Emeishan

The 71 meter tall Buddha in Leshan. The statue is hewn out of a cliff which is situated at the confluence of the Minjiang, Dadu and Qingyi rivers in Sichuan, the largest province of China. The stone sculpture faces Emei, one of the holy mountains in the country. It is the largest Buddha in the world. Construction started in 713 AD, initiated by a monk named Haitong. He hoped the Buddha would calm the turbulent waters that plagued transport by ship. According to legend, he gouged out his eyes to demonstrate his piety and sincerity when funding was threatened. The massive construction resulted in so much stone being deposited into the river below that the currents were indeed altered, making the waters safe for boats. Photo: a Chinese tourist, 18 July 1996.

KRIJGERS VAN XI’AN

Een leger aan krijgers van gebakken klei
zo overtuigd in hun eigen vorm vastgekoekt
aan de opgeworpen rode leem

dat ze zonder te breken niet eens meer

kunnen tasten naar wie om hen heen
geen eeuwigheid maar slechts eeuwen waken
bij de Heer van Hemel en Aarde, Water en Vuur,

een bang kind nog toen hij hen ontbood.

Verblind door toekomst, schoon geschraapt
en bespied vanaf de bruggen door nazaten
herkennen ze soms in hen die starend

staan te sterven hun eigen verbaasde blik.

The English translation will follow.

The so-called Terracotta Army is a collection of sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China, buried with him 210–209. The figures, dating from the 3rd century BC, were discovered in 1974 by local farmers near the city of Xi’an in the province of Shaanxi.

The thousands of figures vary in height according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. The figures include soldiers, chariots and horses. Other terracotta figures were found in other pits. They represent officials, acrobats, strongmen and musicians.

This poem was published in the book ‘Bloedkrans’ (2012).