The Wandering God

25 Zai Yu Sleeps By Day 2/2

宰予晝寢
Zǎi Yǔ zhòu qǐn
Zai Yu sleeps by day
Refers to a story in the Analects where Confucius remonstrates bitterly with a student for sleeping during lectures.

Ermi and I passed through the gateway and into the white stone lanes of the Green City. The princess consulted a hand drawn map Liang'yi had given her, and pointed us down a street, the two black uniformed guards following us like bulky shadows.

We set off, weaving among the crowd of greens and browns and blacks, a pair of Ermi's guards trailing behind us. I became distinctly aware of the attention we were attracting, and realized it was not because of our protective shadows.

"Ao-jie... we're the only women..." Ermi said.

Had she expected otherwise? "No we're not. Look, there's a woman over there."

"She's a servant," said Ermi. As more and more eyes found us the little princess seemed to shrink in on herself, like a fading flower.

I leaned toward her. "Then hold your head high, and show them you don't care if they stare," I whispered in her ear. I held her hand more firmly.

Beside me, Ermi took a breath and stretched her neck up as high as it would go.

Finally we reached the building we were searching for. A sign over the door labeled it as the main university building. The white stone was stained green at the corners of the roof and windows where rain runoff had caused moss and lichen to grow. Ermi and I walked up the steps and through the doors.

Inside the halls were filled almost exclusively with men in brown scholars robes. I suddenly felt very isolated in my blue silk robe.  azure island in a sea of brown.

Oh well. Holding my head high, I followed Ermi along the hall to our classroom.

The room where our first class would take place was a large, low room filled with tables, on top of which wide trays filled with smooth white sand sat. Beside each tray was a tool for smoothing the sand, as well as long thin sticks for writing.

Drat. Writing practice.

Ermi and I sat in the last row, her guards taking up positions behind us. Nearby were wide glass windows that looked out at the city below.

Outside, the sunny morning had already become overcast. I wondered if it would rain before lunch.

One by one the other students filed in. All of them were dressed in brown, and all of them were male. Some wore their hair short, like Sanli and Zhangyu, but most wore it long, tied back in a tail at the back of their neck or in a knot fixed atop their head.

As they entered the other students looked our direction. Ermi and I sat at the back in our green and blue robes, stood out among the sea of brown.

I had not done my hair, and it hung long and lose down my back. Ermi's was done up in a tight knot on her head. But regardless, we both stood out, and we were both obviously not men.

Finally, all the seats were filled. A few unlucky students found themselves standing at the back.

A professor entered, in a brown robe with green accents, marking him as more than a student. He called attention, and as one, the students stood from their seats and bowed low. Ermi and I hurried to follow.

"Greeting honorable teacher!" Many different voices rang out across the room.

Then we took our seats and our first lesson began.

"Welcome to your first Scribery class. Here we will learn the foundational skills that will allow you to write, copy, and eventually construct your own seals," the professor said, standing at a table at the front of the room.