moves on along the Silk Road towards Uighur. Along the way, he encounters the caravan of Princess Taihe along he long Journey. Despite "encountering" her, K could only watch from afar. K describes seeing princess Taihe wearing a long narrow silk shawl revealing décolleté, and with elegant Jade hair accessories on the high bun black and silky hair. 5 Although the view is tar away, the princess looks very pretty in the briet seconds that K was able to take a glimpse at her.
K was never be able to forget that encounter until he sees the princess the second time when he reaches the city, Karabalghasun in the winter of the following year. A very different scenery is relefected into K''s eyes s he arrives at the city. The enclosed city with rectangular walls has erected tents on the flat roof of the palace, a structure that K has never seen before. Numerous tents are to be seen in the city. 6 K also comes to see the very different culture that begins with the unique style of clothing.
Ministers wear long silk robe with high collar and has a pattern of round roundels. Their hair is held in high pointed accessory with a ribbon extended to the chin. Decorative belt and leather boots are indeed very delicate to match with the robe. The ministers present address the kaghan as the God of Moon and Sun". 7 Here K then learns about Princess Taihe''s life. The imperial rule Princess Taihe came here for a intermarriage for the political goals to maintain peace with the Uighur empire. However the practice of intermarriage is common in the previous times in Chinese history as well.
Princess Taihe however is allowed to establish her own power in the Uighar court. It seems that in this culture women in government matter are not restricted like that of the Tang and women are subject to fewer restrictions than their Chinese counterparts. The cultural aspect of Tang is nvolved in great prosperity with many tributary regions as threats to be solved. Confucianism and Taoism dominate the politic policies and the imperial rules of China. As K travels to different parts of Central China, he observes and records many religions and sects that exist as well.
During this time, K is aware of Buddhism largely spread during the Tang dynasty along with the enormous Western expansion. Buddhist concepts are much paired with the Indian ones. For example dharma, dodhi, and yoga are all rendered in the Chinese Taoism concept of dao "The way''. Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism form he central root of China. Buddhist temples are populated, there are also the abundance of traditions of going to temple to pray and learning the Buddhist teachings of the "middle path", "4 Nobel truths" and "8 fold path" are the essentials of Buddhist darma.
Buddhism''s main idea is to provide a way to end sufferings and detach self from the cycles of hardships in the world for a mental state of peace. Political factors also affected the spread of Buddhism in Tang. As the influence of Chinese culture expands to the west, it brings Buddhism towards expansion as well. At the same time, Muslims also emerged during the Tang dynasty. As K encounters many Muslim settlers in lands of Tang China. They tell the story to K of how they came to China.
In 757 when Tang emperor requested aid for An Lushan rebellion, Muslims helped restored tangs power. In reward they were given lands in Central China which marked the beginning of their dwelling and expansion in China. 9 K describes the Muslims to be self-governing with their own system of education, community, and economy that is connected by Silk Road of Muslim communities. Meanwhile Muslim communities are built up in Tang China, Muslims who adopted Chinese unwanted children mainly expanded the community furthermore.
K''s dwelling with the community allows him to witness much intermarriage between Muslim settlers and Chinese women during this time. However Tang dynasty is still dominated wit n Buddhism. The expansion during the period along witn K''s Journey illustrates the expansion of Tang dynasty towards the west, incorporating with tributary regions of different cultures and tolerance to the religions that can be seen n the expansion of spread of Muslim communities which continues in later In the meanwhile, K''s Journey is to be continued throughout the Silk Roads...
Endnotes 1 Susan Whitfield, Life Along the Silk Road (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1999)147. 2 Susan Whitfield, Life Along the Silk Road (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1999)149. 3 Susan Whitfield, Life Along the Silk Road (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1999)147-148. 4 Susan Whitfield, Life Along the Silk Road (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1999)109. 5 Susan Whitfield, Life Along the Silk Road (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1999)106. Susan Whitfield, Life Along the Silk Road (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1999)105. 7 Susan Whitfield, Life Along the Silk Road (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1999) 105-107. 8 Richard Foltz, Religions of the Silk Road (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010) 37. 9 Richard Foltz, Religions of the Silk Road (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010) 87. Foltz, Richard. Religions of the Silk Road. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Whitfield, Susan. Life Along the Silk Road. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1999.
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