Imagine if China and Italy...
Jul. 5th, 2012 10:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
marina_bonomiA few days ago
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmith left a prompt to thesilentpoet:In 97 AD, Chinese General Pan Chao sent an embassy to the Roman empire, but little came of it. Suppose China and Italy had united, how would that change things?
This poem was the result, outlining a whole timeline. If you know me you can imagine the rest, I wanted more and wanted to see what
ysabetwordsmith herself would do with a few prompts related to this alternate-history universe, thesilentpoet agreed as well.The result were The Treasures of Marco Polo based on a couple of items listed in an inventory after Marco's death he never spoke about; The Lost and Found Legion about the idea of the embassy and the identity of the ambassador and the , as yet unpublished The Tea Tempest.
I was reading about the real embassy sent by general Ban Chao and how in Chinese documents it is said that ambassador Gan Ying turned back because of the info he got from some Parthian sailors about the lenght of the remaining leg of his trip to Rome and the dangers involved. Fact is that Parthians and Scythians were the middlemen of the silk trade and wouldn't have been too happy if the two empires started dealing with each other directly.
I couldn't help but imagine a pair of Parthians trying the same stunt on a very different ambassador,
ysabetwordsmith 's Cai Luoma, the result was:Cai Luoma and the Parthians
They tried it on him, the two Parthian brothers.
The older spoke first, in sorrowful tones:
“This sea, o my friend, is so vast and large,
With terrible storms, and many hidden dangers;
It may take years to cross it at all”.
Then spoke the younger, with honeyed words:
“ This we say to you in token of friendship,
Your faraway lord, no matter how wise,
Could not have known the dangers you face”.
Insisted the brothers, concern in their voices:
“Providing for many, your friends and retainers,
Will tax your resources, will leave you stranded,
Turn back while you can, we speak out of care”.
Greed moved their hearts, lies were they crafting,
But wise Cai Luoma, clear-eyed, brave-hearted
Eluded the trap of honeyed words.
He knew that the Parthians, old enemies of Rome,
Now traded in silk from empire to empire.
No love had they for an envoy from China
Entrusted to go, and treat with the Romans.
“ I thank your kind hearts,” he said to the brothers,
“Tomorrow we leave, We’ll head straight back home”.
He did not trust them, and lulled suspicions
But crafted a plan, while playing the fool.
And the morning after, just as the sun rose
The ambassador’s party was seen leaving town
With carriages and horses, with coffers and banners
While earlier that night, a nondescript group
In silence, by moonlight, had boarded a ship
Which now headed West, to Europe, and Rome.
His people all safe, all gathered on board,
Cai Luoma now laughed at what was in store.
For him an adventure well worthy of song
And for the two brothers, and all their cohorts
If gods were willing, and fates propitious
Maybe in a while, few years down the road
A nasty surprise would catch them unaware.
‘Cause friends talk to each other, need no middlemen.
If you like my work and feel like it, tips are appreciated.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Read "Cai Luoma and the Parthians" by Marina Bonomi
Date: 2012-07-05 08:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-05 11:50 am (UTC)Lovely. :) I especially love the last three lines.
I am so glad this shared universe is taking off! Do we have a place we could post all the various poems? I'll definitely be writing another one before next week is out.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-05 12:07 pm (UTC)Elizabeth is working on a shared universe page on her own site, maybe it could be good to have a 'Silk Road Allies' community where we all (and other interested people) could post relevant material?
I'm looking forward to your next piece! Any hints?
no subject
Date: 2012-07-05 12:25 pm (UTC)I'd be up creating such a community, although I would ask for you or Elizabeth to be a co-moderator. I work 6 days a week between 2 jobs, it's not quite conducive to moderating a community constantly if needed.
I'm thinking one of two, if you care to weigh in.
Either, a further exploration of the two countries' relationship during WW2,
Or, Italy during the Renaissance, should they have had the Chinese influence.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-05 12:32 pm (UTC)Both your ideas are very interesting, if I remember, you said earlier you had been reading a lot of WW II material if it were me, I'd start with that since it's fresh research. :)
no subject
Date: 2012-07-05 12:36 pm (UTC)I think the three of us cooperating would be great. I wonder if there's any way to discuss offline if need to via eljay, or if email's the best here. I'll have a bit of time this weekend to create the community page.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-05 12:46 pm (UTC)There's also Google documents as an option, I used it for joint posts in a play-by-email RPG, multiple people can write/edit/discuss the same document in it.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-05 12:54 pm (UTC)I joke that I run my life on GoogleDocs, but it's true. I very rarely use Word these days. It's also used for the WoD RPG I'm currently involved in, as a way to keep track of characters and plot points. So, yeah, that might work too.
Got the message, sending you mine now.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-05 01:07 pm (UTC)Now it remains only for Elizabeth to weight in about her favorite/handier mean of cooperation.
Okay...
Date: 2012-07-05 06:45 pm (UTC)GoogleDocs doesn't work for me, alas. Just recently an author tried sending me a review copy of an ebook that way and it crashed. I tend to keep my notes in MS Word.
I'm partway through the expansion and reconstruction of my website. The stuff relevant to our project is done. See the new tab My Work, the subsection Shared Worlds, and the page The Silk Road Allies. Whatever we want to make public in terms of literature, background materials, discussion posts, etc. can be linked and organized there. Feedback is welcome.
Re: Okay...
Date: 2012-07-05 06:49 pm (UTC)Only thing, there's a typo, it's Cai Luoma, not 'Cai Luomo'
Re: Okay...
Date: 2012-07-05 06:54 pm (UTC)About resources
Date: 2012-07-05 06:55 pm (UTC)in short it is an interactive atlas of the Roman empire, you define the parameters and it gives you travel times and expenses, it can be useful, I think.
Re: About resources
Date: 2012-07-06 07:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-05 01:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-05 01:53 pm (UTC)We are hoping of turning 'The Silk Road Allies' in a communal project, with people of different talents cooperating on an agreed canon. If you ever feel tempted to come in and play (in whatever capacity and under no obligation whatsoever) you'd be more than welcome.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-05 02:16 pm (UTC)You might ask my friend
no subject
Date: 2012-07-05 03:46 pm (UTC)Hope you'll drop by and see how the group goes, when you feel like it.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-05 04:52 pm (UTC)Thoughts
Date: 2012-07-06 07:57 am (UTC)What we have so far is described here:
http://penultimateproductions.weebly.com/the-silk-road-allies.html