Centures ago, in China, lived a vain Emperor named Chiuai. Emperor Chiuai was conceited and stagnant thinking that he deserved to rule forever without lifting a finger. The Emperor also was not greatful for the beautiful Empress he was given. For this woman was like none other in all the land. She was beautiful, a warrior, fearless, and reveered by all the people in the land. However, the Emperor could never see this and treated her like she was nothing.
Suddenly, one day, the Sun Goddess appeared to the couple and instucted them to travel to the Land of Morning Calm to retrieve the Crystal of Heart's Desire. The twist was that the Empress was to lead the expidition which made the Emperor very angry. He could not understand why the Goddess would command this and threw a fit as if he was a child. This enraged the Sun Goddess and she executed him immediately.
This somewhat frightened the Empress when she saw the anger the Goddess possesed. However, she knew that this was her chance to take the reigns and rule the Empire. So she set out on the quest with the lands finest warriors and seamen. The journey was far from easy and started out with many challenges as the waters were rough and the sky poured down on them like daggers.
Finally, after days of these terrible conditions, the Empress knew what she had to do to save her men. She would throw herself overboard as sacrifice to the Gods. After entering the water, unseen tire-maidens greeted her and clothed her in gold armour. The men on board were terrified and knew not what they would do after losing their leader. When they thought that all hope was lost, the Empress emerged from the raging waters and they calmed immediately.
She came out more beautiful and radiant than any woman in all of history. The crew was awestruck and sworn to pledge their lives to the Empress forever. Now that the Sun Goddess had truly taken their side, the journey became easy. The ship made its way to the Land of the Morning Calm with no troubles at all.
Once they reached the land, the native people saw the Empress in all her beauty and let them straight into the city. The king of the land was so struck by her presence and commanding authority that he told her to ask for anything she wanted and he would grant it to her.
Doing as the Sun Goddess had commanded her, the Empress requested the Jewel of Heart's Desire. After the King granted her wish, she pledged to always be an ally to the Land of Morning Calm and set off to return the Jewel to her homeland.
The Sun Goddess was so pleased that the Empress had done what she was told that she gave a promise to the Empress that as long as she continued following what she was told to do that the Goddess would grant her power to control the land as long as she lived.
Authors Note: The theme of my storybook is based on beauty so I felt like using one of the stories I had read and putting a twist in it to lead it back to my theme was a perfect place to start. I also enjoyed that the original story blended together mythology along with a sort of fairytale. In the original story, the Emporer adored the Empress, he was just haughty and thought he did not need the help of the Gods. I chose to add the twist of him not adoring the Empress just to give it more drama.
(Beautiful Heart Stone from PickPic)
Bibliography- The Jewel of Heart's Desire. Story source: Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legendby E. W. Champney and F. Champney (1917).
Hi Carlee,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your story, "The Jewel of Heart's Desire." It was very entertaining and it flowed really nicely. Good job!
I like how you chose this story based off of your theme of your storybook. I think it is a great idea because it not only saves time but also gives you more perspectives and ideas on what to right about.
I look forward to reading more of your work!
-Libby
Hi Carlee!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this story. I love how the women was kind and treated people and got rewarded by that by becoming the leader. I think you wrote it very well, I was very interested while reading and became very curious as to what would happen to the emperor. I liked how what happened to him is what he deserved.