Skrivnost pepela pod jezerom Kunming

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Skrivnost pepela pod jezerom Kunming

When Emperor Wu of Han had Kunming Lake excavated, the digging went very deep, yet there was nothing but ash and soot, with no earth to be found. No one at court could explain it. The emperor asked Dongfang Shuo, who replied, “Your servant is too ignorant to know. Try asking someone from the Western Regions.” Since even Shuo did not know, the emperor was reluctant to inquire elsewhere. Later, during the reign of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han, a monk from the Western Regions came to Luoyang. Someone who remembered Dongfang Shuo’s words asked him about the ash and soot found in Emperor Wu’s time. The monk said, “The scriptures say, ‘When a great cosmic cycle draws to its end, fire consumes heaven and earth.’ These are the remnants of that conflagration.” Only then did people understand the import of Shuo’s words.