The Watcher Breaks

I think one of the most common sights we as noncombatants face is the sight of people dying: the sight of gurgling froths of reddish bubbles, the sight of men and sometimes women flailing about as their bodies face excruciating pain and suffering. Those are far too common sights in these times, nothing like the days of joy and calm only decades ago.

I hear that millions have died since the Yellow Turban uprising, and that more continue to die as our forces clash with the armies of Shu and Wei.

... I myself have seen too much death.

My husband, Sun Ce, once stood declaring that he'd liberate China from Cao Cao's grasp and Liu Bei's blind pursuit of Han glory. Han abandoned we of Dong Wu, so we rose to save ourselves. Why is that so wrong?

Those in Wei did the same, but many reports from our officers speak of horrible wounds lashed onto the peasants by Wei's personnel. If Xuzhou taught us anything, it taught us that nothing can stand in the way of Cao Cao, and those foolish enough to try to save themselves from his tyranny will die by the sword.

Many times I wonder if we can just end this war. Shu Han can cling onto their corner. Da Wei can continue to claim the central plains... And we of Dong Wu can live in peace alongside our beloved Great River.

But, as a woman, no one will listen to my words. Not even my brother in law.

My husband is dead, and my sister lost her husband too.

Come to think of it, my brother in law Zhou Gongjin had his flaws. His passion sometimes led him to do reckless things in spite of his wisdom and generosity. He tried to tear through Shu with his 'Two Kingdoms plan,' which was far too risky to implement.

But even so, Zhou Yu was a good man. A man better than most. He loved his sister, his comrades, and his people. He died for our people, he died for Dong Wu, and he died for my husband's dream.

My husband Sun Bofu was a greater man, I should think... For without his dream no one would have been motivated to reunite our beloved Dong Wu and have her strong enough to stand against her aggressors. We would have suffered the fate of the other provinces, torn to shreds among dozens of greedy wolves.

... And now he has left me, and this war has stolen my sister's happiness as well.

What did we do to deserve this? Why has heaven chosen to take the lives of these two men, both men who fought to protect their beloved, be it land or people?

But I realize how selfish I am. For every soldier that dies there is a mother or wife or sister with a broken heart. For every village that burns the number of agonizing screams raises tenfold. The beautiful yellow soil that has defined our people is red now, red because of our idiocy... Or perhaps red because of fate's pure cruelty.

How ironic that red is our nation's chosen banner, yet we are the least violent of the three kingdoms.

... If that says much...

Perhaps I am bitter because I am a widow. Lu Xun fights to achieve the peace we all desire, and he is working with Zhuge Liang in the west, who fights for the good of Han but is willing to fight with us against Wei's imperialist agenda.

But somehow it seems that this is all in vain... Wei is just too powerful, and Shu cannot be fully trusted as they fight for Han and not mutual prosperity. Even if we do survive, this war will continue to rob us of our lives. It will continue to pit man and man against each other, even if it is mutual support, and not mutual hatred, that will help the yellow earth recover from this nightmare.

I... I can only stand here, and watch as millions burn as my brothers fight for petty strips of land. Some say that we are born in the wrong era, and they couldn't be more right... All I can do now is pray, pray for a better life, for a bright future, but when the piles of bodies start overshadowing the trees, what good does praying do?

Da Qiao

Author's note:

One of the alternate (and technically mistranslated) titles for the famous Chinese classic Dream of the Red Chamber is The Dreamer Wakes. This title is a modification of that title which fits Da Qiao's situation better. Of the four Great Chinese Novels, I think that Dream of the Red Chamber and Romance of the Three Kingdoms are the better of the four. But the former still beats the latter by a slight margin. For the very best in Drama and Romance, you really should read Dream of the Red Chamber.

FYI, the four great Chinese works are:

Romance of the Three Kingdoms 三國 (No need for an introduction, basically the novel that inspired Dynasty Warriors. Has another video game series made by Koei based on it with the same name, and various anime remakes, along with the legendary Hong Kong manhwa The Ravages of Time based on Sima Yi's life.)

Dream of the Red Chamber 紅樓夢 (So awesome that no one feels good enough to make an anime remake, though there is a very old DOS video game for it, as well as a Chinese/Japanese Visual Novel that people curse for being too hentai-ish.)

Journey to the West (Monkey King) 西遊記 (The anime Saiyuki is based on this. There's also a hilarious Fighting Game variant too.)

Outlaws of the Marsh 水浒傳 (also known as All Men are Brothers. The video game series Suikoden is based on this.)