"This is my favorite story. Very well. The Farmer and the Xian. ...To begin, you will need to know what a Xian is. It is a word in Yanese that means something like god, or spirit, but has slightly different connotations. 'Immortal,' perhaps, is the best translation. It is an immortal who knows very little of humanity.
"Once, long, long ago, when the land of Yan had just gone through a great war, the people of Yan in the northern wastes were starving. Though the farmers worked the land, they did not have the agricultural knowledge that we hold now and struggled to grow even the most meagre of grains. Starvation was common. And the rulers of Yan, the nobility far to the south, were too preoccupied with rebuilding after the war to care for some peasant farmers in the far reaches of their land.
"So it was that these people lived harsh and tragic lives.
"One day, wandering through the fields, a farmer came upon a figure with the form of a girl. Thinking she was a lost and hungry child, the farmer took her in and fed and clothed her. But this child was strange. She spoke of strange things, asked strange questions, and did not understand the most simple of facts. Finally, one day in frustration, the farmer declared...
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Date: 2025-05-16 03:33 am (UTC)"This is my favorite story. Very well. The Farmer and the Xian. ...To begin, you will need to know what a Xian is. It is a word in Yanese that means something like god, or spirit, but has slightly different connotations. 'Immortal,' perhaps, is the best translation. It is an immortal who knows very little of humanity.
"Once, long, long ago, when the land of Yan had just gone through a great war, the people of Yan in the northern wastes were starving. Though the farmers worked the land, they did not have the agricultural knowledge that we hold now and struggled to grow even the most meagre of grains. Starvation was common. And the rulers of Yan, the nobility far to the south, were too preoccupied with rebuilding after the war to care for some peasant farmers in the far reaches of their land.
"So it was that these people lived harsh and tragic lives.
"One day, wandering through the fields, a farmer came upon a figure with the form of a girl. Thinking she was a lost and hungry child, the farmer took her in and fed and clothed her. But this child was strange. She spoke of strange things, asked strange questions, and did not understand the most simple of facts. Finally, one day in frustration, the farmer declared...
'You must be a Xian.'
And so it was that an immortal came to Earth."