Inspiration Maps document: Lisa Bui - Incas

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Hunmin Chongum, The Proper Sounds for Instructing the People

1443

Ever since I was young, I’ve loved everything about Korea: Korean food, Korean movies, Korean stars, Korean fashion, and especially Korean language – the sounds of the words are extremely cute! However, my mom has a strong opposition against me having interest in Korea because of political and historical issues; every time I do something associated with Korea, I have to do it secretly so my mom wouldn’t yell at me. Therefore, she doesn’t know that I’ve been watching Korean dramas over the years – which I think are quite well sponsored and produced. Since I’ve always dreamed of being a film director in the future, Korean dramas really give me inspirations because of their techniques in acting and editing, plus the fact that its diverse traditions are extremely worthy to be shown on film. Therefore, after two encountering, one with Askia the Great of the Songhai Empire and one with General Yue Fei of the Southern Song Empire, I truly wish that magic happens again so I can fulfill my dream of meeting the most remarkable king of Korea – King Sejong who reigned from 1418-1450; so that I could actually talk to him and make a film out of the experience. He was the fourth king of the time and he had contributed many achievements to the nation; one of the many great achievements was of course Hangul – the Korean alphabet – which still lasts until today.

I kept on researching about him hoping that magic would work on me again, yet my anticipation was in vain. I then just gave it up and decided to continue a Korean drama that I’ve been working on to finish, called “Rooptop Prince” – which is coincidentally about a Joseon prince travelling to the future to solve the mystery of the death of his bride. The movie was rather melancholy and depressing, plus the music was so traumatic that it actually made my heart beat faster. Anyway, I felt asleep watching it… and then I saw myself scribing Korean characters on a piece of paper… It was rather a scrap paper with brainstorming of strokes and characters. Even though I knew it was still me, a part of me felt extremely different, extremely brilliant! For some reason without my conscious, I went ahead and put down some sentences explaining something I wasn’t sure about:

The velar ㄱ (k) depicts the root of the tongue blocking the throat

The alveolar ㄴ(n) depicts the outline of the tongue touching the upper palate.

The labial ㅁ (m) depicts the outline of the mouth.

The dental ㅅ (s) depicts the outline of the incisor.

The laryngeal ㅇ (zero initial) depicts the outline of the throat.

The pronunciation of the aspirated velar ㅋ (k') is more forceful than that of ㄱ (k), and therefore a stroke is added.

The roundㆍrepresents Heaven.

The flat ㅡ represents Earth.

The uprightㅣrepresents Man.

These three shapes are combined to derive other vowels: ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ, ㅗ. ㅛ. ㅜ, ㅠ. EX: 'Moon' in Korean is "달" = ㄷ(consonant)+ㅏ(vowel)+ㄹ(consonant). 

Looking at what I just wrote, I remained dead silent and flabbergasted. Somehow this information was already in my brain and I just knew it. I was King Sejong for God’s sake! I knew that I was using Confucian principles to put down those rules for Hangul, in which the yin stands for feminine, passive, dark, dry, and cold, while the yang embraces the masculine, active, humid, bright, and hot. The interaction between these two principles also comprises the five elements of Fire, Earth, Metal, Wood, and Water. In short, according to the Yin-Yang and the five elements, each vowel or consonant is assigned with either a yin-or-yang property, and the five basic consonants resemble the five elements based on their placement in a character.

Just then, a servant came into the room and handed me some Eastern medicine, and I realized that I was suffering from neuralgia, diabetes, and poor eyesight. Still, I devoted the rest of my strength to the creation of Hangul because I knew that the language of my country is different from that of China and does not suit Chinese characters, and so it is my responsibility to create a suitable alphabet for my people. Consequently, even the uneducated are able to put their feelings into writing. I therefore dedicate Hangul to all my citizens, so let everyone practice them at their ease and adapt them to their daily use. 

Source: 
http://www.koreanhero.net/kingsejong/index.html#
http://cms.korea.net/upload/content/editImage/Joseon_map_eng.gif
http://www.koreanconsulate.on.ca/userfiles/Image/nationsimbol/sejong.gif
http://pds.joinsmsn.com/jmnet/koreajoongangdaily/_data/photo/2009/12/07213925.jpg
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/g/j/gjs4/textbooks/PM-China/graphics/Ch6/11.gif

精忠岳飞 - The Patriot Yue Fei

1142

It's interesting how my family can be so diverse, having members coming from all parts of Vietnam, Lao, the States, and China. China and Vietnam have a very tough past, and somehow they're still fighting each other; yet I'm extremely interested in Chinese history and art. Their lifestyle of respect and education had fostered many great minds, including Cao Cao, Bao Zheng, Shi Huang Di, Confucius, etc.

It has been over a year staying away from home, and sometimes the nostalgia is just too much to bear. My sister-in-law, who is a Chinese descendant, loves Chinese drama. Seeing me sad and all, she has come up with an idea that we should have a Chinese-drama marathon - an ordinary activity that I have done so many times with my family back in Viet Nam. After weeks of school work and activities, I eventually had time to carry out the plan with her last Friday. I was searching for a decent Chinese drama and ran through this one called "The Patriot Yue Fei", which is about a Chinese general during the Song dynasty. The trailer featured him as a mighty historical figure with a massive army that managed to defeat their enemies countless times. It was pretty interesting, but I wasn't into all that warfare and bloodshed, so I just went ahead and searched for another drama. The thing was, the internet just shut down, leaving me dumbfounded with the lagged trailer on YouTube. It kept lagging and playing that scene of the general holding up something while riding his horse over and over again - despite I've tried to stop it several times (for some reason it wouldn't let me shut down the page, too) I was so annoyed I slammed the laptop shut, closed my eyes and took a deep breath, opened both to see if it was back to normal, and realized that my feet hurt badly. I looked down to see that my feet were wearing some strange shoes that were extremely too small for my size. I was too shocked and tried to take a minute or so to take things in; once I regained my conscious, I called for my sister-in-law to see what was going on. However, she was nowhere to be found but instead next to me was a strange woman - whom I later found out that I was supposed to call mother. I immediately felt dizzy and nauseous, and it got worse when I raised my head to a scene of a strange man saying, "Oh well, if that's the price I must settle on, let's say it a yes for this concubine! After all her feet have spoken for her standard”, then he finished off with a row of despicable laughter. I dropped my jaw and widened my eyes, thinking "What the heck just happened?" Was I just sold to this stranger in front of me, or was I just hallucinating??? Nevertheless, I was too speechless to make any statement. I just recalled that after that someone dragged me to a room and dolled me up in a red traditional gown for a ceremony I did NOT anticipate. I honestly wanted my mom. Just then, I heard a piercing voice cracking outside my room, and then came a servant who informed that "my wedding" was canceled because something outrageous just happened. I tried to get out of the room as fast as possible to get away from this happening, but my feet hurt so bad I couldn't even stand. I therefore took off my shoes, just to see that my feet were distorted in a form that was too gross for me to even look at

However, I managed to run out to the street, and I realized that people were heading to see something. I asked a woman who was in her fifties next to me and was told that Yue Fei was going to be executed at Fengbo Pavilion. I had no idea where the pavilion was, so I just followed the crowd until it stopped and I realized that we were in front of a place where we weren't allowed to enter. I was so confused but was conscious enough to pick up a conversation behind my back, "Qin Hui is such a liar! He accused our general as a rebel though all he did as fought for our freedom!" Then some man in the crowd started to recite a poem in which I found out was called "The River Runs Red" - which was written by Yue Fei during one of his battles to spirit up his troops. It went like this,

In anger my hair hurls my hat from my head;

as I lean over the rail,

the rain’s fine mist ceases.

I raise my eyes to Heaven

and unleash a long cry;

how fierceness fills my breast!

Thirty years of work and fame – like dust and dirt;

eight thousand miles of road – like clouds and moon.

But I won’t wait in idleness

for white to take my youthful head,

for empty sorrow!

Jing Kang’s shame

is not yet washed away;

this minister’s hate –

when will it be quenched?

I’ll drive a war chariot and smash apart

the Helan mountain pass!

Then with a strong spirit,

I’ll feast on the flesh of Hu prisoners;

talking and laughing,

I’ll swig barbarian blood.

Count on me – I’ll make a new beginning,

gather up our ancient mountains and rivers

and present them to the Emperor, at the palace gate.

Even though I was not accustomed to what was going on, I could still feel the disappointment and the pain the people around me were in before the news that Yue Fei was to be executed. I didn't have a clear image of who he was, until someone around me spoke up and introduced himself as a soldier from Yue Fei's army, who had gone home after their troops were ordered to return to the capital. He said that just when General Yue Fei was threatening to attack and retake Kaifeng City - which was taken by the Jurchen invaders and consequently came under the rule of the Jin Dynasty, he was ordered by Emperor Gaozong to retreat so that a peace truce could be carried out with the Jurchens. Even though Yue Fei hesitated, he decided to go along with the emperor’s will due to his loyalty. However once he arrived home, he was immediately taken away by the guards and was later accused for rebelling against the empire…

Out of the blue, I heard my sister-in-law called for me and I tried to make my way out of the crowd toward her voice. I kept walking and walking until I tripped over a rock and lost my consciousness. Similarly to my last trip back to Gao, this time I also heard the Twilight Zone theme song playing in the background, while images of another strange man kept popping up around me. He looked like he was very upset with something, and very confused. One image of him popped up, saying that, "I shouldn't have done that. Who would understand for me? Murdering him wasn't my choice." Another image of him and another man popped up, saying, "You must stick to our original agreement, and that means Yue Fei is to be killed before any deal can be carried out!" I now had a sense of what was going on just when the last image of him popped up, this time with no sayings, yet it showed that the guy kept biting his tongue until he lost too much blood and died. By this time, I'm pretty sure he was Qin Hui - the one everyone was upset about because he had accused Yue Fei for being a rebel in order to carry out the peace truce with the empire’s long term enemy – the Jurchens.

References:

http://www.chinatownsfbay.com/2012/06/yue-feis-tragic-death/

http://rainybluedawn.com/translations/chinese/manjianghong.htm

http://mlncn.com/lib/knowl/history/china/song/south.html
http://images.chinahighlights.com/chinamap/ancient/southern-song-map1.gif

Gao - Songhay Empire

1537

I don’t know if it was real. It seemed like it was, yet I’m not so sure.

I just had the most bizarre experience, the most surrealistic one, yet it was the awesomest experience I’ve ever had. (Please excuse my poor grammar)

It was 12 o’clock and my eyes were trying to fight hard against the sleepiness, plus the brightness on the computer’s screen was extremely annoying. I wanted to go to sleep, yet Mrs. Hals’ Photojournalist Portfolio Project kept me up all night. It was then 12:25 when I was reading Askia Mohammed’s background information – Askia the Great who was known as an emperor, military commander, scientist, and political reformer of the Songhai Empire. A picture of him was positioned on the right of the article and I went ahead to check it out, giving myself a break from reading all the jumping words. Having an interest in art and all, I observed at the picture intensely and tried to recognize some African art techniques. The color composition was quite interesting, very tribal and very desert-ish. Yet, there was an uncanny touch about it. I sat back in my chair and yawned… but then suddenly I noticed something in the corner of my eyes: Askia in the picture just blinked at me. I was like, “OMG, I must be seeing things. I don’t want to be in a horror movie at this hour.” I then checked it one more time by looking straight at his black hollow eyes, just when I felt like someone just hit me on the head and everything went blurry.

That music in Twilight Zone started playing and I felt like I was on a time machine for all I saw was that I was going deeper into a spiral hole with dust and sparkles surrounding me. I eventually fell out of that hole onto a bank of a river. I had no idea where I was, and that fear freaked me out when I started to notice the people walking passed me were not my kind. They were also dressed in a quite different fashion than mine. Anyway, they were talking about me, something like “Who’s this girl?” or “Oh poor girl, she looks lost.” Now this time I’m completely flabbergasted: how could I understand such strange language? I don’t speak anything besides English and Vietnamese, so….Anyway, a woman eventually came up to me and asked, “Are you okay girl? Do you need any help?” All that I could come up with was, “Um… Where am I?” She answered, “The bank! The bank of the Niger River! I continued, “What year is it?” She seemed confused, “Um… It’s the reign of our great leader Ali the Great! Ali the Great!”

Funny I thought, yet the whole thing seemed so realistic. I had no idea what got into me and this whole thing was such a joke, but somehow I managed to stand on my feet and made my way further into the land. I walked what seemed like an hour before I stopped in front of a grand, magnificent, unbelievably legit palace layered by gold – or it looked like so. There were guards on the side, but still I skulked forward hoping they wouldn’t see me – I know, how smart was that? Anyway, they didn’t see me! It was weird, yet very satisfying at the same time; it was as if I was invisible! Once I entered the palace, I just went around trying to find something that I wasn’t even sure what; but then I noticed a very strange light form a room at the end of the corridor. I curiously walked in to the room, frightened a little and jumped backward when I saw a man at his desk, sleeping though he was sitting straight with his hand holding his head. Knowing that I should be safe for now, besides the fact that I was invisible, I picked up the diary on his desk that I’ve spotted before; settled myself down on a chair besides the only window of the room. I managed to tear off a page and this is it:

“How is it?” The man asked me out of the blue, and I just remained deadly silent. How could he see me ? I thought, but still, this whole thing has been extremely unexpected anyway.

He then continued, “Well how did you get in here, didn’t the guards get to you?”

I answered, “Umm... I’m not sure how I made my way in here but…”

“Amazing isn’t it? How this whole thing came to be? Too bad I’m old now… and blind. I wanted it to be a secret for as long as possible for I didn’t want anyone to think I now am a sick and weak ruler. It’s heard around that I had an evil eye, and so no one dared look directly into them for they fear of a curse. I don’t think it’s going to be as secret forever though…”

I couldn’t really reply to what he said, I mean, I just felt bad for him. I was too scared to speak anyway. That’s why his eyes were so hollow I thought, and it’s strange how they got me here. Probably it’s an omen. This time I took all my gut and looked straight into his eyes once again, and once again I felt something hit me in the head and things went blurry.

Not surprised this time, I woke up to find that I’m at the Tomb of Askia – I’m so glad that I researched about this first so now I’m not that dumbfounded standing in front of it anymore. So, what I know is that it’s located in the town of Gao. It looks plain except for the spikes on the outside, yet it comprises a quite complex structure: the pyramidal tower, the two flat-roofed mosques, the necropolis and the white stone square. The thing I find the most interesting is that it was built by Askia the Great himself in 1495. It’s considered as the most significant conserved trace of the powerful and rich Songhai Empire; it’s also known as a fine example of the monumental mud-building traditions of the West African Sahel. It’s designated as a UNCESCO World Heritage Site, and today the burial place of Askia the Great is known as the Great Mosque of Gao.

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Askia_Mohammad_I
http://blackhistory.com/content/62209/askia-the-great
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_Askia
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1139
http://apwh.pbworks.com/f/askia.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SONGHAI_empire_map.PNG

Aleppo, Damascus - 10/01/2012

1. http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/08/10/syrian-troops-battle-rebels-near-aleppo-and-damascus/
    http://articles.latimes.com/2012/sep/29/world/la-fg-syria-violence-20120930

2. Last Friday, Aleppo (near Damascus) was bombed by Syrian government forces, aiming to destroy the rebel positions from the ground and air in the city; because the opposition fighters have been protesting against the increasing use of aerial attacks of the Syrian government troops. Then on Saturday, the Souk Madina in Aleppo, the nation's most populous city where rebels and government troops have been battling for control for more than two months, was set on fire; both sides blamed each other for the blaze, though the rebels were trying to extinguish it. It was reported that hundreds of shops had been burned, and the site is traumatically destroyed. The Souk is considered a World Heritage city by UNESCO, where it holds many ancient history and wealth of architectural monuments. Ever since the civil war started in July 20, many historical and cultural sites of Syria have been destroyed - many of those are listed under the World Heritage list. Therefore, there's a big concern about the status of the sites and Syria itself for it has been a crossroad of civilization for centuries, having a rich cultural and commercial legacy. Other parts besides the sites in Syria were destroyed, too, such as the infrastructure, towns, and other villages. More than 20,000 people were reported dead ever since the fight began.