The Teasing Veil of the Zhong Qui Jie Moon

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  Baimaxueshan Nature Reserve, China
Sunday, September 18, 2005

During the month of September, a battle--more powerful than any war--rages between north and south. It is the battle of continental and oceanic forces, light and darkness: the monsoon, whose root lies in the Arabic word mausium meaning seasons. The monsoon is manifest in wind and water, known in China as feng and shui. The battle, however, is not war-like, but instead is a tug-of-war between opposites.

In the summer, the intense continental heat of the Asian continent pulls moist air from the Indian Ocean, attracting clouds and rain to India, Southeast Asia, and South China.

As darkness of winter falls upon the Asian landmass, the tug-of-war reverses, and the warm southern waters dig in their heels and draw dry cold air from the continent

01 Evening Sunlight On The Yangtze River Gorge

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In this eternal battle, no one wins and no one loses, it is simply flux and change.

Around the Fall equinox, the tug-of-war begins to reverse, as the continent cools and the southern oceans warm. Thus, the true force behind the battle emerges: the warming rays of the sun.

Beginning during the summer solstice, the southern winds and his clouds staked their claim here in the Hengduan mountains of Northwest Yunnan, marking their territory with daily rain. Since then, the clouds have veiled the snow mountains like a belly dancer.

Now, the clouds are beginning to flee for warmer climates and their veil is beginning to lift.

Xiao Lin and I witnessed the first dropping of the veil around Baima Snow Mountain. For the first time I saw her vertical face of rock and glaciers jutting from the pastured and forested valleys up to her summit. Still, the veil teased, as clouds swirled over aretes, poured through the cols, and wrapped around her jagged top rising from the cirque

02 Rinigongka Mountain Over the Yangtze River.

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Here we met with Tibetan nomadic herders to talk about our plans over cups of Yak butter tea. Sunlight penetrated through the wooden roof of a summer pasture hut, capturing intricate and ever-changing patterns of smoke and steam rising from the boiling tea pot and wood fire like a laser beam capturing the smoke of dry ice in a night club. As the winds blew through cracks in the front door the smoke quickened its pace in a flurry of chaotic tendrils. When the winds subsided, the smoke, brightly lit with a subtle hue of light steely blue, slowed and spiraled with precision.

Meanwhile, Azong, an elder herder, churned the week-old yak milk into a bubbling kefir-like consistency. He sang to the beat of his churning as the smoke tendrils continued their path through the roof into the crisp September mountain air.

We gave him moon cakes as a gift.

Xiao Lin and I were hoping to film the full moon setting over the mountains. To accomplish this, I awoke at 5 a.m., but the clouded veil had blanketed the skies, lightened by the moon behind it

03 Sunset Behind Baimaxueshan

. The veil had confounded our hopes. After some work with his reserve staff, we headed back to Zhongdian on the day of the full moon.

We had eaten our moon cakes in celebration of the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar. Aside from the Chinese New Year, this day marks the second-most important festival in China.

Although history books say that the Mongol Empire in China--the Yuan Dynasty--crumbled because of weakening military structure and Mongol emulation of Chinese lifestyle, another celebrated reason behind this important regime change is the moon cake.

On this lunar day in 1368 A.D., peasants throughout China celebrated Zhong Qui Jie, the full moon festival, eating moon cakes, lighting fireworks, dancing, and gazing at the moon. When they ate their moon cakes, however, they bit upon an inscription written on a small piece of paper--"overthrow the Mongols!"

A peasant, Zhu Yuanzhang, led the rebellion, sending the Mongols, once again, behind the Great Wall of China. Zhu Yuanzhang then became the first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, perhaps the most famous of the Chinese Dynasties, and not only because of the infamous Ming the Merciless of Flash Gordon

04 The Peaks and Glaciers of Baimaxueshan

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Within about 300 years, the Ming proceeded to extend their sphere of influence to Tibet, Mongolia, and western China, before weakening and succumbing to another foreign invader, the Manchurians, who established the Qing Dynasty.

After Xiao Lin and I returned to Zhongdian, we gathered with his family to celebrate Zhong Qui Jie over dinner and badminton with his children.

Xiao Lin's sister explained: "even though it's a Chinese holiday, Tibetans now celebrate it too. The cultures are mixed."

We played badminton on the pavement of a side road, with pieces of grass marking the two sides of the court. "My children play almost every day after school," Xiao Lin said.

As night fell, I returned home to the sounds of the barking Dogs of Zhongdian, fireworks, and howls of people. In celebration, I played "Harvest Moon" on my new guitar as rain fell on Zhongdian--the southern winds were still marking their territory.

But the veil had lifted to the east, as a bright Harvest and Zhong Qui Jie Moon rose over the silhouetted mountains.

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