Remembrance—Zhang Qiling

A certain year and month.

Zhang Qiling sat in the snow, the old radio beside him working hard in the freezing cold. It was making crackling noises, and he could hear a noisy dialogue coming from its speakers that seemed to be in the Kangba Gelu dialect (1).

This radio belonged to a man who had been searching for him. Everyone was deep in the boundless snow-capped mountains all around, hoping to find traces of him.

The blue Tibetan robe made him feel comfortable even in the freezing cold. He could see the temple’s faint light in the far, far distance.

The snow was getting heavier and heavier, and dusk was coming to an end. The weak light in the distance was still reflected by the white snow, forming a dark blue halo between the snow-capped mountains.

He turned the radio dial and the noisy dialogue disappeared, replaced by a somewhat ethereal piece of music. It was probably some movie’s original soundtrack. He listened and patted his backpack. This was another person’s favorite piece of music.

He stuffed the radio into the side of his backpack, tightened the Tibetan wooden urn on his back, and walked into the depths of the snow-capped mountains.

A falcon flew by, surprised to see a person walking on the ridge of a snowy peak. Thousands of miles of snow-capped mountains spread out at this person’s feet like a python. As the falcon lifted its body into the sky, it showed a shocking desolation.

The sound of the radio became quieter and quieter as it got further away, seeming to be more and more ethereal in this desolate space. It was a piece of music called “Sincere Love”.

Returning to the darkness together, accompanied only by the sounds of “Sincere Love” and the fragrance of Tibetan sea flowers scattered in the snow. It was quiet, peaceful, and serene.

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Author’s Note: This is a deleted scene from “Tibetan Sea Flower” and was also originally used as the demo clip of the “Tibetan Sea Flower” donghua (2). “Sincere Love” is part of the original soundtrack of the movie “Ashes of Time” (3). I wrote this scene while listening to this music. This scene happened before Zhang Qiling ever met Wu Xie. The person in the urn was a partner of his who died many years ago. That’s right. He had no friends, only partners. It was just companionship; someone he couldn’t share any happiness or pain with.

Even so, he took this person’s ashes out of Changbai Mountain and brought them to his own holy place. It was a place he had once promised to go to together.

He was all alone, no longer daring to even ask for companionship.

This was my first impression of Zhang Qiling. In the heavy snow, he was like a lonely god or beast.

<Tibetan Sea Flower: Three Days Of Silence> <Table of Contents><The Other Shore>

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TN Notes:

(1) Kangba, or Khampa, is the subdivision of a Tibetan ethnic group. It’s also the former Tibetan province of Kham, now split between Tibet and Sichuan

(2) Animated film. Another term you might be familiar with is “anime”

(3) “Ashes of Time” is a 1994 Hong Kong film that was inspired by characters from Jin Yong‘s novel “The Legend of the Condor Heroes”. Info on the plot here. The song “Sincere Love” is here.  

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Dang, I just wanted a nice little break from Reboot. Didn’t think I’d be depressed afterwards lol. I’m so glad Poker-face met Wu Xie and Fatty in the end .･ﾟﾟ･(／ω＼)･ﾟﾟ･.