Week 9 Story: The Golden Age of Man

 

Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Golden Age. Source

Cronus, king of the Gods, created mortals to live on the earth. He called them "humans," and they were good and peaceful creatures.

The humans and gods mingled freely with each other. The gods often shared their home on Mount Olympus with the humans, as they enjoyed their company. Humans didn't have to work for food, as the earth created it in abundance. They never aged, and died peacefully with youthful beauty. Their spirits lived on as guardians of humanity, and wandered the earth thusly. Life was harmonious and peaceful. This Age of Man became known as the Golden Age, and prospered for eons until the birth of Zeus.

The goddess Astraea, celestial virgin, lived as an immortal among humanity. As the goddess of innocence and justice, she traveled the earth with her scales, weighing the purity and innocence of humanity. She loved the creatures created by Cronus, and enjoyed their purity and innocence.

It came to be that the gods waged war against each other, and Zeus laid claim to the throne of his father. The Titans were thrown into the depths of Tartarus. To Astraea, it seemed as though the morals of humanity were thrown in as well.

The Silver Age commenced with Zeus at the throne, and humanity began to suffer. As time went on, Astraea noticed change within humanity. Quarrels broke out, and anger began to develop within them. They no longer lived for hundreds of years, but were confined to only one hundred. They stayed as children for the duration of their lives, until suddenly they rapidly aged and died. The gods created seasons, and the earth no longer freely produced food. Humanity had to work to survive.

The humans began to resent the gods, and refused to continue worshiping them. This angered Zeus, who believed he should have the respect of humanity as King of the Gods. His rage was not contained, and Zeus destroyed humanity.

The wickedness and evil inflicted upon humanity upset Astraea. They were no longer the humans she loved and adored, and couldn't bear to witness their destruction. Astraea ascended into the heavens, and placed herself amongst the stars, becoming the constellation Virgo. She placed next to her the golden scales of justice as the constellation Libra.

It's believed that one day, Astraea will return to earth, bringing with her the second Golden Age of Men. She will watch over humanity for all of time in a world of peace and prosperity.





Author's Note: I found this story while researching for my storybook. I thought it was super cool learning about the Ages of Men, and how that correlates with the Goddess Astraea's story. I think it's interesting how men lived in peace with the gods until Zeus came along. That guy's a real jerk.

Week 9 Reading Notes: West African Folk Tales:

Anansi prop in a play for children. Illustration by Tere Marichal, from Puerto Rico.Source

 

Father Anansi - In multiple stories. Trickster god that turns into a spider. Considered to be a god of all knowledge of stories. 

"Despite taking on the role of the trickster, Anansi's actions and parables often carry him as protagonist due to his ability to transform his apparent weaknesses into virtues. He is among several West African tricksters including Br'er Rabbit and Leuk Rabbit. " - wiki

 

 Kweku Tsin

Week 9 Reading Notes: West African Folk Tales: Why Spiders Are Always Found in Corners of Ceilings

 

Lucas the Spider. Source.

Egya Anansi - A father and husband. A skillful farmer. Selfish and greedy.

Rubber-man sucks Anansi in,

Anansi turns into a spider

The villagers are unsuspecting of Anansi, or why their crops are disappearing

Week 9 Growth Mindset: CATS

 

Source

I think this cat is so cute. It reminds me of my little white cat, Shadow. I know that's a weird name for a white cat, but she follows me around like me shadow. Hence, the name.

I also liked this caption "find joy in learning." I love to learn, and I think most people do too! I just really hate working lol. I need to incorporate my joy for learning into doing assignments.

Source

Just like the first cat, I liked this one because it looks like my cat Turk. Big, fluffy tabby cat. 

I also really like this caption. I've been trying to be more mindful to get my work done, but I've also just been so tired all the time. Energy is a major component of this trio working together, and it's difficult to do anything with low energy.

Source

I don't have a third cat, but I like this one because he's so determine. Also, his body language is hilarious. I like this caption as well, because I have committed to many goals, and also abandoned them. The few goals I have stuck with, I've committed my entire life to achieving and I'm glad to say I'm nearly there.

Week 8 Progress

 

Source

I'm ok with the progress I've made so far. I would like to have more points, but I've been busy and I kind of fell behind. I think I should start getting on the grind again, and hopefully finish early! 

My weekly routine is pretty set, so I think if I tried to change anything now, it wouldn't work out well.

I really enjoy writing the stories. I think it's refreshing to have a class that I can be creative in, and just really do whatever. I also really love creating my storybook project. I'm hoping to get more done on that.

I do some extra credit, but I feel like I should be doing more. I'm going to start writing more blogs I think. 

As the second part of the semester progresses, I think I'm just going to write more to hopefully finish early. I just gotta put the time and effort in!

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

 Feedback in:

 I've received a lot of feedback from other classmates, and overall it's been very positive. I've had a lot of encouraging comments, as well as comments that include constructive feedback. I enjoy reading through them, I think they're very helpful.

Most of the constructive feedback has been on my storybook project. There's a lot of ideas people are kind of throwing my way that I think would work well with my project. I've been trying to do things a certain way, and another set of eyes will point out a better solution. 

All in all, the feedback I've received so far has been great. 

Feedback Out:

I'm not sure my feedback is very constructive. When I read people's stories and look at their projects I tend to find things I like and comment on that aspect. I've never been good at giving feedback, which is why I couldn't ever teach. I'm not sure how to be constructive.

Blog Comments:

Blog comments are probably my favorite part of this course. I love seeing new comments on my post, and I really like to post comments as well. I see familiar names often, and I feel like there's a community of sorts posting on each others blogs. I think it's really fun.

Image:

Source

I chose this image because I think it's a great template on how to provide constructive feedback. Like I said , I've never been good at giving feedback, and I think this is a great infograph to follow when providing. I'm going to use it in the future when giving feedback.

Week 8 Reading and Writing

 

Recovering a Jewel from the Palace of the Dragon King. Utagawa Kuniyoshi. 1883. Source

Looking Back:

I'm rather pleased with how my writing assignments have turned out. I have really enjoyed creating this blog and my project site, and I've put in a lot of time and effort to make them both look good.

I think my biggest writing accomplishment so far is my Introduction post. I received a lot of comments and feedback on that post. I'm not a very personal person, so when I posted that I thought about deleting it and writing something about how much I love cheese. I'm glad I stuck with it though.

I've enjoyed all of the readings so far, but my favorite has been The Monkey King. the reading notes for that lead me to writing my favorite story: Ao Run: The Dragon King of the West. I just wrote a retelling of the story, but I loved it so much that I was excited to rewrite it. I think it turned out great.

Image:

The image I liked the best is from one of my favorite artists Utagawa Kuniyoshi. He was a Japanese artist who created works based off of myths. They're so cool. Many of them involve dragon myths, and I like the way he created dragons. 

Looking Foward:

Looking foward, I can't think of anything I would change to get more out of reading and writing. I like the system I've created. I usually read the stories first, then reread them while taking notes. The notes portion gives me the ideas I use to create stories.

Week 7 Story: Ao Run: The Dragon King of the West Sea

 

Recovering a Jewel from the Palace of the Dragon King. Utagawa Kuniyoshi. 1883. Source.

The King of the Dragons had domain over all of China. His kingdom was luscious and beautiful and full of life — the envy of every monarch (at least the moral ones).

Along with his wife, The Dragon King traversed his lands for many years until he learned he was to be a father. The news of fatherhood excited the king, and wanted nothing more than to settle down with his love and rear his children.

The couple chose a hot spring perched atop a high mountain, and upon it they built a crystal palace. There, the queen gave birth to four dragons: Ao Guang, Ao Qin, Ao Shun, and Ao Run. The Dragon King loved his children so, but he especially loved Ao Run, the smallest of the four. For many years the family remained atop the mountain spring, and for many years they were happy.

As the dragon children grew in size, so, too, did they grow in mischievousness.  The four dragons enjoyed playing tricks and making jests with each other, but they loved to come together to play them on the king. Every joke they made slowly escalated until the king could take no more.

Exhausted, the king conferred with the queen and decided on what he had to do.

Calling the quadruplets together,  he announced his plans for his children.

"You have all grown so, and I'm ever so proud of who you all have become. It is time for you to have your own domain. Ao Guang, my eldest son. I gift you the East China Sea. May your rule be just and prosperous."

And with a bow, the azure dragon departed to his new domain.

"Ao Qin, my second born. I gift you the South China Sea. May your rule be just and prosperous."

And with a bow, the red dragon departed to his new domain.

"Ao Shun, my third. I gift to you the North Sea. May your rule be just and prosperous."

And with a bow, the black dragon departed to his new domain.

Now the Dragon King looked upon his youngest son with the utmost love. The little white dragon sat eagerly waiting his appointment, however the king intended to keep him by his side.

"But why shouldn't I rule a portion of the sea?" ask Ao Run, "I shall set off on my own, and rule the West Sea!" 

Laughing, the king praised Ao Run for his ambitious nature, but reminded him that no such sea existed.

His pride taking the better of him, Ao Run insisted he would find the sea. And with a bow, the white dragon departed in search of his new domain.

For weeks, Ao Run searched the lands of China  — traversing far into the west. He found no trace of the west sea, or water anywhere for that matter. He collapsed exhausted at the top of the Qilian Mountains, and cried out of frustration.

"How will I be the King of the West Sea if no such sea exists?"

His wails reached the throne of the Jade Emperor who felt much pity for the small, white dragon. The Emperor decided he would help the poor creature, and he summoned
Leigong - The God of Thunder, Dianmu - The Goddess of Lightening, Fengbo - the God of Wind, and Yun Tong - The God of Rain. The four gods recieved their orders, and set off to the Qilian Mountains.

At the top of the mountains, they found Ao Run curled about himself.

"White Dragon," said Dianmu, "we've been sent to help you. Come, wipe away your tears. Witness our creation."

The four gods held aloft their arms, and summoned a mighty storm. Lighting, thunder, wind and rain came together in a torrential downpour. The white dragon watched, amazed as thunder shook the dirt loose, lightening struck the ground, wind whipped away it's broken pieces, and water filled the empty spaces. 

Once the mighty storm had passed, there sat before the dragon a beautiful sea. Ao Run named the sea Qinghai for its blue hue. The Dragon lived the rest of his life ruling his West Sea.

 

Authors Note: For my reading this week I read The Monkey King. When I got to the part of the Dragon King, I wanted to know more about him and his background. I discovered this story of his brother, and thought it was super cute so I wanted to retell it. 

Bibliography: The Legend of Qinghai

Week 7 Reading Notes: Monkey King Part B

The Dragon King of the Four Seas, painted in the first half of the 19th century. Source.

 

Dragon Kings of the Four Seas

 

Azure Dragon - 靑龍 Qīnglóng (blue dragon). Proper name is Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East Sea. Appears in Fengshen Yanyi and  Journey to the West. 

From Wiki: 

"According to the Fengshen Yanyi, after the passage of many years, Ao Guang had brought chaos to the world by creating droughts, storms, and other disasters. Due to the people's immense fear of the dragon king and his sons, they never dared seek protection against him from the Jade Emperor. As a result, Ao Guang enjoyed countless offerings by the people throughout a time interval of many years. One day, Nezha cleansed himself at a neighboring stream of the East Sea, causing Ao Guang's palace to shake at an annoying level. After Ao Guang's favorite investigator Li Gen and third son Ao Bing were both killed by Nezha, Ao Guang set out to talk to Nezha's father, Li Jing. Ao Guang demanded that Li Jing offer himself as a sacrifice to atone for Nezha's actions, but Li Jing refused. After a long discussion on the matter, Ao Guang, by now extremely angry, ascended to the heavens to state the issue to the Jade Emperor. However, Nezha, having opted to sacrifice himself in his father's place, appeared in heaven and began to beat Ao Guang very violently, even tearing scales from his skin and causing him to bleed. Ao Guang was forced to turn himself into a small snake and come with Nezha back to the Old Pond Pass to forget about the incident completely.

Later, Ao Guang, along with three other dragon kings, came to Old Pond Pass and took both Li Jing and his wife Lady Yin. Nezha, wishing to free them, offers the dragons all of his internal organs in exchange for his parents. Ao Guang personally agreed to Nezha's resolution with happiness and brought his internal organs to the Jade Emperor. After this point, Ao Guang's fate is unknown." 

 

Red - 赤龍 Chìlóng or 朱龍 Zhūlóng, literally "Cinnabar Dragon", "Vermilion Dragon". Proper name is Ao Qin, the Dragon King of the South Sea

There isn't much information about Ao Qin other than what is shortly mentioned on wiki.

Black - 黑龍 Hēilóng (Black Dragon). Proper name is Ao Shun, the Dragon King of the North Sea. 

There isn't much information about Ao Shun other than what is shortly mentioned on wiki.

White - 白龍 Báilóng (White Dragon). Proper name is Ao Run, the Dragon King of the West Sea. Ao Run is the patron of Qinghai Lake and could be linked to the White Tiger as both are Chinese western gods.

From Wiki:

"According to Legend of Qinghai (传说青海), a long time ago, the King of Dragons was very happy to see that his queen had given birth to four dragons. Many years later, the four dragons grew up, causing more and more mischievous pranks until the Dragon King was out of breath. One day, the King of Dragons came up with a way to summon all the dragon princes into the Crystal Palace. He said, "You have grown up, so you should all have your own side." Then he ordered the eldest prince Ao Guang to become the King of the East China Sea, the second prince Ao Qin to become the King of the South China Sea, and the third prince Ao Shun to become the King of the North Sea. The King of Dragons wanted to keep the little prince Ao Run beside him, but Ao Run said, "I will be the King of the West Sea!" The King of Dragons laughed and praised him. After the Huaxia Jiuzhou, Ao Run did not see the West Sea. When he came to the southern foot of Qilian Mountain, he was exhausted. He cried sadly, "How can I be the King of the West Sea without the West Sea?" Then he climbed to the top of Qilian Mountain and made a big storm, but it did not suffice. When the Jade Emperor saw this happen, he felt pity. Therefore, he sent Leigong, Dianmu, Fengbo, and Yun Tong to help Ao Run. Lightning, thunder, and storms created Haizi with an area of more than 5,000 square kilometers and a depth of more than 20 meters, which became the West Sea (Qinghai Lake). Since then, Ao Run has become the Dragon King of the West Sea.^[4]

Ao Run has three children. His sons are Ao Lie, who was the steed of Tang Sanzang, and Ao Moang (敖摩昂). He has a daughter named Ao Cinxin (敖寸心), also known as the Xihai Longnü (西海龙女).

Week 7: Reading Notes The Monkey King Part A

 

Painted mural depicting Sun Wukong (in yellow) and other main characters of the novel. Source.

Sun Wukong - The Monkey King. He was born out of a magic stone after having absorbed the powers of the heaven and earth. He became King of the Apes after jumping through a waterfall, and finding an iron bridge. The other monkey's beg him to take them there, and they make this place their home. He fears Death, and intends to seek out the gods to teach him how to escape Death. Receives his name from his master.

Traits: persistent, ambitious, curious, willing to learn, reckless

 

The Master - Teaches Sun Wukong the ancient art of immortality. Gives Sun Wukong his name.

 Traits: 

Dragon King - Denis the Monkey King entrance, but upon MK's encouragement to receive a weapon he pretends to be hospitable and lets him choose. He also gifts him attire fit for a king. The Monkey Kings tricking of the Dragon King subsequently becomes his death sentence.

Traits: distrusting, manipulative,

Week 6: Storylab Advice to Writers

 

Writermag.com

Advice to Writers

You've Got to Work It Over March 03, 2021

Don’t get discouraged because there’s a lot of mechanical work to writing. There is, and you can’t get out of it. I rewrote A Farewell to Arms at least fifty times. You’ve got to work it over. The first draft of anything is shit. When you first start to write you get all the kick and the reader gets none, but after you learn to work it’s your object to convey everything to the reader so that he remembers it not as a story he had read but something that happened to himself. That’s the true test of writing. When you can do that, the reader gets the kick and you don’t get any. You just get hard work and the better you write the harder it is because every story has to be better than the last one. It’s the hardest work there is. I like to do and can do many things better than I can write, but when I don’t write I feel like shit. I’ve got the talent and I feel that I’m wasting it.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY

I like this advice the best. You have to put in the work and effort to achieve anything. You can't just manifest your book into existence. I think there's a lot of advice regarding writing, and the most basic part is just doing it. Just sitting down and writing something is better than writing nothing at all. 

A Novel Takes Over a Writer's Life February 28, 2021

I just write what I want to write. Quiet is very beautiful to me, the medium of everything that matters. I'm grateful for the patience of my readers, certainly. But the fact is that a novel takes over a writer's life for literal years. What I write, day by day and word by word, is much of my felt life. It would be a terrible capitulation to give up my explorations of quiet because of anxiety about the receptiveness of readers. I have found that readers are very much to be trusted.

MARILYNNE ROBINSON

 

 I also quite like this advice. I think it's good to enjoy the "quiet" of your work, and not be consumed with every minuscule detail. Sometimes it's good to just let the writing flow instead of building an entire plan for every sentence. Those kinds of works tend to be tedious (in my opinion).

 

Writers Are Forever Remembering February 16, 2021

They straightened out the Mississippi River in places, to make room for houses and livable acreage. Occasionally the river floods these places...but in fact it is not flooding; it is remembering.... All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was. Writers are like that: remembering where we were, what valley we ran through, what the banks were like, the light that was there and the route back to our original place.

TONI MORRISON

 

 

 

Even her advice is poetic. 

 

I really adore Toni Morrison. This advice is beautifully written (like everything Morrison writes). I think remembering is what really connects an author to their writing, and makes their pieces truly a part of who they are. 

Week 6 Reading: Anicent Egypt Part B

Sheet from the Tale of Two Brothers, Papyrus D'Orbiney, British Museum

 

Anpu (Anubis) - Brother of Bata. Kills his wife after she lied about Bata trying to seduce her.

"Before the Greeks arrived in Egypt, around the 7th century BC, the god was known as Anpu or Inpu. The root of the name in ancient Egyptian language means "a royal child." Inpu has a root to "inp," which means "to decay."" - wiki

 

Bata - Brother of Anpu. Anpu's wife tries to seduce him, then lies about it. He appeals to his brother, and tells him the truth. After he is resurrected, he confronts his wife as a bull, then as a tree. As he's being cut down, a splinter falls into his wife's mouth, impregnating her. He's reborn as their son, and takes the throne along with Anpu.

"Until the middle of the Eighteenth Dynasty Bata was represented as a ram and later as a bull. Bata is probably identical with the death god Bt of the Egyptian Old Kingdom, known from the Saqqara necropolis, for instance from the Mastaba of Ti. Bata is not mentioned in the Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts." - wiki

Ennead - "Nine deities in Egyptian mythology worshiped at Heliopolis: the sun god Atum; his children Shu and Tefnut; their children Geb and Nut; and their children Osiris, Isis, Seth, and Nephthys." - wiki

Creates a wife for Bata

Bata's Wife - Divinely created, and sought after by the Pharaoh. After Bata's resurrection, she attempts to thwart him by eating his liver in his bull form, then cutting him down in his tree form. As the tree is cut down, a splinter falls into her mouth and impregnates her.