Meandering River, Ardent Flame

  ***

  Jiang knelt and placed the bundled books on the table. She'd gone through several buildings, a side corridor, and seen a dozen earthen walls and floors before she reached the classroom set some twenty paces from the main monastery grounds. Sister An was already teaching her class of girls to read basic Chinese characters. She stopped when she heard Jiang edging out somewhat guiltily along the packed mud walls of the room.

  “An laoshi,” greeted Jiang deferentially with a bow. Sister An had been her teacher once, when she'd been as young as the girls in the class. Jiang knew most of the girls present, like Liang, the smallest who often begged to climb on her back when she practised stance, and Mei who always asked for her buns. She spotted Huan and Chuntao, the two inseparables from Hebei region who both had a penchant for fruits. Jiang was frequently trying to find them some whenever she went to buy offerings. Qiuyue, from warmer areas south of Hebei, was sniffling in the back. She was often afflicted with some internal imbalance of yin every spring. Or at least it seemed so. Qiuyue constantly wiped her nose on her sleeves. Jiang felt sorry that Qiuyue inadvertently repulsed the other girls in that way. She made a habit of procuring handkerchiefs around Qiuyue, and sometimes offered her one, but the little girl would use them graciously and then return to her sleeves.

  “You're late as ever,” returned Sister An. She turned to the girls. “Children, isn't it written, 'By punctuality and knowledge, root out your darts of sin?'” Jiang recognized the excerpt from the translated Fanyu, the texts brought by Hsuan-tseng from India. Qiuyue and all the rest most likely didn't. They were staring at Sister An. Jiang shuffled one foot in the dirt slightly with the hope that Sister An would notice and give her a dismissal. Her former teacher turned.

  “Jiang, you might think yourself to be knowledgeable, but without punctuality, you won't ever be attaining nirvana.” She returned to address Qiuyue and the rest. “Jiang has given us an example of how not to act.” She dismissed Jiang with a wave. Jiang bowed and left, feeling uncomfortable at the admonishment. Example of how not to act? Before she could be late for anything else, Jiang hurried from the earth walls for the carved pillars of the cloisters.